Scan barcode
A review by kacie_marria
A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull
3.0
2.5 stars rounded up because the ending surprised me :P
Unfortunately I had a lot of problems with this book. Most notable were the annoying characters, questionable word choices and speaking in general, the narrator, and of course: 14 year olds on a quest to save the world!
First off, the characters: When I first met Rachel, she was sooooo annoying. And so was Jason towards her and in their interactions. Rachel was slightly--ok a lot concerned (putting it mildly)--about justice, fairness, and women's rights. While that's great and all, the way she went about it was to the point of absolutely bugging me to the point that I didn't like her. That being said, I feel like she had some good character growth throughout the book. Jason for the most part was okay but he made one comment that rankled me. He said "That's the problem with homeschoolers. They haven't learned how to interact with their peers." ;-; Thanks a lot Mull, jump on the bandwagon of stereotyping homeschoolers. Sure, it's for the purpose of the book and the characters, since Rachel was homeschooled, but it still bothered me a lot. Being homeschooled for most of my life, I don't appreciate comments like this because they're not true. It's not true! At least for most homeschoolers. I think it depends on the individual person. Not the group. Individuals in public school all their life may act like the "stereotypical homeschooler." I guess Mull used this comment and Jason and Rachel's bickering to start the road of their growth as friends. Of course, Jason comes to understand Rachel, Rachel comes to understand Jason, and they become really really good friends. I'd hope so since they come face to face with death almost every day!
Next, the questionable word choice and overall speaking: Disclaimer, this is all just a matter of opinion. Some people may love this style of writing, and that's great! It just wasn't for me. Now I understand that the purpose was probably to set apart this strange world that Jason gets dropped into (quite literally), but the way the people interacted in the book was just....weird to me. Let me give a few examples: "Bringing urgent tidings." "...had perished." "Elected to join him." To me it felt like Mull was either trying a little too hard, or he was writing with Thesaurus by his side XD. I guess that's just how he chose how to portray the Lyrians' way of speaking. Unfortunately, I didn't like it. Waaaaay on the other side of the spectrum is 14 year old Jason saying things like the room was full of "super cool weapons." Super. Cool. Weapons. I have never had such a bland description in my life!
I feel bad not liking the narrator, but I didn't. I can't imagine how many hours he put into this book, as well as Brandon Mull of course, so I definitely commend them for this book. The narration is just another matter of opinion. I felt like some of the inflections were incorrect for the situations presented. Even though this narrator wasn't for me, I'm so grateful for everyone who puts so much work into audiobooks so that I can listen to them at work when I'm doing mindless tasks :P
And of course, we have our 14 year old heroes!! Woohooo!! No. No. Yes, this is middle-grade/YA, and yes, books need to be written for certain audiences, but it's just a little too much for me when this 14 year old comes in and is able to accomplish what no other person in the world could succeed in. What's more, in one of the situations, he figured the problem out in like 3 seconds. Sometimes this bothers me more than others, but it was just a little too much in The Beyonders. He definitely didn't act like an 8th grader. And I mean, getting suddenly shoved into a new world, he's going to have to make some hard, mature decisions. But still, I think it was a little too easy based on his age and experience (or lack thereof). That's why I prefer reading middle grade contemporary over middle grade fantasy; it's a little more realistic and believable.
Ok so I've rambled enough about everything I dislike about this book, I'd better also talk about what I did like! I liked the concept of the story. It was really unique. I liked the ending a lot--I didn't really expect it. I liked all of Jason's and Rachel's companion travelers, especially Ferrin. He was such a morally flawed character that he was almost likable XD. (I was kind of disturbed by the detaching body parts.....especially the heads....but that's besides the point). I definitely thought the book got better as it went along. Despite my rating, I'm definitely going to listen to the rest of the books because I really need to know what happens--especially after that cliffhanger!! I'm dying to know!!
Sorry for my very long and likely tedious review, but if you got to this point then thank you for sticking around:P And of course, happy reading everyone!
Unfortunately I had a lot of problems with this book. Most notable were the annoying characters, questionable word choices and speaking in general, the narrator, and of course: 14 year olds on a quest to save the world!
First off, the characters: When I first met Rachel, she was sooooo annoying. And so was Jason towards her and in their interactions. Rachel was slightly--ok a lot concerned (putting it mildly)--about justice, fairness, and women's rights. While that's great and all, the way she went about it was to the point of absolutely bugging me to the point that I didn't like her. That being said, I feel like she had some good character growth throughout the book. Jason for the most part was okay but he made one comment that rankled me. He said "That's the problem with homeschoolers. They haven't learned how to interact with their peers." ;-; Thanks a lot Mull, jump on the bandwagon of stereotyping homeschoolers. Sure, it's for the purpose of the book and the characters, since Rachel was homeschooled, but it still bothered me a lot. Being homeschooled for most of my life, I don't appreciate comments like this because they're not true. It's not true! At least for most homeschoolers. I think it depends on the individual person. Not the group. Individuals in public school all their life may act like the "stereotypical homeschooler." I guess Mull used this comment and Jason and Rachel's bickering to start the road of their growth as friends. Of course, Jason comes to understand Rachel, Rachel comes to understand Jason, and they become really really good friends. I'd hope so since they come face to face with death almost every day!
Next, the questionable word choice and overall speaking: Disclaimer, this is all just a matter of opinion. Some people may love this style of writing, and that's great! It just wasn't for me. Now I understand that the purpose was probably to set apart this strange world that Jason gets dropped into (quite literally), but the way the people interacted in the book was just....weird to me. Let me give a few examples: "Bringing urgent tidings." "...had perished." "Elected to join him." To me it felt like Mull was either trying a little too hard, or he was writing with Thesaurus by his side XD. I guess that's just how he chose how to portray the Lyrians' way of speaking. Unfortunately, I didn't like it. Waaaaay on the other side of the spectrum is 14 year old Jason saying things like the room was full of "super cool weapons." Super. Cool. Weapons. I have never had such a bland description in my life!
I feel bad not liking the narrator, but I didn't. I can't imagine how many hours he put into this book, as well as Brandon Mull of course, so I definitely commend them for this book. The narration is just another matter of opinion. I felt like some of the inflections were incorrect for the situations presented. Even though this narrator wasn't for me, I'm so grateful for everyone who puts so much work into audiobooks so that I can listen to them at work when I'm doing mindless tasks :P
And of course, we have our 14 year old heroes!! Woohooo!! No. No. Yes, this is middle-grade/YA, and yes, books need to be written for certain audiences, but it's just a little too much for me when this 14 year old comes in and is able to accomplish what no other person in the world could succeed in. What's more, in one of the situations, he figured the problem out in like 3 seconds. Sometimes this bothers me more than others, but it was just a little too much in The Beyonders. He definitely didn't act like an 8th grader. And I mean, getting suddenly shoved into a new world, he's going to have to make some hard, mature decisions. But still, I think it was a little too easy based on his age and experience (or lack thereof). That's why I prefer reading middle grade contemporary over middle grade fantasy; it's a little more realistic and believable.
Ok so I've rambled enough about everything I dislike about this book, I'd better also talk about what I did like! I liked the concept of the story. It was really unique. I liked the ending a lot--I didn't really expect it. I liked all of Jason's and Rachel's companion travelers, especially Ferrin. He was such a morally flawed character that he was almost likable XD. (I was kind of disturbed by the detaching body parts.....especially the heads....but that's besides the point). I definitely thought the book got better as it went along. Despite my rating, I'm definitely going to listen to the rest of the books because I really need to know what happens--especially after that cliffhanger!! I'm dying to know!!
Sorry for my very long and likely tedious review, but if you got to this point then thank you for sticking around:P And of course, happy reading everyone!