REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK!

Any additional comments?

I am a avid reader and I listen to many genre's of audio books.

I have over 4,000 in my Audible library...

I really have been finding it hard to find new books that are really, really good...

This book and the sequel I liked a lot. Enough to write a small review.I highly recommend this book. And, if you are looking for books of this genre here are just a few books that are excellent but may not come to the top of the list on a audible search...


1) Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
2) The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
3) The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson
4) A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
5) The Warded Man - Peter V. Brett
6) Harbinger - Shae Ford
7) Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind
8) The Sword of Shannara - Terry Brooks
9) The Farseer - Robin Hobb
10) Imager - L.E. Modesitt Jr.
------------

The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson
Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder
Luck in the Shadows - Lynn Flewelling

171 people found this helpful

Worth a listen

Sample does not give a good example of the maturity level of the book. I found it difficult to identify with some of the main characters. I think it was the mix of the over simplistic description of teen emotions while alluding to a complex maturity of characters. It's hard to put my finger on it exactly but I felt in some places it did not work while at other times the author pulled it off. Over all I enjoyed it enough to listen in one sitting and purchase the sequel. It is a light read/listen.

12 people found this helpful

Good world building, unconvincing characters

Started off well, but as the story continued I increasingly found myself thinking "but they wouldn't do that". Characters seem to make entirely inconsistent decisions, for example, one moment they can't stand someone and the next they're advocating for them to continue travelling with them.

Also beware that this book appears to be made of candy floss and rainbows. It's as if the author decided to write a kids book halfway through. A real shame as it had a lot of promise in the beginning.

9 people found this helpful

Typical Hero's Journey

The story pattern of the book is like a thousand others; the only thing that saves it is its good humor. I do have to complain, though: King Craven? "Craven", seriously? Might as well have named him "King Bad Guy" or "King Evil".

The narrator makes our protagonist sound like a child, rather than a 17-year-old, and his female voices aren't very girlish. Doesn't detract from the story, though.

5 people found this helpful

Not a Trilogy

One of my biggest pet peeves is to start a series and realize at some point that there's no way the plot will wrap up by the end of the what you thought was the last book. I've gotten in the habit of checking a series on an author's site or wikipedia before ever using a credit on Audible. Despite previously reading this was a trilogy, it became apparent half way through book three, it's not a trilogy. The next book won't be released until late this year.

Now on to the review... I initially liked the setup of the mythology/world and each book does have great moments. Unfortunately, 2 things ruin the series overall: characters that are written with bad personality traits taking precedence in nearly every situation or interaction and a consistent use of "the hero must be stupid now" plot device.

Nearly every character in the series would have no actual relationships or friends in real life - persistently bad moods, nasty comments, or insulting nicknames form most of the character development. Even though the hero has abilities and learns at various points how to use them, he conveniently "forgets" to use them for most of the 3 books... even in life or death situations, he doesn't logically use the ability he just learned a few chapters earlier. There's a half-hearted nonsensical attempt of an explanation, but the reality is the plot is built on the hero's need to be stupid at various points. Otherwise, there would be no need for books 4, 5, etc etc.

5 people found this helpful

Good

Any additional comments?

Based on the picture art I was a little skeptical. I know, "do not judge a book by its cover", but sometimes I can't help it. The story was fun and had some fun characters. There are some predictable points to the plot, but I still liked the book.

17 people found this helpful

boring at its best

The rating of this book baffles me. I know something that is more in the realm YA fiction isn't going to have the depth of a more complex fantasy novel but that is no excuse for poor writing and character development. The tension in this book is laughable and the characters are divided firmly into three camps.

camp 1: people who are nice all the time (but might occasionally misunderstand things)

camp 2: nice people who are forced to do mean things by mean people.

camp 3: mean people.

Seriously. That's it. And while camp 2 is clearly making a sad attempt at being gray in terms of alignment or morals it fails miserably.

I know the phrase "show don't tell" gets thrown around a lot in the writing world (sometimes too often if you ask me) but this author must have missed the memo. I lost count of how often a world mechanic was explained directly after it was used with no foreshadowing at all. That sort of bland explanation really detracts from the overall plot.

So A+ must listen if you feel like listening to something where:

-The main character is awesome at everything except knowing if a girl likes him.

-There is no tension because morals are as black and white as they come.

-There are sad attempts at humor which detract from the already floundering plot.

-Everyone smirks instead of smiles.

3 people found this helpful

Hey, Get This Book!

Would you consider the audio edition of Harbinger to be better than the print version?

Yes

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Dude

What does Derek Perkins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is as good as Michael Kramer

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I liked it, nothing nasty nothing to put you off. It's a great book.

11 people found this helpful

YES YES AND YES!!!!!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Wow, I have fallen in love with all of the character's in this book, from the cheeky bard to the blind man in book 3.

Any additional comments?

What is great about this book / series... is that their are perfect amount of character's that come to life without being overwhelming. At the same time leaving room for you to see each one of them as a large role in the story line...

6 people found this helpful

Forget the 'prequel'...the story starts here...

gotta say i wasn't impressed with the 'prequel'...but the first book doesn't seem to have much if anything to do with it. good thing. i like this book, and the narrator. it took a minute to stop looking for it to continue the prequel, but after i realized the two didn't have a lot in common, i started enjoying this book.

5 people found this helpful