Great story, Main character got on my nerves

Start with the good -
I like the story. The magic system is interesting, although I think the whole 'School' thing is a bit too Harry-Potter-esque, but I did like that it was basically a literary dungeon crawler.

Now for the bad part - Sorry Author.
The main character was really really annoying. I reckon the author was projecting his own insecurities into him, but I don't know.

So the main character is socially awkward, and doesn't understand social cues and avoids other people if he can. Doesn't drink at all. Doesn't really care about romance or sex, because he's focused on his selfless goal, and intellectual pursuits. He hates physical contact - Not a big deal normally, but it's mentioned literally every single time someone touches his shoulder or he takes someones hand. He is smart - as can be seen from the stuff he does, but his school grades don't reflect that because the teachers and exams are biased, and don't take note of all of the new discoveries that a mere teenager is making (another annoyance) in a world that has had this magic for hundreds of years.
Basically, he is the personification of the standard Redditors self-image. I think my main point was that a lot of these traits don't develop the character in any positive way. They just make him sound whiney and annoying and none of these traits help to move the story along at all, other than to 'ex machina' the reasons why a teenager who is living away from a pretty strict and oppressive home for the first time isn't checking out girls/boys of their own age like normal people do. Some parts feel forced enough that is almost like the author only realised the omission later, and needed to show-horn in an explanation and so used his own experiences to fill the gap. This may go a little ways in explaining how the only people who get along with the main character is a family member, an old friend, a social outcast and an exchange student - Everyone else in the school is depicted as sneaky/suspicious or a straight-up jerk.
Then there is the gender neutral stuff. There was a whole section where it's explained that some people choose their gender and it's normal in their country. Same as the main characters traits, it did not add to the story at all. It was a pointless affectation which was clearly the author using the book as a soapbox for his own direct opinions - It was just so..... Out of sync with the universe.

All that being said - The Narrator is amazing, I forget that it's one person doing all the voices sometimes!
I'm getting the next book in the series now, as the story is good, and I'm invested enough to see past the main character!

7 people found this helpful

It’s fine, Nick Podehl is a BIG plus.

The story is fine, although Corrins behaviour can be a bit frustrating at times. He gets easily sidetracked and his social awkwardness can be a bit annoying at times but I guess that’s the way Andrew wanted it. My two favourite characters are Lord Teft and Karis and Nick have them the perfect voices. Overall the book is fine, after reading book one I don’t imagine not reading this one as it answers a few questions from the previous one, it’s also quite long which was a definitely a plus for me. The only thins I would change would be the MC but besides that everything would stay the same.

2 people found this helpful

good listen

ill be short here , the first book started so badly i wondered for a while if i should get this one . Iam glad i did it was way better than book 1 !

2 people found this helpful

excellent!

highly recommend for any Harry Potter, Grimnoir fans or other magic lovers.

Fantastic concepts, few funny moments as well as thrilling. One you'll find difficult not to binge on.

1 person found this helpful

Fun and interesting

The second part of the series was just as good as the first one.
Some parts were more interesting than others, but overall it was a pretty good experience
Nick Podehl did a very good job with narrating, but that shouldn't be a suprise at this point.
8/10 would recommend.

good book maybe not great but I enjoyed it!!

perhaps not the best book ever written but I really enjoyed it. Good narration.enjoued the humour, and liked the characters.worth a read,/listen.

Wonderful Continuation of the Series

Andrew Rowe managed to write a great follow-up to the amazing Sufficiently Advanced Magic book. Just as gripping, just as satisfying and with more character development that just adds intrigue to the overall story.

Part of this series success in my eyes is Nick Podehl, who I think may be my favourite narrator. He brings such uniqueness to each character and his accents are wonderful. This was a great listen and I can’t wait to jump on to book 3 in the series now!

Good sequel!!!!

Love the story, but was a little bit disappointed with the direction the romantic storyline is going. Still an amazing story can't wait to listen to the next one!

Loved loved loved

Just so so good! I love the magic system in this so much and there is a perfect mix of fighting and politics. Also, a real challenge for fantasy is making it epic enough and that is definitely achieved with the levels power between the characters.
Most importantly, the narrator has done such an exceptional job that I am genuinely blown away! The amount of clearly distinctive character voices and accents is just jaw dropping.
I listen to multiple audiobooks a day and for the first time in over a year I had to drop the others to listen to this full time. Exceptionally entertaining.
Thank you

Fantastic Characters

Really enjoyed this one. The characters are really well thought out and their friendships are believable and great to read. The main characters confusion and general lack of interest in his own sexuality was often hilarious.

I wish our main character has a bit more growth in this book to keep up with his peers, but it seems the character himself shares that frustration so it comes across well in the story.

The authors weakest point is dialogue between characters. It can feel very stiff and unnatural, but you get used to it.

I'm interested to see where the story will go. We're only finding out about the world building in book 2, but this is the plight of the self published author I feel.