I Was Extremely Surprised!!

This book was so much better than the first book... I didn't expect it to be like this.. when i red the first book, i have enjoyed it, but didn't really love it.. but this book made me a big fan of the series. Characters really develop in this book and secrets come to life.. I was really amazed of the the events and how things changed to the characters.

The ending of this book was really good... I can't wait to get the third book and know how things end.

Narration was really awesome... The narrator brought the characters to life and gave them for each a unique identity.

I highly recommend this book and this series .

14 people found this helpful

Story continues in the 2nd book, but drags a bit..

With this being the 2nd book in the trilogy, the story does drag a bit. There are some interesting character arcs and we get more in depth into some of their backgrounds- some questions are answered, and more arise.

Overall though, the story is lacking a bit of tension and drama. It's not that there aren't significant challenges for the characters to overcome, but they all feel significant only relative to the characters themselves as opposed to world changing, epic struggles (though I suppose there are still hints and overtones of that). Some of what happens in this book feels extraneous though, and I think a lot of it could have been condensed or omitted without loosing much of the essence (but that's obviously a highly subjective opinion).

The good news is that, at this point, you're up to speed with who the characters are, what is happening in this world, and (on a surface level) why. Very few new characters are introduced in this book, which is actually a plus in my mind. I do think the characters themselves are a bit more "fleshed" out in this book as opposed to the 1st- they feel more real and "flawed" (in a good way).

Again, Christian Rodska does a fair job with most of the characters- a few are a bit too close to distinguish easily, but there is a pretty wide range of inflections and dialects that he can use to help embellish their readings, but it's not as effective as some of the other readers I've heard. Also, as mentioned in my 1st review, his younger characters and the opposite gender doesn't come off as believably. But there are a few characters that he just nails- when it's good, it's really good.

6 people found this helpful

Book 2 ratchets up the tension.

All of the main characters return and find themselves in the thick of things. Field Marshal Tamas is cut off behind enemy lines and presumed dead, Taniel Two-Shot struggles to find motivation and must fight on despite the news about his father, and Inspector Adamat tries to recover his kidnapped family while investigating some very dangerous people. The vacuum of power caused by the coup and then the presumed death of Tamas opens the door for a lot of political treachery and undermines the power of both Adamat and Taniel who fall out of favor without Tamas to back them.

The characters get fleshed out a bit in this book, which was definitely needed, and the overall story arc remains strong. Christian Rodska returns as narrator and does another good job with the material. If you liked the first book then there is no reason to think that you won't like book 2.

5 people found this helpful

Upped the ante

If you could sum up The Crimson Campaign in three words, what would they be?

Ho Lee Shit

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Crimson Campaign?

Taniel's moments of rage and how I wished he could just cut loose and bash all the generals.

What about Christian Rodska’s performance did you like?

Fantastic performance all around.

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

I hate this question. No sane person would want to listen to ANY book for 20 hrs straight. Was it good? It was absolutely fantastic. Do I want to listen to the next? Hell yeah. This series just catapulted to the "read/listen-to-the-day-it-is-released" list.

Any additional comments?

A+, five stars, out of the ballpark. This is one of the best sequels I've listened to/read. Characterization is off the charts, action is whiplash, and creativity is phenomenal. Thank you, Mr. McClellan for a wonderful three days.

4 people found this helpful

Earworm

This is an amazing tale. my only warning is this...it may be hard to stop listening and you'll certainly lose sleep rather than miss even a minute.

3 people found this helpful

Better than first, very cool world

Very interesting

Characters actually mean something to me this time around

Another book without social/political pandering which is quite pleasant nowadays although it was released before 2016 before that was mandatory unless you wanted to get canceled. Regardless it’s a refreshing trilogy so far all around.

Great narration as well.

2 people found this helpful

A good book, but obviously a middle book

A good continuation of the series, and nice to see the world fleshed out a bit. Slightly more female representation from the last book.

The biggest issue is that very little actually happens in this book for a few of the main threads. It feels as though it's a setup for the next book more than a story into itself.

2 people found this helpful

Great story, hard to put down.

This series has been a fun one for sure. Great characters, interesting magic system, and very good action and pace.

2 people found this helpful

Amazing Accidental Discovery

Amazed! Can't wait to finish th's trilogy, yet I will be sad when it ends.

2 people found this helpful

Better than the first book.

Really enjoyed this one. Some of the characters really came into their own and the relationships and storyline became more compelling.

2 people found this helpful