not rememberable..

I always try to give a book the benefit of the doubt, that it may just have a tough beginning to swallow but even after getting to chapter six I'm struggling to keep myself interested. The reader has a nice voice but the substance of the story fails to grab my attention.

2 people found this helpful

plot is overrated anyway, who needs one?

Where to start with this book? First of all, it's a book that decided to be a Victorian steam punk set in Regency England as though the two eras are completely interchangeable. But that's a historian's criticism, if you don't immediately know the difference between those two eras, don't worry, there are plenty of other problems with the book for you!

The book doesn't so much have a plot as a series of fight scenes loosely connected by a series of improbable events. Pretty much the entire second half of the book is one big 48 hour long stretch of fights. Tons of action might be good enough to get some authors by, but it just doesn't work in this instance. There's tons of plot holes, big ones and small ones. Most of the descriptions of people and action are just strings of cliches. There's plenty of 'flashing' eyes and whatnot. Nothing overly original.

The summary likens this to the Iron Druid chronicles, and while that seems like an unlikely comparison, it actually has lots of similarities (unfortunately not Iron Druid's charming wit and moderately skilled although also flawed plot). Both are far more concerned with showing their hero's vast and overpowering magical skills against a variety of enemies than in a coherent let alone complicated plot. Both feature a tattooed hero whose supposedly limited power doesn't stop him from defeating enemies left right and center. Both have an Irish wolf hound with a stupid name.

Moral of the story, I suppose if you're looking for a really easy listen to give your brain a rest from something more strenuous, then go ahead. Otherwise, go elsewhere. If you're interested in decent steam punk try "The Affinity Bridge" by George Mann. If you're looking for hard core steam punk try "The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack" by Mark Hodder

2 people found this helpful

louder and funnier

It SHOULD have been good... Victorian setting? check. Supernatural elements? check. Some attempts to add science? check. Interesting people? check. But there was no sense of FUN. No witty comments, no repartee, no tongue in cheek. No thank you.

8 people found this helpful

Blah

What would have made The Shadow Revolution better?

A plot or what's called a "story line" would have made this book better.

Would you ever listen to anything by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith again?

Probably not, at least not for a while.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith?

Sure, the reader wan't bad.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

...lots of action. The book sort of jumps from action scene to action scene. If that's what your looking for this would work I guess. That said I like a lot of action but it needs a story..some kind of context.

Any additional comments?

Blah.

7 people found this helpful

Very good

I enjoyed this book very much. Nicholas Guy Smith could read my grocery list and make it sound sexy and beguiling. If you like this type of genre, you must listen to the Cabal Brothers series.

1 person found this helpful

Barely okay in both story and narration..

Thought this book was okay but sometimes I felt there wasn’t much of a story, just finding ways to kill the werewolves and dodging them all the time. That’s just about it. There really wasn’t much of a backstory on any of the characters: Simon was a “scribe,” Kate was a “alchemist” and MacFarlane was a werewolf hunter from Scotland. At 75% of the book I was still wondering just “who” they were. I’m all for excitement in a story but this needed a little more of something. And Imogen, Kate’s sister? Still no idea at the same 75% why she was even written in. As far as I can see she’s just a throw-away character. And she should have been let to die at the end. You’ll have to read the book to know why.

The magic part was good and the alchemy and I like the werewolf hunter BUT liking the characters is not enough. You have to like the story and there wasn’t enough of that, unfortunately. I will not move forward with series. This left a lot of unanswered questions. Not a cliffhanger but not complete either.

Don’t let anyone kid you about there being romance in this book because there is none, no thought, no touch, no kiss, no nothing, and no swearing.

As to the narration: Not good at all! Nicholas Guy Smith did very little to make the women sound like women and read with only one emotion; he yelled when it was called for. But when they had snuck into an asylum in the middle of the night and should have been whispering THEY WERE NOT! They either talked in a regular voice or they yelled, especially MacFarlane. It was terrible.

Was the audio worth a credit? Definitely not.

1 person found this helpful

A Magical Steampunky Victorian era thrill ride!

I was a fan of these these authors after reading their Greyfriar books, and this book makes me an even bigger fan! Set at the beginning of the Victorian era, it takes place in a London that is subtly different from ours, where magic works, kept from sight of Vanilla mortals. Simon Archer is a roguish playboy, quite the charmer in upper crust circles. He is also a Scribe, a powerful type of magic user thought extinct, who uses runes for magical effect. In fact, a large part of his body is tattooed with runes, so he can create magic effects, such as super strength or force projection, without having to write down a rune. His partner and Mentor, Nick Barker, is a magician who uses several different magic types, such as pyromancy and necromancy. They try and solve small magical disturbances (Hauntings, monster incursions, etc.) When Simon gets a note asking him to meet from an old flame, he is drawn into a much larger conspiracy involving Werewolves and a mad scientist creating Homunculi out of people, all looking for an item that could change the balance of power forever. Helping Simon and Nick are Scottish Werewolf hunter Malcolm MacFarlane and Kate Anstruther, daughter of a noted Lord and adventurer, and Alchemist in her won right. They join forces to do battle with the evil forces arrayed against them, even though they are vastly outnumbered. No spoilers here, but it is a rollicking good tale that will have you guessing whats coming next.
It is a richly detailed book, giving the reader an in depth look into Upper crust Victorian life, while also showing the other side of that era too. The magic is original, and actually pretty believable. There are elements of steampunk in the story, and the characters are engaging and sympathetic. The villains are straight up villains, not just misunderstood souls. They are evil, and loathsome, and perfect for the story. The back story hinted at bigger mysteries, and you can't wait to hear more. All in all, an excellent start to a new series. Nicholas Guy Smith did an outstanding job narrating, easily on par with my 3 favorite British narrators, Simon Vance, Michael Page and Guildart Jackson. It is in the same vein as Gail Carriger's Alexa Tarrabotti books, just without the awkward sex scenes. if you liked her books, or are a fan of Simon Green or Jim Butcher, you should enjoy these books.

5 people found this helpful

Alot of action and fights. it takes a while until

There's alot of action. It takes a while for the story to start to play out. I'm going to listen to the rest of the series I hope there's a bit more of the story but I did like all the action and fights.

loved it!

Extremely entertaining, thoroughly enjoyed it! The narrator was perfect for the story, made crocheting that much more entertaining!

Urban fantasy and later 19th century mixed well.

Loved the book, both based on the material, which is similar to a 19th(later-mid to late) century English version of Iron Druid Chronicles. However my closest example of the storyline and environment can best be found on the Showtime TV show Penny Dreadful. I loved the steam powered motorcycle ahead of its time.