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The Harven Legacy #1
The Innkeeper's Son
Before Desirmor came and broke the peace of the Alexidus monarchy with his army of dark beasts, Princess Harmony Alexidus spoke a prophecy of his rise and fall. He would destroy the warriors of the Harven Mountains. He would make the princess his eternally unwilling bride. Then he would wrap the world in a veil of darkness so tight, the people would forget that light ever existed.
But the Harmony Prophecy foretold that a scion of the Alexidus bloodline would find the last descendant of the fabled Harven warriors and guide him to a final clash with King Desirmor.
1000 years have passed. 1000 years of Desirmor's Nine Laws. 1000 years of indentured matrimony for Harmony Alexidus. The world has forgotten the prophecy.
Now, at an inn on a tropical island, Lady Enaya Relador has found the last Harven. But Siminus Kelmor is not a willing hero. He is the naïve son of an innkeeper, sheltered all of his life from the horrors indigenous to people on the mainland. And he is broken. Just as she has found him, Sim witnesses the brutal murder of his parents at the hands of King Desirmor's son, the feared Blood Lord. To mold him into the champion promised by the prophecy, Enaya will need to forge him as a blacksmith turns a scrap of iron into a sword. Because if he is to fulfill his destiny and put an end to the 1000 year reign of King Desirmor, Sim will need to become a perfectly crafted weapon.
But the Harmony Prophecy foretold that a scion of the Alexidus bloodline would find the last descendant of the fabled Harven warriors and guide him to a final clash with King Desirmor.
1000 years have passed. 1000 years of Desirmor's Nine Laws. 1000 years of indentured matrimony for Harmony Alexidus. The world has forgotten the prophecy.
Now, at an inn on a tropical island, Lady Enaya Relador has found the last Harven. But Siminus Kelmor is not a willing hero. He is the naïve son of an innkeeper, sheltered all of his life from the horrors indigenous to people on the mainland. And he is broken. Just as she has found him, Sim witnesses the brutal murder of his parents at the hands of King Desirmor's son, the feared Blood Lord. To mold him into the champion promised by the prophecy, Enaya will need to forge him as a blacksmith turns a scrap of iron into a sword. Because if he is to fulfill his destiny and put an end to the 1000 year reign of King Desirmor, Sim will need to become a perfectly crafted weapon.
775 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2013
44 people are currently reading
342 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 16, 2015
Sometimes with these self published e-books you come across one and wonder why it was never published as a print edition for a wider audience and for me this was one of those books. I would have to describe this as a classic fantasy and it has all those usual stereotypes: Lost heirs, vague and misleading prophecies, evil wizards (but no dragons yet thankfully - I won't miss them), human like races (both good and bad), sword fights and magic.
At 20 Sim is considered an adult in his society. The son on an innkeeper he's desperate to leave the inn and see the wider world but he really has no idea about how sheltered his life has been deliberately kept and the family secrets which will shortly bring change whether he wants it or not. The novel may start of a little slow for some people but it sets the scene of life before everything changes for the characters without massive infodump back-flashes.
I thought this novel was well written in a world the author has obviously given some thought to and characters that are both interesting and you want to know more about. This is a long book - the page count on amazon is 776 pages - but despite that I kept coming back to it to see how the story would move along. Although the story starts from Sim's point of view it diverges to other characters as it goes along. For some authors this does not work, but it works in this story and if you are after a classic sword and sorcery fantasy for your e-reader this is worth picking up as I know I've easily read worse in commercially produced books. I'd probably give it 4.5 stars if I had the option. Its not perfect but its an excellent first effort and I'll be picking up the sequel "blood lord" when it comes out.
At 20 Sim is considered an adult in his society. The son on an innkeeper he's desperate to leave the inn and see the wider world but he really has no idea about how sheltered his life has been deliberately kept and the family secrets which will shortly bring change whether he wants it or not. The novel may start of a little slow for some people but it sets the scene of life before everything changes for the characters without massive infodump back-flashes.
I thought this novel was well written in a world the author has obviously given some thought to and characters that are both interesting and you want to know more about. This is a long book - the page count on amazon is 776 pages - but despite that I kept coming back to it to see how the story would move along. Although the story starts from Sim's point of view it diverges to other characters as it goes along. For some authors this does not work, but it works in this story and if you are after a classic sword and sorcery fantasy for your e-reader this is worth picking up as I know I've easily read worse in commercially produced books. I'd probably give it 4.5 stars if I had the option. Its not perfect but its an excellent first effort and I'll be picking up the sequel "blood lord" when it comes out.
January 22, 2014
This book is painful. A young man discovers that he is the key to overthrowing an evil king and vows revenge after his parents are murdered. A tired premise but so prevelant in YA fantasy that I couldn't toss this one on that alone. However, I did have to drop this one rather quick because the book just doesn't want to make sense. I won't spoiler-hide anything here because all plot points mentioned occur within the first 15-20% of the book.
The short of it is, the book has numerous inconsistencies, the characters are flat and unintereesting, and the story is absurd. If you want more, then keep reading. If not, please avoid this book.
Our young man, Sim, is some kind of 20-year-old manchild, having grown up in an incredibly sheltered life in order to keep him from being discovered by the evil king? I don't know why two people in charge of the savior of humanity would decide not to even teach their 20-year-old son how to get around in the world, nor survive a bit in the wild, or do anything remotely useful except tend a garden. Maybe they wanted to prevent him from being discovered? Well, that seems reasonable, except they decide to hide him in an inn, one of the only places actively welcoming of outsiders. His would-be parents don't seem to have been the brightest.
So Sim is about as worldy as an eight-year-old, but he's still got a lot of things going for him. Like being an expert swordsman. In one scene, his father asks Sim's trainer why he doesn't practice with the boy anymore, and the trainer's reply? "He's too good." Of course, a battle-hardened veteran is no match anymore for his talented protege, so instead of keeping the boy in practice, maybe increasing the number of opponents, maybe expanding his knowledge of warfare and tactics (useful to the future leader of a rebellion, no?), he gives up because the kid can beat him regularly. In addition, all of his training has been done (to Sim's mind) in secret, which makes me wonder just how much time Sim needed to become so good. I shouldn't wonder much about it because soon we see why Sim is so good: He was born to it.
Sim's talent is chalked up to his Harven heritage, him apparently being from a race of warrior-mages renowned for their prowess. I might be more forgiving of the idea that different races have different gifts (an idea that sees use in all manner of fantasy) if our only real glimpse into this proud race of warrior-mages wasn't this fop.
What is Sim's weapon of choice? Two broadswords. Not a sword and parrying dagger, or a sword and a (heaven forfend) shield, two deadly weapons wielded with expert precision. Dual-wielding is video game, action movie drivel and doesn't make sense in fantasy's trademark Medieval Euro-ish setting. If the novel was an over-the-top action romp, or some kind of pulpy fantasy rag, then I could forgive the dual-wielding thing with a little more than an eye roll, but I can't because this highlights a major issue with this novel: It tells us Sim is heroic not because he's good (he's barely that), but because he can swing two swords really really well. His gift of foresight is apparently not enough to set him apart, not enough to make him a hero, he has this combat prowess which is tacked on and contrary to his insanely ignorant nature.
How ignorant is he? Well, he doesn't know what a trevloc is. "Well, I don't know what a trevloc is either", you might say, and you'd be right. But imagine that your world has dragons that are used as a form of transport, and several of them fly in the next town over. Do you think you'd make it 20 years without even hearing about one? Me neither.
There's much more to be said about this novel just from the first quarter. If you're looking for YA stuff along the same lines, Shae Ford's Harbinger is in the same vein and better written, edited and plotted.
The short of it is, the book has numerous inconsistencies, the characters are flat and unintereesting, and the story is absurd. If you want more, then keep reading. If not, please avoid this book.
Our young man, Sim, is some kind of 20-year-old manchild, having grown up in an incredibly sheltered life in order to keep him from being discovered by the evil king? I don't know why two people in charge of the savior of humanity would decide not to even teach their 20-year-old son how to get around in the world, nor survive a bit in the wild, or do anything remotely useful except tend a garden. Maybe they wanted to prevent him from being discovered? Well, that seems reasonable, except they decide to hide him in an inn, one of the only places actively welcoming of outsiders. His would-be parents don't seem to have been the brightest.
So Sim is about as worldy as an eight-year-old, but he's still got a lot of things going for him. Like being an expert swordsman. In one scene, his father asks Sim's trainer why he doesn't practice with the boy anymore, and the trainer's reply? "He's too good." Of course, a battle-hardened veteran is no match anymore for his talented protege, so instead of keeping the boy in practice, maybe increasing the number of opponents, maybe expanding his knowledge of warfare and tactics (useful to the future leader of a rebellion, no?), he gives up because the kid can beat him regularly. In addition, all of his training has been done (to Sim's mind) in secret, which makes me wonder just how much time Sim needed to become so good. I shouldn't wonder much about it because soon we see why Sim is so good: He was born to it.
Sim's talent is chalked up to his Harven heritage, him apparently being from a race of warrior-mages renowned for their prowess. I might be more forgiving of the idea that different races have different gifts (an idea that sees use in all manner of fantasy) if our only real glimpse into this proud race of warrior-mages wasn't this fop.
What is Sim's weapon of choice? Two broadswords. Not a sword and parrying dagger, or a sword and a (heaven forfend) shield, two deadly weapons wielded with expert precision. Dual-wielding is video game, action movie drivel and doesn't make sense in fantasy's trademark Medieval Euro-ish setting. If the novel was an over-the-top action romp, or some kind of pulpy fantasy rag, then I could forgive the dual-wielding thing with a little more than an eye roll, but I can't because this highlights a major issue with this novel: It tells us Sim is heroic not because he's good (he's barely that), but because he can swing two swords really really well. His gift of foresight is apparently not enough to set him apart, not enough to make him a hero, he has this combat prowess which is tacked on and contrary to his insanely ignorant nature.
How ignorant is he? Well, he doesn't know what a trevloc is. "Well, I don't know what a trevloc is either", you might say, and you'd be right. But imagine that your world has dragons that are used as a form of transport, and several of them fly in the next town over. Do you think you'd make it 20 years without even hearing about one? Me neither.
There's much more to be said about this novel just from the first quarter. If you're looking for YA stuff along the same lines, Shae Ford's Harbinger is in the same vein and better written, edited and plotted.
October 19, 2013
I used to avoid fantasy genre until I accidentally came across this book: okay, "The Innkeeper's Son" sounded more like a traditional English rural setting in its title that I immediately fell in love with the title. At first, it sounded that way until the blodlord's tragic visit. Unfortunately, I was not happy when the adopted parents of our hero were killed. This is a fast-moving and thrilling book: the plot is riveting and characters are well-developed. I just wish that some marriages work the way I like in book 2, such as that girl from the governor's palace who is the whisper. Great read; for anyone looking for a book that will transport them across the fantasy world, this is indeed great. Looking forward to book 2: this book ended while i was not ready.
December 7, 2018
This is the worst book I have ever finished, pure literary garbage. Couldn't have had worse execution if he tried.
I will start with a few of the good things. The storyline itself is actually pretty good. The overall concept is sound, although full of tropes and inconsistency. The characters are well thought out and seem to interact well, if not a little unrealistic. The set up for the future non-existent books is great. That is all folks!
The bad is everything else. There is rape, and that is a bad thing. The biggest issue with the book is that it seems like nobody took the time to screen it. If this book went through several rounds of soft testing and re-writing it would be surprising. I did get the audible version because I had extra credits that I had to use before I lost them, so I didn't read a hard copy to see the editorial mistakes. When you read the book you will find many things inconsistent and unrealistic (even for a world with magic and dragons). The magic system isn't original or unique, it isn't consistent or believable. There seems to be no cost or consequence so why not use it for everything? Oddly enough while there doesn't seem to be any consequences for magical use from anyone else there is one character that does have a limited supply and it is supposed to be the by far strongest character.
Which takes us to the females, they are bad! Real bad! Like furniture that is just there for the enjoyment and comfort of the male characters. The other characters are all shallow and predictable. The bad guys are whole heartedly evil, I mean completely evil, no good in them. The good guys are completely good no bad in them, all willing to die for anyone else with no selfish thought.
*Spoilers* Not really please don't waste your time reading this book!
The worst scene in the book in my opinion is the bizarre strange and useless scene where the ultimate evil wolf man Nevan Pream tracks down and kills some my little ponies that are 10 feet tall with a couple daggers. Yeah he killed a magical intelligent creature that has the ability to become completely invisible, not partial invisibility, or camouflage actually invisible. They for some reason become visible to go and graze, which is completely inconsistent with their own long history (these guys are supposed to have been legendary haven't been seen in 1000 years) even though they must feel exposed and scared when they are visible. Anyway he stalks up on these guys and they don’t notice (yeah they are horses so they have some good senses) then he proceeds to burst out from his cover and incapacitate one with a well-placed swipe of the dagger across its hind legs. Yeah a 10 foot tall horse, with one swipe, down. Then he gets the second one without any resistance because it was spooked by the first one, but it didn’t go invisible which would be most likely the first reaction, and it didn’t run like a real horse. It just sort of stood there and got incapacitated. Then the third one runs first and then stops and comes back and then goes invisible, but it didn’t run away, call for help, or otherwise do something intelligent it goes to attack, and didn’t take him out with one hit. It is completely invisible, it is 10 feet tall likely over 2000 lbs of muscle and it gave him a glancing blow. Any kick from the hind legs of that horse would utterly destroy him. He then takes a wild swipe and scores a good hit that allows him to track and kill the horse. Seriously, it was that easy. He is truly evil like completely, and he likes eating raw hearts. Anyone ever eaten a cooked chicken heart? They are real tough. He proceeds to consume all 3 hearts from 10 foot horses. Do you know how big a horse heart is? How about a Rhino? A rhino heart is approximately 18 pounds so figure these are around 15 and there are 3 so let’s just say 45 pounds or raw meat. He ate all 3 and he wasn’t seen as a large man either. That is some Joey Chestnut stuff right there.
Anyway the whole book is terrible the power inconsistency is appalling.
I know what you are thinking “Why did you finish it?” well a couple reasons. It took me a long time. I would put on the sleep timer on audible and put on my noise canceling headphones, then I would fall asleep within that 10 minutes. I imagine that I did miss some of the book, not a lot, but some. The other reason is because a friend recommended it highly don’t know why, this is a bad book. Apparently the lead character is so isolated (growing up in an inn) that he didn’t even know the 7 basic laws that the world is ran on, or the fact there are dragons. Just sloppy writing, the interactions between the characters are bad as well sometimes. Like they only talk with the book’s dialogue. The females are impulsive, bossy and stuck up, or damaged goods, but they are all beautiful and desirable, and apparently into the main character. There is a fruit that you can eat that makes you immortal forever, and a different one that can make you a good fighter. There is also a god made flesh and she can’t speak or use her power for very long because she will get exhausted, but the main character can use infinite amounts of magic all at once with no repercussions. He was trained when he was a kid with a sword, and then 2 swords and now he can best, or match the best swordsman on the planet (previously mentioned heart eater). All around bad! Not that I think the writer isn’t any good, but it really outlines the need to go through the whole process and not just independently publish a book without any screening. A good idea and concept isn’t the only thing required for a book, you have to put in the time and be open to constructive criticism. I was actually so offended by it that I wanted to do a little research, so I started searching and found a writer’s forum where the author talked to a group that read a portion of the book and got back to him. Well they basically told him several reasons why he should change a few things and they weren’t wrong, then he promptly ignored them.
I will start with a few of the good things. The storyline itself is actually pretty good. The overall concept is sound, although full of tropes and inconsistency. The characters are well thought out and seem to interact well, if not a little unrealistic. The set up for the future non-existent books is great. That is all folks!
The bad is everything else. There is rape, and that is a bad thing. The biggest issue with the book is that it seems like nobody took the time to screen it. If this book went through several rounds of soft testing and re-writing it would be surprising. I did get the audible version because I had extra credits that I had to use before I lost them, so I didn't read a hard copy to see the editorial mistakes. When you read the book you will find many things inconsistent and unrealistic (even for a world with magic and dragons). The magic system isn't original or unique, it isn't consistent or believable. There seems to be no cost or consequence so why not use it for everything? Oddly enough while there doesn't seem to be any consequences for magical use from anyone else there is one character that does have a limited supply and it is supposed to be the by far strongest character.
Which takes us to the females, they are bad! Real bad! Like furniture that is just there for the enjoyment and comfort of the male characters. The other characters are all shallow and predictable. The bad guys are whole heartedly evil, I mean completely evil, no good in them. The good guys are completely good no bad in them, all willing to die for anyone else with no selfish thought.
*Spoilers* Not really please don't waste your time reading this book!
The worst scene in the book in my opinion is the bizarre strange and useless scene where the ultimate evil wolf man Nevan Pream tracks down and kills some my little ponies that are 10 feet tall with a couple daggers. Yeah he killed a magical intelligent creature that has the ability to become completely invisible, not partial invisibility, or camouflage actually invisible. They for some reason become visible to go and graze, which is completely inconsistent with their own long history (these guys are supposed to have been legendary haven't been seen in 1000 years) even though they must feel exposed and scared when they are visible. Anyway he stalks up on these guys and they don’t notice (yeah they are horses so they have some good senses) then he proceeds to burst out from his cover and incapacitate one with a well-placed swipe of the dagger across its hind legs. Yeah a 10 foot tall horse, with one swipe, down. Then he gets the second one without any resistance because it was spooked by the first one, but it didn’t go invisible which would be most likely the first reaction, and it didn’t run like a real horse. It just sort of stood there and got incapacitated. Then the third one runs first and then stops and comes back and then goes invisible, but it didn’t run away, call for help, or otherwise do something intelligent it goes to attack, and didn’t take him out with one hit. It is completely invisible, it is 10 feet tall likely over 2000 lbs of muscle and it gave him a glancing blow. Any kick from the hind legs of that horse would utterly destroy him. He then takes a wild swipe and scores a good hit that allows him to track and kill the horse. Seriously, it was that easy. He is truly evil like completely, and he likes eating raw hearts. Anyone ever eaten a cooked chicken heart? They are real tough. He proceeds to consume all 3 hearts from 10 foot horses. Do you know how big a horse heart is? How about a Rhino? A rhino heart is approximately 18 pounds so figure these are around 15 and there are 3 so let’s just say 45 pounds or raw meat. He ate all 3 and he wasn’t seen as a large man either. That is some Joey Chestnut stuff right there.
Anyway the whole book is terrible the power inconsistency is appalling.
I know what you are thinking “Why did you finish it?” well a couple reasons. It took me a long time. I would put on the sleep timer on audible and put on my noise canceling headphones, then I would fall asleep within that 10 minutes. I imagine that I did miss some of the book, not a lot, but some. The other reason is because a friend recommended it highly don’t know why, this is a bad book. Apparently the lead character is so isolated (growing up in an inn) that he didn’t even know the 7 basic laws that the world is ran on, or the fact there are dragons. Just sloppy writing, the interactions between the characters are bad as well sometimes. Like they only talk with the book’s dialogue. The females are impulsive, bossy and stuck up, or damaged goods, but they are all beautiful and desirable, and apparently into the main character. There is a fruit that you can eat that makes you immortal forever, and a different one that can make you a good fighter. There is also a god made flesh and she can’t speak or use her power for very long because she will get exhausted, but the main character can use infinite amounts of magic all at once with no repercussions. He was trained when he was a kid with a sword, and then 2 swords and now he can best, or match the best swordsman on the planet (previously mentioned heart eater). All around bad! Not that I think the writer isn’t any good, but it really outlines the need to go through the whole process and not just independently publish a book without any screening. A good idea and concept isn’t the only thing required for a book, you have to put in the time and be open to constructive criticism. I was actually so offended by it that I wanted to do a little research, so I started searching and found a writer’s forum where the author talked to a group that read a portion of the book and got back to him. Well they basically told him several reasons why he should change a few things and they weren’t wrong, then he promptly ignored them.
August 23, 2013
Holy crap, that was fun! I really enjoyed this book & I hope the next installment is just as good (no pressure, right?). I rarely, if ever, rate a book this highly. Maybe I'm still riding the adrenaline train but that should tell you a little something too. Good world creation, great characters, awesome job!
February 13, 2018
this book was terrible. the author seems to be fairly immature. the writing reflects this. the story was decent but the characters were inconsistent and lacking in depth. this author depicts women like an inexperienced teenage boy might. maybe with some time and a lot of constructive criticism this author might improve but I would not recommend this book to anyone
May 25, 2016
I enjoyed every minute of it even though Sim can be a bit annoyingly naïve at time he seems like such a nice character and could develop well. I also love Enaya, she can be a right spoilt brat at some points, especially towards Sim, but I can see her becoming better as the book goes on. I really hope there is going to be a sequel.
July 17, 2013
fast moving, riveting plot, can't wait to read the next book in this series. thoroughly engrossing and well written.
June 24, 2013
Awesome book, can't wait for the "The Blood Lord" to come out.
September 3, 2019
It's hard for me to judge this book, because I loved some parts and hated others. But I think I'll give it 4 stars nevertheless.
Sim's story I LOVED, and I kept reading at a fast pace. I kept thinking "wow, I might finally have found a book I can give 5 stars!" I basically devoured the first half of the book. The characters were interesting and flawed, and there were interactions that were very amusing. Sim and the gang I loved, and I would have had no problems reading more.
Main problems: (Spoiler-ish!)
- Time frame: The characters go through soooo much and they bond through hardship, and then you read it's been a week.... Ruined a lot for me.
- The Maehril parts. Yikes. I was bored to death, and they just kept going on and on. I started skimming and jumping over pages. I know she's important to the overall plot, but there is no personality, and I couldn't care less about her. It would have been fine to read a bit about her and her gang, but just a bit, not chapter after chapter.
- The suddenness of meeting a new character and BOOM - talking horses and important destiny. For that idea to work you'd need a totally different approach. Rolled my eyes a lot.
But except from those 3 things, I enjoyed this book a lot, and I definitely will read the next book if/when it's available. Will still be skimming any Maehril parts though, that's for sure.
Sim's story I LOVED, and I kept reading at a fast pace. I kept thinking "wow, I might finally have found a book I can give 5 stars!" I basically devoured the first half of the book. The characters were interesting and flawed, and there were interactions that were very amusing. Sim and the gang I loved, and I would have had no problems reading more.
Main problems: (Spoiler-ish!)
- Time frame: The characters go through soooo much and they bond through hardship, and then you read it's been a week.... Ruined a lot for me.
- The Maehril parts. Yikes. I was bored to death, and they just kept going on and on. I started skimming and jumping over pages. I know she's important to the overall plot, but there is no personality, and I couldn't care less about her. It would have been fine to read a bit about her and her gang, but just a bit, not chapter after chapter.
- The suddenness of meeting a new character and BOOM - talking horses and important destiny. For that idea to work you'd need a totally different approach. Rolled my eyes a lot.
But except from those 3 things, I enjoyed this book a lot, and I definitely will read the next book if/when it's available. Will still be skimming any Maehril parts though, that's for sure.
November 12, 2017
DNF 70% . . . . Started out okay, but I had real trouble being intreated in the characters lives. The extremely naive innkeepers son was too innocent to be believable and then all to quickly became proficient in weapons and life outside the inn where he had never been before. I also didn't like his traveling companions, they were rude, disbelieving and haughty. His mute sister and the man with gills were interesting until they left the water and started fighting creatures in a skirmish around their friends manor after getting fruit from a tree being guarded by unbeatable monsters in a quest that was way too much and actually took me two days to finish reading two chapters. Shortly after I began to realize that I just did not care about any of them and why was I wasting my time reading this crap. There are thousands of books that you could spend your time reading that would be better than this. Good luck!
July 30, 2013
I wanted to like this book, and forced myself to read as far as I did (71%). There were moments where I was entertained, but far too many where the plot seemed to be floundering along. Far too many times the characters would go into an angsty spiral of an inner monologue analyzing their relationships with the other characters, and somehow, despite their backgrounds, they all came off as sarcastic smartasses at times. There is no grey area in this book, you are either a good guy, or completely mindlessly evil.
Descriptions, oh god, the descriptions.. this goes along with the relationships, but way too many pages in this book were plagued with repetitions of how beautiful (or whatever word the thesaurus churned out next) the female characters were.
The characters were very tropey, with the main character "Sim" being the stereotypical sheltered hero, superman type. Yet despite his sheltered background, he seems to only need a couple information gaps filled before being a completely adept man of the streets, giving advice to all of those around him. In reality he would be like a homeschooled child, pretty socially stunted.
Other than a certain pair of characters, who aren't even the main group, I couldn't find any of the characters likeable. The author jumped back and forth constantly, showing different points of view from pretty much every character that was even named in the book, and as the book went onward it got worse and worse. Actually it got to the point where i'd only read a paragraph before putting it down for the night.
I probably could have made it to the end, if it weren't for
Descriptions, oh god, the descriptions.. this goes along with the relationships, but way too many pages in this book were plagued with repetitions of how beautiful (or whatever word the thesaurus churned out next) the female characters were.
The characters were very tropey, with the main character "Sim" being the stereotypical sheltered hero, superman type. Yet despite his sheltered background, he seems to only need a couple information gaps filled before being a completely adept man of the streets, giving advice to all of those around him. In reality he would be like a homeschooled child, pretty socially stunted.
Other than a certain pair of characters, who aren't even the main group, I couldn't find any of the characters likeable. The author jumped back and forth constantly, showing different points of view from pretty much every character that was even named in the book, and as the book went onward it got worse and worse. Actually it got to the point where i'd only read a paragraph before putting it down for the night.
I probably could have made it to the end, if it weren't for
September 22, 2014
Great listen. Long winded, but great.
Love the complexity, the growth of most of the characters, the joking and banter.
I think the book could've done with a good editing as there's lots of unnecessary babble and repetitiveness, but overall I can't wait for the next one.
One of my fav reads of the year!
Love the complexity, the growth of most of the characters, the joking and banter.
I think the book could've done with a good editing as there's lots of unnecessary babble and repetitiveness, but overall I can't wait for the next one.
One of my fav reads of the year!
January 19, 2014
A good beginning novel. Slightly concerned with the scope of the series. I wonder if the author will be able to fInish what he started or start a Game of Thrones situation on the readers.
I enjoyed the characters and the world created. He tends to superpower some of them from time to time.
I enjoyed the characters and the world created. He tends to superpower some of them from time to time.
July 22, 2013
A wonderful Fantasy story. I shouldn't have taken as long as I did in reading this, but I'm glad I finally did. It's full of the familiar as well as the fresh. Really a fun book to read.
October 8, 2013
This is dreadful. It is riddled with significant errors throughout. The grammar is woeful, the characters are poorly rendered, the plot brings nothing new to the genre. Avoid.
December 20, 2020
good for preteens, but often overstating character emotions, tiring men vs women commentary, and simple storyline
January 3, 2014
I loved this book. Right from the start I was hooked. Riveting story and great characters. I can't wait for the next book to come out.
March 15, 2015
Interesting plot with some unique creatures and conflicts.
January 8, 2016
I really enjoyed this book and an (not so patiently) awaiting the second.
February 1, 2017
I haven't finished the book but from what Ive read I think this could have been a great story except the main character Sim is annoyingly naive to the point of it being unrealistic and it gets quite annoying. he also pretty much cant think for himself you practically have to spell everything out for him or he doesn't understand and then right when you think "thank god! hes finally got it" 10 pages later hes totally forgotten the revelation he made earlier and we're back at the beginning. And all of this would be understandable if he was a child or even a teenager but hes supposed to be 21 years old at the start of the story, but from the way he is portrayed in the story you would think he is no older then 11 or 12.
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