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Bronze League #3
Djinn Tamer: Evolution
Welcome to the big leagues.
It’s time to crown a champion. It’s time to evolve.
Jackson Hunt has spent countless hours training his team of monsters and battling rivals as an up and coming Djinn tamer. All his hard work, the stunning wins, and heartbreaking losses lead to one place: the league playoffs.
But what got Jackson where he is won’t be enough to take him to the top.
As the season draws to a close, Jackson and his friends find themselves far away from the stadiums and crowds, searching for a means to take his Djinn to the next level. The strength he seeks lies in a remote, untamed corner of the world, where myth and legend walk hand in hand.
Competition for the championship will be fierce and the dangers of the wild are only the beginning. Is Jackson ready for the biggest battle of his young career?
Skills will be tested, new powers unleashed. Victory won’t come without a cost.
Evolution is the third book in Djinn Tamer, a monster battling, GameLit adventure series.
It’s time to crown a champion. It’s time to evolve.
Jackson Hunt has spent countless hours training his team of monsters and battling rivals as an up and coming Djinn tamer. All his hard work, the stunning wins, and heartbreaking losses lead to one place: the league playoffs.
But what got Jackson where he is won’t be enough to take him to the top.
As the season draws to a close, Jackson and his friends find themselves far away from the stadiums and crowds, searching for a means to take his Djinn to the next level. The strength he seeks lies in a remote, untamed corner of the world, where myth and legend walk hand in hand.
Competition for the championship will be fierce and the dangers of the wild are only the beginning. Is Jackson ready for the biggest battle of his young career?
Skills will be tested, new powers unleashed. Victory won’t come without a cost.
Evolution is the third book in Djinn Tamer, a monster battling, GameLit adventure series.
- GenresFantasy
510 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 20, 2019
43 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Derek Alan Siddoway
28 books119 followersDerek Alan Siddoway is the author of Teutevar Saga, a medieval western/frontier fantasy series, and Gryphon Riders, a young adult fantasy trilogy. He was born and raised in the American West at the foot of the Uinta Mountains. An Undaunted and Everyday Author, Derek spends his free time reading, obsessively filling notebooks, adventuring outdoors and celebrating small victories. He's also a sucker for Star Wars and football, namely the University of Utah and Minnesota Vikings.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 8, 2023
Really good book. Can't wait for the silver league and to find out what happened to Jackson's mom!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2019
Flawed execution of a good story
I came for the monster battles, but ended up getting too much teenage angst.
The only complaint I have about the book is that Jackson seems to be sliding back to the Book 1 behaviour vs. the Book 2 development. The point that really clinched it for me was when in the space of two pages, he went flippity, then floppity and then back to flippity. With the well thought out and emotionally laden decision of the first flippity.
This led me to come out the conclusion that those situations were there to get the story from point A to point B and B to C and etc.
Now, you might be thinking, why the 4 stars? The battles were really fun and the first trilogy story had a very fulfilling conclusion.
I came for the monster battles, but ended up getting too much teenage angst.
The only complaint I have about the book is that Jackson seems to be sliding back to the Book 1 behaviour vs. the Book 2 development. The point that really clinched it for me was when in the space of two pages, he went flippity, then floppity and then back to flippity. With the well thought out and emotionally laden decision of the first flippity.
This led me to come out the conclusion that those situations were there to get the story from point A to point B and B to C and etc.
Now, you might be thinking, why the 4 stars? The battles were really fun and the first trilogy story had a very fulfilling conclusion.
July 17, 2020
Excellent final chapter to the Bronze League series. Some mysteries opened up, lots of character growth and some new Djinn. Bring on the Silver Leagues.
February 12, 2024
Hope we get to see silver league soon!
May 25, 2022
Great end to the first arc about Jackson Hunt, but I do have some quibbles:
The various djinn-elements and their strengths/weaknesses are way too simplistic. "Earth" for example contains both djinn that have affinity for plants and those that actually have affinity for the earth element. These are all weak to the fire element which is completely nonsensical in the case of actual earth djinn. In the "water" element there is also ice-djinn, but because they are in the water element they are strong against fire-djinn, despite the fact that actual ice really doesn't handle fire all that well. There has also been a case of a lightning attack, I don't know whether this counts as wind or water type, but it doesn't fit in either case. This simplified element-situation also leads to unfortunate situations with dualtype djinns because apparently djinn take normal damage from their own element, which means that the dualtypes often end up being weak against one of their own elements, or just being weak against half the elements in existence! A fire/flying djinn will take extra damage from both earth and water attacks, and yet will also be able to deal extra damage to both. A fire/earth djinn, like Asena, will take extra damage from water (because fire) and from FIRE (because earth). That's right, a fire djinn that takes extra damage from fire - wow.This is conveniently forgotten throughout the story, however, as Asena seems to be treated as only a fire djinn except when she has to use her earth elemental abilities.. Another weird inconsistency is that Asena sometimes uses an ability named "Call of the Wild" despite it never being mentioned in her movepool. I'm going to stop here, but some more time should really have gone into fleshing out the element-system as it really does get in the way of an otherwise great story. Also, the focus on stats and levels and xp is a little much and also gets in the way.
Despite this, I really did enjoy the story and when the Silver League arrives I will stand ready.
The various djinn-elements and their strengths/weaknesses are way too simplistic. "Earth" for example contains both djinn that have affinity for plants and those that actually have affinity for the earth element. These are all weak to the fire element which is completely nonsensical in the case of actual earth djinn. In the "water" element there is also ice-djinn, but because they are in the water element they are strong against fire-djinn, despite the fact that actual ice really doesn't handle fire all that well. There has also been a case of a lightning attack, I don't know whether this counts as wind or water type, but it doesn't fit in either case. This simplified element-situation also leads to unfortunate situations with dualtype djinns because apparently djinn take normal damage from their own element, which means that the dualtypes often end up being weak against one of their own elements, or just being weak against half the elements in existence! A fire/flying djinn will take extra damage from both earth and water attacks, and yet will also be able to deal extra damage to both. A fire/earth djinn, like Asena, will take extra damage from water (because fire) and from FIRE (because earth). That's right, a fire djinn that takes extra damage from fire - wow.This is conveniently forgotten throughout the story, however, as Asena seems to be treated as only a fire djinn except when she has to use her earth elemental abilities.. Another weird inconsistency is that Asena sometimes uses an ability named "Call of the Wild" despite it never being mentioned in her movepool. I'm going to stop here, but some more time should really have gone into fleshing out the element-system as it really does get in the way of an otherwise great story. Also, the focus on stats and levels and xp is a little much and also gets in the way.
Despite this, I really did enjoy the story and when the Silver League arrives I will stand ready.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2020
Top of the Bronze
The third book in Djinn Tamer: Bronze League starts a little bit after the 2nd book. The Bronze league season is almost over. It starts with the Fab Four being interviewed. The Fab Four came out of regionals and were already solidified in the Bronze tournament.
Jackson has one match left before the end of the season. He is already in the playoffs but the person he is matched against has a chance to make the playoffs if he wins. Jackson thinks it will be an easy match and to end the season on a win will be easy.
After the regular season ends, the tamers get a week off and must attend a gala. Jackson must get fitted for a tux. He and Kay head out to get the tux. This might be the last time he sees Kay for a while since she will be going to school to be a Djinn doctor. Jackson also finds out that Asena is close to evolving but she doesn’t evolve like other Djinns. He decides to take her to the island where the last of her wild kind are protected to either evolve her or use special rocks to let her level up without evolving.
The third book in Djinn Tamer: Bronze League starts a little bit after the 2nd book. The Bronze league season is almost over. It starts with the Fab Four being interviewed. The Fab Four came out of regionals and were already solidified in the Bronze tournament.
Jackson has one match left before the end of the season. He is already in the playoffs but the person he is matched against has a chance to make the playoffs if he wins. Jackson thinks it will be an easy match and to end the season on a win will be easy.
After the regular season ends, the tamers get a week off and must attend a gala. Jackson must get fitted for a tux. He and Kay head out to get the tux. This might be the last time he sees Kay for a while since she will be going to school to be a Djinn doctor. Jackson also finds out that Asena is close to evolving but she doesn’t evolve like other Djinns. He decides to take her to the island where the last of her wild kind are protected to either evolve her or use special rocks to let her level up without evolving.
August 10, 2019
Good continuation
This was another good story in the series maybe could do with a it more editing i feel with word choices and i felt some of it wsmas a little obvious but as always the characters and new Djinn helped keep the story evolving so i would still look at the next book.
This was another good story in the series maybe could do with a it more editing i feel with word choices and i felt some of it wsmas a little obvious but as always the characters and new Djinn helped keep the story evolving so i would still look at the next book.
May 12, 2022
Really is great an I am starting to wish this was what Pokemon had been. Not just the games, the books never covered as much real world take.
Moving to just this book. The authors have done a great job making each book unique and not just a refreshing of the other books.
Moving to just this book. The authors have done a great job making each book unique and not just a refreshing of the other books.
August 14, 2020
Good continuation to the story - action is great, and the Djinn are varied and interesting. Looking forwards to the next installment!
March 31, 2021
This was the best book of the series. Got away from the arenas a bit and shook up the scenery. Fun tournament end, great reveal and cliffhanger to finish! 👍🏽👍🏽
January 10, 2025
Good story, but author needs a better editor/proofreader. I spotted at least 4 different typos
February 9, 2020
It is a very rare occurrence when an author comes up with a subject matter I haven't touched on before. Meet my recent rare occurrence.
I am not a gamer, I don't know much of anything about D&D or Pokemon or anything remotely like that nor did I ever have an interest...before. But this series, so very different from the usual UF, PNR and Fantasy I've been reading the past few years, has completely captured my attention and imagination. I mean, how cool is it to be able to create "monsters" out of combinations of regular animals or animals and nature? For instance, how would you picture a Volcanogre? Or a Trollava? How about a Fenkit or Aquestria? For me, the great thing is I get to picture them pretty much as I please. Yes, there's a description, usually, but that doesn't stop my imagination from coming up with my own version of these creatures. And who knew my imagination was so wild and vivid? I am just loving this!
Jackson, Kay, Fiona and Briggs once again take us on a wild ride through the world of Djinn Taming. Now, these aren't Djinn as you'd normally think of them. They aren't beings trapped in a bottle that will grant you three wishes when released. They aren't the creatures Supernatural came up with that had blue running through their veins when they pushed their false memories into you while feeding on your fears. No, these Djinn are "monsters" (and I put it in quotations because I don't really see them as monsters so much as different animals in the wild) that when tamed are partners in competitions, capable of bonding with their owners, gaining in abilities, having elemental powers and various different "tricks" given their natures. And crazy as they may seem in your head while picturing them, somehow they all end up loveable.
Jackson has his own Djinn that he's tamed, and that he's entered into the competitions known as the League competitions. Right now he's going for champion of the third level of League known as the Bronze League. Much like the Olympics, there are 3 levels. Bronze, Silver and Gold, Gold being the highest level to achieve among Tamers. Jackson's Djinn are Asena, a rare Lyote, and Scrappy, evolved from a Magglecaw to a Scoundrook. They are more than just his tools to gain the Bronze League championship. They are his buddies. And he loves them. And it's the sweetest relationships you could ever want to witness. Any animal lover would be over the moon with this variation of a boy and his dogs. It's just too touching for words. It also doesn't hurt that Asena was a gift from his missing (dead?) Mom for his twelfth birthday that he didn't find until he was much older. She was cherished for that reason alone. But Asena is also very dog-like, which makes her that much easier to bond with.
Now that Jackson has reached the level where he can compete for the Bronze League championship, of course much adversity comes into play. That I won't tell you about because I don't do spoilers. You have to read it to find out what trials he has to go through just to compete. But I promise you, it's exciting and adventurous and equal amounts fun and touching.
If you're a fan of things like D&D or Pokemon, you'll love this. You'll certainly understand quite a bit more than I did at first. Even if you've never read or participated in anything D&D, you'll love this. It is definitely YA. Definitely adventure-filled. Definitely UF. It has a touch of PNR (although no paranormal is involved. Is there a UR? Urban Romance?) and a touch of Epic Fantasy (although the world is definitely Earth as we know it, but a bit futuristic). I'd even go so far as to say it has some SciFi in it as well. And it is all amazing.
I don't know any other way to say this except, Amazingly done, Joseph (AJ) and Derek! Absolutely, Wonderfully Amazingly done, indeed! On the edge of my seat awaiting book 4! You guys blow me away with every new addition to this exceptional series!
I received this as an ARC, for which I am grateful. However, this review is wholly in my own words and of my own volition. But more than that, regardless of how I initially received it, I intend to purchase it simply because I want to.
I am not a gamer, I don't know much of anything about D&D or Pokemon or anything remotely like that nor did I ever have an interest...before. But this series, so very different from the usual UF, PNR and Fantasy I've been reading the past few years, has completely captured my attention and imagination. I mean, how cool is it to be able to create "monsters" out of combinations of regular animals or animals and nature? For instance, how would you picture a Volcanogre? Or a Trollava? How about a Fenkit or Aquestria? For me, the great thing is I get to picture them pretty much as I please. Yes, there's a description, usually, but that doesn't stop my imagination from coming up with my own version of these creatures. And who knew my imagination was so wild and vivid? I am just loving this!
Jackson, Kay, Fiona and Briggs once again take us on a wild ride through the world of Djinn Taming. Now, these aren't Djinn as you'd normally think of them. They aren't beings trapped in a bottle that will grant you three wishes when released. They aren't the creatures Supernatural came up with that had blue running through their veins when they pushed their false memories into you while feeding on your fears. No, these Djinn are "monsters" (and I put it in quotations because I don't really see them as monsters so much as different animals in the wild) that when tamed are partners in competitions, capable of bonding with their owners, gaining in abilities, having elemental powers and various different "tricks" given their natures. And crazy as they may seem in your head while picturing them, somehow they all end up loveable.
Jackson has his own Djinn that he's tamed, and that he's entered into the competitions known as the League competitions. Right now he's going for champion of the third level of League known as the Bronze League. Much like the Olympics, there are 3 levels. Bronze, Silver and Gold, Gold being the highest level to achieve among Tamers. Jackson's Djinn are Asena, a rare Lyote, and Scrappy, evolved from a Magglecaw to a Scoundrook. They are more than just his tools to gain the Bronze League championship. They are his buddies. And he loves them. And it's the sweetest relationships you could ever want to witness. Any animal lover would be over the moon with this variation of a boy and his dogs. It's just too touching for words. It also doesn't hurt that Asena was a gift from his missing (dead?) Mom for his twelfth birthday that he didn't find until he was much older. She was cherished for that reason alone. But Asena is also very dog-like, which makes her that much easier to bond with.
Now that Jackson has reached the level where he can compete for the Bronze League championship, of course much adversity comes into play. That I won't tell you about because I don't do spoilers. You have to read it to find out what trials he has to go through just to compete. But I promise you, it's exciting and adventurous and equal amounts fun and touching.
If you're a fan of things like D&D or Pokemon, you'll love this. You'll certainly understand quite a bit more than I did at first. Even if you've never read or participated in anything D&D, you'll love this. It is definitely YA. Definitely adventure-filled. Definitely UF. It has a touch of PNR (although no paranormal is involved. Is there a UR? Urban Romance?) and a touch of Epic Fantasy (although the world is definitely Earth as we know it, but a bit futuristic). I'd even go so far as to say it has some SciFi in it as well. And it is all amazing.
I don't know any other way to say this except, Amazingly done, Joseph (AJ) and Derek! Absolutely, Wonderfully Amazingly done, indeed! On the edge of my seat awaiting book 4! You guys blow me away with every new addition to this exceptional series!
I received this as an ARC, for which I am grateful. However, this review is wholly in my own words and of my own volition. But more than that, regardless of how I initially received it, I intend to purchase it simply because I want to.
July 23, 2024
We've made it to the final book in the first Djinn Tamer series, as Jackson has made it to the Bronze League and must work hard with his team to try getting to the top and move on to the Silver League.
Honestly, this book was such a mixed bag. I'd say it's arguably the weakest of the trilogy for one simple reason, that being the trip to those islands, including the parts with Jackson and Fiona marooned together in one of the islands. It goes on for a very long stretch. The book really dragged in these parts, most of it was wandering around not doing much of anything but, well, wandering around and talking. The villains were way too obvious and not really threatening, and the whole trip was because Jackson was afraid of Asena's personality changing if she evolved, which she was very near to doing, and thus they were trying to find a special stone that could let her get stronger without evolving. This carries the plot for quite some time, yet by the end of this plotline, the whole thing was rendered moot anyway, so it honestly felt rather pointless, and this part of the story stemmed in part from Jackson being an idiot like he was in the first book. Plus the book has a rather small cast, especially when compared to the last book, which had too big a cast. Some characters barely appear, and some don't appear at all, including one of my favorites.
There were also quite a number of grammar mistakes throughout the story, which now seems par for the course for the series. Plus there was an inconsistency with a bird species of Djinn, as in the Djinncyclopedia pictures I got with the first book, it stated that this Djinn's Intermediate form is called Falcador and the Advanced form is called Avialcon, but then in this book, they completely reverse those, with the Avialcon being the Intermediate and the Falcador the Advanced. So, which is it? But the weakest aspect of the book for me was the romance. I've already spoken about my personal disdain for teen romance, and said disdain continued with this book's take on it, what with Jackson's sudden crush on Fiona that kept popping up again and again, often at quite inopportune times. It wasn't engaging at all and just padded out the book even more, making it longer than it would have been, so you bet I was relieved when the romance storyline eventually just got dropped.
When the book is not dealing with the whole thing about Jackson worrying himself to near death about Asena evolving or the tiresome teenage romance, that's when the book is quite good. There are exciting encounters with wild Djinn, Jackson manages to capture a very cool new member for his team, and the Djinn battles we get to see in general are very good, engaging and well thought out. The supporting cast such as Kay, Cassius and Jane are all in fine form as well. The final tournament for the Bronze League championship is done in an original way compared to the usual monster battling tournament style, making it quite refreshing and interesing, and the conclusion to all the battling is very satisfying. Not sure how I feel about that cliffhanger ending, but I'll remain optimistic.
While probably the weakest of the trilogy, it was not a bad book, it just could have been better. The bad points are rather egregious, but on the other hand, the good points are quite strong. So, I'll be looking forward to seeing how the Silver League starts and develops, how Jackson's team grows, what the supporting cast does and how they develop as well, and hopefully seeing familiar faces again.
Honestly, this book was such a mixed bag. I'd say it's arguably the weakest of the trilogy for one simple reason, that being the trip to those islands, including the parts with Jackson and Fiona marooned together in one of the islands. It goes on for a very long stretch. The book really dragged in these parts, most of it was wandering around not doing much of anything but, well, wandering around and talking. The villains were way too obvious and not really threatening, and the whole trip was because Jackson was afraid of Asena's personality changing if she evolved, which she was very near to doing, and thus they were trying to find a special stone that could let her get stronger without evolving. This carries the plot for quite some time, yet by the end of this plotline, the whole thing was rendered moot anyway, so it honestly felt rather pointless, and this part of the story stemmed in part from Jackson being an idiot like he was in the first book. Plus the book has a rather small cast, especially when compared to the last book, which had too big a cast. Some characters barely appear, and some don't appear at all, including one of my favorites.
There were also quite a number of grammar mistakes throughout the story, which now seems par for the course for the series. Plus there was an inconsistency with a bird species of Djinn, as in the Djinncyclopedia pictures I got with the first book, it stated that this Djinn's Intermediate form is called Falcador and the Advanced form is called Avialcon, but then in this book, they completely reverse those, with the Avialcon being the Intermediate and the Falcador the Advanced. So, which is it? But the weakest aspect of the book for me was the romance. I've already spoken about my personal disdain for teen romance, and said disdain continued with this book's take on it, what with Jackson's sudden crush on Fiona that kept popping up again and again, often at quite inopportune times. It wasn't engaging at all and just padded out the book even more, making it longer than it would have been, so you bet I was relieved when the romance storyline eventually just got dropped.
When the book is not dealing with the whole thing about Jackson worrying himself to near death about Asena evolving or the tiresome teenage romance, that's when the book is quite good. There are exciting encounters with wild Djinn, Jackson manages to capture a very cool new member for his team, and the Djinn battles we get to see in general are very good, engaging and well thought out. The supporting cast such as Kay, Cassius and Jane are all in fine form as well. The final tournament for the Bronze League championship is done in an original way compared to the usual monster battling tournament style, making it quite refreshing and interesing, and the conclusion to all the battling is very satisfying. Not sure how I feel about that cliffhanger ending, but I'll remain optimistic.
While probably the weakest of the trilogy, it was not a bad book, it just could have been better. The bad points are rather egregious, but on the other hand, the good points are quite strong. So, I'll be looking forward to seeing how the Silver League starts and develops, how Jackson's team grows, what the supporting cast does and how they develop as well, and hopefully seeing familiar faces again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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