Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Fear of Death: Volume 1

Fear of Death: Volume 1 (Flares Of Serinor, #1)Fear of Death: Volume 1 by J.R. Dimesiss
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The world of Serinor is a dangerous place filled with magic. Even in places such as these people try to live their lives. Army Cadet Daas lives a split life and does so with honor despite the shadow of death never far from him. Clora too has death creeping nearer. She'll do what it takes to survive, even though she may not know how.

My first thought after finishing Fear of Death: Volume 1 is that so much feels disconnected. The books description gives the picture of a more cohesive story than the book tells. The rising danger is described in Interludes that appear to have no impact on Daas and Clora's stories. Daas and Clora are the main point of view characters and their stories are entirely separate. If they didn't both live on the continent of Serinor, I'd say there was no reason for them to both be part of the book. I don't think I've read a book with point of view characters that don't appear to impact one another at all after the first book. There's not even a hint that they may cross over as the book concluded.

Fear of Death mostly revolved around dialogue. The characters talk to a lot of people and the world expands through the dialogue. There are a few interesting moments of magic being on display and people being engaged in battle, but otherwise it's mostly just talking.

The point of view characters had some personality. Daas is serious, studious, and polite. He's an Army cadet who enjoys to read which seems to be an oddity in his world. Unfortunately for him, he has a secret that threatens to end his life if it's ever revealed. Cora is curious, uneducated, and vulnerable. She's lived a hard life in her short time being alive. Cora had been a captive and is determined not to go back to that life.

Fear of Death: Volume 1 is a story with some potential. I can't tell where the story is going, but in a bad way. Much of the tale felt aimless which is not a good thing for a first book. I'm mildly curious to see how the story progresses.

2.5 out of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

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Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Shorefall

Shorefall (The Founders Trilogy, #2)Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sancia and her friends despite the odds, saved Tevanne and themselves from destruction. Three years later their firm Foundryside is trying to change Tevanne for the better by sharing scriving with everyone...and stealing it from the Campos when necessary. After the one of their most ambitious capers, Sancia gets a warning. Someone is attempting to revive one of the hierophants and Sancia and her friends hold the only chance of stopping it from happening. Hierophants are people who through their immense scriving ability, have convinced the world they are gods. Sancia and her friends must not fail. If they do, who can stop a god?

Shorefall is a book where the pace never seems to let up. After the opening sequence, we go from one disaster to the next. Each one seemingly worse than the one before it. It had a magical mission impossible sort of feel to it.

I have to admit that I forgot everything about Foundryside except Sancia, Orso, Clef, and scriving. I'd recommend rereading Foundryside before picking up Shorefall for that reason. Robert Bennet Jackson doesn't take time to slow down or go over much that happened in the previous book either. I really appreciate that generally, I just didn't remember much about the first book.

The book's main theme seemed to be the perils of human nature. Various characters pontificated on how every new technology eventually gets used to hurt people. The fact that the weak and needy suffer while the vile thrive. Three different groups were trying to change the world for the better, but none could agree what would truly change things for the better. That was largely what fueled the conflict.

I did appreciate the relationships between the Foundryside gang. Orso with his fatherly relationship with Berenice was especially touching. Gregor and Sancia wanting to belong and finally feeling as though they did. Sancia and Berenice's relationship was the backbone of the book.

Overall I enjoyed Shorefall and I'm curious to see how the series concludes.

3.5 out of 5 stars

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Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Arcanist Fables

Arcanist Fables (Frith Chronicles, #5.5)Arcanist Fables by Shami Stovall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

War is coming thanks to the Second Ascension and the birth of new god creatures. Members of the Frith Guild and the Second Ascension are making their preparations for the battles to come and the book shows those preparations from their prospectives.

First and foremost, if you expect to see or learn anything new about Volke Savan prepare to be disappointed. Volke is mentioned, but no notable information about him is discussed. With that being said, the book is incredibly illuminating in regards to the Second Ascension. I'd mention details, but they are all significant spoilers.

Arcanist Fables isn't quite what I expected. On a plus we do have multiple point of view characters including Illia, Adelgis aka Moonbeam, Calisto, Hexa, the Kirin arcanist Orwyn Tellia, Everett Zelfree, new characters Ezril Rivers and The Keeper of Corpses, Fain, Ryker Blackwater, Mathis Weaversong (Luthair's first arcanist), and Rhys. The downside is the stories aren't all told directly after the book World Serpent. Many of the stories take place during World Serpent and some are before it. I was hoping for more current information on the characters, but that's a mixed bag with this book. The majority of the stories that happened during or before World Serpent didn't feel that worthwhile, but those that happened afterwards did provide some interesting prospectives and information.

The majority of the characters behave just the way you would expect. I was not a fan of Ryker. I hope he's not whining all the time moving forward. Ezril Rivers and the Keeper of Corpses were an unexpected plus. It will be interesting to see what the story has for them moving forward. Though not being a point of view characters, we learn a lot more about Theasin Venrover and the Autarch. Everett Zelfree's opinion of Theasin continues to be proven correct over time. Theasin is a particularly vile individual. I hope we learn more about the Autarch as he's far more complex than the outright villain Theasin.

Arcanist Fables was a solid story and seem to be necessary reading for those who plan to continue the series.

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Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Dragon Mage

Dragon Mage (Rivenworld, #1)Dragon Mage by M.L. Spencer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Aramon Raythe is an outcast in his own hometown. Something about him is different than others and he's ridiculed for it as a result. Little does he know that something old and powerful stirs within him. Something strong enough to save the world.

Dragon Mage is an ok young adult story. It has some fresh takes to it in it's magic system that involves seeing colorful auras, knots, and beings impervious to magic. The story is one filled with emotions as nearly every characters emotions seem to be described throughout.

This story felt like 4-5 young adult stories in one book. It has 99 chapters, not counting the prologue and epilogue, and it is almost 1,000 pages long. I respect the fact the author is giving the reader a lot of content for their money, but I don't know that it helped the story. I didn't feel the story was so compelling that I wanted to read so much of it in a single read. I was initially drawn in by the boy who seemed to be on the autism spectrum and was referred to as a true savant. He couldn't express himself well through words, he has obvious idiosyncrasies, he's obsessed with knots, and he has no friends. I found that kid interesting. I loved him finally making a friend in Markus and meeting Master Ebra the traveling bard. There are many heartwarming moments like Master Ebra telling Aram's mother:
"Your boy's not simple, ma'am. Aram is very smart. He just sees the world a bit differently than the rest of us."


The story falls heavily into tropes from there. Deadly mistakes are made, the first of many life threatening injuries are dealt, and nothing will ever be the same again. When I say many life threatening injuries, I mean I have never seen a character so often near death yet never seems to suffer any true long term physical issues because of it. We have villains with unclear motives and some who only want power. The bad guys initially seemed to have good reason until we learn that's simply untrue.

I also want to note that the term Dragon Mage is never used in any part of the book. On top of that, a lot of people use dragons in the book so the dragon aspect isn't all that special.

I was also disappointed at the way the final battle was handled. I don't wish to spoil it, but it took me a few pages to realize a certain character had died. It was surprising consider the significance of the role the character played throughout. I also didn't care for the development that the story didn't foreshadow whatsoever.

To be fair, Dragon Mage may simply not have been the best choice for me. I don't really care for young adult books and I didn't realize this book was 100% young adult.

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