Cody

Usually when I pick up a book that very clearly focuses on a love story it ends up falling into horrible cliched traps that prevent them from being together. The author, seemingly fully aware of this fact loves to tease you with other novel's shortcomings. That being said its not just a cute little love story but also has a great fantasy setting. The story focuses on four youths forced into leadership while desperately trying to understand their awakening magic.

This is a great light read and I will be picking up book two.

Every once and awhile you'll notice a blatant editing error in an audiobook, one particular memorable one the narrator started talking to someone mid reading.

Anyway, usually I only notice one per 10 books and it's more entertaining than annoying.

3/4 of the way through this book and there have been at least 15. Not only are there sections where the narrator messes up the reading and starts over on the section he was in, but there are times when hes in the wrong 'voice' for what character is talking. The narrator also restarts the dialogue in these spots. Sometimes the timbre of the voice would change as well, as if a different mic or the acoustics changed.

Obviously no ones going to read 8-40 hours of a book and make no mistakes, but clearly this was not edited, or it was done very poorly.

I can't believe I've never heard Matthews before.I was absolutely hooked after the first, I listened to the entire set on audible in one week.

Word play combined with some crazy well crafted diction make the characters in this series shine. Point of view flies between almost every character your ever introduced to, you get to see conversations played through every participant. Trust me you'll get to a point where you can't wait to hear whats going on in the heads of the main characters.

The publish summary doesn't really let you know what you can expect. This series deals with torture, enslavement, genocide, and corruption on a galactic scale. There is a lot of scenes that may turn people off to the series. I guess steer clear if you've got a weak stomach for graphic detail.

Downside is the most recent in the series isn't on audible yet, and considering it's been 7 years since it came out I'm not sure you'll ever get a real conclusion to the series.

There's not much to say, this book is easily my favorite of the series. Author and narrator have done a superb job. Much of the book gives you another point of view to many of the events in book two, and tries to explain and justify the great betrayal.

The last 10 minutes of the book will have you gripping your chair in anticipation. I warn you now that after you read the last sentence you will curse Peter V. Brett for making you wait for book four.

After listening to Neal Asher's Spatterjay series I frequently check to see if any of his other works have been released.

Finally to my great satisfaction this showed up in my search results.

This is a revenge story where the Earth itself shakes at one man's fury. I can't really say much else about the plot without spoilers.

You'll notice the book has two narrators. Don't fret though, one of them only reads the intro's to each chapter in a documentary style diction. The other brings the story to life.

I think the worst part of this book is knowing you're going to have to wait for the rest of the series.

At the time of writing this review I have also read "King of Thorns", its sequel.

I will say this series is one of the most fun I've read in awhile. Who doesn't enjoy a good revenge story? The main character is the very definition of an antihero. His actions are unpredictable, morally suspect, and deviously genius. Not only do we have a great main character, but an excellent supporting cast.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this series, I really think you will enjoy it.

This is the second Czerneda novel I've read, the first being a Thousand Words for Stranger. Having said that I can't see myself ever picking up the rest of either of their respective series.

Czerneda has an absolutely fantastic imagination, the worlds she creates are most impressive. The problem is I can't stand the characters she places in them. She has some of the most absolutely one sided characters I have ever read about. Her villains are the absolute worst of the bunch. Having a 'bad' villain really just kills the entire story for me. It surprises me to no end how she has consistently let me down and how I kept reading on despite this. This will be the last book of her's I will read.

Luci Christian Bell was an excellent narrator and I wouldn't hesitate listening to her again.

I'll preface my review by saying I haven't read the rest of the series yet, but I'll be purchasing book two right after I submit this review.

This is a very raw and gritty story. It's not a pretty one either. If you've read Stephen R. Donaldson before, see Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, you'll know he doesn't shy away from uncomfortable topics. Rape, physical and mental torment, and questioning the grey area sanity are all things he exposes the reader to and this "short" novel contains them all.

You won't feel comfortable listening to portions of this book but I do think you will come to the same conclusion I have. If this book's quality is indicative of the series to come I think you're going to be in for a great ride.

Scott Brick's narration as always was great, no complaints there.

Considering I've now listened five of the six books that Audible has of this series you could say I've enjoyed it.

The series follows the life of Bren Cameron in his role as a translator, ambassador, and diplomat. Cherryh does an excellent job of creating a complex character in Bren. The plot of the series isn't overly complex, and the main body of the plot is in the details. You get a really personal look at Bren and all the stressors in his life; family, job, and identity.

While there is some fast paced action, the truly interesting stuff is seeing how Bren will react to all kinds of provocations in his role as a diplomat.

My only complaint is Cherryh loves to set up vast conspiracies and mysteries only to solve them in the last 45 minutes of a 15-18 hour novel, followed by little to no conclusion. Then when you pick up the next book she skips ahead a few years and slowly fills in the story of what happened after the last novel. It isn't a horrible plot device but you don't really get a solid conclusion to one novel without reading the start of the next.

I held off on reviewing this until I had listened to both books in the series. With that being said, I found the series really enjoyable.

The story itself is mainly focused on Crispin, an artist trying to fufill the accomplishment of his life time, the Sarantine Mosaic. The story, much like Crispin's art, is a mosaic of many different characters. Guy will often go off on wild tangents with seemingly random characters in an effort to build the story as a whole. This effect is powerful in the hands of a great story teller, which Guy certainly is.

I've read a few reviews that claim Berny Clark was a bad narrator. I'll admit it caused me to hesitate in purchasing book one. I'm glad I still went through with the purchase because I found no real fault in Clark's performance. If you are unsure I suggest you listen to the sample provided by Audible.

I will also comment that Guy REALLY likes to put these little twists in the last few pages of his books. I take it with a grain of salt and choose to ignore the cases where he demeans the overall story, see Song for Arbonne.

Overall I highly recommend this series if your a fan of Guy Kay, and even if you haven't read any of his works before.