Imperial Wizard

By: J Parsons

Narrated by: Matt Hicks, Melissa Green

Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

An age has passed, a blight curses the land, and one hero stands above the rest to restore the balance.

Verdan Blacke is an Imperial Wizard, a researcher by preference but soldier by necessity. Surviving an intense battle, Verdan is cursed by a hex witch in her final moments. Without any good options, Verdan escapes the ever-increasing pain the curse inflicts by performing a self-made stasis ritual.

When the spell fades, and he has awoken, Verdan finds a world completely different from the one he left behind. Dark things work in daylight with impunity, once common knowledge is a mystery, and even the nature of magic that humans use has changed.

One wizard, a million problems, and the wrath of profound magic.

©2023 J Parsons (P)2023 Royal Guard Publishing LLC

Amazing

I decided to give this book a chance and honestly, I was not disappointed. It sounded like a cultivation story it has elements of it in it for sure,

I tried...

The story itself is fairly decently written. it has some OP character traits without it seeming boring, the world building is interesting, the characters actually have personalities. I wanted so badly to enjoy this, but from the second I turned it on, the narration frustrated, if not completely angered me. I have no clue what accents the male narrator was trying to do, but they were inconsistent and often came off as cartoon-y. When there was a conversation between the male and female narrators, the sound was so off it was jarring. Being completely honest, I returned this and read on Kindle so I could at least get the story. If narration is a killer for you, I highly recommend skipping this book

A great first book

I received a free copy to give my honest opinion, I will try to avoid spoilers. In Arthurian legend, it was said that the great king will one day return to save the land. However in this case, instead of Arthur, it's Merlin. That should give you a hint of the kind of culture shock and shenanigans our MC will go through. Overall, this was an entertaining story.

OK story with a frustrating MC

The story was alright at the start, but I found it increasingly frustrating moving forward. The MC has lost knowledge from his past that he refuses to teach/show because it is too dangerous or might cause wars. He doesn't seem to realize the crappy situation he and the whole of humanity is in though. Monsters roam around and it gets worse year after year, corrupting magic has has turned powerful magic users and people into some kind zombie like creatures left unchecked, but yeah lets not share information because it might cause a war. It is actually more surprising that humanity isn't dead with how bad and corrupt they are.

Insufferable, and the narrators are distracting

The mc is handed everything he needs, is OP and is a white knight to everyone he meets. Seems like a projected fantasy of the author to be the cool guy unsung hero. Has a good premise and the world building and magic system is a decent enough mash up of familiar tropes. But there is no growth, any real danger, antagonists are paper thin, characters are thinner than deli ham. Save the credit.

fantastic new world!

There are lots of great characters and the story keep you excited for what's next.

Great book

I really enjoyed this book. The only problem that I have is that it was too short.

That. Was. EPIC!!!

First, thanks go out to Royal Guard for this review code and opportunity to listen to this book!

Now the book… I didn’t have high expectations since I hate being let down. Which allows for surprises like this book! The story is relatively simple but Parsons makes it epic with his creative touch. The MC is actually enjoyable and leaves you continually interested in seeing his personality be revealed; for him to develop and for us to discover his past, bit by bit. He isn’t an idiot and he has already experienced a lot in the past to guide his actions.
The characters that surround him are engaging, filled with nuance and Parsons makes them easy to be invested in.
The lore is rich and leave me wanting to learn more.
The magic and progression system is relatively simple but fun. And I should probably say “systems” since there are more than one.
The simple story has Slice of Life elements that I really enjoy. I’m looking forward to the next book!

As always, Matt Hicks is an excellent narrator with the treat of having a female narrator for the female characters with Melissa Green giving the experience of this audiobook all the more enjoyable.

This is a good one

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It kept me interested through this and the second book. Now I’m waiting for the next in the series. Worth the time and the credit.

The ending was just bad.

Overall the story started off pretty good, but became pretty scattered and then just ended on a bad note. The whole story just seemed like it was just rushed. I’m honestly not sure whether I want to go on to read the next book in the series or not. The lame ending just kind of stupid.