Seared, Book 1

By: Robyn Wideman, Scribes of Sulterra

Narrated by: Jay Lai

Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

When Jace was a newborn baby, he was branded with a metal bracer to prevent cultivation. Destined to live a life of slavehood for a crime he didn't commit, he can only dream of one day becoming a powerful cultivator and leaving his shackles behind. But when danger threatens the life of his sister, Jace decides to take fate into his own hands.

He boldly escapes his master's estate and makes his way through dangerous lands to rescue her. As a lowly seared facing powerful hunters looking to punish him for escaping and deadly monsters wanting to make a meal of him, he has only one option: grow stronger.

This exciting coming-of-age, progression, and cultivation series is perfect for fans of series like Cradle, A Thousand Li, and He Who Fights with Monsters.

©2022 Scribes of Sulterra (P)2022 Dreamscape Media

Excited for this new series

This seems like the beginning of a great series. Great characters and premise. This book sets up the characters well. I am excited to see how Jace’s journey grows and how he is able to save his sister.

Storyline has potential

Not the best book I've listen to. The storyline has potential, a Cultivator zero to hero kind of story. The story kind of drags out in sections but not terrible. I had a hard time getting into the story with this narrator.

Not my cup of tea but it is Good

To be completely open about this book, the story is well written but it is a slow build up and progression on the MC is pretty much mute. The MC has a lot of introspection and self doubt but that is based on the story so it works. Just didn't hit my buttons. Narration for a new Narrator is good but I think for a eastern cultivation book was a high ask. If you like a well fleshed out story then this book is for you.

C-

so this is not what I expected to be writing when it comes to a cultivation book. I wanted to like it a lot. I wanted to the revenge story and the OP MC to come back and for the bullies to put some respect on his name. That didn't happen. Maybe it will in the future, but right now this book was kind of brutal. Literally. LOL

narrator drags down book

book is otherwise passable.

there are a handful of minor audio/editing issues a couple places where a sentence gets half repeated or it jumps from the middle of one sentence to another and back.

Excellent Cultivation Story

I'm really excited for this new cultivation story.

The main character has a ton of problems ahead of him. But he makes some friends along the way. One of them in particular really takes an interest in helping him learn to think in constructive ways to look at his problems from a different perspective. She basically teaches him critical thinking skills and gives him a new way of looking at his problems. Its pretty amazing to hear and I was delighted at how well the author wrote this part of the story.

I love cultivation novels, and this book was great! I'm hoping the main character finds a black smith with a pair of bolt cutters or something to get rid of the band and change his future. Overcoming odds through adversity seems to be the theme to this book and I'm really liking it.

Might get the second

all I can say is it’s ok the narration is ok the story is ok the transitions are ok. Nothing spectacular decent start but nothing to really pull you in and make you love the characters just a like warm time filler with possibilities for the second book.

Slow paced to a fault and MC is frustrating

Real rating is really a 3 stars for me but I reather not review bomb indie authors so here is my review before I refund this book:

*Note: I get it might be too harsh to judge the MC so hard since he has practically been a slave from birth so this review is based on my personal taste.

4 hours in and nothing has happened to make me feel like the MC has any drive to get out of his situation. Not only that in that time nohting happens other than the MC getting brerated, beaten and treated like crap. The last straw for me was the MC's eagerness to take punishment for trying to save the village from what he believes is an impending threat, why? are we to believe the MC is some kind of saint, the reincarnation of Jesus...WTH... I'm guessing because I will not be finishing this book, that his attempts to "save" the villagers that hate him results in some kind of payoff later on. Cradle this is not Lindon at leats had some selfishness in him, a drive to get stronger even before he set out on his quest to "save" his village. From the first chapter he showed a hunger to get out of his situation unlike the MC is this book.

3 hours in & nothing

In the time it could take me to watch and finish a 3 hour movie. This is what we accomplished in this story. The MC got his cultivation blocked as a baby. Treated as a slave/ 2nd hand citizen. Constantly taking beatings. Being called “seared” no progression no cultivation no real moving the plot other then him being in a world of cultivation and can’t cultivate. I’m not here to spend 3 (possibly more) hours to follow a slave in the world of cultivation. The narration wasn’t good but wasn’t terrible. I’m happy I didn’t preorder book 2. There was nothing to make me care about the MC or any of the ass hat side characters. I won’t refund this book but I’m definitely not getting the 2nd one