This is a fun book that will not require Ph.D. level brainpower to follow the plot or characters.
Our hero, Asterios, is a book worm and has set his mind to be the greatest summoner ever!
The only problem is that, while his book knowledge is extraordinary, his actual magical potential and ability to control mana is the absolute worst, making him "the weakest summoner."
In the first couple chapters, we see him being picked on by some bullies at school and having to rescue his beloved summoned bunny in violation of the summoner combat test rules.
The punishment? Expulsion. Yeah, pretty extreme.
Asterios heads off into the woods to try and calm himself and is attacked by a giant, killer bear. His bunny sacrifices itself to save his life, and just as the bear is about to kill Asterios, he suddenly is filled with new energy (making his eyes turn red and his hair turn white temporarily). Before the bear can finish the downward swing of its razor sharp claws, a beautiful, panther woman jumps up and makes short work of the bear with her twin shortswords.
We find out that Asterios summoned her and his whole mana control system changed because of that stressful encounter.
He is no longer the weakest summoner, but no one else knows that.
Asterios decides to join the adventurers' guild and has many adventures spanning three books in this case with four more volumes published after this.
The voice acting was quite good.
Some other reviewers have criticized the characters for being shallow. This is a middle school level novel that a bunch of us adults just happening to be reading and enjoy. Once you accept that then everything else falls into place.
The vast majority of the "romance" in the book is done at the middle school level though I was a little surprised when there were a few graphic scenes thrown in that seemed a bit at odds with the rest of the content.
My only substantive nit is a world building observation. I like the general set-up, and the books are interesting, but the world has some logic holes in it. Are the holes as big was with Harry Potter or Pokémon? Um, well, probably, but for a middle school novel, it is good enough.
This is not a hard read. Aside from some adult language and a few explicit scenes, this would have been fine for a younger reader. I don't know if the author reads the reviews, but I highly recommend releasing an abridged version. I think that there is an audience for it, and it would not be a difficult edit.
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Reasonable Reviewer
Fun, middle school fantasy audio book with some adult language and a few explicit scenes
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2023David M Cates
Shallow characters
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2023