Defiler's Curse

The Magician's Brother, Book 8

De: HDA Roberts

Narrado por: Kevin Kemp

In the quest to save my life, I delved into unnatural powers and changed myself utterly.

I mastered new forms of Magic and discovered others. I expanded my knowledge, learned, and grew; both as a Magician and a man.

It wasn't enough. All I managed to do was to buy myself some time, and now that time is running out.

My brother has fought me every step of the way. He even murdered my one hope of a cure, and in his demented desire to finish the job, went digging into mysteries he had no business with.

Now, he's been taken. Body and soul possessed by the first conqueror, the monster who destroyed mankind's first stab at complex civilization.

Desmond was dangerous when he was simply the First Shadow. An idiot with power is still lethal. Now, he has the power of an Archon coupled with the ability and intellect of the very first Black Magician.

I couldn't stop him before. What the hell am I going to do now?

©2023 HDA Roberts (P)2024 Podium Audio

Awesome

So much better I got tired of seeing the main character get shit on and this book provided some much needed catharsis

Another amazing installment!!

I love the wit and story of this series! I can't wait for the next one!

good progression

This is a pretty good series that improves as it goes on. I have to admit, early in the series I had a terrible feeling it may turn into a harem novel. I'm relieved to say that it did not go that (way which is usually a cheap save for a bad series when the author runs out of ideas). Instead, it shows good character development and many layers of world building.

Jam packed

This book is packed full of everything we love in this series and so much more!

Wonderful story! Can’t wait for book 9!

Absolutely wonderful story and extreme points of character development, I literally cannot wait for the next book/audiobook!

Brilliant series ruined by grimdark.

This series has always tried to walk a line between situations with world ending levels of danger/challenge, and light hearted, coming of age slice of life story telling. In part this was supported by an MC with a boundlessly positive world view (and a bit too much deference to the women in his life).

It seems that the author has lost sight of this balance. The book starts with the MC's powers destroyed, and the knowledge that they are dying and will be dead in a few months. It only goes downhill from there. His support is lost. His reputation is destroyed. His body is damaged in ways that are visible and incurable (even with magic). The situation is so dire, that no rational person could assume there would be a positive outcome.

At the half-way mark, it appears that the possibilities for the end of the story are either the MC will lose, ending the series with the moral that no matter how powerful, heroes die. Or the ending will be so pyrrhic that it will make Frodo leaving for the gray havens, seem humorous.

I get the feeling that the author intended this to be the grand finale for the series but in an effort to go out with a bang, they have ruined the thing that made the series great: The MC could keep their positive world view because they *experienced* some of that positivity at least some of the time. In this book, it's soul crushing sadness all the way down. The MC's positivity is absolutely jarring in the face of the situations they are placed in, to the point that it just comes across as self-deception.

I am seriously considering just stopping now.

Update: I fought through to the end, and although things do turn around for the MC, the level of Deus ex machina it took to get them there, was beyond ludicrous.

Repetitiveness

Love the series but there a point were nothing goes your way then it get so old with out a win or something going your way - Seem to go back to same old - I can’t do anything - I going to die anyway - same fight with same group but can’t seem to get any closer to finding them - just seem to be repeating the same problem and fight over and over with out resolve or just more and more problems - at a point just seems to get to much and hard to listen too - about to just jump a head to see if gets better