Bastion

Immortal Great Souls, Book 1

By: Phil Tucker

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Scorio will rise from the ashes to conquer the 10 layers of hell.

Reborn without memories, Scorio learns that he is a Great Soul, a legendary defender of the ancient city of Bastion. That within the hallowed halls of the Academy and under the stern eyes of the underworld’s greatest instructors he will enjoy enormous privilege, rediscover unique and wondrous powers, and one day return to the millennium-old battle against their infernal foes.

Until he is betrayed. Singled out and sentenced to die for crimes he can't remember, Scorio is hurled to his doom - and forgotten.

But from even the dimmest spark an inferno may one day rage.

Clawing his way back from oblivion, Scorio vows to return to the Academy at any cost. To emerge from the ruins and within those golden walls defeat his elite classmates in a quest to ascend the ranks and change the course of history. For only then will he learn about his forgotten past and why his enemies have rightly feared him since the day he was reborn.

©2022 Phil Tucker (P)2022 Podium Audio

Very good but…

Start off with I enjoyed this book and will get the next one the day it comes out. Without giving any spoilers the main character was very hard to deal with at times making this book less enjoyable than it could have been. Nick Podehl was fantastic as always. Overall great start to a series.

Excellent audio book with a few hiccups.

The book starts off at an moderate rate the first 18 hours. After Imogen battle it slowed down for 7 whole hours filled with almost, failures, and whining. The last 13 hours or so was redemption with the pace picking back up and holding until conclusion. Honestly, it was written as two 19 hour books put together with a slow middle. Now, when it came down to business all of the fights were well written, enjoyable. The last Gauntlet I felt Scorio could have made it a but further. Energy drop seem hastened a bit during the 5 knights battle. The band of sisters mostly joining Scorio on his next adventure should be intriguing. Now I think one of the girls in the group is a snitch and we will see I guess in 2023 if the group can leave the school grounds unabated. Audio performance was top notch, I mean Nick Podehl is the best in the business just edging Luke Daniel's. Well, that's all I got and can't wait until spring of 2023 to hear the next one. Oh, I have 1 more, don't compare this book to Stormweaver Iron Prince. Different mechanism of attaining and sustaining power.

good read but super slow progress

excellent read but definitely long winded, spend 90% of the story complaining about the world being unfair and woe is me. but still definitely worth the time

Unique world and system

I love so much about this book, my only issue is the MC can be stupid and annoying sometimes. Like a petulant little brat. And I agree with many of the reviewers who said it felt like there wasn’t enough breathing room between MCs problems it was like one issue to another. Which kind of where I think the MC annoying issue comes in. Had there been more space between each crisis, probably wouldn’t have been so abrasive to me as the reader. Overall I liked it and look forward to the next book.

One huge flaw.

I typically only listen to shorter entries, but something about the cover art and summary called to me. I will do my best to break this down incrementally. If you can't be asked to read the long review, then take away this from your time spent here. I haven't spend a better credit in my life.

The first few hours of the book immediately hooked me, but most of the other reviews say it started off slowly. I would have to disagree, because, within the first hour, the book has you enthralled in mystery, aching for answers. This only develops more and more as the reader progresses, some questions get answered with answers that lead to more questions, and I couldn't love it more.

The beginning of the title, if I had to rate certain arcs individually, was a solid 4 stars. Even during the parts that one could consider "slow", there was never a lack of interest in my opinion. I never wanted dialogs to be cut short in the interest of saving time. I listened to every words with intent.

The middle portion of the book, from about the 8-10 hour point until the 20-30 hour point, was a stellar 5 stars, just enough answers are given to keep you frothing at the mouth for more, and every character is given a lovely depth, with insights into their own struggles.

It is in the last 8 or so hours that the title really shines, however. If there was ever something deserving of a secret sixth star, it would be this portion of this title. I won't say anything about what happens, or about the contents therein, but hope that you'll all give this book your attention.

My headline here says that there is one glaring flaw with the title, and that is as follows: Its a newer release, meaning ill have to wait FOREVER to be able to read book two :(

EDIT: The year is now 2024 and book 3 has just released for audio listeners. My opinions on this have not changed, and each book grips me closer than the last. I reiterate. Give this series your attention.