Beast Mage

Mana Beasts, Book 1

By: Derek Alan Siddoway

Narrated by: Travis Baldree

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Kellen Lars may be the most unremarkable person on Earth. In the mana-enchanted land of Oras, he could become a champion.

After his little sister vanishes before his eyes, Kellen awakens in another realm inhabited by mythical creatures and people who shape the very forces of nature. These are the Beastcallers, wielders of elemental magics who ascend alongside their beast companions.

In search of his sister, Kellen explores a savage new world full of magical storms, animal demi-gods, and warring tribes. Just surviving isn't an option. If he ever wants to see home again, Kellen must wield his budding powers and train his newly bonded Mana Beast. Even if he succeeds, nothing will ever be the same again.

A young man from Earth. A Mana Beast. Together, they'll progress into legend.

Introducing a new progression fantasy adventure for fans of Cradle, Digimon, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Frith Chronicles!

©2022 Derek Alan Siddoway (P)2023 Derek Alan Siddoway

another incompetent main character

I have absolutely no idea why authors think that it's is endearing or inspiring to have otherwise grown adults completely flummoxed by routine everyday tasks. to have them panic in a clearly obvious what to do situation. I I have barely started this book and I'm already about to quit because the main character is such a moron. I get the author is trying to create this feeling of being out of place. but it does not require that the main character be rendered to having a toddlers level of maturity and intelligence.

I'm just going to say it the whole slavery thing in the genre has been so overused it is ridiculous. it leaves nothing for the author and does very little to actually create a motivating character. there is only one path for the author to write a story and it is always the same. main character complies with every demand until the author decides to do some huge plot armor thing to get the main character out of slavery. It's such a lazy writer gimmick.

Its Good.

the story is good and Travis Baldree ussualy picks very good books to narrate. so no issues there. my only issue with this story is the annoying extention of tension that most writers do when the looming goal of the protagonist gets too close to the goal, oh your sister is less than a mile away and the big battle is about to happen, well lets just get that pesky sister into a even worse situation so the once close and resolved goal is now pushed off to build tension

Good, but...

Still listening to the story, but first impressions are a bit soured. It's basically a white man joining a fantasy native American tribe to rescue his sister and survive. Except the tribe, so far, is all women...I am hoping this is an oversight on the author part and just hasn't mentioned that there men among the "warriors". Even if that isn't the case, the group is way to hostile to a stranger who saved one of their tribe and are way too dismissive of him without grounds. Which feeds back into the white man doesn't know how live off the land even though the guy literally was a farmer with horses and livestock. He has difficulty getting on a horse. Also, it's more accurate to say it's like 'Dances with Wolves', 'John Carter', and maybe 'Digimon' or 'Pokemon'.

Great story, great narrator, and a whole load of fun

Listening via audiobook is actually my second time through after having reading and loving the ebook.

Story:
Beast Mage is very fun portal fantasy. Some classic monster-taming elements with exciting twists as well as enjoyable characters. Vex in particular stands out, adding a splash of humor to an emotionally trying situation as he grows alongside the MC. The magic system has a great foundation for interesting development in the upcoming books, as do the high-level connections to more powerful forces in the surrounding world. The pre-Colombian Americas setting is fresh in the scheme of fantasy worlds and adds to the unique flavor that makes this story stand out from its inspirations while keeping a strong connection to those roots. If you want a book that can deal with some pretty heavy topics and challenges while keeping an overall optimistic air, a splash of humor, some great action sequences, and a diverse engaging caste of characters, Beast Mage will do you well.

Performance:
There’s a reason Travis Baldree’s name holds so much weight in the audiobook world - excellent performance that certainly adds to the experience.

Reeled me in!

This is not my usual read and so it started a little slow for me, but the story just kept reeling me in. Before I was a quarter of the way in, i was listening every chance I got and long before the end I knew I wanted to hear the whole series! Can't wait to hear more from Kellen and Vex!

Simple and enjoyable.

interesting isekai story. The storyline is basic and straightforward. I found it enjoyable, even if it was a bit predictable.

Interesting premise, enjoyable story

My first introduction to Derek Alan Siddoway and what I've listened to in the first book suggests highly that I will be keeping an eye out for him next book in the series as well as new series.

While this is a somewhat different start than typical Isekai genre on the circumstances of the arrival, the story is unique enough and the characters engaging enough that it kept my interest all the way through. The ending is somewhat of a unexpected twist to it, as well.

Travis Baldree's performance was, as expected, stellar.

Simple but exciting fantasy

Derek always writes a good story, some say that his characters don’t evolve fast enough but in a story that is intended to with more books to come,fully fleshing out the mc too early will IMO tend to take away the anticipation that keeps you reading. He plots well. As always this narrator nails the performance

A Very Enjoyable Adventure in an interesting world

To start off with id like to say that this book invoked some pretty nostalgic memories of Digimon so maybe my enjoyment was also tied to that. that being said here are my thoughts .

Performance:
Its Travis Baldree his performances are always stellar

Story:
The story was well paced with interesting characters that i enjoyed getting to know , i also like our MC really was just some clueless dude instead of some ridiculously overpowered , one note murder bot that rampages his way through the world smashing any and all obstacles , i find a lot of power progression fantasy tend to forget the progression part , which is what makes it interesting . Overcoming adversity is always more interesting then punting it into the moon.

I am looking forward to see how the world is further fleshed out , and seeing the evolution path of the different character relationships . Character powers and of course how little Vex ends up looking as he power creeps his way to matching his own ego :P

Overall:
Is it the best book i have ever read . No . Did i enjoy it from start to finish with a goofy smile on my face .yes absolutely . It was a enjoyable piece of literature with its core routed in values i like reading about , Friendship , loyalty ,love loss and overcoming adversity

Bland Female Empowerment.

This book wasn’t very engaging, the premise was interesting enough and the preview that I listened to made it feel like a lighthearted story about a guy lost in another world but instead we get some serious slavery killing brutal stuff going on with an useless mc who unlocks powers under pressure but is completely unavailable to use his powers after the danger is over. It was so frustrating seen him do awesome stuff one moment just to lose all his progress like it never happened. The companion is another issue, he acts as a Digimon the whole book and is a comedy relief but he doesn’t fit in the whole somber world the author has built. Then there is the sister, a 12 year old, who has more balls than all 2 men in this story, that was able to intimidate her own slaver with a look, I was half expecting her to regain her own freedom using her fallopian tubes as nunchucks by the end, I couldn’t really feel any sympathy for her because she clearly had things handled. Overall it felt like there was no progress at all, the main character still doesn’t have a clue on how to use his powers for anything better than making a shiny ball at will or pulling up some bull- power up in a moment of danger that he wont be able to replicate or build up on, and we just know that the 12 year old will figure out how to use her woman powers to free herself from life long superpowered slavers so that whole plot has no tension, even the whole female tribe thing gets discarded so I have nothing really to cling on to enough to care about this book.