The Half-Assed Wizard

Book 1

By: Gary Jonas

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

Length: 4 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

A couple of jerks wake me up at the crack of noon. Seems my klepto uncle stole an ancient deck of Tarot cards from a high-powered wizard, and too many losers want to ruin my day to get them back.

The cards are cool, so I check them out, but my magic-happy cousin, Sabrina, tells me I'm not supposed to touch them. Oops. Too late. Now the damn cards are tuned to me, and if someone else wants to use them, I have to die. Why couldn't she have led with that information?

Magic was never my scene, but my dad is one of the most powerful wizards in the world, so I've got unrealized potential if I ever bother to apply myself. I'd rather power nap, but with wizards, gunslingers, and cannibalistic shark dudes coming at me, that's not gonna happen.

They say I'm a half-assed wizard, but if I don't play my cards right, I'm gonna get my whole ass killed.

©2017 Gary Jonas (P)2017 Gary Jonas

Funny and Entertaining Listen

Fun look at a VERY dysfunctional magical family. I really enjoyed the casual attitude of the slacker wizard and I loved Michael's character. This audiobook was laugh out loud funny in places, although the story itself was a little hard to follow sometimes with the characters switching sides and acting under false pretenses. Regardless, it was all a heck of a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to the next book.

The narration was great. Joe did a fantastic job giving different voices to the different characters. The pacing and delivery were excellent. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook more than I think I would have reading the book myself.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Joe Hempel brings this book to life!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Half-Assed Wizard to be better than the print version?

Yes!

Have you listened to any of Joe Hempel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, and this one is just as good. Check out Joe's narration on Ring of Promise. You won't be disappointed.

Any additional comments?

Joe is a natural for this book. His tone and pacing fit the main character great. This really allows the listener to get a feel for the character and his "laziness". It got so good that at times I could predict the response from the main character because I began to understand him. That is not a knock on the text as being predictable, the character development was just that good.

Not much, but Entertaining

The plot wasn't too complicated and the characters not well developed but Gary Jonas created an easy to listen to novel. If you're looking for something to just throw on to pass the time, this book is for you.

Joel Hempel's narration was great. Pace was perfect and nothing was over the top. I'll be looking for other genres he's produced.

Overall, an ok book but not something I would recommend to friends.

This audiobook was given in exchange for an honest review.

Magical Cards...

Any additional comments?

The book centered around the male lead, Brett, who is only interested in drugs and the "ladies"until one day he touches a deck of magical cards.

I liked the dialogue, it was sarcastic and funny.

Overall, an entertaining book that featured magic from different angles.

Joe Hempel did a great job with the narration.

Note:
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."

Talented slacker story with magical twist

This story... and the protagonist... is meant to be a light-hearted listen. Low key humor. Some interactions with various bad guys stretches credibility. That said, solid enough storyline and characters. Voice acting the protagonist's degree of slackerhood, and detachment that borders on ennui was generally accurate. But it did sometimes become somewhat "droning" in delivery.

This first book is mainly focused on establishing the hero's backstory and staging for sequels in "dragging" the protagonist out of his rut and assembling a cast of supporting characters around him.

An amusing wizard...

The Half-Assed Wizard (Book 1) by Gary Jonas and narrated by Joe Hempel turned out to be way more entertaining than I expected. Recommend if you like smart-ass characters and magic. 4 ½ stars for story, 5 stars for narration.

What’s it about? Brett lives at his parents house and lacks any kind of ambition other than to play with his band and even that’s questionable. His father is one of the top magicians in the world, while Brett wants nothing to do with magic or his father. His cousin, Sabrina, is also skilled at magic, in the family business, and helps to ground Brett. One of his band mates is a vampire. Brett ends up getting himself into a life and death situation with a deck of Tarot cards. The magical objects (Hendrix guitar) and bad guys (the shark men) add a certain amusement to the story. My favorite was the carpet, Mangani, that eats people. The only problem I had is it’s difficult to connect to Brett because he’s so much of a spoiled turd at times, but his situation changes towards the end and the potential for him to redeem himself in current and future installments is a possibility. We also learn a little of why he is the way he is as the book progresses and this could serve as a lesson as to not judge because we never know what’s going on behind the scenes.

The narrator, Joe Hempel, was amazing. He nailed the MC perfectly- he had me laughing several times. Definitely a great fit for this story.

“After give or six whiskeys, I was spiraling downward, but thought I was profound and had the secret of the universe ready to spill from my lips.”
~~
“You’re not going to hook up with anyone, Brett. You have an appointment, and your father and cousin are counting on you.” (Michael)
I started laughing. “They’re f*cked.” (Brett) This scene, Joe had me laughing with the way he said this, if you listen to any part of the book, make sure it’s this scene.
~~
“I had two choices. I could be perfect, which was never going to happen. Or I could stop trying.”


Overall, I highly recommend, especially if you prefer a little magic with your snark. I will listen to the second book asap if it becomes available as an audiobook.


Parental guidance/trigger warnings: drinking alcohol, smoking a joint, sex talk, father is abusive (mention of past physical abuse and the father and MC get in a fight in the book where the father physically hurts the MC, verbally abusive), death (via multiple ways, usually magical). Language used: fx20, sx50, hellx30, and possibly more I’m missing.


*I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!

Fresh urban fantasy

Brett’s father is one of the most powerful wizards in the word, but Brett is just not interested in magic. He likes the easy life that comes with family money, and his expectations in life are none beyond playing with his band. One day Brett receives a mysterious package that will get him of of his comfort zone and in great danger. He will either have to change his ways or die.

As a fan of Jonathan Shade’s adventures, I was looking forward to this book. Among all the epic fantasy books, finding gems like this urban fantasy book is simply refreshing. It is not that I don’t like epic fantasy, I love it, but sometimes characters and situations we can easily relate too are welcome. Gary Jonas writes very vivid and down to earth characters and great dialogs. His books have that fresh humor so difficult to find in fantasy books, and this is what makes them amazing and original.

Brett is not an especially likable character, and that means that he will have to undergo an evolution, apart from using his cheecky techniques, to be able to save his bacon. This will make Brett an interesting character.

The ending is somehow predictable, but I still enjoyed the ride. I was a funny and light listen, ideal for a lazy day. I wish the next book was already available.

I really enjoyed Joe Hempel’s narration. He has wonderful character interpretation skills, inflicting the right amount of emotion, irony, and sarcasm. Hempel has a decent voice range and knows how to use in a subtle way, something important when narrating audiobooks. The best part is that he makes you forget that you are listening to a book, to the point that you feel part of the story.

I received a copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

Can’t wait for the sequel!!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I wasn’t sure if would like this book but you shouldn’t judge a book by its title. I found myself wanting to shake Brett and hug at the same time. I would have loved for it to be longer. This a short story but it had a awesome storyline and I can’t wait for the next book.

Six words or less

This book exceeded my expectations, expletive.

I really enjoyed this book. I got it for free in exchange for an honest review and my honest review is that it was creative and well written. It wasn’t the most engaging plot ever, but it was good enough for my entertainment, especially with Joe’s narration.

Smart aleck wizard that learns to apply himself

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.


Don't let the length full you. It's a shorter read/listen, but we quickly get into Brett's world of wizards that's he's worked to NOT be part of and the band life he enjoys as it all crashes together in trouble.

Joe is a narrator I've listened to before. He fits Gary's characters well with their dry sense of humor. Joe voices the characters with tones that fit their standing and personalities. There is a twist to the characters and they (or the narrator) acts their parts well. Nicely done.

Brett doesn't want to do magic. The pain of the blood price is something he's not into.

Brett is a younger man and feels to fit the part of a band member. He's a stereo type where he doesn't like wordy explanations, but at times he shows how smart he really is. He comes across as a slacker, but is still the star of the show in the book as he knows what to do and it's easy for him when he applies himself. He's surrounded by strong secondary characters thanks to his family's reputation.

Sabrina, his cousin, is a strong and smart character here. She has no problems using magic and yields it with perfection. Then we have Michael, a band mate of Brett's. He's special and had my attention from the moment we met him. The author did well in how he "spoke" of Michael through Brett before we met Michael, and it drew my attention to him when first walked on the page.

Brett then grows more responsible as the story goes. He is distracted with the people working to get to him and the tarot cards.

Want to talk magic? Do it in six words or less - that's Brett request, as he doesn't want to deal with it. He might be lazy, but we repeatedly see he's not dumb. Now, Brett being lazy is not all bad. It gives a little spice to the book and Brett's character. At times it feels as though he doesn't know what to do, but then all the sudden he does. More a smart aleck than anything. I enjoyed his flavor of spunk.

I enjoyed the way Gary plotted this story to come together in the end. Crafty. There was a twist to who's connected to who and what the ultimate goal is. I was surprised at one twist to the story. I enjoyed the power we find in Brett and curious to see what he may do with it in the future, along with his friends too.

I would enjoy listening to the rest of the series.