Rune Kingdom

Uncommon World: Northern Isles

By: Alisha Klapheke

Narrated by: Amanda Dolan

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

J. R. R. Tolkien, Tamora Pierce, and Sarah J. Maas fans are raving over this USA Today best-selling author’s newest fast-paced fantasy teeming with secrets, magic, and betrayal.

A blood sacrifice. A power-hungry mage. A magical bestiary.

When the ruling mage of Snowfallen chooses Bryn’s mother as the next sacrifice, Bryn decides she’s had enough. With her own burgeoning magic, Bryn claims a forbidden grimoire and brings a host of dangerous - and potentially evil - creatures to life.

But will her new power save her mother or turn Bryn into a mage far more vicious than her enemy?

©2018 Alisha Klapheke (P)2018 Alisha Klapheke

This Was Interesting

While I did find the story engaging, I had a hard time understanding which characters were speaking when. I really had to pay super attention so that I could follow along and kept feeling like I was missing things. The story does hold your attention! The characters are fleshed out pretty well and the plot is solid.

good

Rune Kingdom I really enjoyed this book it had an interesting and entertaining story can't wait to check out more books from this author

Fantasy world

A great fantasy! You felt like you were living in the shoes of this world! From war to love! Narrator was good

Rune Adventure

A terrific magical tale with lots of action and YA intrigue. Bryn’s coming-of-age journey is captivating and consistently delivers to keep you engaged. The narration was oddly robotic sometimes but I’m not certain if that was solely the narrator or how it was recorded. Overall a great fantasy novel :)

A fascinating, undeniably YA fantasy drama

Here we have an interesting, engaging young adult fantasy drama with flawed characters who make some pretty bad decisions for pretty bad reasons.

This was my first exposure to narrator Amanda Dolan and I have to admit she did quite well. Her selection of voices is not extensive and a few sound similar. There are a couple of times in the book that she seemed to mix up which voice was supposed to be speaking. But her tempo changes and vocal inflections were skillfully done. She has a lot of potential.

This is definitely a tale that would have enthralled me when I was fifteen. The interactions between Starling and Raven feel quite natural, if a touch more immature than the characters' ages would suggest.

The self-denial, games, reversals, and heavy focus on physical attraction and Fantasies are absolutely accurate to how life was when I was 13-14, so apart from the age disparity it definitely rings true.

That said, this was a strong reminder about why I typically avoid YA. I hated the "romantic games" when I was that age and my tolerance for it has only diminished over time. Also, a number of the plot points and character moments are a little too on the nose for me.

I won't go so far as to say the romance is the point of the novel, but there are definitely a number of points in the story where it feels like it is.

Now, I really only have two real critique points.

First, the opening is very back story heavy.

I feel like the same information could have been given or inferred through action and dialogue throughout the novel instead of being told about it right at the start (much of which I don't remember now as it didn't seem relevant at the time).

And second, the POV.

Okay, anyone who's read more than a couple of my reviews should understand that I'm really not a fan of first person narratives. I find it very hard to connect with most first person narrators because I just can't relate to them. The combination of the pronoun "I" in conjunction with thoughts, feelings and actions I would absolutely never do/have just kills the immersion for me.

To exacerbate this problem, a short way into the novel we break to third person for a second character's POV.

Let me be clear, I have seen alternating first and third person POVs done well all of one time (The Madness Season, by CS Friedman. READ IT!). In every other case, it just doesn't work. It throws me out of the story every single time the POV changes.

If they're compelling, I can handle multiple first person narrators. It was done well in James Patterson's Witch & Wizard series. I can definitely handle multiple third person POVs. Tons of fantasy novels use this to great effect.

But in this case, the changes just didn't work.

All that being said, this is still a relatively compelling teen drama. I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the "hatchlings," particularly how each of them had a bird species nickname. It really added to the flavor of each character. It was fulfilling to see the growth of certain characters throughout the narrative.

I don't really feel that I have a firm grasp of the magic system, (for example, why does one need the "carver" to use magic? And on that note, what exactly is a "carver?" based on the text, it could be anything from a palm knife to an arming sword) but I'm assuming that's more properly explained in the main Uncommon World series (which I have not read).

There were several false endings leading up to the actual climax, and each was mostly satisfying in its own right. Unfortunately, the battle with the enemy mage, the "protector," was very short and seemed too easy, and we led with the strongest climax, then the weakest, and finally ended with the mediocre one.

I can't help feeling that with the final climax being what it is, there should have been more buildup to it. More hype. As it is, we barely know its coming before its there, which takes away quite a bit of its potential power.


In the end, if YA fantasy is your thing then this is definitely a book to add to your list. Particularly if you like your YA fantasy heavily flavored with romance.

Fantastical, Beautiful World Building

I got to listen to this at the courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review. This is the first book of hers I have gotten to enjoy and I’m already picking out others!

Amanda Dolan is an excellent narrator, and she makes this well worth your audible credits.

The world building in this story is really enthralling. It reminds me of the richness of the Wheel of Time series from Robert Jordan. I love the almost Viking like culture that is imbued with magic, and the power struggle that runs throughout the story.

Bryn is an interesting character to follow. She is complex and doesn’t fully understand herself and her own motives until the very end. The growth of her character is very engaging, and the dynamic she has with her friends as they try to both support and ground her is intense.

This story felt very real despite the obvious fantasy of it. Bryan’s desire to protect the people she loves, while gaining power, and fighting injustice is relatable, and tangible. While the magic is fantastic, it somehow feels rooted in something realistic, that there is a steep price to pay when you have great power only enforces the feeling.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to picking up more from this author!

Rune Kingdom

This is a great adventure of a girl, Bryn, that no longer believes in the ways of her people. This has other worldly qualities to the story. Bryn and her three friends were all born around the same time. They call themselves the hatchlings due to their names. Her people believe that a powerful Mage protects them as long as they offer a sacrifice each year. Bryn lost her grandfather last year to the sacrifice and her mother is the possible sacrifice for the current year. Bryn goes on a hunt for a lost book of runes to try to prove to her people that the powerful Mage has been lying to them. I enjoyed listening to it. If you like Norse folklore mythology then you would like this book.

Question what you always known

This is amazing fantasy novel which if you read sky in the deep will fall right along with the vibes from that series. The Nordic influence is very rich in this story. Bryn is a strong character that questions how things have always been in her world. Why are things the way they are? Characters like this really shape the world they are in and have the tendency to come out stronger at the other end. Since this is a stand alone novel Bryn starts out as young reckless youth but due to a variety of situations she becomes an mature adult. So this story while starting out in the young adult realm does at the end land squarely in adult fantasy.

The lesson i took from this novel is that there is value in questioning and confronting things in society that you see that are not right. By doing so we end corruption and favoritism in our world. We strive to make things better by striving for change. A wonderful novel and i really wish it was not a stand alone and that there was more story.

Good story, so so narration

Overall 3.75. I enjoyed the storyline, and found it to be compelling. The main character is very young and almost annoyingly arrogant, but that seems to be by design. Not entirely predictable, with some nice world building. The narrator was just ok, with a near robotic intonation most of the time, and not a lot of variance between character voices. I think it may have taken away from my overall enjoyment of the book, as a result.

*I received this book free in exchange for my honest review.

Great story to listen to and read

I enjoyed reading this book and just got done listening to it. I loved this story (and the full Uncommon World series) so was excited to listen to this while I was driving. I was a bit disappointed in how "digital" it sounded, but that just might be my sound system or maybe the narrators tone.
Rune Kingdom is a fresh take on Norse lore and the characters bring this story to life. I found myself immersed in their world with the way this was written and how descriptive the narrative is. I like how the characters in this stand alone are more mature than in some of the series- it shows growth in the characters and author. I highly recommend this series and this book.