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In 2061 a young scientist invents a time machine to fix a tragedy in his past. But his good intentions turn catastrophic when an early test reveals something unexpected: the end of the world. A desperate plan is formed: recruit three heroes, ordinary humans capable of extraordinary things, and change the future.
The world of Dematr had been locked unchanging for centuries by the Great Guilds, most people living in a world of oil lamps, crossbows, and horse cavalry, the Mechanics reserving to themselves the technology for steam locomotives, rifles, and far-talkers while the Mages treated all others as if they were nothing - until Master Mechanic Mari, dragon slayer and pirate queen, and Master of Mages Alain raised the army of the new day to free their world.
Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle.
For eons, conquering dungeons has been the most efficient way to become a strong adventurer. Although not everything is as straightforward as it seems. Several questions have always plagued the minds of those who enter these mythical places of power: why are there so many monsters? Where do the amazing weaponry and heavy gold coins come from? Why does the very air fill with life-giving energies? Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions, for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Heart.
Pilot X is Ambassador of the Alendans, a race with the ability to move through space and time as guardians of the timeline. Locked in ongoing conflict with the Sensaurians, an organic hive mind that can send messages in thought throughout its own history, and the Progons, a machine race who can communicate backwards in time, Pilot X finally manages to create peace among the three races.
Interstellar con man Rex Nihilo has a price tag on his head. Railroaded into smuggling a shipment of contraband corn to a planet short on food, Rex finds himself on the run from an insidious corporation named Ubiqorp, which reaps obscene profits by keeping the planet dependent on shipments of synthetic rations. When Rex and his long-suffering robot companion Sasha are sentenced to work as slave labor on a massive Ubiqorp plantation, they learn the terrible secret behind the corporation's products.
In 2061 a young scientist invents a time machine to fix a tragedy in his past. But his good intentions turn catastrophic when an early test reveals something unexpected: the end of the world. A desperate plan is formed: recruit three heroes, ordinary humans capable of extraordinary things, and change the future.
The world of Dematr had been locked unchanging for centuries by the Great Guilds, most people living in a world of oil lamps, crossbows, and horse cavalry, the Mechanics reserving to themselves the technology for steam locomotives, rifles, and far-talkers while the Mages treated all others as if they were nothing - until Master Mechanic Mari, dragon slayer and pirate queen, and Master of Mages Alain raised the army of the new day to free their world.
Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle.
For eons, conquering dungeons has been the most efficient way to become a strong adventurer. Although not everything is as straightforward as it seems. Several questions have always plagued the minds of those who enter these mythical places of power: why are there so many monsters? Where do the amazing weaponry and heavy gold coins come from? Why does the very air fill with life-giving energies? Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions, for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Heart.
Pilot X is Ambassador of the Alendans, a race with the ability to move through space and time as guardians of the timeline. Locked in ongoing conflict with the Sensaurians, an organic hive mind that can send messages in thought throughout its own history, and the Progons, a machine race who can communicate backwards in time, Pilot X finally manages to create peace among the three races.
Interstellar con man Rex Nihilo has a price tag on his head. Railroaded into smuggling a shipment of contraband corn to a planet short on food, Rex finds himself on the run from an insidious corporation named Ubiqorp, which reaps obscene profits by keeping the planet dependent on shipments of synthetic rations. When Rex and his long-suffering robot companion Sasha are sentenced to work as slave labor on a massive Ubiqorp plantation, they learn the terrible secret behind the corporation's products.
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: Humanity has conquered all those things and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life - and they are commanded to do so in order to keep the size of the population under control. Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe - a role that neither wants. These teens must master the "art" of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.
Control dinosaurs. Tame women. Rule the world. Victor Shelby and his tribe of beautiful alien women have built a fortress to keep themselves safe, but when they encounter another tribe of survivors, Victor must leverage his dinosaur-taming abilities to negotiate either peace or violence. And violence is what Dinosaurland is all about.
Dr. Hector Carpentier leads a very quiet life, until he meets legendary police officer Vidocq, who has used his mastery of disguise and surveillance and his extensive knowledge of the Parisian underworld to capture some of the most notorious and elusive criminals.
They came after the Diseray. Some were terrors ripped from our collective imaginations, remnants of every mythology across the world. And some were like nothing anyone had ever dreamed up, even in their worst nightmares. Now, the luckiest Cits live in enclosed communities, behind walls that keep them safe from the hideous monsters fighting to break through.
In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls that echo the screams of the poor souls inside. In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn't remember why she's in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood.
From the outside, Alix London appears to have it all. Unfortunately for Alix, what you see isn’t exactly what you get. A brilliant, once-promising art student, the daughter of a prominent New York art conservator, Alix and her world were left in ruins when her father went to prison for art forgery. Then she meets Christine Lemay, a novice art collector with deep pockets and a handle on a recently discovered painting by American master Georgia O’Keeffe. Chris needs the painting authenticated....
"Wilderness," a darkly intriguing short story first published as an e-book original, was written as prelude to Dean Koontz’s novel of mystery, suspense, and strange wonder - Innocence.
Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
When Shai is caught replacing the Moon Scepter with her nearly flawless forgery, she must bargain for her life. An assassin has left the Emperor Ashravan without consciousness, a circumstance concealed only by the death of his wife. If the emperor does not emerge after his hundred-day mourning period, the rule of the Heritage Faction will be forfeit and the empire will fall into chaos.
Space travel just isn't what it used to be. With the invention of Quantum Teleportation, space heroes aren't needed anymore. When one particularly unlucky ex-adventurer masquerades as famous pilot and hate figure Jacques McKeown, he's sucked into an ever-deepening corporate and political intrigue. Between space pirates, adorable deadly creatures, and a missing fortune in royalties, saving the universe was never this difficult!
The folks in Mike Erikson's small New England town would say he's just your average, everyday guy. And that's exactly how Mike likes it. Sure, the life he's chosen isn't much of a challenge to someone with his unique gifts, but he's content with his quiet and peaceful existence. That is, until an old friend presents him with an irresistible mystery, one that Mike is uniquely qualified to solve.
Audie Award, Fantasy, 2016. As the smallest dragon in the Heartstriker clan, Julius survives by a simple code: keep quiet, don't cause trouble, and stay out of the way of bigger dragons. But this meek behavior doesn't fly in a family of ambitious magical predators, and his mother, Bethesda the Heartstriker, has finally reached the end of her patience.
In the first installment of the A Fire Beneath the Skin trilogy, the city of Klaar has never fallen. No enemy has ever made it across the Long Bridge or penetrated the city's mighty walls. Even when a powerful invading army shows up at the gates, the duke and his daughter, Rina Veraiin, are certain that it poses little threat.
But they are cruelly betrayed from within and, in a horrific spasm of violence, the city is brought to its knees.
With the help of her bodyguard, Kork, the battle-trained young Rina narrowly escapes the slaughter and makes her way to the lair of an ancient sorcerer - the Ink Mage - who gifts her with a strange, beautiful set of magical tattoos.
Now a duchess in exile, Rina sets out on a quest to reclaim what is rightfully hers, aided by a motley assortment of followers who will help her in her cause - some for noble reasons and others for their own dark purposes.
With the enemy's agents nipping at her heels, Rina must learn to harness her new and startling magical powers if she is to assert her rightful place as ruler of Klaar.
Pros: I really enjoyed the characters! I felt like they had good motivation, they were well rounded! I didn't even mind the love triangle, because I loved the rival girl, I wanted her to succeed! It's great to see that characters that are terrible in one circumstance, are actually unparalleled in another situation, and I love that! I felt that they interacted well with each other. And even a number of the side characters draw me in, I want to know more about them even as they die!
Cons: I really couldn't get into the story. I felt no pull to figure out what happened next in the world. And I find the magic tattoo system a little basic and too all-powerful. So many situations felt like "And then she used magic and won!" for my liking.
Conclusion: Fun, but I won't be listening to the rest of the series
42 of 42 people found this review helpful
I have mixed feelings. I loved the premise and the idea of ink magic, but some plot details were questionable. I couldn't help but think of the book as a young adult fiction, but then sex scenes would rudely intervene.
Voice acting was good, but voices of certain characters were too unpleasant.
52 of 53 people found this review helpful
An interesting premise, but the story runs on weak plot coupons, it's gratuitously vulgar, and the climactic battle is against a character with no history, no personality, and no connection to anything else that's going on.
40 of 41 people found this review helpful
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Not especially. The story was nothing special, and had a lot of eye-rolling or cringy elements.
Has Ink Mage turned you off from other books in this genre?
No.
Have you listened to any of Fiona Hardingham’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I haven't, but her performance gave character to an otherwise dull story.
Did Ink Mage inspire you to do anything?
It inspired me not to listen to the rest of the series.
Any additional comments?
I mean. Like I said it made me roll my eyes. A lot. Rina, the main character, was completely naked several times for no real reason other than that the author felt like it. She seemed inexplicably attracted to the character Alem, who seems like he's the author's self-insert, and is possessed of no personality or likable traits to speak of. Furthermore, the other female character traveling with Rina and Co., Maurizan, is also conveniently infatuated with Alem the Stable Boy just 'cause, which causes unnecessary tension and cattiness between Rina and Maurizan. It made me cringe to have to listen to Rina's internal jealousy, and Alem's "woe is me" whining over how he'll never get the girl he's in love with because he's not good enough. And he's right; he ain't good enough. I think the author also could have done a better job detailing Rina's need for vengeance, but she's too busy pining over Alem to be sad about her dead parents after the first couple of chapters.
The ancillary story lines were a lot more interesting. I liked the character of Tosh--his emotions were more believable than most of the other characters. I'd have been a lot more engaged reading a story about the prostitutes overthrowing a foreign occupation without the rest of it. Even Braisly's character was at least entertaining--he's a gross creep, but he's an honest gross creep, and he actually does something useful to further the story, unlike Alem.
My final issue was with the "evil invaders" who are obviously coded to be Asian, maybe Fantasy Chinese or Mongolian. Like, come on Author Man. For real? Like. Really? Dude. I feel like I need to lay down for a while after finishing this audiobook, because it was so exhausting to sit through.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
This is the first book I've listen to by this author and I must say I was surprised. I would recommend this book simply because this story is an easy read, I moves along, it runs along a good formula that SciFi writers have been using for a long time.
What about Fiona Hardingham’s performance did you like?
She captures the individual's personalities with her performance. I can picture the individual's in my mind and that takes talent. Great choice for this book.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Well actually I did, though it made a very long night. So I listened to it twice
26 of 29 people found this review helpful
Plot- The plot was typical, nothing new, but neither was it poor. (3.5 stars)
Characters - The Characters were two-dimensional and lacked in complexity. They will often do actions for seemingly no reason or that make no sense with their character. (An unimaginative 1 star)
Storytelling - The author's style is sometimes terse often lacking in description and detail and overall feel is that of a new author that has potential, yet is still working on honing his craft. (2.5 stars)
World Building - This review is mixed, it is apparent that Ink mage is set in a rich and interesting world, however, Gischler is too often unable to convey the world to his readers. (3 stars)
Magic System- This is unquestioningly the high point of Ink Mage: A well thought out and interesting system. (5 stars)
Morality rating- Ink Mage contains and abundance of sex, language, and violence.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Yes, but only about 40% as i didnt enjoy following the other characters much.
What did you like best about this story?
The way the ink magic worked
What does Fiona Hardingham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Mostly just what any decent narrator does.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
no, they would screw it up, have no doubts :P
Any additional comments?
I HATE when a book or series or anything skips between characters... its a constant kick in the face to me, just as im getting into it BAM and im kicked out and now following a character that I dont care about, only wishing i could go back and see what happens with the main character instead.
Most of this book is pretty good and while the side characters arent bad or uninteresting, to me its just such a immersion breaker.
19 of 23 people found this review helpful
The premise of this story is good and the storyline entertaining, but it's written like a YA novel version of GoT and other ice and fire books completely with unnecessary sex scenes that add nothing to the story. It just felt very forced. I'm interested in knowing what happens to the characters, but I won't be purchasing any more of this series or the author's books.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Of the fantasy books I've read and enjoyed, I feel like this one was a decidedly average read. Nothing too great or too terrible . I enjoyed the story for sure, but there wasn't anything especially great or new about it. The concept of ink magic is a little different from magic in other books I've read, and I enjoyed the new take on magic, but there's not enough depth in the book's exploration of ink magic to keep the reader interested for longer than the book's short length. The plot is pretty straightforward and well-paced, which made the book an easy read, but I'd have preferred more nuance and complexity to the story. The characters aren't entirely 2-D stereotypes, but don't expect a lot of depth there. The ending felt a little sudden and underwhelming, but not too bad.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I finished the book but I wasn't sure that I would. The concept was interesting and the characters are likeable but the paced was a bit off for me while at the same time it appeared that the consequences are still left to be felt for all that occurred. It is likely that I will give book 2 a try and decide from there.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
A spell binding story thats impossible to put down.. very enjoyable.. well read with passion.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
very well written book and a very enjoyable audio to
listen too, can thoroughly recommendation
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
It's an easy listen to.
Think squash buckling hero,the drama and humor with serious story and enough gore to keep you interested ,all this but the hero actually a heroin.
Downloaded 2nd and 3rd book together
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Great read. Well rounded charracter development and a good story line.
The narrator I wasn't sure about initially, bit by the end of the second chapter really enjoyed her story telling style.
Looking forward to the next in the series.
Would recommend if you like scifi/ Fantasy genre with strong female lead.
Where does Ink Mage rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Its in the Good but not exceptional category. Not as good as say Anne Bishops Black Jewel series or the Kate Daniels books by Illona Andrews but definitely above average.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Ink Mage?
The book has an interesting idea of tattoos giving magical powers. Most of the characters are still believable though . I like the way the characters grow throughout the book, and in fact the whole series
What about Fiona Hardingham’s performance did you like?
Its just perfect, I just loved her voice and she had good timing and kept the voices of the major characters distinct it was also nice to have books read in an English accent rather than American you usually get in this Genre
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Not really - some funny scenes but you did get involved with the characters
Any additional comments?
This book can be read stand alone but its the first of a trilogy so its worth continuing.
The second book is a bit disappointing as its not a complete tale but more a setup for the much better final book which is also very good.
good start to a new trilogy, more detail about whole picture and less detailed sex would have been appreciated.
hopefully 2nd book will fill the gaps and expand the story line.