Steamborn: The Complete Trilogy Box Set

De: Eric Asher

Narrado por: Saskia Maarleveld

A supernatural swarm. A treacherous scheme. A tinker's apprentice may be the village's only hope....

Book 1: Steamborn

Jacob has yet to meet a gadget he couldn't fix or an adventure he couldn't resist. With trade routes to his remote Lowlands town cut off, Jacob must exchange his boyhood adventures for petty theft. After all, his wages at the tinker shop aren't enough to pay for his father's medicine.

But it soon becomes clear why few merchants brave the nearby roads as a plague of terrifying creatures descends upon the town. With the Lowlands under siege, Jacob and his friend have no choice but to run for their lives. When their escape uncovers a terrible secret, Jacob learns there are those who'll stop at nothing to make sure the teen takes the scandal to his grave....

Steamborn is an inventive YA fantasy novel with a heavy dash of steampunk. If you like dystopian settings, killer insects, and resourceful characters, then you'll love Eric Asher's gear-turning tale.

Book 2: Steamforged

There are old wounds in the forgotten places of the world, and some are soaked in blood.

Jacob and his allies flee into the Deadlands after the fall of Ancora. Charles, the enigmatic smith, hopes to find answers in the desert city of Bollwerk that could prevent a war.

Their enemies are many, and here Jacob will learn the cost of life in the Deadlands.

Book 3: Steamsworn

The world dies in war only to be reborn. It is the way of things, and always will be.

Forged in the Deadlands crucible, and armed with the knowledge of their true enemy, Jacob, Alice, and their allies bring the fight back to Ancora. The wounds cut deep in their darkest hour, but in the end, vengeance will light their path.

This collection includes Steamborn, Steamforged, and Steamsworn. Grab it and crank up a whimsical thrill-ride today!

©2016 Eric R. Asher (P)2017 Eric R. Asher

Good YA fare

I enjoyed this story quite a bit even though I don't usually seek out Steampunk or YA as a general rule. The narrator is very talented but some of the male voices seemed very similar to me and hard to separate. To be fair, there were many characters she had to juggle. I would recommend this highly to younger listeners and anyone older (like me) who enjoys a look back now and then.

I received a free review copy of this book from the author and it did not alter my review..

A Fun Steampunk Adventure

Overall I enjoyed the three books, the first was my favorite. I enjoyed the world building and hints at the history of the world. A few things were a bit overtly stated but overall the author described and built the fantasy world well.

One main issue with the book was the odd growth pattern and instant abilities of the characters in a short time span. The first book didn’t have this problem as much, but the subsequent two struggled with it. The story takes place in a short time span, yet the abilities and behavior of the characters changes suddenly. This is less true with the main protagonist, but with other characters they suddenly have strong emotional bonds or abilities that come out of nowhere and don’t fit the plot or characters.

The worst example is with the princess. The author describes her as younger than Alice who is 15/16 years old. The princess goes from helplessly getting kidnapped to beating up a bunch of trained soldiers in battle. Then the author retcons her into a skilled warrior who partook in many battles. Beyond the ridiculousness of a young girl fighting a bunch of trained soldiers, it doesn’t even fit her own character as originally described. Since it’s a steampunk world there isn’t the way out of using magical/mystical powers. Simultaneously, the other characters suddenly have this strong emotional bond to the girl despite only knowing her for a few weeks at most. These kind of issues were present in other characters, but just not to such a jarring extreme. I think these issues are due in part to the compressed timeframe of the story, but also character development issues especially in the third book.

The second major issue is scaling the world. Each new area is portrayed as progressively stronger and more developed. It’s not horrible, but feels like some of the world building was haphazard. The history of the world is introduced well, but the present world introduction feels like a continual level up approach.

The first book lacks most of these issues and was definitely my favorite and book three was definitely the roughest in my opinion. I enjoyed the books overall, but felt the last book struggled more than the other two.

Dystopian Steampunk?

Not sure if this series is Dystopian Steampunk or a Steampunk Dystopia. I do know this was a great listen. Throw in giant bugs and adventure on a scale that young tinkers apprentice Jacob never figured he would be a part of and you have a great story. With Saskia Maarleveld reading the story it made it come to life. My wife and I listened to this together in the evenings and we enjoyed it immensely. Now I understand the allure of the old radio shows.
Author Eric Asher is a great story teller, and I look forward to more stories from him.

Im depressed its all over

I have no words except im really sad that there are no sequels to this amazing trilogy. I might be too sad to move on to a next book. Dude. I can't overstate how sad i am

good listen

I enjoyed the series quiet a bit, granted the genre isn't what i usually read or enjoy it was nice all the same.

For young adults and teens into Steampunk

This was okay and GP so it would be better for young teen. I thought it would be really great because of the ratings but it wasn't really for me.
I work while listening and found I didn't have to go back a few chapters as I usually do when I get side tracked by work. The story was nice but not that interesting. The Steampunk theme may be great for those who love this look and genre, but for me it was just tired.

Loved it

Far better than I thought it would be. The narrator was great doing different voices .
Think this is a hidden gem of Syfi books.

Steamborn: The Complete Trilogy

I loved listening to this trilogy. I felt as if I was right there among them. Loved the narration. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

Great Series

Really enjoyed the series, hope to see more in the furure. First Eric Asher book i have read, I will have to find more by him.

What a wonderful journey

I loved it. So complete and vividly fleshed out. Unique but somehow heartening back to older, classic stories.