The Novice

some books cover the tropes you love and cover them well.
this is one of those books. a few small twists on the traditional fantasy works. enough to make the world feel good and unique, but not so much it feels strained.

The villains in this story were cheesy to the point of comedic. If they were just evil, they were mustache-twisting enemies. If they were nobles, they were just 2 dimensionally arrogant and smug beyond all reason. The main character had two kills and a wealth of survival experience under his belt, but can't muster enough confidence to ignore the chattering of children. It boggles the mind.

Just felt like i was reading a Pokémon story. Why use Shakespeare character names and names of real world figures as character names. It irritated me a lot, and I felt it messed with my ability to connect with the character. If you like teen fantasy, Pokémon and angry school teachers, you might enjoy this one. I didn't. The narrator did a good job though.

First you need to understand that I tend to be a tough reviewer who hardly ever rates a book a five. I think fives are for masterworks that years later you can remember and discuss with someone in a random conversation if a friend mentions the book or the author. Fours are for really good books. Threes are for books that were entertaining at the time but I won't remember the story line or characters a year later when I see the books cover in my library. This book is like a cross between Harry Potter and Pokémon. It has all the usual races of elf, dwarf, human and monsters. It was an easy listen and entertaining all the way around, but I would not consider it a work of art. The book comes to an actual conclusion of sorts so you don't feel ripped of by absolutely having to buy the next book in the series. I am growing Tired of books in a series that cannot be read as a stand alone story. The sequence of occurrences in the book seem Jammed together in a few places because the relationships tend to make jumps that would clearly take more time to develop than the author allowed. The time training is sketchy compared to mastery of skills as well. This is a lighthearted listen and worth the credit and time to listen but I would recommend it to a younger audience than the 50 year old man I am.

The positives = good story, some interesting magic tweaks, interesting characters. The bad = very predictable story, rushed ending, poor ending, character growth not consistent. I did binge listen to the story, which does highlight some things. The beginning is interesting and engaging. The fight scenes are not well done, I never got a feel for things. The ending was complete marketing, and poorly done. The narration does help this book though, and I think I will be searching for more of Ralph's work. <br/><br/>I don't think I will be getting the second in the series, unless I am looking for a time waster book + a spare credit.

The storyline was amazing.

I didn't have just one favorite character, I guess that was why I enjoyed this book so much. Each of the characters was well written.

I've never listened to Ralph Lister before, BUT I WILL BE!

Demons aren't the worst thing in the world.

I'll be listening to the other books soon. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

I found after chapter one that I was certainly not going to like the narrator, Ralph Lister. The content of the book however was very fun. A unique world that had a few elements I love such as: A magic school with rival competition, magical creatures that need to be captured and leveled up, and a protagonist who starts low-born with nothing who must rise above the status quo and overcome problems.

However, the actual execution of the story is where I had a lot of displeasure. The author might be young or new? The writing wasn't the worst thing I have ever read but it was certainly not the best. I would have to say the way the book is written is plainly average.

This book is not something I would recommend to someone, UNLESS they have already read a lot of my normal recommendations. AND they extremely enjoy books about magic school, Pokémon like pets, and teenage level war, love, and intrigue.

There's nothing I didn't like this book was amazing I recommend this read and the other books because if this one is good the others are going to be great too. I like this book had a proper bad guy in rook

Best book of the year

the open heart of Fletcher the main character who is willing to befriend anyone.

The way he was able to give voice to already interesting characters (especially the ones I hated) made me feel even more love or hate for them. The changing accents for the different races was also impressive.

The power of friendship regardless of race can overcome the greatest of opposition.

This was an amazing book. I'm a stay-at-home mom and I listen to books while doing chores and taking care of the little ones but I couldn't turn this one off. I found myself taking any opportunity to listen, walking around with one earbud in and my phone in my pocket all day. I even listened to it when I should have been sleeping because I simply couldn't put it down. I ended up ordering the next two as soon as I finished the first because I can't wait. There is so much joy and sorrow, love and hate written into this book I was sure this was an established author only to find out this is his first published book! My husband had read the book based off of Goodreads reviews and told me I HAD to get it and I ended up preordering it 2 days before it came out.<br/>I felt that Fletcher was a realistic character unlike some books series where the main character is unreasonably powerful and wins at everything, he faces true challenges and instead of relying on some "author given extreme power" he has to use cunning and the help of friendship to come out on top. He's an average guy who is kind to others and reaps the benefit of that kindness even when the kindness is not the popular thing to do.<br/>I was very impressed at the author's ability to make me truly HATE the antagonist of the book, I honestly wanted to stick my hands into the book and wring his neck, but still couldn't wait to find out what happened next.<br/>VERY well worth the reading or listening to.

Really liked this book and was sad that the next book in the series was so lackluster. The second book was so contrived that I couldn't get through it. Thank goodness for Audible's return policy!