The Academy

By: Vincent Trigili

Narrated by: Jack de Golia

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Empire had fallen, and the Imperial Navy was disbanded leaving James with nothing but his nightmares to remind him of the role he once played in The Great War. James must now face his new life in a new era where science and technology must share the stage with sorcery and wizardry, and a new ever-present shadow of evil lurks over the remnants of the once great Empire. A new generation of warriors will be needed to fight this battle. James is determined to be part of that new generation and maybe find freedom from the nightmares that control his life.

©2010 Vincent Trigili (P)2014 Vincent Trigili

A Great Second Book in Series Narrated by Jack

The Second Book in the "Lost Tales Of Power" Series narrated again by Jack De Golia @JackWestCoast. Jack's ability to do male and female voices and even different alien races in a way that I can tell who is talking before the author tells me is a great credit to his workmanship and love of the spoken word.  The Author Vincent Trigili work continues to expand a universe to include other dementions without streaching the believability of the story.  He takes from several different known ideas, stargates, warp drive, magic, good and evil, and weaves them into a story that is interesting and intriguing. 

In this book the Characters from the first Book "Enemy of an Enemy" play an advanced but background roll and he introduces us to new young characters. Although young is relative as these characters live for hundreds of years. As the Empire has fallen and the Imperial Navy has been broken up and handed out to newly formed "states/governments" James the Pilot who assissted in defeating the Sorcerers in the final battle must deal with his nightmares of loseing a ship in battle and of his future. James enters the academy and unlike normal boot camp this training starts with a ten year training and weeding out process. Breaking students of old world ideas of selfishness and rebuilding selflessness and team work. Something lost in the technology overloaded future. 

There is still a darkness in the air over the newly formed republic and only a few can sense its presence. Time is ticking to train new wizards in time for the sorcerers revenge. This book and series looks at manyaspects of future life in a mystical yet practical way. I enjoy these books and hope to continue to receive them for review in the future.


  

1 person found this helpful

In love with this series!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! Its perfect for any scifi/fantasy nut. It has a lot of the magic elements this time and the characters are well developed.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Shadow and Flame. Because the two just work. Its a perfect combo. And its not overly done.

Which scene was your favorite?

First time Phoenix gets injured. Didn't see it coming. One of those oh darn, excitement, moments.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, as it moves but cant because schedule doesnt allow.

Any additional comments?

Yes!!! I need book 3 and its not on audible. So, I'm jumping over to kindle now!!! :)

1 person found this helpful

Even better than the first book!

Who was your favorite character and why?

James. I liked him even better than the main protagonist from the first book. He does make an appearance here, but he is far from essential too this story.

Which scene was your favorite?

When james saved his classmates mother on her home planet (I forgot her name)

Any additional comments?

This is overall much better then the first book, and I'd give that 4/5 stars. The story is better and the characters are a bit easier too relate to. If you liked the first book, you should definitely give this one a try.

1 person found this helpful

great

excellent second book in this series, great narrator, awesome story and timeline development, details well conveyed

AWESOME SEQUEL

What made the experience of listening to The Academy the most enjoyable?

The narrator and his subtle use of voices for each character

What did you like best about this story?

How it sucked you in and wouldn't let you go even at the end

Seat gripping suspense

This second book in the series was a nail biter. I had to grip the steering wheel very firmly as I listened to Jack read the words in very distinctive voices. He did such a wonderful job narrating the characters I was able to follow the story effortlessly. I do know that there would not have been much to follow had the author not written an incredible story. It is a bit difficult for me to start a book knowing that the time has moved ahead by 100 years or more. The development of characters was a very detailed, and complex story I loved how James was tied in from the first book, and he was a trusted comrade of Vydor. Patti is a little feisty spit fire of a red headed spirit, and you can just see and feel her deep inside. I loved this book and cannot wait to read the next. I have listened to both through Audible, and as the third is not available I will be spending more time on my kindle!

Fun world(s) filled with lasers, magic, and love

Any additional comments?

As a member of the Imperial Navy stationed on the Dragon Claw, James played a very important role in The Great War. Now that he has resigned, all James has left of that time are the nightmares. With the opening of Grand Master Vydor’s school, the Academy, James decides to apply. Despite not liking the odds with several million applying every year and only one thousand accepting, he made the cut. Shortly after arriving, James was made a leader of his own team of Prospects — the lowest ranking at The Academy — which he took very seriously. Over the following seven years, his team ranked among the top of the class and broke many records. Upon discovering why the school teaches the way they do, James was quickly promoted to Apprentice Wizard. As part of the graduation from prospect to student, all those moving forward are told what their mastery is. James was a Spell Weaver, the rarest of the magical focuses. Being the only other Spell Weaver other than Vydor, he was the next in line to be Grand Master. As such, he became a huge target for the rival and want to be conquerors, the Sorcerers. Things escalate quickly for Shadow Weaver, the name James takes upon learning his power, and his friends. Patti, also known as Flame, a woman whom James has been in school with for 10 years invited him to visit her planet and meet her parents. It turns out Patti’s mother was under the influence of an evil creature, all to get Shadow Weaver. That’s when everything falls into place and the story really gets rolling. There’s kidnapping, attacks on planets, unlikely heroes, and hooded and mysterious Magi who seem to know more about the Spell Weaver than he knows about himself, and they seem to have put some major events into motion.

Jack De Golia took the helm as narrator for this story and he did a great job. Again, I was pleased and impressed at his talent for voices, every single character is easily recognized. His reading of The Academy was more fluid than what I remember from The Enemy of an Enemy, which was my only complaint about his previous performance. With such an improvement in just one book, I will definitely be keeping my eye on Jack.

Overall, I really liked this audio book. While I enjoyed the first book, this one is definitely an improvement in both writing and storytelling, and in the narration. I would also like to add that Mr. Trigili did a great job of mixing the magic of Fantasy and the interplanetary space travel of Sci-Fi together. It never seems out of place when someone is wielding wands in a star ship landing bay, or others are throwing fireballs down hallways. Give this a go, it’s very entertaining and the world being created by Vincent Trigili gets more and more intriguing.

I enjoyed this novel

The story here really had be captivated. I really enjoy having a series of books to listen too. I will definitely look for more from this author!

The Academy

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Academy?

Started listening to this series and found myself drawn to the series of human people realizing through the course of the book that they were gifted with special powers. Thoroughly enjoyed book1 and 2.

You wrote them in the wrong order.

This book should have been about how the grand master learned to discover his ability. Then the next one could have been him kicking butt. I want more action and less coming of age.