The Half-Assed Wizard

Book 1

De: Gary Jonas

Narrado por: Joe Hempel

A couple of jerks wake me up at the crack of noon. Seems my klepto uncle stole an ancient deck of Tarot cards from a high-powered wizard, and too many losers want to ruin my day to get them back.

The cards are cool, so I check them out, but my magic-happy cousin, Sabrina, tells me I'm not supposed to touch them. Oops. Too late. Now the damn cards are tuned to me, and if someone else wants to use them, I have to die. Why couldn't she have led with that information?

Magic was never my scene, but my dad is one of the most powerful wizards in the world, so I've got unrealized potential if I ever bother to apply myself. I'd rather power nap, but with wizards, gunslingers, and cannibalistic shark dudes coming at me, that's not gonna happen.

They say I'm a half-assed wizard, but if I don't play my cards right, I'm gonna get my whole ass killed.

©2017 Gary Jonas (P)2017 Gary Jonas

Magical Cards...

Any additional comments?

The book centered around the male lead, Brett, who is only interested in drugs and the "ladies"until one day he touches a deck of magical cards.

I liked the dialogue, it was sarcastic and funny.

Overall, an entertaining book that featured magic from different angles.

Joe Hempel did a great job with the narration.

Note:
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."

Talented slacker story with magical twist

This story... and the protagonist... is meant to be a light-hearted listen. Low key humor. Some interactions with various bad guys stretches credibility. That said, solid enough storyline and characters. Voice acting the protagonist's degree of slackerhood, and detachment that borders on ennui was generally accurate. But it did sometimes become somewhat "droning" in delivery.

This first book is mainly focused on establishing the hero's backstory and staging for sequels in "dragging" the protagonist out of his rut and assembling a cast of supporting characters around him.

An amusing wizard...

The Half-Assed Wizard (Book 1) by Gary Jonas and narrated by Joe Hempel turned out to be way more entertaining than I expected. Recommend if you like smart-ass characters and magic. 4 ½ stars for story, 5 stars for narration.

What’s it about? Brett lives at his parents house and lacks any kind of ambition other than to play with his band and even that’s questionable. His father is one of the top magicians in the world, while Brett wants nothing to do with magic or his father. His cousin, Sabrina, is also skilled at magic, in the family business, and helps to ground Brett. One of his band mates is a vampire. Brett ends up getting himself into a life and death situation with a deck of Tarot cards. The magical objects (Hendrix guitar) and bad guys (the shark men) add a certain amusement to the story. My favorite was the carpet, Mangani, that eats people. The only problem I had is it’s difficult to connect to Brett because he’s so much of a spoiled turd at times, but his situation changes towards the end and the potential for him to redeem himself in current and future installments is a possibility. We also learn a little of why he is the way he is as the book progresses and this could serve as a lesson as to not judge because we never know what’s going on behind the scenes.

The narrator, Joe Hempel, was amazing. He nailed the MC perfectly- he had me laughing several times. Definitely a great fit for this story.

“After give or six whiskeys, I was spiraling downward, but thought I was profound and had the secret of the universe ready to spill from my lips.”
~~
“You’re not going to hook up with anyone, Brett. You have an appointment, and your father and cousin are counting on you.” (Michael)
I started laughing. “They’re f*cked.” (Brett) This scene, Joe had me laughing with the way he said this, if you listen to any part of the book, make sure it’s this scene.
~~
“I had two choices. I could be perfect, which was never going to happen. Or I could stop trying.”


Overall, I highly recommend, especially if you prefer a little magic with your snark. I will listen to the second book asap if it becomes available as an audiobook.


Parental guidance/trigger warnings: drinking alcohol, smoking a joint, sex talk, father is abusive (mention of past physical abuse and the father and MC get in a fight in the book where the father physically hurts the MC, verbally abusive), death (via multiple ways, usually magical). Language used: fx20, sx50, hellx30, and possibly more I’m missing.


*I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!

Funny and Entertaining Listen

Fun look at a VERY dysfunctional magical family. I really enjoyed the casual attitude of the slacker wizard and I loved Michael's character. This audiobook was laugh out loud funny in places, although the story itself was a little hard to follow sometimes with the characters switching sides and acting under false pretenses. Regardless, it was all a heck of a lot of fun, and I am looking forward to the next book.

The narration was great. Joe did a fantastic job giving different voices to the different characters. The pacing and delivery were excellent. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook more than I think I would have reading the book myself.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Joe Hempel brings this book to life!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Half-Assed Wizard to be better than the print version?

Yes!

Have you listened to any of Joe Hempel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, and this one is just as good. Check out Joe's narration on Ring of Promise. You won't be disappointed.

Any additional comments?

Joe is a natural for this book. His tone and pacing fit the main character great. This really allows the listener to get a feel for the character and his "laziness". It got so good that at times I could predict the response from the main character because I began to understand him. That is not a knock on the text as being predictable, the character development was just that good.