The Seventeenth Year

The World Walker, Book 3

By: Ian W. Sainsbury

Narrated by: Todd Boyce

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

What if every choice you ever made had the power to reshape reality?

Joni, the daughter of World Walker Seb Varden, has never met her father. And the world he left behind has become a dangerous place for the last generation of Manna users. Mee and John insist Seb will return, but what if they're wrong?

Could it be possible she has none of Seb Varden's powers? Or might her abilities reveal themselves as she leaves childhood behind? In her 17th year, Joni will be forced to leave those she loves, face a great evil, and finally learn the truth about her father.

©2017 Ian Sainsbury (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

The gimmick was a poor one.

Any additional comments?

There could have been so much that could have happened in this instalment. The gimmick simply ate up reading/listening time. The constant narrative recapping events to make sure the reader was still with the twists was a bit much. Then again the repeating of events to other characters over and over again so that the characters were up to date was yet another layer of retelling.

I think the gimmick could have been used more effectively. The potential capabilities that were simply left on the table and not explored hurt the plot and made the story much blander than previous instalments.

( It's hard not giving spoilers. )

1 2 & 3

it took half way through the first book to really get hold of the many characters storyline and get some flow of the story, brilliant narration excellent each book had me wanting more and seeking heroes outcomes..well thats the thrill and drama of each book loved the series

Gets you from the beginning

Just wow! another great book in the series! Todd did an amazing job of showcasing Joan's friggin power. Even though she is Sebb's daughter, she doesn't seem to have his powers.

While Joan's is on the run by some crazed lunatic, she shows she can wield her powers.

downgrade from the first two in this series

I was not pleased with this one. I felt the main character should have done something different in a key moment. additionally, Deus ex machina is not hey satisfying resolution. I'm hoping to pick back up in the fourth book.

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Great Fiction

I fully enjoyed this book in every way. I love the characters I love the build up of the characters I wait till the end of the book to find out the answers to the questions of the book leaves. I’m looking forward to the next book hoping for final answers.

Man, that was some tasty storytelling

Imo this is the best of the bunch... A tight, well paced, and intriguing sf/fantasy, coming of age type, thriller... The writing is impressive... Delightfully intricate plotting, and replotting, w/o confusing the storyline... The reset drives action, and emphasizes consequences... Little bit of ssocial commentary of a topical nature, lightly and perceptively done... Excellent characters and relationships... Great bad guy, and loved the way AI is proposed, and what that makes Sim... I was engrossed thoroughly, and awed by the storytelling skill displayed... Couldn't put it down...

great book

I have enjoyed this book immensely . The storyline was great. I listen to it while I'm at work . the author of this book is a great writer I look forward to reading more of his books

The weakest of them all, but still entertaining!

I've read all 4 books and I'm writing one review for them all with the hope to help you decide if it is worth listening them. My first impression is that it sound a lot like a tale (fairy tale if you wish). It is not such, but it does sound like one. It grabs you from the beginning, very original start. You might experience memories from your childhood while listening this book (the whole series actually), which was a great feeling for me and hopefully for you too. The author makes a wonderful job extending the story in a way that you don't get bored by useless character building. The character building happens while the story develops - the author takes a short chapters to show you something in the past and that's how it happens. Most of the times those short chapters in the past are accompanied with nice story, so even that is not boring.

The narrator - super, amazing job... I'm simply speech less. I can't imagine anyone better for this job. I'm big fan of R.C. Bray, but I think even he can't make that good narration of the book. I'd say he is half of the pleasure you get while listening the book. The main reason - he reads the book as a story-tale.

As for the story - you might think it is a sci-fi, then a fantasy.. then a mixture.. and the truth could be somewhere in between.. who knows :) But it is an original story and it is entertaining.

Now about each book:

The World Walker - 9 out of 10 - great beginning of the series.
The Unmaking Engine - 10 out of 10 - simply amazing, probably the best book of them all.
The Seventeenth Year - 7 out of 10 - now that's a problem. If you are pretty young, you will probably give it 10/10, but I'm nearly 40 and it did sound a lot like teenage action. Also too much love. Basically I think this was the weakest book of them all, but still interesting enough. You better don't skip it or you will regret :)
The Unnamed Way - 9 out of 10 - back in business again! All goodies are back again.. there's again a bit more love/romance then needed and a little flat end, but the end is just 1-2 chapters, while all the rest was very entertaining. The story prior the end was very interesting and the end itself was expected and nothing spectacular.

The author has a great potential. I see these are his first books. He has a great writing skills, very captivate style. I just wish he does a bit less distraction.. lets say 10-20% less would make his books even more interesting. But even with this I definitely put this author is my personal top 3 and I'm very keen on reading/listening more books by Ian W. Sainsbury !

Decent story, really just one book split into 3

this book could have easily been part of the previous 2. but hey I bought it so I guess it doesnt bother me that much.
my biggest complaint is with the narrator and his odd pronunciation. If he has an accent I can't place it, but it really takes me out of the book when I feel I need to think about the sound he made and decode what he meant. There are moments in the book that I was truly surprised that his pronunciation made it through the editing process. for example he pronounces the work nonchalant as if it was nunchulunt multiple times throughout the story.
He has an excellent grasp of the rhythm of a conversation and his ability so switch between voices is spot on, if only those voices had consistent pronunciation I would rate it as among the best performances I had ever heard.

The story itself is a little shallow, but it's certainly entertaining. I enjoyed the first two books much more, but I'm still glad I listened to this one. Its interesting to see the tale of Seb and the mana users from a new perspective. I also like the use of the island to limit the power of the mana users and remove the over top all powerful magical solutions to all the problems.

the end is very much deus ex machina but hey the hero is basically a God so I suppose it fits.