Twinborn Chronicles: Awakening Collection

By: J.S. Morin

Narrated by: Mikael Naramore

Length: 67 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Caught in plots between two worlds, his only hope is to awaken the link between them.

Kyrus had lived a quiet life as a scribe until his dreams begin seeping into his waking life. Fanciful tales of magic and battle turn out to be real. In his sleep, he witnesses the adventures of his twin. Kyrus is swept up in the intrigues of those who already know of this connection between worlds.

As his knowledge of the two worlds grows, so does his entanglement in the intrigues between them. Kyrus discovers friends, lovers, and adversaries among the twinborn. His knowledge of magic grows until he becomes a valuable pawn for masterminds of plots that threaten empires.

Kyrus must learn a deadly game against opponents who already know the rules. He must join forces with his twin to combat threats in both worlds. One misstep or misplaced trust and Kyrus could find himself dying...twice.

Twinborn Chronicles: Awakening Collection is a three-book collection chronicling the adventures of heroes who alter two worlds. For fans of epic fantasy who aren’t looking to start another unfinished series, the Twinborn Chronicles provides multiple new worlds to explore and all the closure you’ve long been denied.

©2012 J.S. Morin (P)2018 J.S. Morin

Better than Expected

I usually look for fantasy books by length more than any other criteria (the longer the better) and I won't even pretend to have hesitated at a value like this one. 67 hours for a single credit was perfect!

The story was a bit slow as it seeks to bring together more than half a dozen characters at a time; something which was frequently difficult to keep a rolling tally of; but I will admit that, to keep the review short and without revealing too much of the story, I was well pleased with my purchase by the end of the final part and went on to buy the next set of this series (books 4-7).

Lots of Listening, Not Much Content

First off, very hard to argue with the value of a single credit for an astounding number of hours of listening. On the other hand, it's difficult to say that this was 67 hours well spent. Or maybe better to day that I bet I could have spent 3 credits on other titles and felt better after I was finished. Overall, the story was weak, the ending was unsatisfying, and the journey was tedious.

The good: Really enjoyed the whole concept of the twin-born and the magic system. Creative and interesting, and adding the Source to the equation made that part of the story very interesting. I was completely taken in by the novelty of the concept and the people and skills that emerged in book 1. The antagonists were evil and the protagonists were good although there is enough to make you wonder! Made for clear direction and, except for a final twist, satisfying. Subsequent innovations with the formerly-sea-going-warships was innovative and cool.

The Bad and Ugly: This whole series feels like it was written without the author ever going back and editing any consistency into anything that was written earlier. People literally changed personalities when they get to book 2. Don't get me started on the people changing sides or inventing their own objectives that seem to have no relevance to the overall book. Oh yeah, and lets not forget that the series goes from "OMG, we're being attacked"! to "I need to kill people to " further objectives that are obscure.

Also worth comment is the complexity of the Twinborns concept itself. Constantly referring to the twin while discussing the other twin, and even swapping their names, is very hard to track on Audible. If I'm talking to Joe, but refer him as Charlie, his twin, I have to make a major mental effort to complete the equation. Along those lines, let me also disparage the amazingly awesome, but astoundingly difficult to parse, communications between the twin-born. If you've read it, you know what I mean, if not, lets just say that I had to pause the book multiple times to figure out how a message got from person A to person B.

The narration was a mixed bag, I like Naramore, but he was handicapped by his range and by apparently not reading the books before reading the script. There was a jarring issue with him switching to giving the Twins the same voice towards the end of the first book. They had unique voices until the narrative made it clear they were the same (sort of) person. While it made sense that they have the same voice, the switch made you lose the verbal cues that identified individual characters. It made the whole series more confusing. I liked his Rashawn character and his snarky personality was awesome, but ultimately, his emotive range for that character was below expectations.

wow so the first fantasy book I ever truly enjoyed

Im obsessed with some of the current sci fi stuff on audible. I didnt expect to like this fantasy based one. I cringed with start but willed myself to listen to fist hour at least, because I adored Black Ocean series. I dont like fantasy and really dont like hobbits and goblins and kingdoms.

But somewhere ... the characters developed and grabbed me. The way characters in Black Ocean did. I was intrigued. Then I realized the story is doing something I never heard of before. It became quantum physics or some kind of unknown possible science. I guess that is magic.

Seriously great work. Intelligent while still being light, humorous, charming, and whimsical.

I kept thinking they could all be aliens, why did he have to go the goblin route? But then I got it, and it all made sense and fell into line and I couldnt stop listening.


Also, I think some people leave very negative reviews just to get refunded for books to take advantage of the credit system. When considering a review, it's a good idea to see what other reviews a user left.

A fresh take on fantasy

this was an amazing collection of books that I have thoroughly enjoyed. if you enjoy high fantasy and well orchestrated plot along with deep and coherent world building then I recommend you pick this up at once.

Bought it for length, enjoyed it at length

I had listened to the sci fi written by J.S. Morin and while I enjoyed it I struggled to follow and lost interest on and off (still haven't finished it). However this series kept me engaged all 40+ hours and I immediately bought the next omnibus.

While the story does meander some, and the ending is somewhat predictable, the journey is fun and you are always waiting for the protagonist to put the pieces together that you put together early on. Satisfying ending and lots of room for the rest of the story.

If you are like me and are devouring books faster than your favorite artists can write, take a trip to the worlds of the twin born and sit back and listen. It might not be the best thing ever written but it was very much worth the credit.

Interesting concepts, terrible pacing

I was excited when I saw the opportunity to get 67 hours of entertainment for one credit. I found most of the first book to be refreshing and the concepts were different in a good way. The issue I had was that it felt like all of books two and three were just drug out for no real reason in a horribly slow paced grind. Like, you spend 30-40 hours watching and knowing where things are going to go but for some reason it just crawls along.

I found that the interesting concepts were mostly front loaded and after that it was like watching a slow moving episode of game of thrones that just won't end. I still found it worth one credit but I would have been annoyed if I had spent more than that.

Torturous

First I am not a writer nor does my technical expertise require perfect spelling or grammer, so if you disagree with me about the book review, keep it to the topic and don't try and be arrogant.

I chose this because I did not see anything else interesting at the time and for the number of hours it was cheap. If you want to follow this book think about how bad a Harry Potter movie would be if every character seen was named and had a history to tell, then split that into 3 "worlds", 4 if you count the "gods" with characters crossing as "twins" with a different name. The basic plot is ok. But if you really want to know who is who, clear every wall in your bedroom and get several colors of thumbtacks and about a dozen colors of string to start your on map of characters, worlds, relatives, friends and foes and when they are which. When you finished with the book you will need new drywall on all 4 walls if you can get out from all the connecting strings to call someone. Oh and be sure your good at writing K's as it is so common in all the made up names it makes it that much harder to follow. I suffered all the way until the last 2 hours and could not cross that line.

Simply the worst edited book I have ever read or listened to and worse than movie I have ever seen. This may be the first book review I have ever done. For the 57-58 hours I put into this I earned the right to tell it like it is rather than just using the 5 star system.

Amazing value, and kept me entertained throughout!

I want to start off by saying as many others have, the first book in this series was somewhat confusing. There were so many different people and perspectives. The chime changing time or perspective was helpful, but didn't fully clear up the confusion. The concept in this series was exciting. You find real character development throughout. There are hardly any hollow, two-dimensional characters. Will not disappoint.

enjoyable but not particularly riveting.

better than some of the shlock fantasy available out there. some enjoyable characters save this from being completely pedestrian. good balance of action, character development, storyline and overall concept made it enjoyable enough.

Awful. Couldn't get past the first 20 min. So 67 h

Pretty bad. Couldn't get thru the first 20 min. Reading was ok it is just written with little experience. An amateur with talent. Too wordy.. Adding words where the imagination could have made a connection instead. Everything has detail. Not everything needs a detailed summary of its existence. Ie.. The tent pole was strong. It came from a place in the forest where the sun and water. Yada yada yada. As in who cares. Some detail is just not needed. Stephen king said adding word count for no reason can torpedo a story.. Charlotte joko beck said. Elegance is refusal. Which applies to literature as much as to any other topic. The empty spaces balanced against the discription of the backdrop and characters is a fine line.. A line that is not present here. I look forward to works by this author in the years to come.

Took me a little while to get into it but then...

...I was hooked! Thoroughly enjoyable listen that will ruin your social life and marriage for the next 40+hours. highly recommended!

Inventive fantasy

The core principle behind this story is awesome, the story is good and the performance is excellent for 1 credit its a seriously good value for money, if you like Brandon Sanderson's work this is for you.

Came here after Galaxy Outlaws

If, like me, you came here for more of the duo of Morin and Naramore, you will not be disappointed. I will give a heads up to try and listen to another audio book Inbetween though, as initially hearing Naramores voice I started to collate the characters from Galaxy outlaws to this.
It may seem a little bit slow at times, confusing to learn the characters, different worlds and where it’s all going, but once you’ve grasped that, is an adventure beyond adventures. Each character becomes their own and is easily portrayed by Naramore.
Definitely worth at least a try, especially considering the length.

The only problem is

The only problem is if you have read Galaxy Out laws from the same author and narrator , Its very hard to get the voices that you have linked to charters over 40 hours out of your head . That Said Both are brilliant

I returned it!

I returned this production doe to the stupidly annoying 'music' between parts. I dont think I got past Chapter 2. There ere so many of these annoying iterludes, only a few seconds long, but when you're getting them every 2-3 minutes, it detracts from the story. It may be a really good book/collection of books but I couldn't listen anymore.

Another beta book

I’m afraid the writer really doesn’t understand how to make a character, the central character is such a beta cuck. By the end of the 1st part you feel embarrassed for the characters and his pathetic nature. Sorry other than the fact it’s really long there’s only so much effort you can put. Into listening to a character that’s happy getting screwed over by his best mates dad, his best mate and ex girlfriend for 30+ hours save your credits hire something shorter but with a better charactet

worth the one credit for 3 books 🤙

narrator was awesome, good might and magic story and strong characters however they are alot of main characters can get a bit confusing sometimes but that's probably just me being stupid haa

Top notch story and incredible performance

Morin's story steadily draws you in with engaging characters and excellent world building. Naramore's performance brings each character vibrantly to life, and particular kudos must be given regarding his talent for voicing related characters and cultural accents.

Takes some getting into.

This was my "second" walk into JS Morin's works after Galaxy Outlaws. However it takes a very long time to get into and th mix of names and worlds is extremely confusing at times. All in all it wasnt bad and I will be continuing with the series.

woosh?!

struggled... but found the odd woosh sound too off putting. never read beyond first 10 mins