Better than the Blurb

The blurb makes this book sounds like Star Wars with different names. I'm someone who can take or leave that particular saga, so I wasn't enthused by the description. But I love Authors and Dragons, and Joe sounds like an awesome guy, so when this book went on sale, I bought it.

It's good! You can definitely see pieces of various sci-fi fandoms in the bones, but it quickly becomes its own thing. The writing is good, the characters are interesting, and the story moves quickly. The exposition is delightfully painless and relevant, which is so often not the case in sci-fi.

**trigger warning** There are 2 instances of child rape. They both happen "off screen," but the horror is evident and evocative. The Eternal Order are very evil people, and Brassey does a good job showing enough to drive the point home without wallowing in the atrocities.

The narrator is kind of hit and miss. She has a nice voice with good emotional range and different accents, but she mispronounces certain words, and her inflections are wrong a lot. I found myself repeating sentences to get the emphasis in the right place. I think she needs a better editor/sound booth person. If those few lines per chapter were corrected, I'd have had a much smoother listening experience.

I hope that Dragon Road comes out in audio. I will buy it if it does.

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1 person found this helpful

fine

I bounced off this about half way through. I can't say it's particularly awful but it's a bit borring. it's a shame because there are lots of neat ideas inside. Space magic, magic knights, portal jumping space ship things. I honestly wanted to love this book but just couldn't. Sorry.

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1 person found this helpful

why not more

where are the other two books? this one is great. want more. really enjoyed the book

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Loved it!

If you like any or all of Firefly, Star Wars, or Highlander, you'll love this! Definitely better than the description led me to believe, and I loved Penelope Rawlins' performance.

Definitely worth the credit.

Audible, let's have book 2 please!!

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Potentially Interesting Story/Performance Subpar

The story seemed interesting but personally I didn't care for Penelope Rawlins performance of this story. I kept trying but ultimately I'm just going to read this book instead of audio book.

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best fight scenes ever

only a real swordsman can write such beautifully detailed, and accurate sword fights. and the story was great too. can't wait for the next book

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Remarkable story.

The characters are engaging and have good depth, especially Asrael. The floating isles concept is awesome. I cannot wait until book 2 is on audible.

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Unbelievably boring and unbelievable characters.

The Narrator just simply grates on my nerves. But that is simply my personal preference.

I am a huge fan of Authors & Dragons, so bought this book solely in deference for the wit and personality shown on the podcast. Hoping his writing would show those facets also.
At first the story showed a rich world and interesting heroine. But soon over worded descriptions, imprecise character directions left the audible feeling like off keyed notes and jarring distractions preventing me from being engrossed in the story.

I main plot structure shows potential. But a major, if not complete rewrite required to take this book from subpar to professional.

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