Hanzel
Done, Finally!!!
What is the best way to describe this one? Historical??? A large part of the story was, and then this was where I did a double take, from a magickal 17th century setting, a part of the story became Sci-Fi, this was where I completely lost my train and it tried to follow the flow and turned into a spacecraft....the Author had a nice way of bringing out what he wanted but it was really a stretch from magic to science.
For those who will read this one, a warning, once the chapter becomes something incomprehensible, stand up, do something else, until such time as your brain stops thinking in a linear path, then continue....everything becomes clear once you reach the last 3 chapters, should you go ahead and just read the last part, hmmmmmm...this story jumps from time to time literally.
A unique approach to our favourite fantasy, one that I can say caught my attention and I am awaiting for the second book.
Finished this 3 days ago, day job had a lot going on that I was forced to write a review just today.
Finally the last Monarch has ascended from Cradle....
The journey of Wei Shi Lindon Aurelius has ended, it took me awhile to even read this book, if not for Petrik's constant media bombardment, I doubt I would even have noticed or read it...
The first book was a bit of a letdown but the succeeding ones were every bit action packed, an entertaining read but for some of Lindon's meekness which book by book began to disappear until we have a true Aurelius (even if by association only).
I guess readers (I know I would) will still flock to the Wightverse even if the main character is not Lindon, Mercy, Ziel, Orthos, Blue, Yerin and of course their mentor Ozriel.
To Mr. Will Wight, Gratitude, for a tale that is well written, that captures the imagination and follows the age old saying “Follow your dreams and they will lead you to Monarchs and the Abidan above”.
If not for my principle of never DNF'ing anything, I would have really, really, really just chucked this one anywhere or the nearest bin....
By the Underworld's throne, never had I read a book that is about bickering, constant bickering, the concept of essence and how you can control, where it is from, how to acquire it, THIS IS ALREADY BOOK 3!!!! No changes whatsoever....still a concept...
Oh right the books are just 200+ pages, for a normal novel this might be a fourth of the journey but really just constant back and forth, this was a progression.... the only thing that progresses in my opinion was my feeling of throwing away this book...............
WHEW........finally done with it..........
These was a 2.5-ish more than a three, I lived/read through that constant bickering between Griffin and Serena, Rob was there just like a broken wheel, just loitering around 2/3 of the story, almost DNF'ed this whole series, thank you Book Gods for that last three chapters(Honestly, those last three chapters, they made this reading experience from insufferable to mildly ho-hum)..........
At least, we are starting to go somewhere, which should have been from the mid part, not that constant yammering......still having a hard time to truly process this latest progression but no deity manipulation(so far) is always a good, good start, just a really ingenious way of thinking
On to Dragon Yammering......I meant Dragon Touched......on the tongue.......
Whew .........
Another day, another progression novel done, hmmmmmm........keep wondering what is inside these books that make them so hard to put down(and each series is what 8 books and more......)Maybe........progress........
Now we have dragons or blood of dragons as the source of ascension or progress, as with all progression novels our hero did not......progress(heheheh.....ughhhh....I need to get out more), this time we have a new source of advancement, blood of dragons or firewater, Robert or Rob(no more asian names), is the only villager unable to advance even after drinking more than his fair share, as the book progresses, more and more ideas are introduced, making this one different from your usual training and training until you explode to your next advancement....
A fascinating and new approach to progressing, and since this has dragon in it, I am really looking forward to how they will incorporate that into levelling up........
Now, THIS, this is what I have been waiting for, finally, it took awhile to remove his whiny, dilly-dally attitude, and he started thinking, actually thinking, which we saw on the series first two books, where he was able to discover the “will surge/ability”, I have been waiting for Huon to just use his head + insight + gut instinct, he has been caught up with advancing that all he has been doing was cultivate/surge/advance and his love story, that he practically missed advancing his thinking, and look at how using his intellect just brought the best of the best out of him.....I have always believed in Huon's ability to think under pressure............
For an ultimate antagonist, the Everlasting King was not what I thought he should be, but that is natural since all his ability has been suppressed, this final fight between Huon and the Everlasting King should be impressive.
Damn, of all the numerous characters that I wanted to have breakthroughs were Liona, Elikho, Captain Avery and Gale and they were just sidelined.........
A lot happened on this volume, and I am now sincerely looking forward to Book 9, finally the series has become readable again!!!!!!
My marathon is almost done, last one book and I have caught up with the latest.......unfortunately I am still lost to whether love or lose this universe........
A voyage to finally go back and bring about change, again with nothing to do for the journey, training is a must, for what are Immortals to the Everlasting King, Huon has always been the one with the insight, I would have loved to read about either Captain Avery or Liona discovering something useful for a change, with the new knowledge, Huon does not waste time adopting his new ideas to further enhance his fighting capability, another reason why this book is a 3 star instead of 1.5.
My understanding of a progression novel, is constantly evolving, advancing, with Herzverse the concept is there, but the way it reaches that goal, that is where I have some doubts, those insights by Huon, those are unique, they make this otherwise train, train, train story into something better......but again there is something missing, more often than not monotony sets in.....is it because we only read about Huon???
Another book, another plateau conquered, again another(a lot of the “another” word thrown around)pedestal to climb...and so Soulblade.......
Sigggghhhhh........an actual 2.5 to be exact.....
I think this series is a fast read, as I mentioned before page count, each one is an average of 290+, the action is fast but not furious, I admit there are moments, but those are just flashes, I am truly saddened by what I feel, at first, even if I can already guess at what will happen, I just read and read and read, thinking...there must be something, our Author has written almost 8 books, somehow it must get better......unfortunately not much, Huon is a good character, not great just good, and hoping for him to advance, well he actually did, physically, ability wise, but mentally......it just drags down, all this insecurities, what ifs, I try to place myself in his shoes, a Teen, with enough power, sadly no idea to better use it, yes there were ideas that brought about an eagerness for me to read this series again, but right when there should be a breakthrough......stagnant again........
Immortality should have been a game changer, but again, mediocre ideas spun and spun until mediocrity becomes his ability, I have only read one progression series, and that had leaps and bounds, a lot going on in his world......sadly Huon's just stagnate....even advancing was a hohum affair........ohhh there were “flashes(again)”...........but it was really fleeting......
I wanted to give up on this series, but seeing as how I almost with the current book, well chocolate chip cookies are good, once you start eating, but once your throat starts constricting.......you end up being sick........I sincerely hope this does not happen.......to this book.
Chocolate Chip cookies anyone??????
Just like my favourite snack, full of yummy scrumptiousness but hardly anything good.......
I mean you just have to keep on reading and try to find anything that will say.....OH!!!!!!!!!! and not OH........
As usual our resident Champions embark on another thrilling adventure, that said adventure another tournament, sometimes just reading about training, and training and more training, makes me want to train not to slam this ebook down, I mean..........there is the usual inner monologue, but hardly anything is sorted out, just more of this and this and this, and what if this..........for once Huon can you just say or think “This is what I will do!!! And from there go do it none of this move forward, then backward again.........
Champion, supposedly the mid rank, naturally when you become a Legend, physically nothing comes close to hurting you(except for your fellow Legends and legend class creatures), your mindset becomes better, better understanding of yourself and environment.....but this is not the case with our favourite group........
The best part of this chocolate covered story(covered is the right choice, you see the chocolate, but it is not the gooey, chewy one, yummy is there since well it is chocolate...but this chip is kinda dry.......)was the tournament winding down to it's end(and what a finish, although not the finish I wanted).......I would have given this one a 2 star........hopefully the next book is better than a dry chocolate chip....
Somehow, I end up finishing each one in a day, must be because each one is a few pages(around 200+ pages shorter) less than what I am used to.........
Champion, the middle rank in Herzverse(I have to remember all this universes!!!), at least I think so, Huon's and Liona's journey is slowly(really slow, compared to.......nahhhh)gaining ground, their goal of going back and destroying the Everlasting King, In a few months(??) time from being Squires, then Knights now Champion, it is still not enough......
Not to spoil, finally a rank higher than Immortal is introduced, individuals that can help Huon's dream come true.........unfortunately as with every advancement comes that feeling of empowerment and selfishness, I mean why should this select few bother to help.....just like in our reality, the notion of being better than your brethren, it gives off this excuse to look and treat them as someone lower than you......
Finally some riddles are answered, and we gain new ones too, there is Captain Avery's real reason, soulbound against oathbound..........
As in any game, reaching the middle point tends to make it more interesting, as you gain in knowledge, ability and prowess, so does the world around you, no more Goblins, Giant Spiders, now we have Orcs, Lizardmen, various predators.........so with being a Champion, better essences, unique never before seen ones.....
All in all a breeze to finish, but with a lot more information....Oh finally I can see a better Huon......
Page count, page count, really, really short, anyways, as the levels of progression are lesser.......Naturally the narrative is shorter.
Ok, a lot of book readers tend to go for characterization, I also like character development, but I also love a story that is short but has a lot of meat in it, this one again has almost no character development, I mean if you already know what you want, the next should be how to go through with what you want rather than dilly dallying over something or things you cannot change, Huon suffers from too much internalizing, it makes the narrative lag, at least the story was going somewhere, Liona.......another good character again pushed to the sidelines......a lot of the characters seemed to be there just to torture Huon's internal self.....
Story, I like the progression, short, but again what is told is written, there are no going here, going there just to prolong the page count......
Honourbound might be short, but still we learn a lot, with regards to advancement, this one is just the calm before the storm, some tantalizing clues on how to use the essences, a surprising turn in the story(I was really debating on this, if the Author was going to use this method, Huon was really, really weak and annoyingly self projecting too much, you would not have survived in the wilds for 4 years, if you were always contradicting your decisions!!!)......
Still here.......................................????????????????
........Of course, as I have mentioned, progressing, advancing, leveling to the next level is one of the most anticipated result in any game, grinding is one of the way to ascend, also the most time consuming.......this particular book is the grinding part, now to LEVEL UP!!!! Book 4, I hope you really, really bring it out!!!!!
Book two done..........I would say this series is quite short and easy to read, also had the whole week off, Christian observance of the Holy Week.
So, thoughts........other than not to kill, not to do what the others have done, I want to do it my way, and ohhhh yes, Huon is now a Knight(ummmmm the advancement was not as sensational as the other series, have to remember not to keep on comparing both), was it better??? Well as with any progression(whether your DnD character, your mobile game, your PC game)the road to advancement is always a thrill, it makes your stomach knot into whatever, the chills of finally levelling up, going to spend those stat points, becoming more powerful........but do you have to whine so much, about your inability to fight against your oathmaster, hmmmm majority of this or half of the story is about that, and his progression......still readable, if only to learn how this universe works.........book two already and still the punch is not that hard, there is something missing.........Maturity??
I have to remember, these characters are teens basically, so they would be immature to a certain extent, character wise, still nothing.......the book and story still pulls you, What is a Champion, Legend, Immortal, what else after those, the abilities, the other characters.......ohh there are some surprises but that would be spoiling.........
So on to Honourbound!!!!!
After reading the first book, the only word that kept repeating is “Short-er”........
Was it better than a certain Martial Arts Zero to Hero??? I would say on the nature of advancement, Shi Lin(you know who he is) universe has a more stable and logical reason to advancing plus that reasoning is what made Shi Lin's universe more readable, rather than just cultivating or surging(I mean, I would read a more detailed reason why I turned into level 50 Assassin, as against killing and amassing XP to become level 50.......
Both main characters have that Iron Will to become the BEST AND HIGHEST warrior/mage they hope to be, but Shi Lin's beginning was a bit whiny, while Huon was dilly dallying(should I or should I not), both value companions, since they were lonely from the start(Shi Lin from being soulless from the start, to Huon's oathless because his mother tried hiding him), someone had to kick both (our mains)to start the ball rolling(as we say)...
Since I have caught up with Shi Lin's story(waiting for the last book), I have barely scratched Huon's but definitely Huon's story is a bit shorter and rushed(??)...are they the same though, well they are, progression fantasy, shunned in the beginning, but once they start amassing experience well......., enemies turned to companions turned to love interest(at least for Shi Lin), the need to right a wrong, to become THE BEST......
Ummmmm Cradle(Yes, yes, it is THAT series)had better rank names as compared to Surgecaller's I mean, Legend versus Underlord.
“I am Underlord Mojita, May I ask the name of my distinguished guest from another realm”. “I have the priviledged of being called Legend Susamuno”......and......“why are you rolling around laughing”.......”is this how you treat a guest”???!!!! “For this shameful act I will”.....(Hahahhahahahhhha, urgghhhhhh that technique just obliterated my lower half, if only I can just stop laughing........Legend....................HAHAAHHAHAHAHA, Monarch, I have failed you!!!!!
More characterization, rather than any actual fighting, although a part of it has some good actual fights, the Author is never afraid to sacrifice even a good character for the sake of continuation and a better storyline....
Whenever I read this particular universe, the song from Top Gun starts playing, and I can actually see the formation of the fighters, the suits used, somehow it should be Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica or even Star Trek(sorry Trekkies, I just fail to see your ships fighting like the others), we have action, romance(although always with our main protagonist, hence the Top Gun vibe), we have dogfights, Independence Day like aerial formations.......
But it always boils down to the Shamanistic part, if we take away this part, will it make the narration better??? So far I have not seen any indications to the contrary, yes maybe it will make the story run faster, better, but it also has it's own niche(I guess), maybe if his abilities manifest more, used more, impacts the story more, then I would say it works, for now it just lags, it creates a division, one part space opera in full swing, another a sort of just add in the stuff to make it longer(???!!!).....
Still, all said and done, the story is picking up, hopefully we can see the actual combination of Sci-Fi and Mysticism, and here's hoping it will make it fly higher!!!!
Top Gun plus Space Opera plus Indian MC plus a little bit of romance(but I guess that is where Top Gun comes in).......Oh we have magic too but only as a sidenote and some ramblings, but let us see, since I am hoping the Third Book would be ingressing and egressing hot.......
The universe created by Ms. Read is truly wonderful, full of wonderful characters, as diverse as I think they are(We have Indians, Jamaicans, Russians or their literary counterparts, honestly it does not ruin the story, gives it more depth), then the explanations of the spacecraft used, how they are ran, which explosives are used.....and so forth, but the best part is the complete knowledge on how an air force should be, we have briefings and debriefings, callsigns, we have missions, we have reconnaisance, name it and it is there.....this is like watching Top Gun in Space....the only thing I am missing are large scale combat manuevers....I would love to read about Destroyers, Interdictors, and so forth(why does Admiral Ackbar's infamous line “It's a trap” keep on repeating in my head)....
The story does not move fast but the reader will feel the plot moving...
And what about the dialogues of the characters, Just makes you smile, laugh, and even angry, in everything you just have to have some bad eggs....
With all of this going on, the Author was able to flesh out the Chalca race as an Indian/Mayan type of people, together with their chants(in an age where technology is superior, the author instill moments that is supernatural), the hardships they had to go through, their everyday life, We also have a bird like race, combining all of these, makes the story better!!!
Book Three, you better have some massive battle scenes!!!
What is it with Space Opera plus Academy, wherein you read the day to day struggle of your favourite protagonist and his cohorts, mates or wingmen/women and depending on the situation, laugh, curse, cry or wait in anticipation, but somehow in all works out and finally we see them graduate and or promoted and the story goes on.......
Such is the premise for this new space opera by D.T. Read, but this time the universe we are to visit is both scientific and magical in nature, not the usual full born magicks we are used to but a more spiritual one, and it blends well.
Introducing our protagonist Akuleh of Clan Masou, a downtrodden youth, full of issues, but instead of being weighed down by his troubles, he is able to surpass them, thus the story starts.
A wonderful new universe, inch by inch, stride for stride, the author tries to slowly build both the pilots and the universal system they are to protect and fight for. The characters reflect the universal adolescent striving for their future and trying just to survive, the narration was just simple but it packs a lot punch. A truly wonderful read.
After reading the last few chapters, I was reminded of all the old anecdotes, stories we(the children of the 70's) had to brave (We had to study this again and again, from our primary schooling until our secondary, the product of two cultures, you had to study Filipino/English, and in the afternoon Chinese)through, This hero did that, this hero followed this greater hero, and was backstabbed, and so forth and so on, perhaps the best story to compare this to was The Three Kingdoms, Kuni Garu as Liu Bei, Mata Zyndu as Cao Cao, and Gin Mazoti as the genius strategist Sun Quan.
What made it different was the introduction of Gods which added some spice(only some, since there was no magic system), some ideas that could have made China into a powerful nation(I mean mechanical crubens or steel boats/submarines), kites and dirigibles.
Aside from that, this novel gave me the impression of a Westernized version of those old books we studied, the heroics, the double crossing, was it better, ummmm I would say not that much, I would have preferred more mystical abilities, this was man at his best and brutal at the same time. I am having second thoughts on finishing the series but as per my principle, once I start a series, I try to finish it, whether a trilogy, quadrology, quintology and so forth.
There is something missing, the start was nice, new perspective, new characters, new world, then the Siege of Kostany, I think this was the point where my reading lagged a bit, the battle reminded me of the Constantinople, where British Knights sieged the abovementioned City, Paladins, Jannisaries, still it was interesting, Magic or Magus were a surprise mix, again it bogged down, I was looking for more excitement(???!!). The whole time it was like that, highs and lows.
Maybe the characters were just mediocre for me, base on experience, I know how it feels to want to exact vengeance on a person or a group of people, but not to the extreme of what I read, it came out as melodramatic, but reading the first part of the book, there were nothing of that sort, sometimes it felt that two writers wrote the book.
The mythology was a mix of Chtonian Christian and Indian belief, I was more interested with these, also the battle between the two armies was noteworthy.
All in all a fascinating read, the difference between the start and last few chapters was really exciting and boring at the same time, the characters were ok but prone to dramatics, the mythology, suffice to say my 3* rating was for this one, ohhh also the battles. Should I recommend this one, ABSOLUTELY YES, I want to see what others think.
On to Book Two!!!
Finishing the book, I was left with Lindon's favourite expression, puzzled, trying to figure something out..........Did I finish the book Dreadgod???? What is so Dreadgod like, aside from his usual stubborness, his must be able to ascend as soon as able.......
With the symbiotic relationship between Dreadgods and Monarchs, maybe I was hoping for more, well that is why this is a 4 star instead of a 3 star, maybe it was the cliffhanger, were there advancements??? Not the usual ones, in fact this was a preparation for the penultimate volume, a lot of scuffles(as if fighting the Silent King, Red Faith, Redmoon and the others are considered as scuffles)......will we finally see if absolute power corrupts absolutely, we see the ugly side of the Monarchs in trying to hold on to the status quo.
Book 12, it seems there are still a lot of loose ends to solve, for just a one volume, but still I will be waiting for the conclusion of Wei Shi Lindon's story!!!!
I liked the Blood Sage, unfortunately he was only meant to be...........in the end..........
Hmmmmmm......A magic using Sherlock Holmes, errrrr Warlock Holmes.........
Going in I was expecting brain busting monologues, whirling explanations, bombastic insights........sadly, we get a very, very, intelligent Watson, and an imbecilic Holmes, again should have been fun to read......right??? RIGHT???? Unfortunately not that tantalizing, I did not fall off to sleep though, kudos to how our Author blends his comedic approach with our bumbling Holmes, and systematic Watson.
The first book is a series of stories, can be read any which way, you want to start at the back, by no means, please do, You would miss some background story, the middle, ohhhh not the Donut story.........so uhhhhh, I guess it depends on the reader..........
Being the first book, I would be willing to read the second one, as I am fascinated by that cliffhanger......an easy, somewhat comedic read.......should clear your head a bit, I finished this in a seating.........but it did not clear my head though...........
A slow, slow, slow take on a supposedly zombie in the middle ages saga.
It started with a bit of mystery to heighten our so called “fear” but what comes out is really, really, flat, not even a thump in your heart, the writer's words, sentences, were good, there was proper timing, just not the kind wherein your heart beats to the words, where every sound makes you glance to your left and right.........
If the pacing was a bit slow, the characters are ok, your basic red blooded North American male, with lots of guts until the shouting begins, Arnulf, Fergus, Hafgan, Astrid, good solid protagonists but the others ummmmmmmm.......not “alive' enough
Maybe the story bogged down to too many mystery, the ritual, the sickness brought to Arn from afar, and then Cannibals(by itself should have been a good, good antagonist), my brain was racing, trying to look at all angles, how to direct my theories to “undead” plus cannibals plus disease.......there was a bit of plus factor, the discovery of the pit, the arrival of Arnulf's at Ravenshold and the subsequent actions......it pulled my belief to at least a 3 star......
Should you read it??? Honestly a no, but again all readers have a different taste, If you will, just be patient, there are some good actions, story telling.......ohhhhh I am starting Book two by the way........I am curious to a degree on what will happen........
Thrawn, no wonder your race was called Chiss, whenever I read any book with Thrawn in it, you have to be ready to analyze everything, or read every paragraph or sentence, because Thrawn seems to derive his ideas from them, like playing chess, no wonder my head aches after each and every Thrawn novel, there is this nagging feeling that you are missing something!!!
A big salute to Mr. Zahn, who brought Thrawn, nurtured, weaned and finally allowed him to walk on his own, I would to see him create a truly chaotic character!!!
Thrawn: Treason another tugging of ideas between the faction of Director Krennik and Grand Moff Tarkin, both who only wish to serve the Empire, what if the Empire was ruled not through fear and backstabbing, would it have been better??? The backstory regarding the Death Star project was truly informative but at the same time anti-climactic, as someone who watched the first trilogy and just read this novel, I kept thinking “so that is how it was brought about, but ultimately it failed”, I am still hoping Disney uses the Star Wars novel canon, because THERE ARE A LOT OF REALLY, REALLY GOOD IDEAS!!!!
This next trilogy is a good one, I am hoping for some new lore, great characters to add, most of all Thrawn with his own race!!! Finally our Admiral has come back home!!! Chiss Ascendancy here we GO!!!!
What more is there after breaking through Monarch level, apparently ascension...........but that is still too far for Lindon.......OR IS IT?????
Since Book 1, Lindon had a glimpse of his future, and through all ten books, he scraped, cheated, was singed, burned, bled to achieve his current level of pseudo Sage or Void Sage to be exact, that indomitable will that drove him, now at the conclusion of this book, it seems he has turned into something else, better or worse, the next book will tell, but that was really surprising.......
That revelation plus another one, this book just keeps getting better and better, ascending to a higher state, I thought I would get tired but no, every ascension has its own advantages and drawbacks, this time it is not the mundane level but the celestial one.......it makes waiting for the next book feel like, like, ascending.........
Finally, Lindon has broken from that naive, bowing to everyone, “I am so weak” mold, we have a more confident one, same can be said with Yiren, Mercy, Orthos, Blue.....more and more they start to become a real group that wants a better future.
Those bloopers, I just can not stop laughing, hahahhahahha, we have drama, action and now BLOOPERS!!!!
Cycling position, spread out the treasures, the next book is almost there, I feel the resonance...........