On the Shoulders of Titans
Ratings56
Average rating4
15
Ratings56
Average rating4
Corin Cadence finally has a firm reason to believe his brother, Tristan, is still alive.Unfortunately, finding more information isn't going to be easy. Tristan appears to be entangled with a clandestine organization that calls themselves Whispers. And Corin's last brush with the Whispers didn't exactly end well.As much as he wants to follow that lead, Corin has more pressing problems to deal with.Sera is still suffering from a mysterious malady that has stolen her voice and her magic. Corin knows that a portion of that is his fault, and he's determined to fix it.His mother is still off in another country, and there are growing odds that she's involved with a conspiracy to overthrow the visages.Corin has also been branded with a new magical mark on his right hand -- one that even veteran climbers don't seem to recognize. He's going to need to figure out how it works, otherwise it could be more of a vulnerability than an asset.Corin still hasn't finished his first year at Lorian Heights. If he fails his final exams, he'll be sent off to the military, and lose his chance to investigate his brother's fate.And finally, there's the issue of enemies.He might have made a few of them.The biggest problem?He's not sure if Jin, once one of his closest companions, is one of them.
Featured Series
5 primary booksArcane Ascension is a 5-book series with 5 primary works first released in 2017 with contributions by Andrew Rowe.
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Reviews with the most likes.
Executive Summary: After a slow start and a few stutters at times, this one ended pretty strong and I'll be looking forward to the next installment. 3.5 Stars, rounded up.
Audiobook: Nick Podehl does his usual excellent job, both in terms of his normal reading voice and the variety of voices he does throughout. His narration definitely helped make the slower parts more bearable.
Full Review
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was eager for this one to be released in audio. I found the first one to be fun with interesting world building despite not always being the best written.
In this volume, the quality of the writing was a bit more apparent. Not only is Corin overly competent for his skill/power level, there is a tendency for one of the characters to go on endless explaining things in minute detail.
There were still bits early on that I enjoyed, but I thought this book was heading for 3 or possibly even 2 star territory. As the book went on however, I remembered why I enjoyed the first so much as I got sucked into the story.
The problems I had early on didn't disappear, but simply were overshadowed by how much fun I was having with the story. I really enjoy the world and the magic Mr. Rowe has created for this series. I like the creative ways in which his characters use that magic, even if his first year students are far too capable compared to other more experienced and powerful characters.
Overall I found this book fun, despite its issues. It's in the “guilty pleasure” category with potential to be something more as Mr. Rowe continues to hone his writing skills. I'll definitely be picking up the next book in this series, and will likely pick up the prequel book he just released once it's available in audio.
Ok. With that I give up. 750 pages is too much to ask for from a series that pretty much has no strong characters and just random types of magic. The action/puzzle sequences do provide some relief but if I want Legend of Zelda I guess I will play the game.
Overall I think the book is decent, has interesting magic and an interesting plot line. My only real gripe with the book is that I find it to be repetitive and there's too much monologue in it (a fair amount seeming to be a repeat from something he's already monologued about). While I like learning about the magic and his thoughts, I find the way it's laid out to lack depth.
I think overall it just lacks a bit of focus and is drawn out when it doesn't need to be. I still recommend it if you want a quick read with an interesting magic system but I wouldn't expect top level writing. After the first book though, which I loved, I'm interested to see what the next will be like and will definitely plan on reading it.
