On the Shoulders of Titans

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.