A bit of a new spin on familiar themes makes for promising size opener.
“I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.”
While this story does nothing especially groundbreaking, it does recombine common fantasy elements into an intriguing new tapestry. Some character motivations, especially toward the end, seemed intended to force the plot along the authors plan rather than arising naturally from the characters, but other than that minor flaw the story was quite enjoyable.
The worldbuilding was sufficient without being excessive. I personally would’ve liked to know a bit more, but the world didn’t feel sparse either.
The narrator is top-notch. I’d put my listen through of the Cradle series on hold to review this, and it took me until almost halfway through the books realize it was the same narrator. With another narrator, this could’ve been an absolutely average fantasy book. Travis’s performance really helped to bring out its more unique qualities.
Overall, good start to an interesting new series which I look forward to continuing.