I will say this. I own all but book 2 (I read that via Kindle Unlimited, and just couldn’t bring myself to buy it as an audiobook, though that may change in the future, just so’s I can binge the whole series in one go…) and I loved every second of this story. Jeff Hayes and Annie Ellicott bring the characters to life for me.
In this instance, for book 5 alone, I loved every second of the 11 hours. When I was finished with it? I was nearly in tears, mostly because I know this is the end of the series. We’ve watched Lee go from some shmuck without a single level to his name to becoming a strong character in terms of both described prowess and in narrative weight.
There was what amounts to a ‘training montage’ involved, but I fully understand, if you’ve got a timeline, but not enough space? Some times you have to compress things. It’s dealt with well, and the complications of such are brought out in full.
This book has emotional punch, consequences for decisions made, and it also closes the book on threads brought up from the previous volumes. The ending closes so many doors that needed closing, but it still left me sad.
‘Sad?’ I hear you ask in my fever-dreams. ‘But, you just praised the ending!’ Indeed I did, my friends. But I am sad. I am sad because it’s over. I will never again hear/read of Lee, Ling, Miller and the rest in the entourage on adventures trying to survive the God Wars. Sure, I may hear references to Lee in, say, Heroic Villain (Still waiting on book 3, my guy!) but Lee’s story is over. It saddens me that this was the ever-elusive ‘it.’ The End. THAT is my only regret in this story. That it is over. It was done in 5 books, and when I fully realized that ‘this is it. this is the end!’ I had barely 2 hours of the story left to hear read to me in Soundbooth Theater’s masterful production. And while the words will always be there, I now know where the path leads. I have now walked that road before, and never again will a turn of the page show me an unexpected twist, a new find, or some funny detail.
All I have now is memories. Memories forever tied to the hours I’ve spent listening or reading this story like it was a lifeline to some fantastic world of Gods and Monsters.
To Charles Dean, Jeff Hayes and Annie Ellicott? I salute you. Thank you, and everyone involved in bringing this story to life. I hope to continue walking down new roads with you all, roads you’ve paved with scenery you bring to life even if you never know I exist.
TL;DR: Good story, great finish, Charles Dean is someone I’d love to talk to and I wish I could work with Soundbooth Theater.