Want a NOOK? Explore Now
Isabella_Grey
Posted February 24, 2010
This book read, almost exactly, like my younger brother's D&D games. Poor charcter development when there was character development. Sentence structure make some passages hard to comprehend. It is very well written if the author is a high-school student. The plot had potential but went nowhere.
46 out of 71 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I'm very much a gaming geek and I think it would be wonderful to be able to live the lives of some of my RP characters. Brian S Pratt has given me an escape from day to day life that doesn't involve dragging out the dice or logging in to a forum. I absolutely loved this book. I was engaged from the very beginning, feeling somewhat in tune with the main character.
Having read a few of the reviews on this book, I was hesitant to pick it up. I downloaded to my nook for free and gave it a shot. I had some complaints about writing style, grammar, character development. I stuck it out, though. Got used to the here and there odd scene and misspellings and now can't wait to see what James gets in to next.
It really IS a good story. I think that, if you can read a book without cringing at every mistake, you could really enjoy this story.
Though he has a quirky writing style, (third person, present tense) if you've gamed at all, you can get used to it very quickly!
I would suggest this book to ANYONE who enjoys gaming or fantasy novels.
43 out of 49 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.DHawthorne
Posted November 1, 2010
I find it difficult to understand how this book could have gotten so many positive reviews. The premise is good, I'll give it that much, but the story itself is only passable, and the character developement is impossibly weak and difficult to believe. If it were a 15-year-old author submitting the book as a writing assignement, I'd say he had potential; but professional, commercial level writing, this is not. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say the author was encouraged by too many people that told him his writing was great, without giving him any real and honest criticism.
First off, it's written in a very quirky present-tense form, which constantly pulled my attention away from the story and pointed it at the writing style. Second, it was way too expository ... the author was continually explaining how the characters felt, and why they felt that way instead of simply telling the story and letting the reader figure such details out themselves. In the same vein, many of the story elements were simply unecessary, as if it were a grade-school lesson, not a novel.
The main character is horribly one-dimensional; thrust into a world of magic, after going to lengths to show us how he is too shy to even ask a girl for a date, he competently and calmly starts using his new magic, and acting the hero in every situation. Realistically, a person of the temperment and personality type originally protrayed would have curled up in a ball and gone catatonic. At the very least, he should have gone through some agonizing forced growth. But no, all the agonizing is on the readers side as he glibly begins slaying evil-doers without missing a step. He runs off on a quest that is unclear and unguided, and he has no compelling reason to do so beyond a gut feeling he ought to. He is competent and confident, and has no basis to be that way whatsoever. Om top of it all, he is condescending to his companions, as if they were the strangers, and he the experienced native.
I'm sure the story worked well as a D&D campaign. As a novel, I think it fails utterly. I also think it is a shame the work was ever published in this state ... with some proper coaching, it's possible the author could have greatly improved his craft and actually produced something worth reading. But this book is not that, and the fact is has been published will only encourage him to produce more tripe in the same vein.
33 out of 47 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 25, 2009
I wish every free ebook would be this entertaining. Lots of action, magic and thrilling chase scenes. The hero is a young man from our world, one who is ready to graduate and is being pressured to find a job. When he answeres an ad in the paper, the adventure gets started.
That's what I liked about this book the most. The action starts from the beginning and continues throughout. First there's a pack of wolves hot on his tail, bandits, and demonic forces. Trying not to give too much away here.
Okay, now the detractors. The writing needs some work, as does editing. Nothing major, though I did notice where improvements could be made. For the most part, the story flows well, but there are parts where it bogs down on inconsequential scenes, such as haggling, eating at an inn, that sort of thing. Thankfully, these are few and far between.
If I had to say what my favorite part of this book was, it would have to be the way James never has a chance to rest. A day here, two at most there, and troubles start. Not much in the way of down time you might say. The story rushes James along, throwing enemies at him left and right. I really enjoyed the trek through secret passages culminating in a subteranean boat ride.
Now, let's talk magic. James is, of course, from Earth. But in this mew world, magic works and he can manipulate it. He uses his past experiences in role playing, along with ideas gleaned from hundreds of books he's read (he's a bookworm), to better craft the spells he comes up with. He's a bit rough at first, but gets in the swing of things quicky.
All in all, a very fun and adventurous book. A good one when there's snow on the ground and a roaring fire nearby.
29 out of 34 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I really loved this book; so much so, that immediately after I finished reading it, I purchased and downloaded the additional six volumes in the series. Took me two weeks to read all seven. Wonderful series. There is a sequel, however there is currently only one book finished (out of the proposed five) and I feel I must hold off, if only because I do not do well with cliffhangers. :-) Overall an excellent series, considering I usually read vampire fiction, and not overall fantasy. However, now that I've finished with this series, I shall definitely look into other books of a similar nature. Mr. Pratt has a lifelong fan in me. ThamasD
17 out of 26 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 16, 2010
Cool story line, likeable characters, and thanks for making the names easy to understand and pronounce, but pleasepleaseplease hire an editor:
*"... marketplace was jamb pact..." Uh, what?
*Sentences change tense halfway through.
James seems surprisingly mature for a highschool student. Believable, if we had some explanatory back story for him.
With some spit and polish this could be an enjoyable read. Self-published doesn't have to mean poor writing. I'd like to read the rest of the series, but the poor editing has me wary about laying out money for the next volumes.
15 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted September 2, 2010
Amateur writing, no clear conflict, no clear antagonist, graphic killings without a motive, just...bad. I could find no justifiable message in it. If I had paid for this book, I'd be beyond annoyed. It reads like an adolescent writing about a fantasy. The main character is clearly a Mary Sue. I'll give this book one star since it won't permit me to give it no stars.
12 out of 25 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 16, 2010
I have read alot of free e-books. Most of them are .... well lets just say that its a darn good thing that they were free. In my humble opinion this one was great. I believe it was by smashwords. I have read several of theirs and they were all good. They have a great marketing ploy, give you the first one in the series free get you hooked and you buy the next ones. I will more then likely be buying the next one.
12 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 24, 2010
Forget free--you couldn't pay me to read this. It reads like it was written in a high school freshman-year "creative writing" class. I'm a bit on the geeky side myself, so it's not the subject matter that bugged me, it was the awful, awful, awful writing.
11 out of 22 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted July 9, 2010
I enjoyed the story, but it felt as if this book was a rough draft and still needed editing, polishing, etc. I have not decided whether or not to read the other books in the series because the writing style was lacking. If you enjoy a good story and don't mind a book that still needs editing then I recommend this to you.
11 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.FrogMight
Posted February 16, 2010
Simple story of a boy out of his element, literally. Cast into a world of magic and intrigue, he has to learn his purpose and place, and soon.
I enjoyed the story, and the sudden cliffhanger at the end left me looking for the second. Unfortunately, all of the series except the second book is available in the ebook format. Hope to find the second one soon!
11 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Writers_Block
Posted February 13, 2010
I Also Recommend:
I was looking forward to downloading this for my new nook. Sadly, it didn't live up to my expectations. The author's writing style is very choppy and juvenile, to the point of distraction. It's sad because I feel like the storyline has potential, but only in the hands of a more experienced writer, or a talented editor.
If you're looking for magic try Mercedes Lackey's "Elemental Masters" series, or for a younger reader "The Gemma Doyle Trilogy" by Libba Brey. For complete fantasy go for anything by Tamora Pierce.
11 out of 22 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I didn't expect much out of this book considering it's price (free). That being said this book honestly surprised me by being one of the better fantasy works I have read recently. It takes the classic swords 'n spells fantasy quest concept and adds an interesting twist. I intend to purchase more of the series next time I am in need of reading material.
10 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.KKestrel
Posted July 31, 2010
I've only read the first 100 pages or so, but I simply cannot take any more. The style of writing is too basic: sometimes it feels like the author simply put down dialogues that could have been part of a film script, but that certainly should have been reworked for a novel. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of novels told in the present tense, although it can work well in some cases (Philippa Gregory, for example)... However, in this novel it simply served to irritate me further...
9 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.bd
Posted July 10, 2010
The idea of the book is really good and the story hooked me from the beginning. However, I found the author's attempted use of present tense jarring, distracting, disorienting, and uncomfortable. Besides this, there are numerous momentary lapses into the usual past tense, which only intensifies the disorientation. I haven't finished the book yet; but I will probably not purchase any more in the series unless they are edited, refined, and rewritten in past tense. Still, I think this author has good potential and simply needs some good editing to come out with a work he can be proud of.
9 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 17, 2010
Sounded like it was going to be interesting. Had the potential to be. Started out interesting despite the funky way of writing. Then bam. There is NO point to this book! NONE! When will the main guy develop a little? Never. When will there be a plot? Never. I cannot believe there will be a series of this! I know it is fantasy, but come on, some of the things that happen in this book are TOO out there....set up with all the funds needed in a new world within the first 25 pages. PLEASE!
9 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.mrsgoodacre
Posted April 1, 2011
I seriously wanted to like this book. The writing, however, is atrocious. Writing entirely in present tense is a challenging technique, and not one that this author has mastered (neither has his editor). The constant present tense, plus mistakes, have made this book extremely difficult to plow through. Add to that the moments of unnecessary detail, which add nothing to the story, and I feel as if I'm wading through someone's journal (not even a good one), but that can't be right because journals aren't written in present tense. The concept is good, there are good scenes, but it's very difficult to get past the writing. I would have purchased more of the books in this series if this one had been readable. Sorry.
8 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Bellebe
Posted May 28, 2010
I picked up a nook while traveling and picked up a few of the free books for it, since it was fast. After being stuck for 15 hours in airports and flying with nothing but this to read, I hit the next airport bookstore for a hard copy of something. The story is slow, the descriptive language overwhelming. While the idea is interesting and shows promise, the actual content the book contains could have been conveyed in about half the number of pages. Overall, it's nothing that can't be fixed with a good editing.
8 out of 16 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.allaboutthedark
Posted May 14, 2010
Loved reading this book and now the series, I like the writing style and am now on book 4 or 5 but had to go to another website (kobo) to download the other books as they are not available from BN.
8 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 11, 2006
I'm sorry I ever bought this awful book. This book is so poorly written as to be unreadable. Avoid this book at all costs.
8 out of 22 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Overview
He quickly realizes that he's able to use the knowledge he gained through the hundreds of books he's read, as well as the time spent in role ...