Kathy

Great conclusion

Revisado: 11-25-23

Brought everything together in excellent fashion. There's not much point trying to do an in-depth review of a book this big, but I wanted to throw another positive rating on the pile to support a book I very much enjoyed.

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Slightly off-kilter followup

Revisado: 11-25-23

I loved the first book and feel like this one meandered a bit but it was still strong overall. There's not much point trying to do an in-depth review of a book this big, but I wanted to throw another positive rating on the pile to support a book I very much enjoyed.

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First of many great twists

Revisado: 11-22-23

I've tried to write up longer reviews but is there any point this many books in? Story is still strong, Travis is still the GOAT, everything keeps building on itself, etc etc etc.

The great thing about Weirkey Chronicles is how carefully all the pieces are laid. In this book a certain character is revealed to be not who you thought they were, and all their previous actions/dialogue can be reinterpreted in light of that. The House of the Lost, which was previously just a minor player, proves how important it is (and this will be super relevant later in the series). We get the first of the Five Rivers which now that I think about it might be connected to the Five Monuments. Everything is written extremely carefully and the series just gets more rewarding as it goes along.

Go Fiyu and Nauda! (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃━✿✿✿✿✿✿

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Absolutely loved it

Revisado: 11-11-23

I don't have a ton to say here and there's not much point trying to do an in-depth review of a book this big, but I wanted to throw another positive rating on the pile to support a book I very much enjoyed.

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A good start to a great story

Revisado: 11-07-23

This series starts off "pretty good" and it eventually becomes one of my all time favorites. What's remarkable about Weirkey is just how much everything builds on itself. Each piece is a little deeper than you thought it was, minor details turn out to be important later, and the magic system just gets more satisfying the further it develops.

PROGRESSION: Here's the thing about Weirkey... it's not instant gratification but it's satisfying in the end. If you're expecting the MC to start his second life and immediately become OP you're going to be disappointed. Eventually there's orbital bombardment and black holes, but it doesn't start there. If you want somebody who levels up every chapter, the series will seem slow to you. Progression in Weirkey is more thoughtful, with time spent on every level as they literally build up their souls.

MAGIC: Soulcrafting is an amazing system and these three books are a decent introduction. Returning to these books, it does take a little longer than I remembered. For example, you don't even learn about ascension until the second book. But the third book is a great showcase of how clever building and strategy is more important than just leveling up a bunch. If you like the idea of people literally building their power in their own souls with their own hands then you should definitely check it out.

PLOT: The series starts out with pieces that seem conventional but then get clever little twists. Think there's a rival? Nope, there's something else going on. Think we have a young master? He gets shut down until something else is revealed. But without the reveals in later books I think these first three do seem weaker than the series as a whole.

CHARACTERS: The MC isn't exactly who you might expect. He thinks he knows who he is but his first life he was basically being manipulated and handed the easy path. On his second life he has to reconsider his nature and I get how that's not for everyone. For other characters: Fiyu will be fantastically relatable for introverts everywhere, Navim is everybody's big rock friend, and Nauda gradually shows herself over time.

WRITING: Good, in the "simple and carefully worded" sense. The first book is a bit bland but the style really shows its potential when you see how it changes in the head (and cultural perspective) of different characters. The action scenes are top notch once they get going.

NARRATOR: Travis Baldree is the GOAT as far as I'm concerned.

All in all this is a mostly good beginning to a fantastic series. Don't miss out on it because the beginning starts a little slow.

ONE CAVEAT: This omnibus is probably NOT worth getting just for the bonus short stories. It's a good option if you've never tried the series, but the stories are just a small amount of extra content. Generally I prefer audiobooks but the e-book might actually be superior in this case because it also has appendices.

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Jumble of tropes

Revisado: 10-30-23

I'm not a killjoy, I promise! I like dragons and wizards and things! I'm also not the type of person who sees a magic academy or other familiar trope and immediately checks out of a story.

That said this book felt like a big lump of tropes with little artistry for how they're put together. Instead of creating an engrossing world and story (even if one composed of some familiar pieces) it just felt like it grabbed the popular things and chained them together. Clearly some people still felt there was magic in this... but I wasn't one of them.

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Finally got to this

Revisado: 10-29-23

I put this off for ages because I wasn't as invested, then the last season put a bad taste in my mouth. Now that I got back to this I'm glad that I did. It's a nice story that hits the notes Martin is best at, in a more contained format. My only complaint is that the narrator can be excessively whispery at times.

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Where the series hits its stride

Revisado: 01-30-23

I've reviewed the previous books in the series but never given one all five stars. This is the book where that changes. After the slightly awkward first book and the short second, in the third Weirkey Chronicles really hits its stride. Not every book has a big central fight like this, but imo it's all uphill from here.

In this one Theo finally gets his most awesome ability. We get to see Fiyu's world with some great character development. The cast settles into a world instead of jumping around. House Blacksilver and some other elements that will prove to be really interesting later get introduced. Love him or hate him, Tythes shows up.

I could go on but you already get the idea. On basically every front, the series sheds any awkward beginnings (and for those who hate Senka, you only have to wait one more book). Travis is still the GOAT of course. These heights are the reason why I'm willing to spend credits on such short books.

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Good, but shorter than I expected

Revisado: 06-10-22

I had never looked into this before because I was waiting for a section to complete. I figured this was going to be one episode, but this running time is actually three episodes put together. What's there is good, there's just not much to judge.

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The last "good" before it gets "great"

Revisado: 04-03-22

When rereading this book I found myself getting impatient for the next one. Don't get me wrong, there are some good bits. Our first ascensions and orbital bombardments, for example. But aside from seeing a new world and some new characters, this book feels like too much of a bridge between one and three.

One big thing: SENKA. As much as I loved seeing the hidden meanings this reread, I remember how much I hated her the first time around. If anyone thinks she's an annoying mascot character, just wait... the payoff later is pretty amazing.

But that's kind of the problem with this book. Too many of the pieces are setup and not enough are payoff. It's still pretty fun overall, it just pales in comparison to the others.

As for the performance, Baldree is still GOAT.

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