Consumer Outlook

Good storytelling

Revisado: 03-31-25

To be honest, I don’t typically enjoy tales of this type. Ones that follow a heroine with a possible love interest in a misunderstood bad boy. But Rachel Aaron is such a good storyteller that I got pulled into the tale, regardless of anything stereotypical. Perhaps it’s because I enjoyed the Heartstrikers series, but I found myself enjoying this one, too. Albeit on a slightly lesser level.

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A fresh take

Revisado: 03-09-25

To be frank (pun intended), this is not the style of writing/storytelling I’m used to with Franklin Horton. Not only because it’s from a female perspective, but because it’s slower paced and has more internal monologue and extended character reflection. On top of that, it was less tied to the Locker Nine series than I was expecting; with only a very minimal elbow nudge. As a long-time fan of Franklin Horton’s books, I can honestly say I was not disappointed. While different, I connected with the story and characters. As a middle-aged man, I still found an order of connection with the main character. I thought the author did a good job getting into the head of Willie, who reminded me a bit of my older sister. We both grew up poor (considered “white trash”) and in a troubled family situation, so I sympathized with Willie. I saw some of me in her as well as some of my sister. As I said, I was not disappointed that this book varied from his usual style, but in a way, I found it refreshing and I look forward to reading the next in the series. (Granted, I do hope it ties in more with Locker Nine next time).

I didn’t love the narrator at first; it felt like she was bored reading the main character. But as the story progressed, I understood what she was doing. She was approaching the character as someone who didn’t get overly excited in everyday settings. She learned to be monotone. That is until something royally pissed her off and she let loose. By the end of the story, I was happy with the narration and felt it fit the character, and book, just fine.

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Takes a needed step back

Revisado: 02-23-25

In some ways, this story was getting too big. Thankfully this book does exactly what the series needed by returning to the roots of what originally made it good. Of following the MC in a setting similar to the first few books. It takes a step back and a deep breath before moving forward once again. Perfect! I loved it. Well done, Kel Kade. I can't wait for the next book to be released!

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A good take on the fundamentals of Christianity

Revisado: 01-21-25

A pretty good take on the fundamentals of Christianity. I give bonus points for the author’s quoting of C.S. Lewis (my favorite apologist). While this book covers the basics, there were insights that a long-time believer like me had not heard before. It does a good job of tackling topics like hypocrisy and legalism and even helps to explain why there are so many different denominations. I would say that some points were debatable and I do not agree with all his conclusions, but overall I recommend this book for those interested in learning what Christianity is about. Both believers and unbelievers can come away with something from this book, but it is mostly geared toward those who are searching.

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Good as a standalone novel.

Revisado: 07-08-24

This story doesn’t focus on an apocalyptic setting like many of Franklin Horton’s other works. It does center on similar themes of terrorism and unhinged people. Some of the social media and technology are slightly dated (it was written in 2018), but the general idea is still valid. The characters are well-developed, and I swear Victor is a real person. You feel both pity and disgust for him. Other than a few instances where some injuries are not duly sustained as they would be in real life, I enjoyed the plotline and storytelling. It was a good read for Franklin Horton’s only standalone novel.

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On to bigger things

Revisado: 05-09-24

I like the direction this story took. Changes to Ty’s situation make better use of his personality and skills. Several situations felt exaggerated and unbelievable if not physically impossible, but the story was good overall. I enjoyed it and felt satisfaction with the ending. Since it left off on a bit of a cliffhanger, I do hope Franklin Horton returns to this series at some point. Granted, I don't like it as much as his other works.

What I liked least was the audiobook narration. I realize Books 1 and 2 also had different narrators, but this third one was not to my liking. This one has a more robotic sound, with long pauses after every sentence. It broke up the flow. The style reminded me more of an old Dick Tracy, cheesy detective radio program. I almost didn’t make it past the first section, but am glad I held out. The narrator’s character voices were decent, and I got more used to the pacing after a while. Still, it's a long way off from what I would have preferred.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Slow to build but exciting by the end

Revisado: 04-25-24

The first 3/4 of this book was on the slow side, but the last 1/4 made up for it double-fold. Some books start with a bang and end on a predictable note, whereas this one does the opposite. Exciting, engaging, and even heartfelt before the last page was finished.

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Standalone series by Franklin Horton

Revisado: 04-08-24

In a societal collapse unrelated to The Borrowed World, Dan is a character in his own series. There is no crossover with The Borrowed World like there was for The Mad Mick and Locker Nine. The character of Dan feels similar to Ty Stone from Hard Trauma. Carl reminded me quite a bit of Lloyd, but his presence in the story was short-lived. Overall, this was a refreshing read of an original by Franklin Horton. While I felt it ended abruptly, and there were several unrealistic situations, I still quite enjoyed the read and look forward to continuing this series.

Kevin Pierce, who read many of Franklin Horton's other books is spot on as always. That is, assuming you can forgive the lack of proper accents.

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Like a video game

Revisado: 03-22-24

This tale contains a mix of elements from games/stories like Fallout 4 (by Bethesda), Starcraft, Mad Max, and Aliens. In fact, the beginning borrowed so many elements of Fallout 4 that I almost thought it was a knockoff. Thankfully it takes on more originality as the story progresses. Since I like these genres, I did end up liking the book as a whole. A mix of SF, Apocalypse, and even a smidge of Western. The characters were believable most of the time and much of the dialogue felt realistic. There were moments I got confused with certain happenings or details, but that could be due to my mind drifting at parts. It was a little jarring how the person I thought was the protagonist took a backseat to another character introduced later in the tale. Overall though, it was an enjoyable read and I plan to get the next book in the series.

The narrator was good at expressing excitement during action scenes. But I swear he kept pronouncing Hayden as Ayden. That, and his voice for Isaac seemed to change as the story progressed.

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A simple, yet inspirational man.

Revisado: 03-14-24

Having watched the 1941 movie as a youth, this story made a lasting impression on me. I rewatched the movie recently so felt inspired to search for a book. I came across this one and was glad to have a mix of commentary and York's own words from his diary. I learned more about the man, his time as a youth, his passions, his perspective on history, his take on faith, and his endeavors that took place after the events of the movie. He was a simple man, a humble person, and a good model of what it means to be faithful.

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