Alex

Traveler Revealed, but You May be Sorry

Revisado: 10-30-24

This book dumps all the information you could want about The Traveler upon you, though the truth is so cringe you may regret having listened…

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Too much body-building but otherwise good

Revisado: 10-14-24

The author went WAY too far into body-building in this one for my liking. He seems a bit obsessed. The previous novels had a lot of cringy lines from Alex on the size of his muscles but this one takes it to new heights, using magical means to become super-humanly strong and fit, basically erasing any remaining vulnerabilities he had. It’s made him disappointingly OP and he must look like a flesh mountain, which I find off-putting. I prefer my wizards physically vulnerable.

There’s also a super-weapon introduced, which I’m not a fan of. It trivializes everything else.

Otherwise, we finally got back to Tameland! Huzzah!

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A Wild, Funny Ride into a New World!

Revisado: 10-04-24

Anyone familiar with Sanderson should be unsurprised to hear that he’s knocked another one out of the park. As always, Tress is set in an entirely new world (though same universe) that is very different from any previously explored.

This one is defined primarily by the flora and fauna. Instead of seas of water, there are seas of deadly spores, which react violently to moisture. There are a variety of ties of spores, each with their own unique reaction. While most sane people keep as far away from these dangers as possible, a few daring pirates make their living sailing these seas and adapting spores into various ingenious tools.

It is into this world that our heroine is forced to venture, in order to save her would-be lover. The MC is intelligent, loyal, witty, clever, compassionate, bold, and reluctantly brave. The dialogue is hilarious, the twists are surprising, and the creativity overwhelming. It’s not an adventure you want to miss!

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More of the Same

Revisado: 10-04-24

The second in the series is more of the first - more battles, spells, potions, and loopholes around the Mark. The Ravener is sending assassins. Another vampire is taken on, this time with both parties much stronger. And it’s golem time!

The only real criticism I have is that the romance develops in an unsatisfying manner. It felt rushed. A lot of nothing and then it happens all at once, skipping over the most stimulating phase. Well, that and the spoken sound effects are still grating as ever.

Overall, if you liked the first book, you’ll like this one.

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Still Interesting but not Captivating

Revisado: 10-04-24

I gave it one more try but the second book is the same as the first - an interesting magic system with some great and clever battles but the MC is still a soulless husk of a person, with no compelling connections to others and no strong feelings about anything really. This is the end of the line for me.

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Interesting but not Captivating

Revisado: 10-04-24

On the plus side, the magic system is interesting, the magic battles are often very engaging, and there’s a tantalizing plot hiding around the corner.

The author goes into some depth on how mana is generated through connection points with another plane of existence (which just kicks the explanation can down the road to how these points work, of course, but still), how mages can grow their mana cores by expanding exposure to this plane, and how some spells are sustained by creating artificial mana cores.

The big battles often involve many spells being thrown around, countered, and physical combat (enhanced by spells) at the same time. These were often ended by clever tactics that I found satisfying. Other times, combat was no more than a single devastating strike, often from stealth, which is satisfyingly realistic.

The tantalizing plot, as explained in the description, is that the lane is devoid of the magic that once existed, back before the MC died. Also, his resurrection didn’t quite go to plan. The reasons for these aberrations are likely to turn into large plot elements later on in the series.

The bad is that the MC feels overpowered, the nature of a millennia-old archmage in a child’s body is just… awkward, he’s extremely amoral, and, most importantly, he has no strong feelings about anyone.

The author does try to balance the MC’s overwhelming advantage in knowledge by limiting his access to the power needed to exercise it, which helps but it still feels like there’s very little tension. But, hey, you probably already came in expecting that.

The main reason I can’t give the book 5 stars is that the MC’s lack of humanity just makes everything feel hollow. Yes, it makes sense for someone that old and powerful to be jaded and apathetic but the plausibility doesn’t make it any more entertaining. Stories are about emotion - fighting to protect someone you love, or even against someone you hate, and all the frustrations and triumphs along the way. This character has very little of that. He doesn’t much care about anyone or anything. He doesn’t want to die and he wants to discover what’s happened to the world but I wouldn’t say he even has strong feelings about either of those. He feels like an empty shell, with just enough animating life force to keep moving. This, unfortunately, sucks the life out of the whole story, for me.

Overall, it would be a great story if the MC were a compelling character, but he’s just not.

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A Unique and Engaging Story!

Revisado: 10-02-24

I didn’t come in expecting much, as the description makes this sound like an MMORPG story, but I was very pleasantly surprised! The author has developed a truly unconventional tale here, from character to plot, and it’s unconventionally good!

The bad:
The series is set in a classic high-fantasy world, with all the assorted monsters and non-human sapient species (e.g. Minotaurs, half-shark half-human, elf, goblin, etc.). I find a lot of the humanoid species strain my immersion with how utterly silly they are. It really doesn’t seem to fit with the fairly serious and grounded tone of the story.

The magic system could be better defined. The reader isn’t given a good idea of what spells exist (far as I can tell, it runs along pretty conventional high-fantasy D&D lines) or how they are constructed, though this doesn’t have much impact in the first couple books (far as I’ve gotten yet) because it’s focused on the MC’s spells, which is a small repertoire. This means we still have a good grasp of his options and can make meaningful judgements of his decisions. It’s only been a detractor in judging what spells he chooses to learn. Not a big issue yet but, when we get to fights with other wizards, I would want to have a better grasp of what spells there are.

Otherwise, there was an arc in a dungeon that really dragged on too long for me and the narrator chooses to speak sound effects often, which is really annoying to me.

The Good:
The main characters - Alex, his friend/romance Theresa, and his sister, are compelling, wonderful characters, particularly Alex.

Alex is, first and foremost, a great older brother - making protecting and caring for his sister his top priority. With their parents dead, Alex has stepped wholeheartedly into the parental role and does it well. Most important to me is that he’s intelligent - focused on adapting and using whatever resources he has to solve problems, often in very clever and unconventional ways. He is humble, compassionate, and brave, but still suffers from fear, doubt, and other vulnerabilities, as any good human character must. His driving goals are learning magic and caring for his family and friends.

Theresa, the romantic interest (not really a spoiler, as it’s made clear from the start), shares a lot of characteristics with Alex. She is loyal, compassionate, intelligent, resilient, and brave. Her main difference is that she is more fierce and brutal in conflict and is physical, where Alex is very much focused on magic. The only magic she employs is to enhance her own body.

The Mark of the Fool, of course, plays a large role in the story. It applies some harsh limits on Alex’s ability to engage in combat, spellcraft, and divine magic. These limitations are the impetus for a great deal of innovative and adaptive problem-solving from Alex, as he finds ways to work around its barriers and even turn them to his advantage, in some ways. Without spoiling any specifics, suffice it to say that adaptation and learning through failure are prominent themes.

A main strength of this story is in its unconventionality. Alex is called on to participate in a conventional fantasy adventure but his role, abilities, and reaction/behavior are all highly unconventional. This is the overarching theme that makes the story feel so unique and compelling to me.

A couple minor details I like are that the spell-crafting is described as creating magical circuits and alchemy is performed using modern chemistry, just with some magic involved. I also like that Alex’s first and main spell is a Utility spell, not specifically intended for combat.

In conclusion, if an unconventional take of relatable, ingenious, moral characters being pulled (involuntarily) into a dangerous high-fantasy adventure of magic and monsters, to defeat the ultimate evil is your cup of tea, drinks are served!

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Great 1st Book, Mediocre Sequels

Revisado: 09-23-24

The first book was a 5-star high-fantasy. Fresh, compelling story with intriguing characters. Felt a bit disoriented by missing the backstory that the book is really wrapping up, but it wasn’t a big problem. The transformative powers of the Elves was fascinating. The plot had satisfying twists. The dialogue was witty and entertaining.

On the other side, the magic system could use more rules explained, so it’s not just deus ex. And the MC’s love interest, who is the focal point of the story, is never flushed out into someone to care about, which cheapens the whole thing. But, overall, a great book with a suspenseful and conclusive ending.

Then there’s the other two… They weren’t bad but the plot felt repetitive and, most of all, the characters seemed to have lost a few dozen IQ points, which left me constantly frustrated at how they would miss OBVIOUS signs, only for a big reveal later that was laughably unsurprising. It’s like someone told the author to dumb it down for the sequels and he took it to heart. Feels like those trashy TV shows where you can always see the twists coming a mile away because the writer is leading you by the ear, like a child.

Should also be said that each book follows a different member of the party, which some will like and others not. They do all still feature prominently though. Oh, and the love interest of the first book never did get any air time in these either…

My recommendation would be to get it for the first book and maybe stop there, while you’re ahead.

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Unique Story; Subverts Expectations

Revisado: 05-28-24

The 3-Body Problem’s 2nd installment continues Mr. Liu’s unique writing style, subverting expectations at every turn. Like the first book, there is little action. Instead, Liu treats us to some unconventional ideas on strategy, psychoanalysis of sentient life, visions of the near-future, warfare with mysterious alien technology, a bewildering web of misdirection, and more twists than to can track with a sophon.

You won’t find many stories like this one. It’s worth your time.

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Great book, Disappointing series

Revisado: 12-19-22

Wayward Galaxy is a great SciFi novel. It has a lot of cool tech, a hilarious character, seemingly well-researched military action, good pacing, romance, and plenty of compelling plot twists. I was excited to have found a new engaging series to dig into!

Unfortunately, Wayward Galaxy the series turned out to be a let-down. It still has the hilarious character and the action, but that's about it. The constant plot twists of the first book are nowhere to be seen. The romance is stale and mostly forgotten. There's a bit of new tech but it's not very inspired. And the pacing is SLOOOOOOW. Sorry to say, both the second and third books reduced into an indistinct slog of protracted combat that all seemed to bleed together. I constantly found myself zoning out because whatever was happening at the time sounded like what had been happening at every other time. I just couldn't work up the will to care anymore.

R.C. Bray did a fantastic job narrating, as always, and he was born to play the role of Brody. Unfortunately, even he couldn't carry the weight of this series. If you've served in the military you may find the following books more engaging than I did. For everyone else, I'd still recommend book one. Just know that the rest aren't the same. Try the second one too and see if it's for you. However you feel about that one is how you'll feel about the third as well.

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