Timothy Spradlin

Much Better than 1 and 2

Revisado: 03-13-25

Proving grounds starts getting better once they end the training. Since book one the training as been the second worst part of the series, main character is still the worst part. But I rank it high at 3 stars, simply because while still bad, it is SO MUCH BETTER than book 1 and 2. The story is getting more complex, but weirdly. Without spoiling, just understand real story progression happens in this book, I could argue book 1 and 2 should have been summarized for this book, as Gaberial goes to the final real test and learns the dark history of this world, I would almost think the story is consistent if the author did what I was thinking. However, it feels like this author is trying to pull a Star Wars type of story, after book four is the "next part" so to speak.

Hmmm, it is hard to rate and not spoil, but I guess there is no real innovation in this story. If you can ignore the origin (as most origins claim originally for copy right reasons) of the main character, then you will notice that he is a carbon copy of any "White Knight" hero with demons, it is almost like he is the META for characters. Now that I am typing this, I can make the same argument for all the characters accept maybe Sarah, as they fit a mold. Then, there is the various cliché elements introduced, seen way too much in other stories. I will just say Starcraft, Warhammer 40K, and Halo. I guess for me the only real new thing is the design of making the highly functioning SCI-FI being implemented in this book just for it to go deeper and deeper in fantasy. This is to say, anyone just really beginning in their adventure of reading stories will find this new, but for those reading 100's of books not so much.

Also, I found any conclusion regarding any of the big fights at the end regrettable. Why, I will not say as it would spoil, so in summary, the story is very predictable, and not in a good way, the mc is still bad, and the author also created an overpowered healing item, that feels more akin to magic then what it is described as, then again seeing what's in the books, maybe it is.

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This book series is torture

Revisado: 02-18-25

I am only reading this book series in hope that the real story in book 4 is good. Right now, book 1 and this is bad. Pacing is horrendous, story would be decent if the author wasn't "FORCING" issues that would not be if the setting he placed was correct. The bad reviews are correct on this and I suspect all positive reviews at this point are bots. MC is NOT likable in the least. It's like the author is trying to mold his character from one strain of garbage to another strain of garbage.

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Please keep it going

Revisado: 01-30-25

This is a very good series so far. The story is great and it seems the author is great at using foreshadow and building up the plot. Good Stories get small reviews unfortunately, mainly because I don't want to spoil it. I can only say give it a shot, It is not too complex, but does seem to building up a complexity that I find myself enjoying.

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Two Words. Way TOO MUCH

Revisado: 01-30-25

Introduction:
So, I am 6 hours in this book, and I will refuse to listen to a word more of it. I really should have listened to the negative critics on this, but instead I followed the recommendation of a friend, whose sanity I now question. Please be aware I joined the Marine Corps, as part my background. Well anyway to the review.

Book Review:
This book deifies the concept of a Ranger (specifically), At first the military jargon was refreshing and almost felt novel (my first time with this specific genre). However, it is NONSTOP, holy crap, the authors decided that they will military jargon everything, the characters, actions, thoughts, every bloody detail. The following will be a paraphrase of the last sentence that I listened to. "MC watched as MC fellow soldier (A Ranger) goes around his improvised cover and precedes to ventilate the enemy as they arrive with extreme prejudice." Now remember this sentence and I want you to imagine they do this with almost every thought and it never ends. Book is 18 hours long, I feel like if you cut out all the "Military Gong Ho Murder Porn" you might have a five to six hour book, Not too sure, since I will never get past my 6 hours of it.

Complaints and grips:
I am now going to type out thoughts and questions that do not have sound logic behind them. Why? Because I want to, this book irritated me that much.

Who signed off on this book? Why did audible add it to this platform. This is a book that should remain on a platform specifically created to hold those like it. Are the authors who wrote this sane? I can't believe this book gets so much good reviews, the story is like 10% of the book, and 90% fluff. Nobody who is sane thinks like the characters described in this book, again I mentioned "SANE." Thank you my friend who recommended this book, and thank you authors for writing this book. I now have to find ways to flush this out of my mind.

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This is very much a let down

Revisado: 06-28-24

Primarily, thanks for the books, being able to read them free under my subscription has been overall good.

So, I hate sending out negative reviews. So much so that my rating is better than it should be. Here are my personal issues and gripes with this book. Currently 19 hours in, I will finish but I am not optimistic about enjoying it at all.

1. The characters are DUMB. I do not mean by design; I like their designs. I mean by how they internally think. Seriously, the only option to resolve the enemy reinforcements (this didn't happen in the book, but they agreed in the book this was the best method) was to give away a piece of what makes the Empire so powerful... Either the author doesn't know what the definition of terrorism is or they themselves are naïve. This is only the biggest example I am willing to write, I am not going to spoil all the dumb.

2. When did this book turn into a love story focused series? Book one was pure action with politics and story building. Book two expanded the universe and got the two main characters to know each other. Book three was very much an action story that included budding romantic feelings. This book... was for the first half about love, and how much love hurt, or however it feels it was better to love and burn for it than not love at all. It almost felt like the invasion was a subplot at times in this book.

3. I never had a problem with the voice acting till this book. There was one scene that single handily ruined this book for me. Mainly because it opened me up to scrutinizing this book. All I will say is that when someone is interrogating you at knife point and with a scary dragon. I don't understand the stupid slow dialogue (not slow like it is taking forever to get to the point in a conversation, I mean literally spoken slow and drawn out) and crying to an enemy, of how nightmarish life has been, I am not kidding this grown ass guard acted and sounded like a child, but dumber. Let me add that the person crying should be a battle-hardened guard of a ruthless black-market Empress who suspects that the person interrogating them is supposed to be their savior.

4. So, are blood clan the bad guys? If so, why? Is it because they are attacking the empire? Arel, why are they attacking the empire? The only people who seem evil by deeds are just the Iron Clan. Is this only because they really had their background fleshed out?

5. There is power in using metaphors and similes. It helps to draw out a picture and helps the reader develop a deep immersion in the book. However, I have learned from listening to this book that there are also problems with massively overusing metaphors and similes. The author’s saturated the book with metaphors, so much so that I skipped sections in the book; then some of the metaphors used were based on this fictional world’s creatures... I had no idea how to understand what I was trying to imagine at times.

6. There are more issues, but I will stop here. If you read this far, thanks, I guess. I understand some have liked this final book, but I question if they were listening to the parts I listened to. Regardless, take what I said with a grain of salt. This is merely my gripes and opinion.

EDIT: I can't get myself to finish this book

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I am confused by the bad reviews?!!

Revisado: 11-07-23

The book tells a story, a story in good detail and with a lot of plot. Maybe that is the issue... too much plot.

Joking aside, good book, it really setups book 3 and 4 a lot. Maybe that is the issue... nahh that can't be it.

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A LITRPG with an Actual story!!!

Revisado: 08-14-23

So, keeping this short and sweet. This is a LITRPG with an actual story. The characters don't go out to simply grind levels, they get levels from continuing with their actual objectives. Whether the story is great or not is not part of my review, though I will say that I like it at the very least.

Finally, there is a prior review where reviewer is mad at the they/them usage for one person... or their always has to be a victim...

I lean strongly right politically and that review is DUMB... This is an adventure story that has a lot of dark elements... Dark Fantasy is a thing!?! The they/them usage actually applies here because the person it is used on is sexless... not gender neutral or some other BS, but SEXLESS. Give a sexless person a gender pronoun, I dare you to figure that out.

So Ignore that review... this is an LITRPG with an actual story.

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Great Story... keep it coming!!!!

Revisado: 07-19-23

Won't go into details as I hate spoiling just know that this is a good story, my opinion, and it has growth for expansion (more series)

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It is not a easy read

Revisado: 07-19-23

First and foremost this is all my opinion and not to be taken as fact for others for my perspective is different from others.

I am not going to add a lot to my review. As a review requires having a lot of understanding of the book. For I am on part three of the purchase and I can say, for my opinion, the only character that stands out is the Crimson Queen and she isn't even a perspective you get to see through in the book, if you do, I don't remember, as well the story is boring. The main character doesn't grow at all during the first two books and I don't like anything about him. His defining characteristic is how he is "agreeable" and that is it. The purchase portrays his importance, then his over importance, and he does nothing in the first two books, if he does do something, it isn't intentional. There is a lot of perspectives in this book, and I can say all are boring, and what's worse, there are a lot great characters in this story!!! The chivalrous and righteous paladin, the amazingly talented "Weaver", any of the characters that are very old (3 at least), the pretty and dangerous thief, the legacy wielder of an ancient legacy who is not the conventual wielder of the weapon past down and what does this story do with them... almost nothing. Well, its a book and stuff is happening, but it is almost like everything is happening off screen. The only times there is any "involvement" is during climaxes of the books. I will finish this purchase and update the review, but at the moment, I have not enjoyed this story.

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The Author is taking a very serious risk on this

Revisado: 05-04-23

OK: I am stunned on this book

So I love the Night Angel trilogy a lot and can reread them over and over again. This, I will only read once... though that may change after reading the future books.

So, in the best way to explain this book in my review without spoilers... (If you read other comments, it will help explain my analogy) Brent gave Kylar, in my opinion, the Peter Parker experience... Spiderman always does the right thing at the time based on his current perspective, but this only ever causes Peter Parker to suffer. This is my best way of explaining this first book of this new trilogy.

I will continue to buy the rest of the story only because of the first three books... If you are new to this universe, don't read this first it will ruin everything

Now I gave it a very high rating, because, well, it is beautifully written and the Narration was good enough that i was able to determine the different characters. The story was massively complex, but he pulls it off great. This doesn't change how I feel in the end. I honestly thought at the very end of the book... that this was a punishment to the reader.

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