Poisonwell

Whispers from Mirrowen, Book 3

De: Jeff Wheeler

Narrado por: Sue Pitkin

The battle to save the kingdoms devastated by the Plague culminates in this exhilarating finale to the Whispers from Mirrowen trilogy.

If there is anything more dangerous than the Plague itself, it is the journey that awaits those sworn to stop it. Tyrus, the renegade magic-wielder exiled from Kenatos, knows this firsthand. His original mission through the Scourgelands met a tragic end, leaving him as the sole survivor.

Now all hope lies with his daughter, Phae, the uniquely gifted Dryad-born who can not only steal memories but also summon the power of the fireblood—and who alone has the power to breach the lost gate of Mirrowen. But first Phae and the comrades who have come to her aid must survive the most dangerous place on earth: the Scourgelands.

The menacing woods prove every bit as treacherous as reputed. Murder, sacrifice, deception, and an epic battle with a beast ensue. Will Phae reach the land beyond the grasp of the deadly Plague...or will the quest through the Scourgelands end in tragedy once again?

©2015 Jeff Wheeler (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Good story. Needs edits and different narrator.

There will be possible ***SPOILERS*** in this review.

The best point of Poisonwell was probably Phae watching the past. It provided answers I was craving. Shion has been a favorite of mine. There is a sadness and darkness about him. It makes him bitter sweet. Tyrus, as usual, was great, and I'm relatively pleased he got the wrap up he did. I do love the story, and at many points I was impressed and pleased with how it was twisting and turning. There's a lot to like about this story, and Tyrus and Shion are at the top of that list. There were some great reveals in the last quarter as well which were very satisfying and entertaining.

There are, however, a few criticisms I have. First off, this book really needed a few more edits. There are several points where the narration comes off as rushed, and amateurish, when I know that Jeff Wheeler can do better. When Phae is watching the past, and Shion's brother is talking about Shion's journey to find the tree, he goes into the "as you know" way of info dumping about what has happened up to that point. The second most annoying point was at the very end when Phae says "Of course. You remember everything I've ever said or done." Jeff, you're readers are more intelligent than that. The concept was only completely drilled into our heads.... The third most annoying incident of this was when Phae thought to herself that Shion's real last name sounded a lot like Shion. It added nothing, and in the "reality of the story" was no more than a coincidence. It instantly snapped me out of the story. The book badly needs more editing. Cleaned up, I know it would shine a lot brighter.

Second, the two middle quarters of the book are spent bouncing from one horrible danger to another, and somehow all the main characters are miraculously saved every single time. It's just too much. Had one of the main characters died, any of them, it would have brought a little more credence to the plot's events. Even if there was more intricate plot, and less action fill in, it would have healed the issue. In that same way, the end is so sickly sweet it's unbearable. The wrap up also felt a bit rushed.

Third, and this applies to all three books, some of the ideas are portrayed as amazing when they are simple, everyday ideas. I'm not sure how to spell it since I've only ever listened to the audio editions, but the Ud Hava is a perfect example. It was an idea that if left out, would have greatly improved the genuine quality of the story. It's a bit like when a child shows you a drawing they've done. They think a stick figure is amazing. It's not. People trying to mislead others is constant and guaranteed. It is human nature. There are also a lot of biblical references, some that are too overt. I don't feel like he'd trying hard enough, and instead taking the easy route on both accounts. It's just a matter of feeling like Jeff can do better.

My final criticism is about the narrator. Practically anyone would have been better than her. Sue Pitkin is an atrocious narrator. She spits her words, makes mistakes, performs amateurish inflections, and can't consistently assign a character a voice, or even an accent. One of the worst pitfalls (pun intended) was when she continued to do a "character voice" after the regular narration started, and several in words realized it wasn't the character speaking and mid-sentence changed back to her normal narrative voice. A lot of Audible narrators could have done much better. Michael Page, who narrated the first book would have been infinitely better. Kate Reading would have been a descent female option for a narrator. Whenever I see Sue Pitkin's name on an Audible book, you can be sure that I will avoid it like the Plague.

Loved it

This book had me hooked from start to finish and I loved how it ended.

better than before

The first two books in this series felt mediocre (3 stars), I was not sure if the writer was just following a format or if he had a big picture in mind. This book however made up for it. I felt like he did a good job of bringing things together and answering the questions I had.
I know this sounds bad but what the neck I will be honest. The writers voice feels like a female author and his style may be more attractive to female readers. a lot of word count is used talking about inner turmoil of love and desire or clothes.

Great writing

Storyline great development of the characters. This was a great story with lessons we can take to heart in today’s world.

Not the best narrator

I like the book, narrator's voice is somewhat annoying. Maybe if they had a different actor

loved how the author wrapped everything up!

very well written. no smut. action packed. an almost believable fantasy novel. loved it. sad that it's over

Fantastic conclusion

A good end to an excellent series!
I had stumbled onto this series because of an audible sale and fell in love

Great Family Friendly Series!

Jeff Wheeler created an awesome setting for a fantasy series through which you will be pleased to discover snippets of connection to his other series! His writing style is vivid with imaginative settings and family friendly so it can be shared with your kids!

Fantastic story!

Fully developed characters, laughter, tears, edge of the seat adventure and satisfaction at the end of a well-told tale. Mr. Wheeler is an excellent author whom I recently discovered and heartily recommend.

Great conclusion; compelling subtext on God's ways

I loved this trilogy. The first book felt dense, because the story had so many characters, races, etc. But it was worth it. The epic told in this trilogy is 8½ out of ten stars, probably. To me, that is very good. In this final book in the trilogy, the story was brought to a clear and very satisfying conclusion. I really enjoyed it.

One thing that surprised me: I am cautious of religious teachings in fiction, because fiction, like many arts, is a compelling medium to communicate ideas. When we "suspend disbelief" in order to immerse ourselves in a fictional world/story, we open ourselves to what is presented to us, and we, to some extent, experience the tale ourselves. We even play an active role in imagining these worlds and the ideas presented as fact. It is a powerful way to share philosophy and present allegories that can move us when our information filters are off; when we are most vulnerable/open to influence. Well, in Jeff Wheeler's books, of which I have now listened to 15, elements of Christian or religious thought (sometimes compatible with multiple religions) always show up, so I am prepared to think critically about these things if they are presented in an influential way. Usually this means I might find them a bit interesting and file them away in my mind under "mildly interesting" (and they could influence me in some way in the future, combined with other experience or information). In this case, however, Wheeler focused, at least in the least 15% of this book, strongly on presenting a treatise on the motivations a benevolent omnipotent divine being (by analogy, God) would have. It presents ideas about the purpose of evil, the purpose of suffering, a relationship between ambition and guilt, the reciprocal relationship between knowledge/wisdom and suffering, why and when [God] would intervene in the affairs of mortals... It places value on free will and argues that evil is necessary for good to exist. It describes an unending cycle, where the influence of evil waxes until the influence of good overcomes it for a time, and that such cycles will always occur. I thought these arguments surprisingly compelling, even though they, at least taken literally, contradict some of my own well-hewn philosophies (I do not believe that evil exists; I believe all of nature is in its essence, good [I will save you from a full argument here in this review]). And you know, in a way, arguing that "evil" serves a good purpose, that individual suffering either benefits the individuals or is a part of a grand scheme that is necessary... Maybe Wheeler's describing evil as necessary for good, and etc.... Maybe that is a definition of "evil" that is not so evil after all. I don't buy all of this philosophy, but it makes me want to seek to understand it better, and maybe what he is describing is more-or-less mainstream Christian theology. I feel compelled, at least at this moment, to pursue theological research and training to understand these ideas better, and that surprises me.