Anonymous

Almost dropped it, but I'm glad I didn't

Reviewed: 05-23-20

A good performance, an interesting listen. The story often seemed too far fetched, with nonsensical elements, but by the end everything is tied together in a spectacular and awesome way. Still, the fact that it got somewhat annoying midway through keeps it from 5 stars.
I definitely recommend it for anyone who likes fantasy stories, it is a very different view on the superhero theme which makes for an engaging story.

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I wanted to give this 5 stars...

Reviewed: 08-03-19

The narration is flawless, and the story is very interesting, I will be waiting for the sequel, but in my opinion the writing is rough and too often breaks the immersion, however good the story and narration may be.

I would still recommend this to any shadiversity or/and fantasy literature fan, as it is an amazing story that kept me engaged. The characters are well fleshed out, with realistic personalities and good development. The world is immersive and still has a lot to be explored, but is cohesive and explained enough to make it feel real, and not just a mix of interesting elements. Although there is room for "plot armor"(how is that sword not breaking?) I really wish to see the explanation and feel like Shad could do a good job of it.

What holds this back from 5 stars is the relatively poor writing: the excessive narration and internal monologues (seriously, a genius engineer took so long to figure out why increasing his mass would decelerate him?!), the misplaced interrupts in the middle of replicas like"bla bla bla <said with a certain face> bla bla" which might not be bad when read, but the often change of voices between narrator and character broke the immersion for me. Also some story elements seem forced and even eerily resembling of the real world: (e.g. the METRIC system? We use the international system of measurements, the point is for it to be universal and unitary, why couldn't he focus on JUST that[which he did] and ignore the name or make one up?). To be fair these are small defects, but they still nagged my subconscious and broke the immersion into the story which is why this review is 4 instead of 5 stars. I think the sequels (hopefully there will be sequels) will be out better quality, and even if they don't improve I will still listen to them.

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1 person found this helpful

An emotional rollercoaster

Reviewed: 06-24-18

Great story, and exquisite performance from the reader really drew me in. Listening to this felt so real, as if I was inside LP's head. I almost started crying several times during the last chapter.

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Get it if you're into fantasy dystopias

Reviewed: 05-02-18

The narration is decent, but occasional background music snippets annoyed me...
As for the story, it is very well told, but some concepts and parallels to the real world seem forced and somewhat ruined it for me (others might very well enjoy them).

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Exceptional story

Reviewed: 04-14-18

This maintains the quality of the previous books. The narration is excellent and provides an immersive listening experience with characters' voices being easily distinguishable and recognizable. A must for any Brandon Sanderson fan.

P.S. I suggest listening The Edgedancer first, as it has some important character development without which some elements in this book may seem strange

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