Accidental Archaeologist

Half-Wizard Thordric, Book 2

By: Kathryn Wells

Narrated by: Morgan Keller

Three years have passed since Thordric joined the wizard council.

Together with High Wizard Vey, they have reformed the council completely. But while half-wizards can now train their magic freely and join the ranks of the mages, Thordric realizes that there are many who are completely unaware of this.

Traveling to the faraway town of Valley Edge, he meets the young archaeologist Hamlet, who is on his way to a dig site where a new discovery has been made. But not all is as it first appears.

Once again, Thordric has to put his magic to the test - in order to stop the greatest catastrophe their world has ever seen.

This is a stand-alone novel, and can be enjoyed even if you haven't listened to other books in the series.

©2018 Kathryn Wells (P)2019 Kathryn Wells

Fun story

I thought the story was fun , but the narrator needs to put more feeling in his narration.

nice

enjoyable listen, the story gets better with each book. Worth reading and/or listening to. Hope to read and/or listen to more from this author.

The Adventures Continues

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Accidental Archaeologist is a sequel to Unofficial Detective, making it the second book in the Half-Wizard Thordric series. It's written by Kathryn Wells and narrated by Morgan Keller. In this adventure, Thordric goes on a search for fellow wizards, and he faces numerous challenges and obstacles along the way. The best characters from Unofficial Detective make reappearances here, and the interactions are generally witty and humorous, Keller does a fine job maintaining a believable tone with his narration. This book is worth a listen if you've enjoyed this series so far.

Thordric doesn't believe he's made a difference in the world, despite the fact that he's the first half-wizard to be initiated in the wizard council. To remedy this, he embarks on a journey to find the Wanderers, who left the council during the tumultuous reign of High Wizard Kalljard. Thordric's adventures take dangerous twists and turns, and he has to use his wits and spells to succeed. The plot can be somewhat predictable at times, although there are still some unique circumstances that keep the reader guessing. Lizzy, the Inspector and wizard Vey all make reappearances here, and there are new characters, like Hamlet, who add an extra level of humor to the dialogue. Thordric doesn't go through significant character development throughout the work; he still maintains his awkward and somewhat incompetent demeanor. The plot or character interactions aren't particularly unique or groundbreaking, but they still remain entertaining throughout.

Morgan Keller offers another positive performance here with his narration. He maintains unique voices for each character, and they never grow muddled or confused. He isn't excessively emotional in any circumstances, which helps maintain the idea that he's portraying a passive narrator. His narration doesn't always flow, as he catches on some words and sentence transitions. Nonetheless, he gives a engaging performance here that never grows tiresome.

Accidental Archaeologist is a solid sequel. It delivers more of the enjoyable adventure and intrigue that helped Unofficial Detective stand out. It's unfortunate that Wells didn't take more risks in character development or plot progression, as the work stays fairly predictable throughout. Despite this, there are still some interesting concepts to discover here. Despite a few missteps, Keller brings the story together with his narration, which adds a believable tone to the characters and plot. Overall, this is certainly worth a listen if you enjoy fantasy or the works of Kathryn Wells.

Decent sequel

All in all, I enjoyed the first book better, main character and story were more interesting. Having put that however, this once was good too! I was really glad to see more out of the character Vae. Narration was a bit iffy at first, but again once you get into the story you don't even notice.

More action and adventure for Thordric

I like that Thordric takes on an important task that no one else has thought to take on. He wants to inform all the wizards and half-wizards separated from the council lands that they are welcome back, and that half-wizards can be trained. But he runs into problems when he finds them, problems wizard magic alone cannot solve.

I especially love the Watch-em-Watch-ems. I love their curiosity, their burbling laughter, and their generosity.

I requested this audiobook and voluntarily left this review.

Magical!

Great story and narration!

Our favorite clumsy half-wizard is back, and ready to get into mischief! After tree years of tutelage under High Wizard Vey, Thordric gets the go ahead to search out half-wizards, and give them the good news that they can now be trained in Wizardry. During his mission he discovers a strange forest that appears out of nowhere and starts spreading at an alarming rate! Will he be able to save a village and stop the spread of this magical onslaught?

A great continuation of the story!

I can't wait for more!

Enjoyable

As the second installment in Kathryn Wells' Half Wizard Thordric series, Accidental Archaeologist is a fun listen that is brought to life by Morgan Keller. This story is faster paced and more detailed than the previous book. Some questions left by the first are answered here and others are raised. Hopefully those raised will be answered in the third, which, I am looking forward to.

Theistic Book 2

I received a review copy of this book.

Sadly, I did not enjoy this book as much as I did its prequel. Minor flaws like low stakes and a lack of any real opposition (the hero can legitimately solve any problem he encounters with magic), which were forgivable in the first book, have not really improved in this, the second. Sadly, this detracts from the enjoyment of the story.

The book is still free from gore and sexuality, so it is still relatively "clean" compared to a lot of fantasy, but there are multiple scenes of co-ed nudity played for immature humor. While I would still let my children read this book, I would be less happy to see them doing so than I would be the first.

Big leap forward

The first book in this series was good not great. The writing and story are much improved in this second installment. The narration still leaves something to be desired, best described as flat and robotic.