Soul Relic

Manifestation, Book 1

By: Samuel Hinton

Narrated by: Andrea Emmes

Raysha will do whatever it takes to fix her broken soul, even if it means venturing into the unknown with nothing but her brother, an enchanted water bottle, and her fierce determination.

The only one without the ability to cultivate aeon from the world, Raysha has been ostracized her whole life for her weakness. In a world where true masters of aeon have slaughtered gods, Raysha's future in her village is limited to babysitting pre-awakened children.

Desperate for a chance to prove her worth, she leaps at the chance to join her brother at the Academy, where he believes they can find a cure for her soul. It will only take the crystalised heart of an ancient spirit, lost to the world thousands of years ago.

Armed with an enchanted water bottle and a stubborn attitude, Raysha sets out to prove that she is more than just a second-rate outcast.

©2022 Samuel Hinton (P)2023 Podium Audio

Fantastic coming of age drama

SOUL RELIC by Samuel Hinton and narrated by Andrea Emmes is a cultivation fantasy, which is a burgeoning genre that basically means developing your elemental powers along very Eastern martial arts principles. The fantasy world the author has created isn't necessarily any more Asian than Avatar: The Last Airbender but that doesn't mean it's not squarely in the genre either. It is something that I think would appeal to both fantasy as well as sports fans.

The premise is that in this world, it is possible to become trained as an aeon-wielder or elemental magician. Raysha is a village girl who was born with a lot of aeon in her reserves but no way to naturally replish it. This is actually a fairly serious disadvantage and she is denied a chance at university after finally managing to escape her home. Her brother, Vashi, is determined to help her as well even if it means teaming up with an old archaeologist, Hlaya, to explore ruins of a civilization that once had to deal with people like Raysha.

This is very much a classic coming of age journey but is made all the more interesting because of the fact that Raysha and company are fairly out of the larger politics at work. The God of Knowledge has just slaughtered all of the other gods in the region in a coup but none of this is a concern of Rasyha. She has her own problems to deal with that don't allow her to even think of such bigger deals.

I really liked this story and the characters involved, Raysha is an adorable heroine who may be a bit whiny about her status but quickly won me over with her snarky can-do attitude. I also liked the supporting cast and am interested in seeing where this story goes. Vashi, Hllaya, and Ocatvian are all a good cast of characters for supporting Raysha and keep her attitude from getting too insufferable.

I found the magic system to be well-designed and the writing to be entertaining throughout. I liked how our heroes also came into the sights of the Big Bad. Too often, it's destiny or contrived but, no, our heroes ended up killing some of his minions in an encounter and things just sort of snowball from there. I really like that.

The narrator does a decent job of representing Raysha and the various characters. Andrea Emmes manages to do also convey the danger as well as inner resentment the character is suffering. I'm eager to listen to the next book in the series.

Good but spoiled?

While I liked the story and the characters mostly even if the main is a bit of entitled brat by book 2.

My main complaint is the titles are spoilers. Most title encompass the book or somtheing that happens early on. The titles on this series are literally the endings, like the last 10% of the book which just feels unsatisfying. Lik you get to the title point and it ends.

Imagine this was Iron Man and Tony stark spends the whole movie doing stuff and gets his iron man suit in the last 10 minutes then ends. That's how this feels.

Takes forever to get going and it just okay

It took till the end of the book for the story to even get going and at every point the MC just feels like a spoilt brat. While there are explanations as to why she feels the way she does but come on theres a limit to it and in my opinion the story build up is too slow.

If you are someone who can handle slow and I do mean slow this may work for you. Unfortunately not for me. I may think about picking the next book in line may be sometime in the future but this series is officially going on the back burner for now.

great recommendation by Andrew Rowe

Found this enjoyable, series was recommended in Andrew Rowe's WordPress didn't disappoint. looking forward to where it goes and how the characters develop.

really enjoyed

Great new take on a magic system and an overall enjoyable story! can't wait to read the next one!

looking forward to the next one

really good start to the with a good magic system and mc. interested in the second book

A great, promising debut with one of the best FMC narrators

Really great to see this out on audiobook format with such an excellent narrator.

Soul Relic is a compelling story, familiar enough to draw us in before going its own routes. Excellent, realistic characters exploring a well-realized world with really cool worldbuilding and a unique magic system that entices you to explore the future possibilities yourself.

It’s paced more like a traditional novel, so don’t expect a new fight scene and level up every other chapter. The fights are relevant, fun, and there are a number of them with actual stakes, but there’s also worldbuilding and slice of life and character building. My favorite character is Octavian but all of them are awesome.

Can’t wait for the next!

Foul Mouth you do not need to cuss so much

The power system interesting but it cusses too much especially the F word The book would’ve been just fine. If it wasn’t for all the cussing, I will not continue the series and this is a warning for anyone else who doesn’t like cussing.

Great story

This was a well executed story and a well done narration. Its probably the most polished and thought through book I have read in quiet sometime.