This post is basically the “epic Jessi fail of Adult Fantasy reviews” lmao, why am I having such bad luck with Adult Fantasy?! And audiobooks at that!!
Dune by Frank Herbert Series: Dune #1
Published by Ace (6.1.1965)
Genres: Adult, High Fantasy
Format: Audiobook, 688 pages
Length: 21 hours, 2 minutes
Narrator: Full cast
Source: Library
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for...
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.
My thoughts
Okay, WHAT THE HELL IS EVERYONE RAVING ABOUT?! This is one of the most decorated high fantasies in existence and I absolutely hated it. (What is wrong with me?!) I was SO. BORED. Through the entire fucking novel. Nothing happened! The characters sucked! The plot sucked! The writing is dull AF! Like I could rant about how much of a disappointment this book was all day long, but let’s keep it short, shall we?
The only defining part of this entire book was the desert scene with the worms (or wyrms, however it’s spelled, I really don’t fucking care) and that was such a minuscule portion of this big giant paperweight of a book that it may as well have not even happened at all. It was literally the only part that even remotely piqued my interest. Watching paint dry would have been more entertaining. Should have DNFed, sorry not sorry.
Overall Assessment
Plot: 1/5
Premise: 3/5
Writing style: 2/5
Originality: 3/5
Characters: 1/5
World-building: 2.5/5
Pace: 1/5
Feels: 0/5
Narration: 2.5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 1/5
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson Series: The Stormlight Archive #1
Published by Tor (8.31.2010)
Genres: Adult, High Fantasy
Format: Audiobook, 1007 pages
Length: 45 hours, 30 minutes
Narrator: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
Source: Library
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.
One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.
Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.
Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.
My thoughts
I think this has been the most disappointing Adult fantasy for me thus far. Not because it sucked or I hated it – it doesn’t and I didn’t – but because I wanted SO BADLY to love this book and I just didn’t. I actually tried reading this a couple years ago and DNFed 250 pages in because I was bored and it was tedious. I thought I’d give it a second chance via audio (which usually saves a boring book for me, if the narrator is good enough). Sadly, it didn’t go much better the second time around. I made it through, but I was still pretty bored throughout 80% of this book. It had its good moments, and the world and magic system were interesting. It’s just SO LONG. There’s tons of politics and info dumpy world building and it just wasn’t for me. I am a very plot driven person, and if there’s not much going on plot wise I NEED really incredible characters. And these characters just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t connect to any of them, and didn’t care about what was happening to them.
Audio wise, it was okay. Not great, not terrible. Pretty meh. I wasn’t a huge fan of either narrator and they didn’t make me WANT to listen, but they weren’t bad or anything. ‘Meh’ basically describes this whole book. It wasn’t bad, I didn’t hate it, but it just didn’t do anything for me. Womp womp. I am still giving it 3 stars in sheer appreciation of all the work Brandon Sanderson clearly put into the world building and also because the concept was super cool.
Overall Assessment
Plot: 3/5
Premise: 4/5
Writing style: 3.5/5
Originality: 4/5
Characters: 2/5
World-building: 3/5
Pace: 1/5
Feels: 1/5
Narration: 3/5
Cover: 3/5
Overall rating: 3/5
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames Series: The Band #1
Published by Orbit (2.21.2017)
Genres: Adult, High Fantasy
Format: Audiobook, 502 pages
Length: 17 hours, 49 minutes
Narrator: Jeff Harding
Source: I own it
Clay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best -- the meanest, dirtiest, most feared crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld.
Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk - or a combination of the three. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay's door with a plea for help. His daughter Rose is trapped in a city besieged by an enemy one hundred thousand strong and hungry for blood. Rescuing Rose is the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for.
It's time to get the band back together for one last tour across the Wyld.
My thoughts
Another one that I wanted to love and didn’t. Just like with WoK, it wasn’t bad at all. The narrator was about the same – not bad, but not great. Just meh. It was somewhat enjoyable to listen to, but didn’t stick with me. There were some funny parts in this book that kept me going, but overall I just didn’t really care about the characters (except Moog) or the plot or what was happening. Which sucks, because this book has CRAZY HIGH reviews. It’s a sea of 4 and 5 star reviews and it seems like I was the only one who didn’t love it. In fact, I could only find a tiny handful of other people who gave it under 4 stars. It makes me so sad.
Overall Assessment
Plot: 3/5
Premise: 3/5
Writing style: 3.5/5
Originality: 3.5/5
Characters: 3/5
World-building: 2/5
Pace: 3/5
Feels: 2/5
Narration: 2.5/5
Cover: 3/5
Overall rating: 3/5
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