What do you think?
Rate this book
The Bowl of Souls #3
Hunt of the Bandham
Ewzad Vriil’s keep has fallen and Justan has been reunited with his friends. But the kingdom remains in turmoil. The mother of the moonrats still builds the Dark Prophet’s army of monsters in the mountains and the Battle Academy’s forces are weakened.
Justan’s bonds with Fist and Gwyrtha have made him stronger and faster, but the more he learns about his powers, the more questions he has. He seeks out the bonding wizard Master Coal, hoping that the man can teach him what he needs to know about his magic before he hurts his bonded and himself.
Deathclaw has freed Talon from Ewzad Vriil’s power only to find that she is no longer the sister he used to know. Meanwhile, a new creature is born; a beast designed to hunt dragons. Will they survive the Hunt of the Bandham?
Justan’s bonds with Fist and Gwyrtha have made him stronger and faster, but the more he learns about his powers, the more questions he has. He seeks out the bonding wizard Master Coal, hoping that the man can teach him what he needs to know about his magic before he hurts his bonded and himself.
Deathclaw has freed Talon from Ewzad Vriil’s power only to find that she is no longer the sister he used to know. Meanwhile, a new creature is born; a beast designed to hunt dragons. Will they survive the Hunt of the Bandham?
426 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 20, 2012
78 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
Trevor H. Cooley
32 books251 followersI was born in South Carolina and have lived all around the United states. Utah, New Mexico, Michigan and Tennessee.
I started reading novels in second grade and my love of Fantasy started with Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series. I couldn't get enough, continued with David Eddings, Tolkein, Robert Jordan. All I wanted was to become a published writer.
The characters and concepts that eventually became the Bowl of Souls series started in my teens. I wrote short stories, kept notebooks full of ideas, and generally dreamed about my world constantly. There were several attempts at starting a novel over the years.
Not long after I was married, my wife told me to stop talking about the story and write it down. Here I am, many years and rewrites and submissions and rejection letters later taking the plunge into self publishing.
The Bowl of Souls Series:
THE MOONRAT SAGA
1. Eye of the Moonrat
2. Messenger of the Dark Prophet
3. Hunt of the Bandham
1.5. Hilt's Pride
4. War of Stardeon
5. Mother of the Moonrat
THE JHARRO GROVE SAGA
1. Tarah Woodblade
2. Protector of the Grove
3. Ogre Apprentice
4. The Troll King
5. Priestess of War
6. Behemoth (2017)
THE DARK PROPHET SAGA
1. Sir Edge (Upcoming)
TALLOW JONES
1. Tallow Jones: Wizard Detective (Fall 2017)
NOOSE JUMPERS
1. Noose Jumpers: A Mythological Western
2. (Upcoming)
I currently live in Idaho with my wife and four children.
I started reading novels in second grade and my love of Fantasy started with Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series. I couldn't get enough, continued with David Eddings, Tolkein, Robert Jordan. All I wanted was to become a published writer.
The characters and concepts that eventually became the Bowl of Souls series started in my teens. I wrote short stories, kept notebooks full of ideas, and generally dreamed about my world constantly. There were several attempts at starting a novel over the years.
Not long after I was married, my wife told me to stop talking about the story and write it down. Here I am, many years and rewrites and submissions and rejection letters later taking the plunge into self publishing.
The Bowl of Souls Series:
THE MOONRAT SAGA
1. Eye of the Moonrat
2. Messenger of the Dark Prophet
3. Hunt of the Bandham
1.5. Hilt's Pride
4. War of Stardeon
5. Mother of the Moonrat
THE JHARRO GROVE SAGA
1. Tarah Woodblade
2. Protector of the Grove
3. Ogre Apprentice
4. The Troll King
5. Priestess of War
6. Behemoth (2017)
THE DARK PROPHET SAGA
1. Sir Edge (Upcoming)
TALLOW JONES
1. Tallow Jones: Wizard Detective (Fall 2017)
NOOSE JUMPERS
1. Noose Jumpers: A Mythological Western
2. (Upcoming)
I currently live in Idaho with my wife and four children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 11, 2020
Hunt of the Bandham
The Bowl of Souls, Book 3
By: Trevor H. Cooley
Narrated by: Andrew Tell
The quest continues to go to his new mentor. If course it is never easy!😁 Edge, his strange reptilian type horse, his elf friend, an orc, and a dwarf continue to deal with dark evil. Meanwhile, evil is determined find them. Bonding with other creatures is something the new mentor helps Edge with! Lots of surprises come with this! This is a fun book! Lots of excitement!
The narration was excellent too!
The Bowl of Souls, Book 3
By: Trevor H. Cooley
Narrated by: Andrew Tell
The quest continues to go to his new mentor. If course it is never easy!😁 Edge, his strange reptilian type horse, his elf friend, an orc, and a dwarf continue to deal with dark evil. Meanwhile, evil is determined find them. Bonding with other creatures is something the new mentor helps Edge with! Lots of surprises come with this! This is a fun book! Lots of excitement!
The narration was excellent too!
January 31, 2013
I love this third book in the Bowl of Souls series. The flow of the story is so strong that sometimes I feel like I am watching a movie unfold in front of my eyes rather than words. This book is like a delicacy that you have to savour to appreciate it properly. The strength of a story and an author for me holds up if I can reread a book and it's actually better the second time around than it was the first time. This story is one of those jewels. I have now reread this and all it's previous books so many times that I have lost count and yet again while writing this review as I reminisce I have the overwhelming urge to reread it again. I hope whoever reads this review buys the Bowl of Soul series because we need to keep our Golden eggs laying hen fed if we want more out of it.
July 17, 2013
This entire series draws you in and holds you tightly. Trevor Cooley creates characters that you truly care about. The theme is a clever twist on familiar subjects.
November 29, 2016
Aaaaaaaaaand straight to book number 4!
Would recommend this series to anyone that likes the genre!!!
Would recommend this series to anyone that likes the genre!!!
January 7, 2020
Notes:
The writing is not perfect but I've grown fond of the characters and still curious to see how the overall plot will turn out.
The writing is not perfect but I've grown fond of the characters and still curious to see how the overall plot will turn out.
November 17, 2013
I'm not gonna lie i kinda don't remember where this book ended because i'm already almost finished with the 4th book lol but i did enjoy it the Bandham and the Scralag still so many mystery's i can't wait i hope we find out everything in the 5th book XD we found out a few things in book 4 but not enough my curiosity is too strong these books are addictive XD i'll will also write my review of book 4 since well i'm like 20 pages from being finished anyway Great book AMAZING Book Series This author may be one of my New favorites with Rick Roridan(yes i know i spelled it wrong having a brain Fart XD), Cinda William Chima, and Brandon Mull :)
October 7, 2014
Went through this one super fast and though I have given it 3 stars I could almost give it 4. Some things we have been waiting for fructify and some don't. Plenty of new characters materialize but Trevor still manages to hold the main story together without losing focus. The only grievance I had was that I had hoped we would move on from Vril and onto a bigger plot but because that did not happen there was a bit of repetitiveness from the villains of this piece. Still highly recommended and definitely compels you onto the next in the series
November 8, 2014
ok... the author is very very imaginative. i give him that. unfortunately the characters are too simplistic for me to want to continue to read the series any more. I am disappointed that major incidents in the book did not give me a greater emotional impact and that is mainly due to lack of impact that characters have on me. Really wanted to enjoy the book more but I think there are others that will be better worth my time.
February 11, 2013
Wow, an AMAZING AMAZING BOOK! I really wish the fourth one was already out! One of my most favorite books eva!
March 15, 2014
One of the best stories I have read in a long while. Good old school sword and sorcery, a real breath of fresh air after enduring all those boring romances pretending to be fantasy novels
May 10, 2019
ABandham all Pessimism, ye who proceed
I simply believe you will enjoy this book. It just may not lead to jumping for joy in reckless abandham, *cough* abandon (yes I wanted to do it twice. I am a little sorry, though).
I am an audiobook-exclusive reader, so the narrator choice is always important to me. I was looking at reviews on other books in the series and I saw some complaints about Andrew Tell. I can't say I understand them, though. I feel like Andrew Tell does a wonderful job of differentiating characters and of injecting the right emotion into his reading. I don't think I would call him one of my favorites (Tim Gerard Reynolds, McLeod Andrews, Katherine Kellgren probably top 3) but I have to say that I enjoy his work plenty.
This book takes us farther down into the thick of the story now, as I see it. Justan is no longer just some boy trying to be a man. He is a young man trying to do what he sees is right, to do Good. We have our usual cast of characters, by and large, and they are all coming along. I mentioned in my review of the first book that I felt it was little comparable to "Fellowship of the Ring" in how so much of the book inevitably felt like an introduction rather than a story all its own. Now that we are on book 3, the world is established and the story has some life all unto itself. Ewzad is still our primary antagonist, but he is getting deeper into his involvement with the Dark Prophet, and his powers. He is still twisting creatures and people in his pursuit of power, and he finds new traps and obstacles to use. Something that I'm wondering about is how much power he will carry later in the series. We can see that there is more 'behind the curtain.' Not only is there the Dark Prophet, there is the Mother of Moonrats. I'm glad to have layers to the opposition - it adds variety into the books and longevity to the series!
So, while this book presents more of the fantasy I want, I have found that I am asking questions about the plot while I'm reading. I have predictions and attachments within the story. I wonder what Master Coal will Teach Justan. I wonder how many bonded Justan can have, and whether or not he'll gain any more control of selecting them. I don't really doubt that he will succeed in the end, as most protagonists do, but I am definitely satisfied at sticking around until I found out how! This world is not a utopia - things go wrong for some, and interesting things happen!
This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an -->unbiased<-- review
I simply believe you will enjoy this book. It just may not lead to jumping for joy in reckless abandham, *cough* abandon (yes I wanted to do it twice. I am a little sorry, though).
I am an audiobook-exclusive reader, so the narrator choice is always important to me. I was looking at reviews on other books in the series and I saw some complaints about Andrew Tell. I can't say I understand them, though. I feel like Andrew Tell does a wonderful job of differentiating characters and of injecting the right emotion into his reading. I don't think I would call him one of my favorites (Tim Gerard Reynolds, McLeod Andrews, Katherine Kellgren probably top 3) but I have to say that I enjoy his work plenty.
This book takes us farther down into the thick of the story now, as I see it. Justan is no longer just some boy trying to be a man. He is a young man trying to do what he sees is right, to do Good. We have our usual cast of characters, by and large, and they are all coming along. I mentioned in my review of the first book that I felt it was little comparable to "Fellowship of the Ring" in how so much of the book inevitably felt like an introduction rather than a story all its own. Now that we are on book 3, the world is established and the story has some life all unto itself. Ewzad is still our primary antagonist, but he is getting deeper into his involvement with the Dark Prophet, and his powers. He is still twisting creatures and people in his pursuit of power, and he finds new traps and obstacles to use. Something that I'm wondering about is how much power he will carry later in the series. We can see that there is more 'behind the curtain.' Not only is there the Dark Prophet, there is the Mother of Moonrats. I'm glad to have layers to the opposition - it adds variety into the books and longevity to the series!
So, while this book presents more of the fantasy I want, I have found that I am asking questions about the plot while I'm reading. I have predictions and attachments within the story. I wonder what Master Coal will Teach Justan. I wonder how many bonded Justan can have, and whether or not he'll gain any more control of selecting them. I don't really doubt that he will succeed in the end, as most protagonists do, but I am definitely satisfied at sticking around until I found out how! This world is not a utopia - things go wrong for some, and interesting things happen!
This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an -->unbiased<-- review
February 14, 2019
“We are all stupid sometimes, Benjo. It’s what we do after we realize how stupid we are that counts.”
'Hunt of the Bandham' is the third book in 'The Bowl of Souls' Saga, and suffice it to say takes places shortly after the second book. I won't summarize book 3 in fear of spoiling the other books but we find our self continuing the journey with the same crew of characters from the second.
More new characters have been introduced that liven up the series and I enjoyed the progress and development of the existing cast. It seems we are learning more about them through the books which is refreshing to know that there is still more to learn after 3 books. The world is as alive as ever, but we didn't get to see to much in the third book unfortunately.
The story does move slowly, but it does have parts within that kept me reading. I will note that some of the action fight scenes are some of the better ones I've read in a while (at least my personal opinion). That last fight in particular I thought was very good and I couldn't take my eyes away for one second.
That is really all I have to note since I have said a lot about this series in previous reviews that mirror my feelings about book 3. Just really a quick check-in to say I'm still enjoying myself and am excited to continue the journey.
'Hunt of the Bandham' is the third book in 'The Bowl of Souls' Saga, and suffice it to say takes places shortly after the second book. I won't summarize book 3 in fear of spoiling the other books but we find our self continuing the journey with the same crew of characters from the second.
More new characters have been introduced that liven up the series and I enjoyed the progress and development of the existing cast. It seems we are learning more about them through the books which is refreshing to know that there is still more to learn after 3 books. The world is as alive as ever, but we didn't get to see to much in the third book unfortunately.
The story does move slowly, but it does have parts within that kept me reading. I will note that some of the action fight scenes are some of the better ones I've read in a while (at least my personal opinion). That last fight in particular I thought was very good and I couldn't take my eyes away for one second.
That is really all I have to note since I have said a lot about this series in previous reviews that mirror my feelings about book 3. Just really a quick check-in to say I'm still enjoying myself and am excited to continue the journey.
February 20, 2021
2.5 Stars
It didn't start well when the evil Duke, who was thoroughly killed at the end of the last book, was brought back to life, took up his old castle, and continued on as if nothing had happened. That's bullshit.
I also felt that despite Justan growing in abilities and responsibilities, he wasn't growing in maturity. In fact, the book as a whole was feeling more and more "mid-grade." Perhaps that's just a problem with my expectations. [shrug]
In the end, I simply lost any sense of realism. I was no longer inhabiting a strange and mysterious world. Instead, I was listing to a campfire story that was clearly created on the spot. The characters didn't seem to have personal agendas but were simply slaves to the plot.
If your belief can suspend a wider chasm than mine, you'll probably be happy to continue with the series. Don't let me put you off.
It didn't start well when the evil Duke, who was thoroughly killed at the end of the last book, was brought back to life, took up his old castle, and continued on as if nothing had happened. That's bullshit.
I also felt that despite Justan growing in abilities and responsibilities, he wasn't growing in maturity. In fact, the book as a whole was feeling more and more "mid-grade." Perhaps that's just a problem with my expectations. [shrug]
In the end, I simply lost any sense of realism. I was no longer inhabiting a strange and mysterious world. Instead, I was listing to a campfire story that was clearly created on the spot. The characters didn't seem to have personal agendas but were simply slaves to the plot.
If your belief can suspend a wider chasm than mine, you'll probably be happy to continue with the series. Don't let me put you off.
October 31, 2020
Solid world building, very memorable characters. Some weakness in editing, mostly with verb tenses while in narration (not as a character) most dialogue is unique to each character voice, some slipping in this book compared to the two previous stories. Could have real staying power and a long shelf life.
May 5, 2017
The story gets better and better, the characters and the plot and even the depth of the world and magic got richer. And the writing improved as well, not that it was bad to start with.
February 20, 2018
I'm still making my mind up on a few things. I plan to re-listen to the audiobook and see how it feels the second time around.
October 24, 2019
Continues to be a good book.
July 6, 2020
[Review relates to books 2 to 5 of this series.]
My Thoughts:
And of course, I have my favourite character, the ogre. No, his name is not Shrek, it's Fist.
At this point this series is beginning to look like Robert Jordan 's The Wheel Of Time series, as in, there is no end in sight. Having said that, the Messenger Of The Dark Prophet seems to have the best ending in all of the books in this series thus far. At least it ended on a positive note, well, until Book 5, that is. Mother Of The Moonrats ended the first 5 books' story arc. My advise would be not to start reading this series until you have all 5 books because you would want to dive into the next book as soon as you hit the cliffhanger ending.
I was looking for an epic fantasy read, I was glad that I stumbled onto this one.
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 4
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 5
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries
http://www.cherrymischievous.com/2017...
My Thoughts:
And of course, I have my favourite character, the ogre. No, his name is not Shrek, it's Fist.
At this point this series is beginning to look like Robert Jordan 's The Wheel Of Time series, as in, there is no end in sight. Having said that, the Messenger Of The Dark Prophet seems to have the best ending in all of the books in this series thus far. At least it ended on a positive note, well, until Book 5, that is. Mother Of The Moonrats ended the first 5 books' story arc. My advise would be not to start reading this series until you have all 5 books because you would want to dive into the next book as soon as you hit the cliffhanger ending.
I was looking for an epic fantasy read, I was glad that I stumbled onto this one.
Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 4
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 5
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries
http://www.cherrymischievous.com/2017...
January 9, 2016
When I was growing up, I think I had the Anne McCaffery books and that was it as far as sci-fi and fantasy. In junior high and high school more books with female main characters were getting published and purchased by the library. Now it's much more easy to find books like that and so, oddly, I don't mind reading a book series with male main characters. First of all, Cooley's cast has plenty of girls in all sorts of roles. He doesn't belittle or over-shelter them. They have their own feelings and agendas and the love story follows along with the plot without taking over anything.
I've read the first four books in this series and I would recommend this series for elementary kids of both sexes. And if you're like my mom and have kids that want you to read books to them even at an older age, you'll be able to enjoy this series too (though it is a bit young, I will not lie to you on that). In addition, there seems to be a quiet movement for books with kind characters (the number of people that talked about that before or after reading the The Goblin Emperor, holy cow). The main character in here is also a kind boy. A little less kind, perhaps, but I kinda feel like The Goblin Emperor was a little heavy handed in that account. Not a bad thing, but I'd choke if I read too many like it. I like variety.
I've read the first four books in this series and I would recommend this series for elementary kids of both sexes. And if you're like my mom and have kids that want you to read books to them even at an older age, you'll be able to enjoy this series too (though it is a bit young, I will not lie to you on that). In addition, there seems to be a quiet movement for books with kind characters (the number of people that talked about that before or after reading the The Goblin Emperor, holy cow). The main character in here is also a kind boy. A little less kind, perhaps, but I kinda feel like The Goblin Emperor was a little heavy handed in that account. Not a bad thing, but I'd choke if I read too many like it. I like variety.
February 22, 2016
A very interesting series from the start, i managed to go through the whole 5 books and greatly loved this series. though the first two books were mostly coming of age, the story started getting better by book three. and towards the end it was really impressive.
The well written characters were that of Fist and DeathClaw; Justan was more annoying in the first two books, making mistakes which i believe were necessary for the books to move forward and strangely naive... but grew to be a good lead character. The most interesting story line was that of William and Theodore... would have loved to read a lot more about them and their exploits...
Loved the series , watch out for this Author he knows how to dish out a great story.
The well written characters were that of Fist and DeathClaw; Justan was more annoying in the first two books, making mistakes which i believe were necessary for the books to move forward and strangely naive... but grew to be a good lead character. The most interesting story line was that of William and Theodore... would have loved to read a lot more about them and their exploits...
Loved the series , watch out for this Author he knows how to dish out a great story.
August 14, 2013
Once again, Trevor H. Cooley does not disappoint. In the last book, it seemed that the villainous plot had been stopped, and a dark fate averted. But looks can be deceiving, as we soon find out in this new novel of Justan (or should we say, "Edge?").
One of the most enjoyable parts of this series is watching Justan mature as the hero we know he will become. Paralleling this is a growing maturity in the writing of Trevor H. Cooley. It's still a fun-loving romp (particularly when the dwarf "Lenny" is present), but it is also a story told large, with a sweeping and epic tale building in the background. Just my kind of read!
One of the most enjoyable parts of this series is watching Justan mature as the hero we know he will become. Paralleling this is a growing maturity in the writing of Trevor H. Cooley. It's still a fun-loving romp (particularly when the dwarf "Lenny" is present), but it is also a story told large, with a sweeping and epic tale building in the background. Just my kind of read!
September 17, 2013
We are on the way to get more training. We are off to figure out what are the bonded and what they can do. How does bonding affect Justan and the others? You learn all this in this book. We also learn a little more about Justan his mother. If you think that he has just one normal parent you will be proved one. We will also deal a little more with the women. Yes I meant women. You are reminded that Justan is young and that is a good thing. It means that he is still changing and that he is still young.
We also meet new bonded and a new bonding wizard. One thing that I really like is that Justan names his bow.
We also meet new bonded and a new bonding wizard. One thing that I really like is that Justan names his bow.
April 29, 2016
We get farther and deeper into the fight between the Dark Prophet and the forces of good. It's interesting to watch all of the characters grow and see the interpersonal stories develop. Even though only a small amount of time is covered, there is much that happens. It seems like crucial pieces of the overall story are starting to line up
The typos are starting to make me crazy. I'll probably hold off on reading the next book in the series until I can calm down a little.
I'm still really enjoying the story though.
The typos are starting to make me crazy. I'll probably hold off on reading the next book in the series until I can calm down a little.
I'm still really enjoying the story though.
October 21, 2014
The middle book in a series is usually the slowest. This series holds true to form. A lot of build up and backstory not a great deal of action. Overall decent book but lacking in the action the first two books contained.
December 15, 2014
Book Three brings Jusan (Sir Edge) to a level where can begin to use all his talents. First he must face powerful foes on one on one basis, and many great fights are peppered into this tale. Can't wait till I start the next book!
December 22, 2014
Great continuation of the series -- I loved every moment of it. I am just a sucker for this type of a book, and the characters have been developed for a long time at this point and yet we keep discovering more and more about them.
August 4, 2013
No real surprises in the storey, but I love the characters and the writing amazing and allows me to overlook the fact that I knew what was going to happen.
February 14, 2015
This whole series has, so far, just been fun to read.
May 9, 2014
Nice follow up from 2nd book. I m really enjoying this series so far.
Read
May 7, 2014it would not be fair to give this book a star rating since I dropped it in the middle - suffice it to say I will not pick this series up again.
It just isn't for me.
It just isn't for me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews