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Soulstream: The Mancer Epic
Rare book
320 pages, Hardcover
First published November 7, 2012
1 person is currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Geo Ivery
2 books6 followersGeo Ivery was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, in 1978. He is a professional graphic artist, comic book character developer, and computer game designer with a B.A. degree in Computer Animation. Raised all over the world in a military family, he has been influenced by many cultures and places, which has added a fantastical twist to his stories. He sees everyone as a comic book character and loves to find both the gifts and the flaws that make people unique, so that the world can see Magick through his vision.
With thousands of original characters in his head, he has created worlds parallel to our own, but so much brighter and more vivid. Geo has worked with private editors nationwide, has ghostwritten graphic novels, and has developed back stories of characters for multimillion-dollar companies. His work has been compared to Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Harry Potter, X-Men, The Matrix, and The Da Vinci Code.
With thousands of original characters in his head, he has created worlds parallel to our own, but so much brighter and more vivid. Geo has worked with private editors nationwide, has ghostwritten graphic novels, and has developed back stories of characters for multimillion-dollar companies. His work has been compared to Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Harry Potter, X-Men, The Matrix, and The Da Vinci Code.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 23, 2013
This review is courtesy of topoftheheapreviews(dot)com
Soulstream is the first book of a projected nine book series called The Mancer Epic. So just how epic is it?
When the book came to me for review, it sounded like it could be interesting. It seemed like it would be a sort-of coming of age story, but realizing that these kids hold the fate of the world in their hands. Mix in a little science-fiction, a little bit of espionage and a little bit of techno-thriller and you have a book that could be fast paced, smart, and have larger than life characters. It reminded me of the original X-Men comics. Especially with Gemini discovering and mentoring these teens in their new found abilities.
To be honest, a lot of what I thought would happen in this book, did happen. You got everything mentioned above, and it was well thought out, and very well paced.
The reader may be put off at first however. There are a lot of characters, and they are all thrown at you very quickly. It can be hard to keep this straight while reading through the first few chapters. That aside though, the major players, while many, will work themselves out and you’ll see them as a complete team and they won’t seem like all that many characters.
Before you really start to pick this up though, you need to decide if you are going to be on board for a nine book series. If you are, then you need to understand that book one is really just there to set everything up. You have characters galore, like stated above, and you have a back story for each character. You have their sort of awakening when being told they are Mancers, or, those that can tap into the Soulstream at will, and you have the history of where each character came from in their past life. It’s a lot to take in a times, but Geo does a really fantastic job of making it easy for you to grasp and to get through.
The little bit of plot this book does have (don’t take that as a bad thing, this book sets up the entire series and is needed), beyond the discovery of each other, is intriguing enough to keep you reading along, and serves as a good introduction to the antagonist organization OZONE. I say little bit of plot, not because it wasn’t good, the plot of finding one particular person before the organization feels like the race that it is, but because I felt it served only to provide a big climax and a few big reveals towards the end. The real story here is the character building.
The Bottom Line: I can’t help but think that this book would have been better served as maybe a collection of short stories all being tied together by an over-arcing theme, with each story containing the characters back story and how they came to know Gemini. Once all the characters have been introduced, then move on. Don’t mistake those words for thinking the book is bad though. I finished it in two sittings, which means I was invested in the characters and their interactions with each other, and I was invested in the world that Geo had created. A great read for anybody! Now that all the players have been introduced, I can’t wait to see where this leads! When’s book two coming??
After talking a bit with the author, you can look for VERY big things coming from him.
Soulstream is the first book of a projected nine book series called The Mancer Epic. So just how epic is it?
When the book came to me for review, it sounded like it could be interesting. It seemed like it would be a sort-of coming of age story, but realizing that these kids hold the fate of the world in their hands. Mix in a little science-fiction, a little bit of espionage and a little bit of techno-thriller and you have a book that could be fast paced, smart, and have larger than life characters. It reminded me of the original X-Men comics. Especially with Gemini discovering and mentoring these teens in their new found abilities.
To be honest, a lot of what I thought would happen in this book, did happen. You got everything mentioned above, and it was well thought out, and very well paced.
The reader may be put off at first however. There are a lot of characters, and they are all thrown at you very quickly. It can be hard to keep this straight while reading through the first few chapters. That aside though, the major players, while many, will work themselves out and you’ll see them as a complete team and they won’t seem like all that many characters.
Before you really start to pick this up though, you need to decide if you are going to be on board for a nine book series. If you are, then you need to understand that book one is really just there to set everything up. You have characters galore, like stated above, and you have a back story for each character. You have their sort of awakening when being told they are Mancers, or, those that can tap into the Soulstream at will, and you have the history of where each character came from in their past life. It’s a lot to take in a times, but Geo does a really fantastic job of making it easy for you to grasp and to get through.
The little bit of plot this book does have (don’t take that as a bad thing, this book sets up the entire series and is needed), beyond the discovery of each other, is intriguing enough to keep you reading along, and serves as a good introduction to the antagonist organization OZONE. I say little bit of plot, not because it wasn’t good, the plot of finding one particular person before the organization feels like the race that it is, but because I felt it served only to provide a big climax and a few big reveals towards the end. The real story here is the character building.
The Bottom Line: I can’t help but think that this book would have been better served as maybe a collection of short stories all being tied together by an over-arcing theme, with each story containing the characters back story and how they came to know Gemini. Once all the characters have been introduced, then move on. Don’t mistake those words for thinking the book is bad though. I finished it in two sittings, which means I was invested in the characters and their interactions with each other, and I was invested in the world that Geo had created. A great read for anybody! Now that all the players have been introduced, I can’t wait to see where this leads! When’s book two coming??
After talking a bit with the author, you can look for VERY big things coming from him.
September 27, 2013
Yes...it takes a while for the story to get started, but I enjoyed taking time to get to know this large cast of characters. I especially enjoyed the ties to gods and goddesses around the world. I am eager to see how the story continues to unfold.
April 12, 2021
After reading Soulstream: The mancer epic, I deduced that the writer had no business publishing anything of value. Its utter BS. I wouldn't recomend this book to anyone. All thumbs DOWN!
October 26, 2024
The story starts out in a while due to massive amount of caste intros but it keeps one hooked specially if your an adventure, fantasy sort of fan.
September 9, 2013
Your going to want to put aside some substantial quiet time to get into this without interruption as there is a hefty cast of characters filling the pages of this story, and when I mention a cast of characters, I really mean that. So you are going to want that interruption free time otherwise it can be difficult at times to keep track of the who's who, and who's what. However, considering this is the first of a nine-book series it is hardly surprising that there would have to be numerous characters in order to carry the storyline(s) through the whole series. Just take a moment to think of the huge character list from the Harry Potter series!
The storyline itself is driven by a motley crew of kids suffering from the usual teenage angst ridden drama that saturates the halls of every high school, but these kids are different, they are special. They have a little more to deal with than your average teen, how many kids do you know who can read minds, or move with superhuman speed? Their unique powers and abilities set them apart not just from their fellow teens but from everyone. All of the characters and their individual talents and conflicts are imaginatively set out. The storyline too provides something for everyone with its unique Matrix-Harry Potter-Superteen Hero mix of qualities. Overall it is highly dramatic, action packed and fast paced, and the pages are filled with fantastic imagery that brings the story right off the pages.
Things I would like to have seen... While I really enjoyed the The Mancer Epic, I think it would be well suited if not more suited to a graphic novel format to add that visual punch that would only serve to make keeping track of the characters in the beginning that much easier while giving that extra emphasis to the already dramatic imagery. A list of important characters too would help in keeping track, that was something I always felt was missing when reading the Harry Potter series.
So in conclusion, I give it 4 out of 5 stars... my tween-agers, who snapped it up as soon as I was done reading it have both rated it a 5 out of 5 so I guess that adds up to a 4.75!
The storyline itself is driven by a motley crew of kids suffering from the usual teenage angst ridden drama that saturates the halls of every high school, but these kids are different, they are special. They have a little more to deal with than your average teen, how many kids do you know who can read minds, or move with superhuman speed? Their unique powers and abilities set them apart not just from their fellow teens but from everyone. All of the characters and their individual talents and conflicts are imaginatively set out. The storyline too provides something for everyone with its unique Matrix-Harry Potter-Superteen Hero mix of qualities. Overall it is highly dramatic, action packed and fast paced, and the pages are filled with fantastic imagery that brings the story right off the pages.
Things I would like to have seen... While I really enjoyed the The Mancer Epic, I think it would be well suited if not more suited to a graphic novel format to add that visual punch that would only serve to make keeping track of the characters in the beginning that much easier while giving that extra emphasis to the already dramatic imagery. A list of important characters too would help in keeping track, that was something I always felt was missing when reading the Harry Potter series.
So in conclusion, I give it 4 out of 5 stars... my tween-agers, who snapped it up as soon as I was done reading it have both rated it a 5 out of 5 so I guess that adds up to a 4.75!
June 24, 2013
Geo pens "Soulstream" in a plot that is filled with suspense, action, mystery, drama, and emotions. There are many different characters, but I really didn't have a hard time following them as they were vividly described and well developed. I totally enjoyed the book and had a really hard time putting it down, now I can't wait for the next book in the series. Highly recommended for all YA, sci-fi and paranormal fans.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author which was provided for an honest review.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author which was provided for an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews