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The Rhythm of Rivalry #3
Bastial Explosion
As Effie and her roommates learn firsthand the true savagery of their enemies, anger and grief threaten to overtake them. While dealing with internal turmoil, each student also must come to terms with his or her role in battle...and soon. The Krepps have twice the numbers of Kyrro, and the frightfully strong creatures are eager to kill.
After managing to anger the entire Academy during his introduction, Zoke learns that behaving like a Krepp makes him more of an outcast with his new allies in Kyrro than he was with his own race. With his sister, Zeti, on the opposing side as the gruesome events of war unfold, soon the only thing the siblings have in common is a waning hope that they won't see each other on the battlefield. But before a clash of unprecedented proportions can occur, something unheard of is discovered lingering deep below Tenred that may change everything.
After managing to anger the entire Academy during his introduction, Zoke learns that behaving like a Krepp makes him more of an outcast with his new allies in Kyrro than he was with his own race. With his sister, Zeti, on the opposing side as the gruesome events of war unfold, soon the only thing the siblings have in common is a waning hope that they won't see each other on the battlefield. But before a clash of unprecedented proportions can occur, something unheard of is discovered lingering deep below Tenred that may change everything.
334 pages, Paperback
First published October 11, 2013
127 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 7, 2015
ABR's full Bastial Explosion audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
Bastial Explosion is the third novel in the series The Rhythm of Rivalry written by B.T. Narro. This novel follows the wartime activities of a group of students, both human and of other races. The students at this academy learn special skills such as potion making, fighting, magic, and psyche. They are sent on missions because of the academy is a critical component of the war effort. In addition, the novel follows the movements of two of the enemy species, Krepps. One of the Krepps is allied with the humans that are the main characters and novel is exploring his adjustment to living amongst the humans.
First and foremost, one of the biggest issues that I have with this novel, is that it cannot stand alone. At the beginning, different races were being introduced by name as if the reader should already know them. This would have been the case if I had read the first two books. As I had not, I needed to do some research on the internet to get an idea of what the premise of the whole series was and get familiar with some basics that were mentioned. As soon as I did that, I felt much better about the entire book, but I definitely felt as if I was missing some things. It was as if, I has started a novel in the middle. Similarly, the end of was abrupt without much conclusion in this novel.
However, listening to this novel got me hooked. While some of the dialogue and romantic motivations were a little juvenile, the action in the novel is captivating and the world building pretty great. My mind did not wander and I was anxious to see what happened next. I think the character development could be improved. Sometime they seemed a little flat and their actions simply plot devices.
While Lesley Ann Fogle did a great job with the different voices, there were two aspects of the narration that bothered me a lot. First, and minor, at least in the beginning, I noticed an echo-y quality to the sound, implying that the narrator was sitting in a room were the sound carries. It was distracting and probably a production quality issue. Second, and more important, the ends of chapters were not read with any finality. At the end of every chapter, it seemed like the conversations were chopped off. While this might be partially the fault of the author, a narrator should be able to accomplish this. With the long pause between chapters and I kept thinking that my phone app had shut down. Overall, I think reading the previous novels would've helped me feel secure in my knowledge about what was going on and reading, rather than listening to the audiobook, would have been a better experience for me.
Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.
Bastial Explosion is the third novel in the series The Rhythm of Rivalry written by B.T. Narro. This novel follows the wartime activities of a group of students, both human and of other races. The students at this academy learn special skills such as potion making, fighting, magic, and psyche. They are sent on missions because of the academy is a critical component of the war effort. In addition, the novel follows the movements of two of the enemy species, Krepps. One of the Krepps is allied with the humans that are the main characters and novel is exploring his adjustment to living amongst the humans.
First and foremost, one of the biggest issues that I have with this novel, is that it cannot stand alone. At the beginning, different races were being introduced by name as if the reader should already know them. This would have been the case if I had read the first two books. As I had not, I needed to do some research on the internet to get an idea of what the premise of the whole series was and get familiar with some basics that were mentioned. As soon as I did that, I felt much better about the entire book, but I definitely felt as if I was missing some things. It was as if, I has started a novel in the middle. Similarly, the end of was abrupt without much conclusion in this novel.
However, listening to this novel got me hooked. While some of the dialogue and romantic motivations were a little juvenile, the action in the novel is captivating and the world building pretty great. My mind did not wander and I was anxious to see what happened next. I think the character development could be improved. Sometime they seemed a little flat and their actions simply plot devices.
While Lesley Ann Fogle did a great job with the different voices, there were two aspects of the narration that bothered me a lot. First, and minor, at least in the beginning, I noticed an echo-y quality to the sound, implying that the narrator was sitting in a room were the sound carries. It was distracting and probably a production quality issue. Second, and more important, the ends of chapters were not read with any finality. At the end of every chapter, it seemed like the conversations were chopped off. While this might be partially the fault of the author, a narrator should be able to accomplish this. With the long pause between chapters and I kept thinking that my phone app had shut down. Overall, I think reading the previous novels would've helped me feel secure in my knowledge about what was going on and reading, rather than listening to the audiobook, would have been a better experience for me.
Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.
February 27, 2024
This review is about the audiobook release;
I have really NO idea why someone thought it was good idea to swap the existing male narrotor for a female narrator in the middle of a series.
I really can't think of any sane reason to make such a drastic change. It totally spoils the joy I had listening to the first 3 releases in this series! To make the disaster complete: she does a very poor job!!
Various characters with a stong male voices now get a thin child like voice - and 75% of all the characters are male!!.....and on top of it a rather bad sound quality . As if it was recorded in a closet.
This one deserves a re-release with a proper voice actor!
2 stars for the good story.....it's a shame it got spoiled in this release...
I have really NO idea why someone thought it was good idea to swap the existing male narrotor for a female narrator in the middle of a series.
I really can't think of any sane reason to make such a drastic change. It totally spoils the joy I had listening to the first 3 releases in this series! To make the disaster complete: she does a very poor job!!
Various characters with a stong male voices now get a thin child like voice - and 75% of all the characters are male!!.....and on top of it a rather bad sound quality . As if it was recorded in a closet.
This one deserves a re-release with a proper voice actor!
2 stars for the good story.....it's a shame it got spoiled in this release...
April 5, 2019
I love this series. The characters and lovable and you'll want to root for them throughout this series. I have read this series before and I really can't figure out way this review was not here. But You'll love this series and the story moves right along, keeps the pages turning. Great Reading Everyone!
Read
January 28, 2022DNF.
When Gabby's 15 year old sister became this pushy, sexual character I got a bit bored with the whole book. Like it was a cumulation of other plot points that made me finally go nah, this isn't worth it.
When Gabby's 15 year old sister became this pushy, sexual character I got a bit bored with the whole book. Like it was a cumulation of other plot points that made me finally go nah, this isn't worth it.
November 25, 2016
Good Read
We find out more about the main characters. Oliver's return is heroic. The story is left at a lull in the battle waiting the start of the next book.
We find out more about the main characters. Oliver's return is heroic. The story is left at a lull in the battle waiting the start of the next book.
October 24, 2013
Note: Bastial Explosion (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 3) is actually a book number four in the Bastial/Sartious series of novels by B.T. Narro. While reading the Sartious Mage is not required to understand what’s going on in this latest installment, the Explosion follows directly the events of Bastial Energy and the timeline is almost the same as in Bastial Steel. If you haven’t read the previous books, I’d highly recommend to start with Bastial Energy and other books first, both to understand what is happening and to avoid any possible spoilers in the reviews.
In Bastial Explosion, we see the return to the original format of the first book, Bastial Energy: it’s told from the points of view of multiple characters. We find ourselves back in the Academy with Effie, Steffen, Reela, and their friends. On the Krepps’ side of the story, we follow Zoke, who has sided with humans, and his sister Zeti, who stays loyal to the Krepps’ cause of finding and eating all the Slugary they can find. While other characters are integral to the plot development, in my opinion, Effie and Zeti steal the show in this book. While Effie was the most interesting character in the first book, despite her being of secondary importance, and Zeti was written in somewhat subdued tones, with her brother outshining her, now they become much more developed and important to the plot. Through their transformation alone we can trace what is happening in the story and where it is headed—the all out war.
The build up to the war is interesting to read because it happens rather naturally, gathering the steam slowly, until the end of the book, where we can see how the author handles description of a large battle. Which is rather well, BTW. There are some revelations, and questions answered in this book, and a rather spectacular titular explosion that takes place. However, as always, the main strength of Bastial/Sartious novels is character development: patient, detailed, and relevant to the story.
It will be interesting to see what will happen in the next installment of the series, with Cleve finally being back into the fray and the promise of the upcoming hostilities finally delivered.
Good read, recommended.
In Bastial Explosion, we see the return to the original format of the first book, Bastial Energy: it’s told from the points of view of multiple characters. We find ourselves back in the Academy with Effie, Steffen, Reela, and their friends. On the Krepps’ side of the story, we follow Zoke, who has sided with humans, and his sister Zeti, who stays loyal to the Krepps’ cause of finding and eating all the Slugary they can find. While other characters are integral to the plot development, in my opinion, Effie and Zeti steal the show in this book. While Effie was the most interesting character in the first book, despite her being of secondary importance, and Zeti was written in somewhat subdued tones, with her brother outshining her, now they become much more developed and important to the plot. Through their transformation alone we can trace what is happening in the story and where it is headed—the all out war.
The build up to the war is interesting to read because it happens rather naturally, gathering the steam slowly, until the end of the book, where we can see how the author handles description of a large battle. Which is rather well, BTW. There are some revelations, and questions answered in this book, and a rather spectacular titular explosion that takes place. However, as always, the main strength of Bastial/Sartious novels is character development: patient, detailed, and relevant to the story.
It will be interesting to see what will happen in the next installment of the series, with Cleve finally being back into the fray and the promise of the upcoming hostilities finally delivered.
Good read, recommended.
July 8, 2014
The adventure continues in Bastial Explosion by B.T. Narro and will keep you glued to its pages. This is Book 3 of The Rhythm of Rivalry Series and it does not slow down.
The author does a great job of continuing to build on his heroes and developing their personalities and strengths. I like the way he has made each real and easy to identify with. This makes it easy to get into the story and support each of your favorites.
B. T. Narro is a great storyteller and Bastial Explosion is no exception. He has put together a fast past, high adventure fantasy which will take your breath away. The story is very real and believable. Even with the constant plot changes it easy to follow and get into. As the book series develops, you begin to see how they each fit together and this brings even more excitement to your reading adventure.
I really liked Bastial Explosion by B.T. Narro and I highly recommend this book to all readers.
[Please note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.]
The author does a great job of continuing to build on his heroes and developing their personalities and strengths. I like the way he has made each real and easy to identify with. This makes it easy to get into the story and support each of your favorites.
B. T. Narro is a great storyteller and Bastial Explosion is no exception. He has put together a fast past, high adventure fantasy which will take your breath away. The story is very real and believable. Even with the constant plot changes it easy to follow and get into. As the book series develops, you begin to see how they each fit together and this brings even more excitement to your reading adventure.
I really liked Bastial Explosion by B.T. Narro and I highly recommend this book to all readers.
[Please note: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.]
January 21, 2015
I didn't like it quite as well as the first or second book but it wasn't terrible. They based the entire plot around the war that the first two books had been leading up to and i would rather have book about the adventure trying to prevent it. I would give it a 4/5.
December 2, 2013
Not as strong as the previous two but still a good read and looking forward to what comes next.
December 15, 2014
It was a fast paced book. Good story.
February 5, 2016
read my comments about the first two
April 23, 2017
Bastial Explosion, the third book in the Rhythm of Rivalry series follows a set of characters not found in book 2. It seems that the timeline follows book 2 during the same period, the ending taking place after book 2 ends. It is a fast paced book having a lot of traveling and different events taking place in a short period of time. The characters that we already know continued to develop and become more fleshed out and new twists and turns were added. The ending seemed to move faster than necessary, a few very large and intense sequences only lasting a couple chapters each. While the jumps in time did take away from the reading experience, overall this book didn't disappoint. It continued to set up the final two chapters of this series while keeping the reader interested and engaged. I started book 4 immediately upon completion, and I look forward to reading the final chapters of this series.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews