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Woodpusher
Erika Edens finally had everything she wanted. The girl. The quiet life. The stable job. But even the best situations can be turned upside down by powers well beyond our control.
Now Erika finds herself in another universe full of gods, guardians, and advanced technologies. Along with her girlfriend and four other humans, they must undertake a plan to save Earth from a rogue deity. But for all the skills and talents this team has, one critical component is out of place. Will Erika be able to overcome her lack of skills - and her demons - to learn what she needs to save the world? Or will she trip herself up along the way?Content Acephobia, alcoholism, anxiety, body horror, death, gun violence, homophobia, intrusive thoughts, mental illness, strong language, transphobia, violence
Now Erika finds herself in another universe full of gods, guardians, and advanced technologies. Along with her girlfriend and four other humans, they must undertake a plan to save Earth from a rogue deity. But for all the skills and talents this team has, one critical component is out of place. Will Erika be able to overcome her lack of skills - and her demons - to learn what she needs to save the world? Or will she trip herself up along the way?Content Acephobia, alcoholism, anxiety, body horror, death, gun violence, homophobia, intrusive thoughts, mental illness, strong language, transphobia, violence
381 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 2, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 3, 2023
Hi. I'm the author of this book. If you're reading this, you're likely very confused why an author wrote a review of their own book. I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to check out my book on Goodreads. I'd love for you to read Woodpusher, as I've put a ton of time, effort, energy, and heart into this book over the past 2+ years. It's hard to follow up a book that's first in a series -- not to mention one that so many people enjoyed and have said incredibly kind things about. My hope is that enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Regardless, thank you for caring enough about my work to come look at this page. I appreciate you.
March 15, 2025
Really good, and absolutely not what I expected.
This book introduces gods and guardians, other universes, magic weapons and a plot to destroy humanity. Which is certainly cool, and I look forward to seeing how that turns out.
But this book also deals with Erika's mental health and alcoholism, and it's effects on her and those around her, and honestly it's a tough read. I could yak on for some time about this side of the story but I won't. Erika and Abby don't deserve this! Poor things
This book introduces gods and guardians, other universes, magic weapons and a plot to destroy humanity. Which is certainly cool, and I look forward to seeing how that turns out.
But this book also deals with Erika's mental health and alcoholism, and it's effects on her and those around her, and honestly it's a tough read. I could yak on for some time about this side of the story but I won't. Erika and Abby don't deserve this! Poor things
February 25, 2024
More magic and drama you can't look away from in this follow up to Kotov Syndrome. It's different from the first book, but the characters are still engaging and lovable in a disaster kind of way. You can't help but want to hug them and shake them at the same time. End leaves you wanting still more, and I'm looking forward to the next in the series!
January 2, 2024
Woodpusher is the second book in Tim Baughman Jr's Azaes Realm series, and the first thing I will say is make sure that you read the first book, Kotov Syndrome , before picking up this one as there is a lot of wonderful development of the central characters and their complicated relationship in that book, and to get the most from this book, an understanding of that back story is definitely needed.
Now hoping that you are not some sort of weirdo who starts a series midway through, the rest of this review will assume that you have already read Kotov Syndrome and are familiar with Abby and Erika and their somewhat unique love story.
Since you have read the first book you know it took rather a dramatic turn in the final few pages, and I can honestly say that I have never been happier to have had an advance copy on hand than I was when I finished that book. While Kotov Syndrome was a science fiction with dystopian elements set in a recognisable future version of our world, in Woodpusher the action moves to a different universe and there is more of a blend of fantasy with the science as we meet a whole new cast of characters including Gods, Guardians and Envoys as Erika and Abby are essentially kidnapped so that they can train and become part of a team destined to save humanity. This is a big jump in both scope and scale from the first novella and I have to admit that I found it a little confusing at times, as so many new characters were introduced at once, each with different powers and different magical weapons. (To be fair there is a really handy appendix at the end of the book that gives a handy guide to all of these , but since the advance copy I was reading did not have a table of contents I did not know it was there until I finished the book, I think if I had know and been able to refer to it while reading it would certainly have helped my confusion in some of the "muddier" sections in the middle of the book. I did find several of the new characters intriguing, and appreciated the added complexity they brought to the story as well as the political intrigue that unfolded as I was reading the book.
For those readers who loved Erika and Abby, fear not, they are central to the story and manage to hold their own in the expanded cast of characters, in fact Erika in particular faces some mental challenges that were extremely compelling to read about. I have to admit that I had some concerns about where I thought things were heading , particularly in the way that some of her issues were being handled , but as things unfolded I became less worried and instead found myself really engaged in her struggles and rooting for things to work out.
I think readers who liked the first book will find something to enjoy here, though there is less of a focus on the relationship between the main characters than there was in Kotov Syndrome, which was definitely my favourite thing about the first book, the increasingly complex storyline will give them plenty to think about. Also I have to give bonus points for a Disc World reference !
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of the author, all opinions are my own.
Now hoping that you are not some sort of weirdo who starts a series midway through, the rest of this review will assume that you have already read Kotov Syndrome and are familiar with Abby and Erika and their somewhat unique love story.
Since you have read the first book you know it took rather a dramatic turn in the final few pages, and I can honestly say that I have never been happier to have had an advance copy on hand than I was when I finished that book. While Kotov Syndrome was a science fiction with dystopian elements set in a recognisable future version of our world, in Woodpusher the action moves to a different universe and there is more of a blend of fantasy with the science as we meet a whole new cast of characters including Gods, Guardians and Envoys as Erika and Abby are essentially kidnapped so that they can train and become part of a team destined to save humanity. This is a big jump in both scope and scale from the first novella and I have to admit that I found it a little confusing at times, as so many new characters were introduced at once, each with different powers and different magical weapons. (To be fair there is a really handy appendix at the end of the book that gives a handy guide to all of these , but since the advance copy I was reading did not have a table of contents I did not know it was there until I finished the book, I think if I had know and been able to refer to it while reading it would certainly have helped my confusion in some of the "muddier" sections in the middle of the book. I did find several of the new characters intriguing, and appreciated the added complexity they brought to the story as well as the political intrigue that unfolded as I was reading the book.
For those readers who loved Erika and Abby, fear not, they are central to the story and manage to hold their own in the expanded cast of characters, in fact Erika in particular faces some mental challenges that were extremely compelling to read about. I have to admit that I had some concerns about where I thought things were heading , particularly in the way that some of her issues were being handled , but as things unfolded I became less worried and instead found myself really engaged in her struggles and rooting for things to work out.
I think readers who liked the first book will find something to enjoy here, though there is less of a focus on the relationship between the main characters than there was in Kotov Syndrome, which was definitely my favourite thing about the first book, the increasingly complex storyline will give them plenty to think about. Also I have to give bonus points for a Disc World reference !
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of the author, all opinions are my own.
January 18, 2024
A departure worth taking
While this book is quite different from its predecessor, due to the events occurring at the end of book 1, the changes make for a very compelling story.
While this book is quite different from its predecessor, due to the events occurring at the end of book 1, the changes make for a very compelling story.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews