Shieldsmith

Manifestation #4

by Samuel Hinton

The Misfits, having helped secure the first Nhamian nexus with Qaeldicras, face an even more challenging issue. A second ancient spirit, Galsinith, is trapped deep inside Nhamian territory in a facility underneath the active volcano called the Oldfather. To free her, they team back up with Octavian, Hlaya, and others. It should be an easy journey. All they need to do is sneak through a large empty of monster-claimed wilderness, infiltrate a secret facility, and release the chains holding the spirit there. What could go wrong?

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

540 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2024

Reviews

[Dominic · Rating 3 out of 5]

A stumbling block for the series

The author has created an amazing world filled with compelling characters and world building. However, there are a few significant issues. As an avid reader who really enjoyed the series up until this point I struggled to finish the book and I'm not sure I want to continue the series.

The plot tends to be poorly tied together. Chance seems to play a big role in how combat and story beats get resolved. This issue appeared earlier in the series but now it's become a pretty big detractor and removes any tension from the story.

The author has decided to add romance in the series. Romance becomes a focal point of the book, often to the detriment of any character development. Often the romance felt clunky and heavy-handed detracting from the story rather than enhancing it.

The author also tried dipping his hand into character death and while touching it didn't really seem to serve a purpose or enhance the story. Instead of adding stakes, it seemed like the author was attempting to tidy up the stakes and remove characters that drew focus and interest.

2.5 out of 5

[Sundeep · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another great entry in the series. Loved the mix of travel, training, action, mysteries, slice-of-life scenes, twists, etc. Two mentors and two squads who were all doing their best to work together and achieve their mission goals in a dangerous setting made for a compelling read.

I especially loved how the author continued to build the magic system and even the experienced mentors had something new to learn. Also, the games and banter made the training sessions interesting.

Some losses were to be expected with the escalation of events at the research facility - though I wish it weren't so. Looking forward to the interesting things hinted at the end.

[Andrey Lukyanenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I enjoy reading about the team dynamics - the team members are different and this makes it more fun. The interplay and humor are well-written as well.
I'm happy that Raysha found her happiness!
The magic system is interesting and it was fascinating to see how other races have their unique ways of progressing.
The price of the victory was high, it will take some time for the characters (and for me) to process it.

[Shil Modi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samuel Hinton does not miss

This book manages to not only maintain, but increase the quality of writing of the series so far. The stakes are upped, the characters face interesting developments, and the group dynamics remains on point. Eagerly awaiting the next one.

[Johnie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who likes LitRPG and progression type of books with lots of action.

[Peche Esse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raysha is tiresome and childish. I hope her attitude and emotional development get attention soon.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Another great entry to this series, this time with action all the way through. The stakes were high and I couldn’t put the book down, can’t wait for the next one!

[Dantegideon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid fun. Raysha can be a bit annoying but eh, I got over it. It was nice to see her romance finally go somewhere I must admit.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid installment. More points of view appear through the story, levelling up occurs, some cute if light lgbt action.

A few typos and so on and maybe not the deepest, but a lighter read and an enjoyable one