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Jackal Among Snakes #8
Jackal Among Snakes, Book 8
Problems are rarely as they appear on the surface. Argrave's dealt with all the surface has to offer, and now has to deal with that beneath it; specifically, that which lives there. The underground is a merciless place that can claim the life of even the most hardened adventurer, and the hard times there have created hard people who would much prefer the easy living offered on the surface.
A cult prepares to strike at the Kingdom of Vasquer. Its leader has strength enough he might deserve the title of god he so boldly claims. In the coming tragedy, however, lies opportunity. In these underground depths, there are hints of a greater future than the cycle of judgment the heavens bestowed upon them. And Argrave has never been one to let the future pass him by.
A cult prepares to strike at the Kingdom of Vasquer. Its leader has strength enough he might deserve the title of god he so boldly claims. In the coming tragedy, however, lies opportunity. In these underground depths, there are hints of a greater future than the cycle of judgment the heavens bestowed upon them. And Argrave has never been one to let the future pass him by.
- GenresFantasy
459 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 26, 2024
49 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 29, 2024
Overall, this was another solid entry in the series. And it's rare that I go deeper than the 4th book into anything nowadays. That said, this volume was more of a side quest in the grand scheme of things.
The focus was on beefing up the party of characters with divine blessings and such. We also spent quite a bit of time with the Alchemist, which was good since he is an interesting character.
I wasn't the biggest fan of the reliance on visions and dreams, specifically because they were just used as a fancy way to infodump backstory and felt like they occupied about 10% of the book. Lengthy dream/vision scenes usually fall flat for me, especially when the character experiencing them is the only one seeing the vision.
It doesn't work for me the same way that a character cracking a joke with no one around to hear it doesn't work. I can tell that such a thing is directed toward the audience and it damages my immersion.
Good dream sequences usually involve information being revealed to other characters, so stakes are involved. The movie Inception does this well since the reveals have an effect on other characters rather than just the audience.
Alternatively, if no other characters are present, then I expect the dream to trigger an immediate change in character behavior. An excellent example of this is in Watchmen when Dan Dreiberg dreams about Laurie pulling his skin off like a layer of clothing to reveal his Nite Owl alter ego. Upon waking, he immediately runs to his secret Batcave area, still naked and covered in sweat, and stares at his superhero outfit in the case. This leads to a turning point in the story for his character.
In a nutshell, this was still a decent volume in a series I enjoy, but I didn't feel motivated to continue reading every day. So 4 stars it is. I'm curious where things go from here and I can't help but be a little impatient for the story to officially enter the endgame phase.
The focus was on beefing up the party of characters with divine blessings and such. We also spent quite a bit of time with the Alchemist, which was good since he is an interesting character.
I wasn't the biggest fan of the reliance on visions and dreams, specifically because they were just used as a fancy way to infodump backstory and felt like they occupied about 10% of the book. Lengthy dream/vision scenes usually fall flat for me, especially when the character experiencing them is the only one seeing the vision.
It doesn't work for me the same way that a character cracking a joke with no one around to hear it doesn't work. I can tell that such a thing is directed toward the audience and it damages my immersion.
Good dream sequences usually involve information being revealed to other characters, so stakes are involved. The movie Inception does this well since the reveals have an effect on other characters rather than just the audience.
Alternatively, if no other characters are present, then I expect the dream to trigger an immediate change in character behavior. An excellent example of this is in Watchmen when Dan Dreiberg dreams about Laurie pulling his skin off like a layer of clothing to reveal his Nite Owl alter ego. Upon waking, he immediately runs to his secret Batcave area, still naked and covered in sweat, and stares at his superhero outfit in the case. This leads to a turning point in the story for his character.
In a nutshell, this was still a decent volume in a series I enjoy, but I didn't feel motivated to continue reading every day. So 4 stars it is. I'm curious where things go from here and I can't help but be a little impatient for the story to officially enter the endgame phase.
September 9, 2024
Got interupted 2-3 times reading this book with some releases I'd forgotten about and couldnt ignore, so it kinda ruined my pacing a bit. That being said reading this book in sections was an interesting way of doing it and there was lots to enjoy. Lucky for me taking so long I believe the next book just recently released so I'll be able to jump onto that immediately.
November 1, 2025
Audiobook review: Great story, but AI voice is a TERRIBLE substitution for Luke Daniels, and I had trouble paying attention to books 6-12 due to the mostly monotonous AI voice. Couldn't enjoy the story as it was released (which is also odd, since the AI voice version is no longer on audible nor amazon)
August 25, 2024
another excellent installment
This has become one of my favorite series. The main characters are very compelling and the magic system is interesting. The pacing is also quite good. I’m looking forward to the next one.
This has become one of my favorite series. The main characters are very compelling and the magic system is interesting. The pacing is also quite good. I’m looking forward to the next one.
August 11, 2024
Another outstanding read
This is one of THE best stories out there. I’ve given 5 stars to each of the preceding 7 books and happily give another 5 stars to this addition. Eagerly awaiting book 9!
This is one of THE best stories out there. I’ve given 5 stars to each of the preceding 7 books and happily give another 5 stars to this addition. Eagerly awaiting book 9!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews