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Seared #2
Seared 2: Seared, Book 2
Jace and his new group of friends have arrived at Mount Hua to rescue his sister, but that's a task easier said than done. Lord Ngai is a powerful cultivator and ruler who will stop at nothing to keep his prized consort. And if entering a massive fortress and sneaking his sister out despite the hundreds of guards and soldiers isn't enough, the area is faced with a historically dangerous monster surge!
For a young man who was only a lowly slave incapable of cultivating only weeks ago, Jace is going to have to rely on his wits and friends if this rescue mission is going to have a chance of success.
For a young man who was only a lowly slave incapable of cultivating only weeks ago, Jace is going to have to rely on his wits and friends if this rescue mission is going to have a chance of success.
- GenresFantasy
Audible Audio
First published August 21, 2022
152 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 9, 2023
Story wise, actually pretty good. I’d probably give it five stars if it wasn’t for the glaring inconsistencies.
First, the good. The story is well written and the main character doesn’t get an easy go of things. He has to struggle and think his way out of tricky situations. Overall a good progression, even if the plot moved a little slowly for my tastes.
Now for the not-so-good. This has minor spoilers but doesn’t give away much. Here is what I think happened: the author wrote the entire book under the assumption that that the protagonist hadn’t “opened his meridians” (a process that should grant him extra power) or achieved the Gatherer Second Level. So, you will regularly hear the character lament “if only my meridians were open”, or “if only I had the power of a Second Level Gatherer, I could keep up”.
This is all well and expected, except that there seems to have been a last-minute decision in the writing process to have the protagonist achieve both of those things relatively early in the book. However, someone dropped the ball in editing because despite having opened his meridians AND reached Gatherer Level 2, he regularly relents not having achieved either.
Look, I’m a reasonable guy and can happily excuse the occasional slip in writing, especially from indie or self-published authors. But in this case, what seems to be a very important step in growing stronger is not only ignored, but regularly contradicted.
For example, after opening his meridians, Jace (the protagonist) mentions how he is excited to finally be able to use pills and not just powders. Except, throughout the entire book (as far as I remember) he continues to only use powders.
This bothers me enough that I’m going to quote the book directly to show you:
Page 121: “You are most welcome,”{another character} said. “I doubted that you would continue after you experienced how difficult it was, but your commitment has already paid off. You’ve successfully opened your meridians.”
(After being told that Jace does a double take and uses his spiritual sense to look inside himself and confirms this was the case).
Page 169 (Jace referring to himself): He really needed to get his meridians open so he could take pills.
Page 221: Not for the first time on this trip, he really wished he had open meridians.
Page 303: “How did you manage to channel chi?” {a character} asked. “I could tell your meridians were open back at {location}…”
Page 326-ish: (they need to create an item, someone says they can do it, then continues): “Jace probably could too, except that he doesn’t have his meridians open yet.”
(That is followed by an exact repeat quote: ) Not for the first time on this trip, Jace lamented not having open meridians.
As you can see, the contradiction is blatant. Nearly the same thing happens with Breaking through into Gatherer Level 2. I won’t put quotes since this review is long enough, but I could. I honestly hope that the author revises this book.
If you are still reading this review, I’m surprised as it has kind of turned into a rant. But in any case, I do have one small critique of the series as a whole at this point, that some may disagree with. That’s that the power differential between stages is vague and potentially inconsistent. It’s just not clear how strong an “Unwoven” cultivator is compared to the lower levels. They are generally referred to with some sort of awe, yet certain characters at that stage come across as weak. Like, I can understand there being a more gradual increase in power, but my feeling is that it’s been inconsistent and I can’t really tell where the Formation stage ends and the Unwoven stage begins.
First, the good. The story is well written and the main character doesn’t get an easy go of things. He has to struggle and think his way out of tricky situations. Overall a good progression, even if the plot moved a little slowly for my tastes.
Now for the not-so-good. This has minor spoilers but doesn’t give away much. Here is what I think happened: the author wrote the entire book under the assumption that that the protagonist hadn’t “opened his meridians” (a process that should grant him extra power) or achieved the Gatherer Second Level. So, you will regularly hear the character lament “if only my meridians were open”, or “if only I had the power of a Second Level Gatherer, I could keep up”.
This is all well and expected, except that there seems to have been a last-minute decision in the writing process to have the protagonist achieve both of those things relatively early in the book. However, someone dropped the ball in editing because despite having opened his meridians AND reached Gatherer Level 2, he regularly relents not having achieved either.
Look, I’m a reasonable guy and can happily excuse the occasional slip in writing, especially from indie or self-published authors. But in this case, what seems to be a very important step in growing stronger is not only ignored, but regularly contradicted.
For example, after opening his meridians, Jace (the protagonist) mentions how he is excited to finally be able to use pills and not just powders. Except, throughout the entire book (as far as I remember) he continues to only use powders.
This bothers me enough that I’m going to quote the book directly to show you:
Page 121: “You are most welcome,”{another character} said. “I doubted that you would continue after you experienced how difficult it was, but your commitment has already paid off. You’ve successfully opened your meridians.”
(After being told that Jace does a double take and uses his spiritual sense to look inside himself and confirms this was the case).
Page 169 (Jace referring to himself): He really needed to get his meridians open so he could take pills.
Page 221: Not for the first time on this trip, he really wished he had open meridians.
Page 303: “How did you manage to channel chi?” {a character} asked. “I could tell your meridians were open back at {location}…”
Page 326-ish: (they need to create an item, someone says they can do it, then continues): “Jace probably could too, except that he doesn’t have his meridians open yet.”
(That is followed by an exact repeat quote: ) Not for the first time on this trip, Jace lamented not having open meridians.
As you can see, the contradiction is blatant. Nearly the same thing happens with Breaking through into Gatherer Level 2. I won’t put quotes since this review is long enough, but I could. I honestly hope that the author revises this book.
If you are still reading this review, I’m surprised as it has kind of turned into a rant. But in any case, I do have one small critique of the series as a whole at this point, that some may disagree with. That’s that the power differential between stages is vague and potentially inconsistent. It’s just not clear how strong an “Unwoven” cultivator is compared to the lower levels. They are generally referred to with some sort of awe, yet certain characters at that stage come across as weak. Like, I can understand there being a more gradual increase in power, but my feeling is that it’s been inconsistent and I can’t really tell where the Formation stage ends and the Unwoven stage begins.
October 30, 2022
Engaging story
I'm enjoying this series so far and am looking forward to the next book.
Besides the minor grammatical issues, there are several places in the book that state Jace had opened his meridians, then that he hasn't, then that he has. I wonder if perhaps I'm missing something or if clarification is needed for a two stage opening of the meridians? Hopefully, this will be made clear in the next book. :)
I'm enjoying this series so far and am looking forward to the next book.
Besides the minor grammatical issues, there are several places in the book that state Jace had opened his meridians, then that he hasn't, then that he has. I wonder if perhaps I'm missing something or if clarification is needed for a two stage opening of the meridians? Hopefully, this will be made clear in the next book. :)
February 19, 2023
Consistency and plot errors
The story was 3+ stars, however there were a few consistent plot errors that needed to be corrected. Meridians open or closed? Did a character have a storage ring or not?
The story was 3+ stars, however there were a few consistent plot errors that needed to be corrected. Meridians open or closed? Did a character have a storage ring or not?
February 4, 2023
Can't wait to read the next book!
I'll be honest, I sometimes scan over sections that go into huge detailed descriptions, but it doesn't detract from my involvement and interest in the story! This book was even better than the last one! So much so that I am very excited to see about book three! Would recommend!
I'll be honest, I sometimes scan over sections that go into huge detailed descriptions, but it doesn't detract from my involvement and interest in the story! This book was even better than the last one! So much so that I am very excited to see about book three! Would recommend!
December 25, 2022
Gets better
- Like a the very end. Less than but okay. The next book should improve on this. I need a break.
- Like a the very end. Less than but okay. The next book should improve on this. I need a break.
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January 7, 2023⁸
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews