Middia is a country of contrasts, the heat of the desert, the cool of the city in its cave. Its people working by night and resting during the day. The castes its society is built on that divide its people by birth and not merit. When a conspiracy reaches its tendrils all the way to Khydalaa and affects Duren’s family he is going to do whatever he needs to do to set it right.
I know, I know… this is an indie published book that could REALLY use an editor to fix all those little mistakes and it is a bit slower moving that the previous books. BUT… it is also one of those books and series that you’ve just can’t help but fall in love with the characters and their antics so much that you enjoy the experience anyway.
Duran never disappoints. Good fighting and even better humor throughout the book. I found it an enjoyable read. Not to many mega battles or wars but enough to fulfill his mission . Duran is what he is, a unique character. He is a blend of talent and invincibility merged with simplicity and naively. So enjoy this series. Please continue.
I am being generous. Three stars for the plot and pacing. I kept forcing myself to keep reading. This is despite the fact that I love all the characters as well as the relationships between them, especially the marriages. The main character, Duren, is an overpowered warrior (mostly through swordsmanship), has a strong moral compass and a love of challenges, defends those at risk, and can't wait to be a dad. But ever since the first volume (which I gave 5 stars), I have found it hard to stay with the narrative. Is not enough at stake? Is Duren now so confident that I don't really think he is in danger (like in the Bond films with Roger Moore)? Maybe it is because Duren is no longer learning and changing like he did in the first volume. I will still read the next volume if there is one, but I would encourage the authors to aim higher when choosing a plot and to envision how Duren can evolve through the arc of books.
The first couple books were okay, but I only got like 30 pages into this one before Trickle Down Economics - a widely disproven economic theory in which economic policies benefitting the rich ‘trickle down’ to help those in the middle and poor classes - was brought up. The book even uses the word ‘trickle down’ in its description, so it’s very blatant.
Not a fan of an author who pushes modern viewpoints, particularly ones that are so incredibly wrong.
Makes it easy to put this book down and ignore anything else from the author. Save yourself the time in reading this, it absolutely isn’t worth it.
This was the third book of the series and was good, lots of action and family dynamics. What I had trouble with in this book as well as the first two were the large number of spelling and homograph errors. Using wench instead of winch, trues instead of trews, casts instead of castes were just a few of the errors. It caused the story to get bogged down as I tried to figure out what was meant. A better proofreading would really helped.
However there are too many grammatical errors. Most are where the AI has decided on the wrong word. Like floundered instead of foundered. Other words that just don't fit the context. I can only assume this has not been edited.