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Book of Never #1-5
The Book of Never:
Adventure? Check. Magic? Check. Sarcasm? You bet.
After years of running down dead-end clues, the rogue Never has nearly given up his quest for answers; his blood is cursed and his true name a mystery, yet no library, no healer and none who claim to know dark magics have ever been able to help.
Until he steals a map to the mysterious Amber Isle, which might just hold the answers he needs.
But Never isn't the only one who wants the map – his enemy, Commander Harstas, also seeks it and Harstas craves revenge for the deaths of his men.
Forced to flee through a war zone, Never soon stumbles across a group of treasure-hunters hoping to discover the wonders of the Amber Isle for themselves. But the deeper they venture into the Isle, the more deadly it grows.
Trapped between the greed of the treasure hunters, cunning traps in the Isle itself, the threat of Harstas' fury and his own desperation to finally uncover answers, Never must find a way to unlock the Isle's ancient secrets and escape - or perish without ever learning the truth.
The Book of Never (1-5) brings together Never's complete adventures as he searches for the truth behind his mysterious heritage and the curse on his blood.
After years of running down dead-end clues, the rogue Never has nearly given up his quest for answers; his blood is cursed and his true name a mystery, yet no library, no healer and none who claim to know dark magics have ever been able to help.
Until he steals a map to the mysterious Amber Isle, which might just hold the answers he needs.
But Never isn't the only one who wants the map – his enemy, Commander Harstas, also seeks it and Harstas craves revenge for the deaths of his men.
Forced to flee through a war zone, Never soon stumbles across a group of treasure-hunters hoping to discover the wonders of the Amber Isle for themselves. But the deeper they venture into the Isle, the more deadly it grows.
Trapped between the greed of the treasure hunters, cunning traps in the Isle itself, the threat of Harstas' fury and his own desperation to finally uncover answers, Never must find a way to unlock the Isle's ancient secrets and escape - or perish without ever learning the truth.
The Book of Never (1-5) brings together Never's complete adventures as he searches for the truth behind his mysterious heritage and the curse on his blood.
882 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 30, 2017
460 people are currently reading
481 people want to read
About the author
Ashley Capes
76 books576 followersAshley is a poet, novelist and ex-teacher living in Australia.
He taught English, Media and Music Production, played in a metal band, worked in an art gallery and slaved away at music retail. Aside from reading and writing, Ashley loves volleyball and Studio Ghibli – and Magnum PI, easily one of the greatest television shows ever made.
See poetry and fiction at http://ashleycapes.com/
He taught English, Media and Music Production, played in a metal band, worked in an art gallery and slaved away at music retail. Aside from reading and writing, Ashley loves volleyball and Studio Ghibli – and Magnum PI, easily one of the greatest television shows ever made.
See poetry and fiction at http://ashleycapes.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
May 23, 2017
3.5 stars
There were some flashes of brilliance and originality in this collection of stories about Never and his mysterious heritage (including his real name). It was an exciting blend of myth and adventure, with rapid pacing that fit the condensed form of each offering. Yet it was one of those books I felt was not quite there yet. The author has talent, presenting the reader with a good tale, but the components were just slightly off: the dialogue just that bit too slow, obvious, or prosaic; the comedy just missing the mark; the next plot point a little too clear. It reminded me of reading the early Jim Butcher books, where you can see the seeds of what makes great fantasy writing but is firmly in the growing stage. Ashley Capes has that same feeling, one to watch.
ARC via Netgalley.
There were some flashes of brilliance and originality in this collection of stories about Never and his mysterious heritage (including his real name). It was an exciting blend of myth and adventure, with rapid pacing that fit the condensed form of each offering. Yet it was one of those books I felt was not quite there yet. The author has talent, presenting the reader with a good tale, but the components were just slightly off: the dialogue just that bit too slow, obvious, or prosaic; the comedy just missing the mark; the next plot point a little too clear. It reminded me of reading the early Jim Butcher books, where you can see the seeds of what makes great fantasy writing but is firmly in the growing stage. Ashley Capes has that same feeling, one to watch.
ARC via Netgalley.
May 29, 2017
I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review.
Despite not being my usual type of book, I was very pleased with this series. The first three were incredibly fast and action-packed reads filled with snappy dialogue and just enough of Never's story to keep you interested. The last two books delved more fully into the story of Never's heritage and his extraordinarily complex family history.
One thing that I really, really liked about these stories was the way the author went about building the world. Never's story takes places in some other reality where things as we know them don't always exist. The world is in the middle of a hostile takeover and there are a lot of pieces that kind of go along with this. What I've found happens a lot of times with this is that there's a portion of the story that's heavy with exposition and forces you to try and remember all the major players and events that aren't yet relevant; that didn't happen at all here.
We were thrown directly into the story and important things kind of came up naturally. I found this fantastic for two reasons, really; 1. the front end of the book wasn't weighted down with history that you need to try and remember as you progress through the book, and 2. I found that I really wanted to know more about what was happening after getting little bits and pieces as I went. Each place Never and his various companions traveled had a story that was either delivered to the reader through small amounts of exposition that usually gave you a bit more of Never's history or through dialogue.
Overall, I found this to be a very well written and enjoyable read. If you're looking for a fun read with a clever hero, a unique story, and a loyal group of sidekicks, I would highly recommend this book.
Despite not being my usual type of book, I was very pleased with this series. The first three were incredibly fast and action-packed reads filled with snappy dialogue and just enough of Never's story to keep you interested. The last two books delved more fully into the story of Never's heritage and his extraordinarily complex family history.
One thing that I really, really liked about these stories was the way the author went about building the world. Never's story takes places in some other reality where things as we know them don't always exist. The world is in the middle of a hostile takeover and there are a lot of pieces that kind of go along with this. What I've found happens a lot of times with this is that there's a portion of the story that's heavy with exposition and forces you to try and remember all the major players and events that aren't yet relevant; that didn't happen at all here.
We were thrown directly into the story and important things kind of came up naturally. I found this fantastic for two reasons, really; 1. the front end of the book wasn't weighted down with history that you need to try and remember as you progress through the book, and 2. I found that I really wanted to know more about what was happening after getting little bits and pieces as I went. Each place Never and his various companions traveled had a story that was either delivered to the reader through small amounts of exposition that usually gave you a bit more of Never's history or through dialogue.
Overall, I found this to be a very well written and enjoyable read. If you're looking for a fun read with a clever hero, a unique story, and a loyal group of sidekicks, I would highly recommend this book.
May 7, 2017
Never!
When I received this set of 5 books, I didn't quite know what to make of it as it isn't my usual "thing." But by the time I had read one chapter I was hooked into reading one of the best action books I've ever read. If you are ready for action, fantasy, wars and fighting this is something to read. If you are into quests, heroes, and a little romance, pick this up. The story line takes you an a great adventure and ends way to soon. I'm hoping that there will be many more of these books. All I can say is WOW!
I received this title as an ARC.
When I received this set of 5 books, I didn't quite know what to make of it as it isn't my usual "thing." But by the time I had read one chapter I was hooked into reading one of the best action books I've ever read. If you are ready for action, fantasy, wars and fighting this is something to read. If you are into quests, heroes, and a little romance, pick this up. The story line takes you an a great adventure and ends way to soon. I'm hoping that there will be many more of these books. All I can say is WOW!
I received this title as an ARC.
September 21, 2021
DNF, but got far enough through that I'm rating it.
It's just sloppy overall. I marked 95 issues in the roughly 80% of it that I read, which is a lot (see my Kindle notes in the collection of eight fantasy novels where I read it - starts at 30% and ends at 42%). I didn't even mark all of the places where semicolons should have been commas; almost all of the semicolons should have been commas, and a good few of the commas should have been semicolons, or should have been omitted (before main verbs, for example), or should have been inserted in places that they were missing (before terms of address, for example). There are homonym errors like wretched/retched and knocked/nocked.
Worse, the names of two rivers get switched partway through; they are rowing (apparently facing the bow, which is not how you row) down river A on the way to river B, but by the time they reach the confluence they've been rowing down river B on the way to river A.
But I've enjoyed books with editing this bad before if the story rises above it. This didn't.
The main problem is that the main character, Never, is a classic Spoiled Protagonist. Everyone he meets trusts, likes, and wants to help him, except the bad people, which is how you can tell they're bad people. He has Special Blood (literally - his blood is magical - but also figuratively, in that he's apparently descended from ancient godlike rulers who have somehow been largely forgotten, except by people who need to know about them so that they have a bit more of a reason to help him than just liking him on sight). And he keeps stumbling over things that are useful and solving the minimal challenges he's presented with, without a lot of effort on his part, and sometimes by convenient coincidence, Convenient Eavesdrop or Cavalry Rescue. We're told that there's a lot of peril and he's having a rough time, but it never seems to result in any real likelihood that he might fail, and his plot armour extends to his associates.
I was reminded often of the YouTube comedian Ryan George's Pitch Meeting videos:
"I bet it'll be difficult for the heroes to get out of that!"
"Actually, it'll be super easy, barely an inconvenience."
It shows some potential, but the author would need to work hard with a good copy editor and a good development editor to realize it. When I figured out that it wasn't going to rise above mediocrity (and read a couple of reviews that let me know that the ending wasn't worth persevering for), I stopped reading.
It's just sloppy overall. I marked 95 issues in the roughly 80% of it that I read, which is a lot (see my Kindle notes in the collection of eight fantasy novels where I read it - starts at 30% and ends at 42%). I didn't even mark all of the places where semicolons should have been commas; almost all of the semicolons should have been commas, and a good few of the commas should have been semicolons, or should have been omitted (before main verbs, for example), or should have been inserted in places that they were missing (before terms of address, for example). There are homonym errors like wretched/retched and knocked/nocked.
Worse, the names of two rivers get switched partway through; they are rowing (apparently facing the bow, which is not how you row) down river A on the way to river B, but by the time they reach the confluence they've been rowing down river B on the way to river A.
But I've enjoyed books with editing this bad before if the story rises above it. This didn't.
The main problem is that the main character, Never, is a classic Spoiled Protagonist. Everyone he meets trusts, likes, and wants to help him, except the bad people, which is how you can tell they're bad people. He has Special Blood (literally - his blood is magical - but also figuratively, in that he's apparently descended from ancient godlike rulers who have somehow been largely forgotten, except by people who need to know about them so that they have a bit more of a reason to help him than just liking him on sight). And he keeps stumbling over things that are useful and solving the minimal challenges he's presented with, without a lot of effort on his part, and sometimes by convenient coincidence, Convenient Eavesdrop or Cavalry Rescue. We're told that there's a lot of peril and he's having a rough time, but it never seems to result in any real likelihood that he might fail, and his plot armour extends to his associates.
I was reminded often of the YouTube comedian Ryan George's Pitch Meeting videos:
"I bet it'll be difficult for the heroes to get out of that!"
"Actually, it'll be super easy, barely an inconvenience."
It shows some potential, but the author would need to work hard with a good copy editor and a good development editor to realize it. When I figured out that it wasn't going to rise above mediocrity (and read a couple of reviews that let me know that the ending wasn't worth persevering for), I stopped reading.
May 12, 2017
This is an enjoyable series of fantasy books about our main character, Never, who while on a quest for answers about himself etc. comes across various adventures and mis-adventures. And I did like how, almost like some fantasy games and I suppose D&D, the main character would get side tracked by a side mission or decide to help out a new character along the way into solving some mysteries he has about himself. Not a spoiler I believe, but Never has some interesting traits that he's discovering, struggling to control and hide which does make him a more fascinating character as both you and he, tantalisingly learn more as the stories unfold. Good work done here by the author!
The first book in the series, for me, was the best and had me gripped the most! As we meet Never, strange name I know, as a lone wolf type rogue of a character. Nothing original there, but it works fine. Although I'm going to lead on with a slight negative for me, in that as the series goes on...Never becomes less thief/rogue like as his character seems to change into a more rounded nice guy. And for me this didn't really fit or feel like character development, but almost as a new character, which was a shame.
The series concludes with book 5, Imperial Towers, where Never and his brother Snow (who is also an interesting character and arch enemy) come to a head.
So for fantasy fans, this is a good set of books to lose yourself in. I liked it. Four stars out of five.
The first book in the series, for me, was the best and had me gripped the most! As we meet Never, strange name I know, as a lone wolf type rogue of a character. Nothing original there, but it works fine. Although I'm going to lead on with a slight negative for me, in that as the series goes on...Never becomes less thief/rogue like as his character seems to change into a more rounded nice guy. And for me this didn't really fit or feel like character development, but almost as a new character, which was a shame.
The series concludes with book 5, Imperial Towers, where Never and his brother Snow (who is also an interesting character and arch enemy) come to a head.
So for fantasy fans, this is a good set of books to lose yourself in. I liked it. Four stars out of five.
June 1, 2017
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
OVERVIEW: I've been reviewing the books individually as I go, so I'm going to post those here as well, but first I'll try to give kind of an overview. My separate ratings are 3 stars for books 1&2, 2 stars for books 3&4 and 1 star for book 5. As you can tell, I started out trying to give this series the benefit of the doubt. I thought 'well I'll just give it time to warm up', but it never did and I just kept getting increasingly frustrated. Basically the characters are 2-dimensional [except for maybe Never, but even he is such a high fantasy trope that I would be hesitant to call him a fully 3-dimensional character], most of the plot consists of them walking places interspersed with 'problems' that are solved with ridiculous ease or by complete coincidence, and the 'answers' you get in the final book are not really answers at all and definitely not worth the wait. Maybe if I had been able to space out my reading over several months, but reading them all together it was just like so much more of the same thing.
BOOK ONE [3 stars]: This was a decent start to the series, but it didn't really pull me in. Also if you're planning on reading this series I would definitely recommend you read the short prequel story first. If I hadn't read that I imagine I would have been going 'wait? what?' a few times in this one. It's a decent little treasure hunting story although I honestly wish there had been more obstacles, or at least that Never didn't solve all the problems immediately. Everything just seemed too easy, like he would just look at a puzzle for a few minutes and then figure it out. And the other characters didn't really seem to contribute that much, it would have been nice if there had been some puzzle Never couldn't figure out and one of the others did instead. Also I just feel like there is no excuse anymore for not having any female characters in your novel [no I'm not counting that random girl that was there for 2 seconds in the beginning], but the stories are pretty short so I'm willing to give the next one a try.
BOOK TWO [3 stars]: I did find this book a little bit more enjoyable than the first one. We have exactly one (1) prominent female character now [sigh]. I felt like the plot was a little bit better this time around, they had to work a little bit hard to overcome their obstacles instead of Never just amazingly figuring out 20 different puzzles immediately. These are decent books and they're very fast reads, but there is just nothing about them so far that sets them apart to me or really pulls me in. Everything is just very standard high fantasy and while there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, it doesn't really do anything to make this series stand out from the 5 million other high fantasy series out there.
BOOK THREE [2 stars]: There are several reasons I rated this book 2 stars instead of the 3 I have been giving the rest of the series, but the biggest one is because I think it suffers from what I call 'middle book syndrome' A.K.A. NOTHING HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK. It's basically just a way to get Never from point A [where he ended book 2] to point B [where he needs to go for the next book] and in between there's just a whole lot of rowing and not much else.
Also "River God" ??? I mean I guess it's the giant fish he kind of meets once, but literally none of the 'plot' revolves around the river god so why is that the name of the book? I guess because "Lots of Rowing" is not a very enticing book title. I'm hoping the ending of the series makes this all worth it because I'm starting to feel like I'm wasting my time and I probably wouldn't even continue if I didn't have an ARC of all five books. Also it's revealed that Never's mother died because she got raped and murdered, can't have a great high fantasy book without women getting raped and murdered, amirite? [loud sighing] Why can't she just have been murdered, why do you always have to bring rape into it?
BOOK FOUR [2 stars]: This series just ...has no substance really. Never's entire personality is a high-fantasy cliche and the secondary characters are all entirely two-dimensional. And the plot is just him walking from one place to the next and like maybe getting captured a few times along the way, but he always gets out of the situations WAY too easily. Like I am never sitting here biting my nails going 'oh no what's going to happen next!' because you already know because it's the same exact thing that's happened in the last however-many books.
Also [SPOILERS] how is it that he's been searching his ENTIRE LIFE for answers about his past and found LITERALLY NOTHING but the absolute second he leaves the Amber Isle literally every person he meets is like 'oh yeah you're Amouni I can totally tell let me give you all this information.' And of COURSE he gets captured by some woman he used to sleep with [who is now sleeping with his brother, are you KIDDING me?] so she helps him escape. Can't roll my eyes hard enough. And before he always had to use his blood to open doors but now apparently the rocks can just sense he is Amouni all the way through his shoes when he so much as steps on them? Seriously??? Like I said, everything is just way too easy and falls into place in a way that is completely unbelievable.
And the things that don't fall into place are just ENTIRELY not explained. I mean I'm still holding out hope that the last book is actually going to give me some answers, but so far their reaction to every weird puzzle just seems to be 'yeah, why not'. In all honesty I think the main reason I've been giving this series 3 and 2 stars [instead of 2 and 1] is because they're short so it's like, they're not that good but also at least they don't take long to read.
BOOK 5 [1 star]: Standing on its own this would probably get bumped up to 2 stars, but at the end of a series that I just kept getting increasingly bored and frustrated with, it's a 1 star. I struggled with this. I kept trying to focus because hey we should finally be getting some answers, but my eyes just kept glazing over. And we didn't even really get the answers anyway. Like the only reason I continued w/ this series after the first book and got this ARC was because I wanted to know about Never's heritage and what we do find out is just a series of increasingly ridiculous things ending with 'Well maybe it's for the best that I don't know most of it! The ~journey~ was the important part!' Ugh. Sorry but this series just has no pay-off. The characters are all 2-dimensional and the plot fluctuates wildly between extremely boring and too far-fetched / unexplained to take seriously even in a fantasy environment.
OVERVIEW: I've been reviewing the books individually as I go, so I'm going to post those here as well, but first I'll try to give kind of an overview. My separate ratings are 3 stars for books 1&2, 2 stars for books 3&4 and 1 star for book 5. As you can tell, I started out trying to give this series the benefit of the doubt. I thought 'well I'll just give it time to warm up', but it never did and I just kept getting increasingly frustrated. Basically the characters are 2-dimensional [except for maybe Never, but even he is such a high fantasy trope that I would be hesitant to call him a fully 3-dimensional character], most of the plot consists of them walking places interspersed with 'problems' that are solved with ridiculous ease or by complete coincidence, and the 'answers' you get in the final book are not really answers at all and definitely not worth the wait. Maybe if I had been able to space out my reading over several months, but reading them all together it was just like so much more of the same thing.
BOOK ONE [3 stars]: This was a decent start to the series, but it didn't really pull me in. Also if you're planning on reading this series I would definitely recommend you read the short prequel story first. If I hadn't read that I imagine I would have been going 'wait? what?' a few times in this one. It's a decent little treasure hunting story although I honestly wish there had been more obstacles, or at least that Never didn't solve all the problems immediately. Everything just seemed too easy, like he would just look at a puzzle for a few minutes and then figure it out. And the other characters didn't really seem to contribute that much, it would have been nice if there had been some puzzle Never couldn't figure out and one of the others did instead. Also I just feel like there is no excuse anymore for not having any female characters in your novel [no I'm not counting that random girl that was there for 2 seconds in the beginning], but the stories are pretty short so I'm willing to give the next one a try.
BOOK TWO [3 stars]: I did find this book a little bit more enjoyable than the first one. We have exactly one (1) prominent female character now [sigh]. I felt like the plot was a little bit better this time around, they had to work a little bit hard to overcome their obstacles instead of Never just amazingly figuring out 20 different puzzles immediately. These are decent books and they're very fast reads, but there is just nothing about them so far that sets them apart to me or really pulls me in. Everything is just very standard high fantasy and while there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, it doesn't really do anything to make this series stand out from the 5 million other high fantasy series out there.
BOOK THREE [2 stars]: There are several reasons I rated this book 2 stars instead of the 3 I have been giving the rest of the series, but the biggest one is because I think it suffers from what I call 'middle book syndrome' A.K.A. NOTHING HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK. It's basically just a way to get Never from point A [where he ended book 2] to point B [where he needs to go for the next book] and in between there's just a whole lot of rowing and not much else.
Also "River God" ??? I mean I guess it's the giant fish he kind of meets once, but literally none of the 'plot' revolves around the river god so why is that the name of the book? I guess because "Lots of Rowing" is not a very enticing book title. I'm hoping the ending of the series makes this all worth it because I'm starting to feel like I'm wasting my time and I probably wouldn't even continue if I didn't have an ARC of all five books. Also it's revealed that Never's mother died because she got raped and murdered, can't have a great high fantasy book without women getting raped and murdered, amirite? [loud sighing] Why can't she just have been murdered, why do you always have to bring rape into it?
BOOK FOUR [2 stars]: This series just ...has no substance really. Never's entire personality is a high-fantasy cliche and the secondary characters are all entirely two-dimensional. And the plot is just him walking from one place to the next and like maybe getting captured a few times along the way, but he always gets out of the situations WAY too easily. Like I am never sitting here biting my nails going 'oh no what's going to happen next!' because you already know because it's the same exact thing that's happened in the last however-many books.
Also [SPOILERS] how is it that he's been searching his ENTIRE LIFE for answers about his past and found LITERALLY NOTHING but the absolute second he leaves the Amber Isle literally every person he meets is like 'oh yeah you're Amouni I can totally tell let me give you all this information.' And of COURSE he gets captured by some woman he used to sleep with [who is now sleeping with his brother, are you KIDDING me?] so she helps him escape. Can't roll my eyes hard enough. And before he always had to use his blood to open doors but now apparently the rocks can just sense he is Amouni all the way through his shoes when he so much as steps on them? Seriously??? Like I said, everything is just way too easy and falls into place in a way that is completely unbelievable.
And the things that don't fall into place are just ENTIRELY not explained. I mean I'm still holding out hope that the last book is actually going to give me some answers, but so far their reaction to every weird puzzle just seems to be 'yeah, why not'. In all honesty I think the main reason I've been giving this series 3 and 2 stars [instead of 2 and 1] is because they're short so it's like, they're not that good but also at least they don't take long to read.
BOOK 5 [1 star]: Standing on its own this would probably get bumped up to 2 stars, but at the end of a series that I just kept getting increasingly bored and frustrated with, it's a 1 star. I struggled with this. I kept trying to focus because hey we should finally be getting some answers, but my eyes just kept glazing over. And we didn't even really get the answers anyway. Like the only reason I continued w/ this series after the first book and got this ARC was because I wanted to know about Never's heritage and what we do find out is just a series of increasingly ridiculous things ending with 'Well maybe it's for the best that I don't know most of it! The ~journey~ was the important part!' Ugh. Sorry but this series just has no pay-off. The characters are all 2-dimensional and the plot fluctuates wildly between extremely boring and too far-fetched / unexplained to take seriously even in a fantasy environment.
January 2, 2019
I rated each of the Never books individually, as I read through this larger volume. I like to collect my thoughts after each book in a series, plus it makes this great author look better.
That said, I want to emphasize that this volume is the way to go and definitely read the prequel first. You'll want to have all of Never's adventures easily accessible. Full of exciting lore and quick action, they start to fly by as soon as you open them.
That said, I want to emphasize that this volume is the way to go and definitely read the prequel first. You'll want to have all of Never's adventures easily accessible. Full of exciting lore and quick action, they start to fly by as soon as you open them.
May 5, 2017
The first one was free so maybe permafree, the others are NOT kindle unlimited. The prequel/0 starts with background to the following stories {see below for list to date} and the 5 'complete' set does NOT include the prequel though it can be gotten on amazon for free. I received the 5 set from the writer via LibraryThing, yes another of my here's a free book/set, we really would like you to review it, we aren't paying anything but hey free book/s and not even on KU. THIS ONE ALSO LISTED AS THE COMPLETE BOOK OF NEVER as ebook
Adventures, magic, rogues and rakes and relics, blood curses, and a map to a sunken city, and sarcasm. That is just the start to the following fantasy books. Follow if you can....
Never {prequel]: The Ember Isle
The Amber Isle 1 - A Forest of Eyes 2 - River God 3
Book of Never: Volumes 1-3
The Peaks of Autumn 4 - Imperial Towers 5
Book of Never: Volumes 4-5 (Book of Never, #4-5)
The Book of Never: Volumes 1-5
Also available individually of course.
I got the 5 book set, which says complete but you can get the 0/prequel free from amazon. Spliler free book tidbits for each book below.
#0 .. follow if you can
#1 .. White Wing, and the boy doesn't swim well
#2.. chased to port can he make travel further, find more treasures and artifacts, whose luck?
#3..rolling the dice, runes, secret chambers, The Master, underground rooms, kings and princes
#4.Iron Pass, King's Road, Prince Tendov, Black Ember, stone wraiths, World Stair, brotherly love?
#5..the past, the present, the Bleak man, brothers forever, sisterly love?
It almost reminded me a bit of Harry Potter, and not in the magic part, in the way that each book got longer and longer and longer, and not sure to what point, and why hint at a sequel at the end of a 5 set called complete {and which doesn't mention the prequel/0}?
Adventures, magic, rogues and rakes and relics, blood curses, and a map to a sunken city, and sarcasm. That is just the start to the following fantasy books. Follow if you can....
Never {prequel]: The Ember Isle
The Amber Isle 1 - A Forest of Eyes 2 - River God 3
Book of Never: Volumes 1-3
The Peaks of Autumn 4 - Imperial Towers 5
Book of Never: Volumes 4-5 (Book of Never, #4-5)
The Book of Never: Volumes 1-5
Also available individually of course.
I got the 5 book set, which says complete but you can get the 0/prequel free from amazon. Spliler free book tidbits for each book below.
#0 .. follow if you can
#1 .. White Wing, and the boy doesn't swim well
#2.. chased to port can he make travel further, find more treasures and artifacts, whose luck?
#3..rolling the dice, runes, secret chambers, The Master, underground rooms, kings and princes
#4.Iron Pass, King's Road, Prince Tendov, Black Ember, stone wraiths, World Stair, brotherly love?
#5..the past, the present, the Bleak man, brothers forever, sisterly love?
It almost reminded me a bit of Harry Potter, and not in the magic part, in the way that each book got longer and longer and longer, and not sure to what point, and why hint at a sequel at the end of a 5 set called complete {and which doesn't mention the prequel/0}?
June 11, 2017
Well done ending
I enjoyed the entire of the Never series. There where a few errors but well done. The story finished with most questions being answered and a few new questions to be had. The characters grew and developed with each novella and I enjoyed all of the plots, twists, and challenges. I would like to read Snows side of the story one day. Thanks
I enjoyed the entire of the Never series. There where a few errors but well done. The story finished with most questions being answered and a few new questions to be had. The characters grew and developed with each novella and I enjoyed all of the plots, twists, and challenges. I would like to read Snows side of the story one day. Thanks
February 16, 2018
The Book of Never
I enjoyed all books as one. I would not he so happy if it ended here. I just hope I'll he able to find the next series when it comes out. I would recommend this series to anyone who likes a good story, without all the exttreneous fairy tale fluff. This series is different, and refreshing. Thanks Ashley, and Go Studio Ghibli! Especially Miasaki.
I enjoyed all books as one. I would not he so happy if it ended here. I just hope I'll he able to find the next series when it comes out. I would recommend this series to anyone who likes a good story, without all the exttreneous fairy tale fluff. This series is different, and refreshing. Thanks Ashley, and Go Studio Ghibli! Especially Miasaki.
March 5, 2018
Entertaining read
I enjoyed the books 1-5, but as is often the case with series nowadays, it left most questions unanswered and I don't know that I will buy the 6th book to find out if it answers them or not
I enjoyed the books 1-5, but as is often the case with series nowadays, it left most questions unanswered and I don't know that I will buy the 6th book to find out if it answers them or not
September 28, 2017
Fantastic!!
This is one of the best books I have read in a while. I had to finish it ASAP and couldn't put it down. Read this series you won't regret it.
This is one of the best books I have read in a while. I had to finish it ASAP and couldn't put it down. Read this series you won't regret it.
August 31, 2019
Wish I could do 3.5
It's a good book, there are just some sloppy and plodding parts that were hard for me to get through.
It's a good book, there are just some sloppy and plodding parts that were hard for me to get through.
December 26, 2019
Добре дошли, драги гости, в един гейминг свят, в който се борят двамата братя Снежко и Никогаж, потомци на странните амуни – нещо средно между ангели, демони, извънземни, роботи и елфи. Предполагам, че мога да добавя някаква доза епичност наричайки героите Снеговръх и Отрицание примерно, според истинските причини за странните им имена, но всъщност ще прочетете пет малки стегнати тома изключително динамична фентъзи рпг поредица с абсолютно очарователен, устат и хитър като стадо сибирски лисици протагонист, който по съвместимост си пада и малко крадец. Признавам, Никога ми е топ три на любимите крадци, наред с Локи Ламора и Илай Монпрес, защото всяко момиченце си го има онова меко местенце, отредено за лоши момчета с вечно рошави коси и огнен поглед, обещаващ към милион неприятности, вероятно зародило се някъде към трета група в детската градина. И ако сте като мен – налазвайте Ашли Кейпс без забавяне.
Никога би могъл да е просто редови крадльо с голяма уста, ако не беше едно особено проклятие – той може да убива с кръвта си. Представете си ситуация, в която ви нападат цяла група едри младежи с основна цел да ви направят на татарско кюфте, а вие просто си бодвате пръстчето с игла и от вас изскача гигантска вълна кръв с лош характер, която изпива силите на бабанките със зли намерения, оставяйки ви за спомен освен замръзналите във вечен ужас трупо, и някой и друг тъповат проблясък от чуждо детство. Същият има само бегла представа защо кръвта му е толкова кисела, свързана с почти неприсъстващия баща от детството, и тръгва да търси великата истина за произхода си, следвайки по петите синеокият албиност, който му се пада нещо брат на име Сняг. Търсенето ще го отведе на странни острови, в дълбините на древни гробници, подземни замъци, зловещи храмове, опасни гори, убийствени планини и въобще по почти всеки терен, върху който очаквате да цъкате с мишка в новото Диабло.
Аха, ще кажете, явно е поредното недоносче за вечно активните и недоволни геймърчета, написано от някой уона би сценарист на игри. И ще сгрешите – тук говорим за качествени текстове, с балансирано действие, разговори, емоционални моменти, повече от очарователни и добре изградени характери и на лоши , и на добри, и най-вече – много добра основна история, развиваща се с почти перфектно визуално темпо. Винаги ще ми харесват фентъзи историите с добър каст от герои на приемлива за тежестта на емоциите и предизвикателствата възраст, реагиращи логично, но и доволно самоотрицателно в нужните геройски моменти. Въобще – обичам герои със синдром на героя, а не синдрома на мрънкалото – сещате се, защо аз, защо сега, тя харесва ли ме, той не ме ли мрази, такива работи. Просто не се идентифицирам със съмнението, а със действието, какво да се прави.
А Никога е точно това – всичко приема с най-здравословната доза цинизъм, която съм чела от доста време насам, независимо дали става въпрос за факта, че му поникват черни крилца по едно време, или че кръвта му е универсален ключ за скритото от свръх цивилизация познание. И въпреки всички причини да мрази човешката раса, всъщност някак намира сили да не отдаде на божествените си пориви да анихилира всичко що се движи, и даже си създава някой и друг свестен приятел, от оня тип, който поема стрела в задните части заради теб. Накратко – искате динамично, мрачно и забавно фентъзи – Ашли Кейпс ви го доставя с усмивка и предупреждение да внимавате да не си пускате кръвчицата на публично място, че иначе ужасът идва. Любимата ми почти магическа способност, между другото, след нея се нареждат заклинанията с продукти на отделителната система, но като стане въпрос за ако, всички освен Пратчет зачервяват ушите. Хм, дали да не пиша на Ашли да му дам някоя и друга идея…
Никога би могъл да е просто редови крадльо с голяма уста, ако не беше едно особено проклятие – той може да убива с кръвта си. Представете си ситуация, в която ви нападат цяла група едри младежи с основна цел да ви направят на татарско кюфте, а вие просто си бодвате пръстчето с игла и от вас изскача гигантска вълна кръв с лош характер, която изпива силите на бабанките със зли намерения, оставяйки ви за спомен освен замръзналите във вечен ужас трупо, и някой и друг тъповат проблясък от чуждо детство. Същият има само бегла представа защо кръвта му е толкова кисела, свързана с почти неприсъстващия баща от детството, и тръгва да търси великата истина за произхода си, следвайки по петите синеокият албиност, който му се пада нещо брат на име Сняг. Търсенето ще го отведе на странни острови, в дълбините на древни гробници, подземни замъци, зловещи храмове, опасни гори, убийствени планини и въобще по почти всеки терен, върху който очаквате да цъкате с мишка в новото Диабло.
Аха, ще кажете, явно е поредното недоносче за вечно активните и недоволни геймърчета, написано от някой уона би сценарист на игри. И ще сгрешите – тук говорим за качествени текстове, с балансирано действие, разговори, емоционални моменти, повече от очарователни и добре изградени характери и на лоши , и на добри, и най-вече – много добра основна история, развиваща се с почти перфектно визуално темпо. Винаги ще ми харесват фентъзи историите с добър каст от герои на приемлива за тежестта на емоциите и предизвикателствата възраст, реагиращи логично, но и доволно самоотрицателно в нужните геройски моменти. Въобще – обичам герои със синдром на героя, а не синдрома на мрънкалото – сещате се, защо аз, защо сега, тя харесва ли ме, той не ме ли мрази, такива работи. Просто не се идентифицирам със съмнението, а със действието, какво да се прави.
А Никога е точно това – всичко приема с най-здравословната доза цинизъм, която съм чела от доста време насам, независимо дали става въпрос за факта, че му поникват черни крилца по едно време, или че кръвта му е универсален ключ за скритото от свръх цивилизация познание. И въпреки всички причини да мрази човешката раса, всъщност някак намира сили да не отдаде на божествените си пориви да анихилира всичко що се движи, и даже си създава някой и друг свестен приятел, от оня тип, който поема стрела в задните части заради теб. Накратко – искате динамично, мрачно и забавно фентъзи – Ашли Кейпс ви го доставя с усмивка и предупреждение да внимавате да не си пускате кръвчицата на публично място, че иначе ужасът идва. Любимата ми почти магическа способност, между другото, след нея се нареждат заклинанията с продукти на отделителната система, но като стане въпрос за ако, всички освен Пратчет зачервяват ушите. Хм, дали да не пиша на Ашли да му дам някоя и друга идея…
August 29, 2021
Incredible concept with a brand new world, races, languages, and creatures.
It was nice having all of the books in one, to be able to go straight from one to the next. But I'll admit I had on more than one occasion wishing it to end sooner than it did. I found myself dragging my way through it, rather than enjoying it. It was still good, but whether it was the writing style or my inability, it was hard to visual what was happening at times. The descriptions were so thorough yet so lacking in a way that you get just the sense at what he's trying to day and then you lose it.
It also seemed like the important parts of the story whizzed by while the dull, story-building parts went on forever. Key moments and plots would happen within the span of a paragraph while meaningless travel would span pages, if not more.
I genuinely enjoyed the series, I really did and can't wait to read more. But for one reason or another its hard to give the series a full 5 stars. It comes close, it's got everything you could want in an action-packed, magical series. But it still could be improved.
4.5/5 honestly.
It was nice having all of the books in one, to be able to go straight from one to the next. But I'll admit I had on more than one occasion wishing it to end sooner than it did. I found myself dragging my way through it, rather than enjoying it. It was still good, but whether it was the writing style or my inability, it was hard to visual what was happening at times. The descriptions were so thorough yet so lacking in a way that you get just the sense at what he's trying to day and then you lose it.
It also seemed like the important parts of the story whizzed by while the dull, story-building parts went on forever. Key moments and plots would happen within the span of a paragraph while meaningless travel would span pages, if not more.
I genuinely enjoyed the series, I really did and can't wait to read more. But for one reason or another its hard to give the series a full 5 stars. It comes close, it's got everything you could want in an action-packed, magical series. But it still could be improved.
4.5/5 honestly.
January 11, 2020
Ok : story pace + likeable npc's + world
Great: Old lore in world
Fail: 1) main char is searching after his identity... riiiiiight. every SINGLE time he finds something important he shows ZERO interest in the discovery. loads of journeying to anti-climax non-stop. I mean srsly the char is supposed to be a thief and he has zero interest in a room packed with treasure??? Main char devolved from interesting to pls just die and continue the story with his brother Snow. Author describing the 2 brothers as alone in the world surviving together against constant hate and yet for some weak reason main char picks a fight with snow (brother) who has constantly watched out for him whole way through, snow who actually succeeds in his discoveries, Never who constantly fails at his and runs on to next. Author clearly does not have siblings, no way in hell brothers would fight against each other in her story. Burn the world 1000 times I still wld never betray my brothers
Great: Old lore in world
Fail: 1) main char is searching after his identity... riiiiiight. every SINGLE time he finds something important he shows ZERO interest in the discovery. loads of journeying to anti-climax non-stop. I mean srsly the char is supposed to be a thief and he has zero interest in a room packed with treasure??? Main char devolved from interesting to pls just die and continue the story with his brother Snow. Author describing the 2 brothers as alone in the world surviving together against constant hate and yet for some weak reason main char picks a fight with snow (brother) who has constantly watched out for him whole way through, snow who actually succeeds in his discoveries, Never who constantly fails at his and runs on to next. Author clearly does not have siblings, no way in hell brothers would fight against each other in her story. Burn the world 1000 times I still wld never betray my brothers
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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August 25, 2021Worst name for a character (n)ever.
I kept having to reread sentences to work out what had just happened. 'Never moved to the river'. 'Always a bridesmaid, never a bride'. OK I made those up but it is VERY distracting.
Didn't like the style of writing either. Not for me. I didn't give it much of a go - so DNF.
I kept having to reread sentences to work out what had just happened. 'Never moved to the river'. 'Always a bridesmaid, never a bride'. OK I made those up but it is VERY distracting.
Didn't like the style of writing either. Not for me. I didn't give it much of a go - so DNF.
August 31, 2021
I was very glad to be finished with this series, as in happy it was over. The character Never was likeable, but the plot was irritating. Capes pulls fantastical items/people/plot points from thin air without explanation. A slapped together adventure novel that didn't satisfy this refined readers taste.
January 6, 2023
This set of books caught my fancy so I settled down to read them. I found stories that grabbed my attention and kept me coming back for more. Different types of danger, intrigue, betrayal and quests are all within the pages. Definitely one to keep you entertained. I'm off to read the next three.
April 15, 2023
Picked up books 1 to 4 of this as part of a free kindle anthology. I found it a little simplistic but the premise was good,. I would have loved to have the adventure a little more fleshed out, for me it read more like a middle grade story.
July 21, 2025
An interesting fantasy/magical world but everything is entirely too convoluted both in terms of characters and in terms of plot. Also, having all five volumes in one made it seem as if it would never end. Spoiler alert: there are additional boox to follow. No thanx, I've had enough.
December 30, 2019
Interesting story with an unusual form of magic. The characters are interesting and relatable. Except for Never's magic and heritage. Good, coherent storyline. Well worth reading.
November 4, 2020
Couldn't get into this story and gave up. Maybe I'll return to it sometime and give it another go.
August 7, 2021
Interesting story. Will definitely want to read prequel and sequel.
August 4, 2022
It was good read. It contained parts that I enjoyed and kept me hooked, yet a few that lost me.
September 8, 2024
Amé a Never.
October 18, 2025
I enjoyed this, although it did read like someone's D&D campaign. That's a not a bad thing!
November 20, 2025
2025 Reading Challenge November #1: Never: titles featuring the word "never."
Never is on a journey to discover his true name and more about his Amouni heritage. Great story, great characters.
Never is on a journey to discover his true name and more about his Amouni heritage. Great story, great characters.
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September 13, 2024On kobo
Not the complete series - more published since (a note at the end explains this).
Book 1 September 4 - 5 The Amber Isle
Book 2 September 5 - 5 A Forest of Eyes
Book 3 September 5 - 8 River God
Book 4 September 8 - 9 The Peaks of Autumn
Book 5 September 9 - 12 Imperial Towers
A quest - Never (so named by his brother Snow - neither given by their mother) is searhing for his origins. He possesses a power to do with blood (though not a vampire) and has quarrelled with and parted from Snow, for whom he is also searching. Quest stories have a passing similarity, of course, and this is no exception (though not a trilogy!). Never gains companions during his journey and eventually some of his aims are achieved - not all, hence the continuation...
Not the complete series - more published since (a note at the end explains this).
Book 1 September 4 - 5 The Amber Isle
Book 2 September 5 - 5 A Forest of Eyes
Book 3 September 5 - 8 River God
Book 4 September 8 - 9 The Peaks of Autumn
Book 5 September 9 - 12 Imperial Towers
A quest - Never (so named by his brother Snow - neither given by their mother) is searhing for his origins. He possesses a power to do with blood (though not a vampire) and has quarrelled with and parted from Snow, for whom he is also searching. Quest stories have a passing similarity, of course, and this is no exception (though not a trilogy!). Never gains companions during his journey and eventually some of his aims are achieved - not all, hence the continuation...
January 27, 2022
I struggled to know how to rate this series. It’s a fast read, and I did enjoy it for the initial allure of Never, the main character, as a dry-witted rogue who can talk himself both into and out of trouble. I found the small amount of secondary characters likeable - generally a small group of Never’s travelling companions who he meets along the way. Although felt the slim cast of characters made the series lack breadth of narrative - it was a fairly straightforward quest with small side quests and an overarching war that is a little hard to understand due to slow explanation of races and political relationships.
The main thing I was disappointed by was that the series sets up lots of questions and fails to provide much in the way of answers even after 5 parts/books. The entire focus of the series is Never’s quest to discover who he is and about his heritage (the Amouni race). He discovers little tidbits along the way although it feels a little like luck and stumbling in the dark, and yet a lot is left unexplained. I kept waiting for a big reveal right up until book 5. Then the final book Never and Snow find the knowledge seeds for all of the technology/developments the Amouni had invented and created over the years, which sounded like far greater technological advancement than is available currently in the world (they were a superior race) and yet with that carrot dangled in front, a mere suggestion of who the race were and what they were capable of, the reader learns nothing more because most of it gets destroyed. We see a couple of glimpses which suggest the Amouni could heal mental illness, blindness, plague. Could the Amouni make solar powered airships like some sort of Steampunk tech? And how? We aren’t told. How many Amouni were there based on the preparation chamber size?? I appreciate that Never turned down the lure of power and “right to rule” that Snow was proffering but to give the reader a hint that the Amouni actually have incredibly advanced magic/technology but not expand on it? It made the whole series seem pointless.
I enjoyed the read but just left me feeling like I didn’t actually get answers after 5 books. Perhaps the other writings in this world provide some more clarity.
The main thing I was disappointed by was that the series sets up lots of questions and fails to provide much in the way of answers even after 5 parts/books. The entire focus of the series is Never’s quest to discover who he is and about his heritage (the Amouni race). He discovers little tidbits along the way although it feels a little like luck and stumbling in the dark, and yet a lot is left unexplained. I kept waiting for a big reveal right up until book 5. Then the final book Never and Snow find the knowledge seeds for all of the technology/developments the Amouni had invented and created over the years, which sounded like far greater technological advancement than is available currently in the world (they were a superior race) and yet with that carrot dangled in front, a mere suggestion of who the race were and what they were capable of, the reader learns nothing more because most of it gets destroyed. We see a couple of glimpses which suggest the Amouni could heal mental illness, blindness, plague. Could the Amouni make solar powered airships like some sort of Steampunk tech? And how? We aren’t told. How many Amouni were there based on the preparation chamber size?? I appreciate that Never turned down the lure of power and “right to rule” that Snow was proffering but to give the reader a hint that the Amouni actually have incredibly advanced magic/technology but not expand on it? It made the whole series seem pointless.
I enjoyed the read but just left me feeling like I didn’t actually get answers after 5 books. Perhaps the other writings in this world provide some more clarity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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