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The Slayer’s Dark Rebirth #1
Oblivion
Once a god, now a target.
Darius wakes surrounded by blood. Most of his mind has been stolen, and the dark figure that took it wants the rest.
Caught in a raging war between the human empire and fiery rakkan invaders, he soon learns his fearsome powers have made him an enemy to both.
Unable to tell friend from foe, he must fight to escape a fate worse than death. His only helper is a mysterious female warrior who promises to restore him to former glory. Too bad she may be out to betray him…
Who he was and why they want him, he doesn’t know. Is he ready to discover the horrifying truth?
If you like Epic Fantasy full of mystery and action, you’ll love this fast-paced sword and sorcery series.
Pick up this page-turner today
Darius wakes surrounded by blood. Most of his mind has been stolen, and the dark figure that took it wants the rest.
Caught in a raging war between the human empire and fiery rakkan invaders, he soon learns his fearsome powers have made him an enemy to both.
Unable to tell friend from foe, he must fight to escape a fate worse than death. His only helper is a mysterious female warrior who promises to restore him to former glory. Too bad she may be out to betray him…
Who he was and why they want him, he doesn’t know. Is he ready to discover the horrifying truth?
If you like Epic Fantasy full of mystery and action, you’ll love this fast-paced sword and sorcery series.
Pick up this page-turner today
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2018
621 people are currently reading
467 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
December 2, 2018
When I got to hear of this book, I was a bit concerned since debut novels are rarely fun to read. But I am glad I accepted, since Oblivion is an amazing debut and is easily one of the best epic fantasy books of the year. I have a feeling it will reach the finals of the SPFBO in the year in which it participates.
Do not let the cliched name turn you away from the book though. None of the characters are simple - they all have complex motivations - the protagonist, the antagonist, the support characters etc. The world building is good with enough originality to make the book stand out amongst its peers. There is enough action to keep us interested and the book is fast paced. And it has one of the best opening scenes ever.
If I had to describe this book in a single line, it would be Jason Bourne meets Epic Fantasy. Darius, the main character, wakes up to find his memories gone and with a fraction of his powers. He does not know whom to trust and neither do we. And he find himself caught between various factions, all of whom want him for different purposes.
I found Darius to be a compelling character. The story starts off with him losing his empathy and we can see him evaluating his choices in terms of what is best for him. But as the story progresses, we find that he struggles against this artificial loss and make choices that befuddle him, but seem right. This is one of the stand out features of Andy Blinston's writing. He is able to show us this struggle between feelings and logic in Darius and makes us like him even if he is being a bit of an ass sometimes. In addition, the feeling of paranoia that affects Darius, since he is not sure whom to trust and why, is portrayed well in the book. It is not just that Darius feels paranoid; it is that others feel the same about Darius. And this makes for some great conversations between characters with each one trying to one up the other.
So Darius is complex. Well, so are the villain and others. Lex and Archimedes are the notable ones. The lead characters all are the heroes of their own story - they have decent motivations for behaving the way they do. Even if we do not agree with their actions, we can understand why they do so. Without getting in spoilers, let me just say that nothing is what it seems.
The Action is good with enough scenes to keep one interested. They are competent and what you would expect from the better books in this genre.
In conclusion, I loved this book. I finished this in two sittings and never once did I feel like putting it down. If you like epic fantasy, do not miss this book. I am waiting for the next one.
Do not let the cliched name turn you away from the book though. None of the characters are simple - they all have complex motivations - the protagonist, the antagonist, the support characters etc. The world building is good with enough originality to make the book stand out amongst its peers. There is enough action to keep us interested and the book is fast paced. And it has one of the best opening scenes ever.
If I had to describe this book in a single line, it would be Jason Bourne meets Epic Fantasy. Darius, the main character, wakes up to find his memories gone and with a fraction of his powers. He does not know whom to trust and neither do we. And he find himself caught between various factions, all of whom want him for different purposes.
I found Darius to be a compelling character. The story starts off with him losing his empathy and we can see him evaluating his choices in terms of what is best for him. But as the story progresses, we find that he struggles against this artificial loss and make choices that befuddle him, but seem right. This is one of the stand out features of Andy Blinston's writing. He is able to show us this struggle between feelings and logic in Darius and makes us like him even if he is being a bit of an ass sometimes. In addition, the feeling of paranoia that affects Darius, since he is not sure whom to trust and why, is portrayed well in the book. It is not just that Darius feels paranoid; it is that others feel the same about Darius. And this makes for some great conversations between characters with each one trying to one up the other.
So Darius is complex. Well, so are the villain and others. Lex and Archimedes are the notable ones. The lead characters all are the heroes of their own story - they have decent motivations for behaving the way they do. Even if we do not agree with their actions, we can understand why they do so. Without getting in spoilers, let me just say that nothing is what it seems.
The Action is good with enough scenes to keep one interested. They are competent and what you would expect from the better books in this genre.
In conclusion, I loved this book. I finished this in two sittings and never once did I feel like putting it down. If you like epic fantasy, do not miss this book. I am waiting for the next one.
December 12, 2018
I don't like it when I have practically nothing good to say about my experience with a book because I probably come across very harshly. I wouldn't say this was a bad book by any means, but I definitely didn't have a good experience for a variety of reasons. In short, I thought the setting and world of the story has a basic good setup and I was interested to see more of it, learn more about it, and meet more of the people living in it. Unfortunately, my pov for the series is Darius: an amnesiac man-child who is supposedly a warrior but gets sick at the sight of blood and kind of loses every time he gets in a fight.
I feel confident enough to say that if you aren't feeling the Darius character, you probably won't have a good time in this book. As long as you don't let the GoT/Total Recall callout in the summary oversell your expectations, then you might enjoy this.
I'm not a fan of taglines and summaries that compare a book to specific other works. Too often, the comparisons don't do the title in question any favors and it only leads to disappointment. That was also the case for me with this book and the Game of Thrones/Total Recall comparisons. I have both read and watched GoT, Bourne Identity, and Total Recall/We Can Remember it for You Wholesale. I never had anything even resembling a GoT vibe from this story. I did start off with a Bourne Identity feel that moved toward a Total Recall impression, but unfortunately it only made me think about why I liked those other books/movies and wasn't enjoying this story. The simple answer was: I didn't like Darius at all.
I was never really sold on why he was overly suspicious about so many things in the first half of the book. Sure it was possible, but it's not my job to come up with explanations. Ideally, the book should lay some foundation to explain it. I never felt that it did. It seemed a bit more like the book was trying too hard to be the Bourne Identity and add suspense. I left the first few chapters feeling mildly apathetic, but curious to see where things were going.
My apathy started falling into active dislike as Darius mostly just came across as very childish and mildly idiotic. He constantly seemed full of himself and, despite having no memories and maybe being more amenable to new information, he continued to overestimate himself and his abilities despite repeated failures. Oh, and he's a warrior that feels sick at the sight of blood...a trait that did less to make him a unique character and more to just make him annoying to me. Then there was even a painkiller problem with Darius and a traveling companion. I found the idea not just distasteful for a character I'm supposed to like to be so weak as to rely on painkillers, but honestly pathetic considering they are supposed to be warriors. It just further reinforced my impression of Darius in particular as being a whiny little child with no mettle.
The overall setup is pretty good from a world-building standpoint. Very basic, but still interesting. Two opposed factions, each of which has warriors that wield a supernatural power. There are a variety of minor gripes I had with the writing itself though. There were some very unfortunate turns of phrase that honestly made me laugh, but not at times when I should have been.
...he prepared to land a blow on his slippery foe.
...Darius braced for another assault, ready to counter this time, but her rage remained caged.
There were also a variety of descriptors like "dingy dungeon" and "pale paste" along with generic phrases like "in the blink of an eye" and "dropped like a sack of potatoes." I was also confused when a character used the expression "he dropped the ball" in the figurative sense, because there are never any sports mentioned to explain where that vernacular could have come from.
These were things that were obstacles to my immersion in the story and unfortunately they happened often during what were supposed to be action scenes.
Overall, this story really had the feel of a Young Adult book to me. All of the characters bordered on being idiots. There were no indications of anyone having much in the way of tactical smarts or experience. At one point some people decide to go forward with a plan that involves: being directly insubordinate, going drastically against basic odds, relying entirely on the enemy giving his weapon to someone else even though there is no indication of that ever happening before...and if it doesn't go according to plan they're all doomed. To me, this is textbook idiot plot material where the plot only moves forward because every character is lacking common sense.
I think even Darius aside, there were too many obstacles for me to get into this story. Maybe if the summary info compared it to some YA stories I would have come in with a different measuring stick and things would have been received differently, but if that was the case then odds are I might not have picked it up in the first place.
I feel confident enough to say that if you aren't feeling the Darius character, you probably won't have a good time in this book. As long as you don't let the GoT/Total Recall callout in the summary oversell your expectations, then you might enjoy this.
I'm not a fan of taglines and summaries that compare a book to specific other works. Too often, the comparisons don't do the title in question any favors and it only leads to disappointment. That was also the case for me with this book and the Game of Thrones/Total Recall comparisons. I have both read and watched GoT, Bourne Identity, and Total Recall/We Can Remember it for You Wholesale. I never had anything even resembling a GoT vibe from this story. I did start off with a Bourne Identity feel that moved toward a Total Recall impression, but unfortunately it only made me think about why I liked those other books/movies and wasn't enjoying this story. The simple answer was: I didn't like Darius at all.
I was never really sold on why he was overly suspicious about so many things in the first half of the book. Sure it was possible, but it's not my job to come up with explanations. Ideally, the book should lay some foundation to explain it. I never felt that it did. It seemed a bit more like the book was trying too hard to be the Bourne Identity and add suspense. I left the first few chapters feeling mildly apathetic, but curious to see where things were going.
My apathy started falling into active dislike as Darius mostly just came across as very childish and mildly idiotic. He constantly seemed full of himself and, despite having no memories and maybe being more amenable to new information, he continued to overestimate himself and his abilities despite repeated failures. Oh, and he's a warrior that feels sick at the sight of blood...a trait that did less to make him a unique character and more to just make him annoying to me. Then there was even a painkiller problem with Darius and a traveling companion. I found the idea not just distasteful for a character I'm supposed to like to be so weak as to rely on painkillers, but honestly pathetic considering they are supposed to be warriors. It just further reinforced my impression of Darius in particular as being a whiny little child with no mettle.
The overall setup is pretty good from a world-building standpoint. Very basic, but still interesting. Two opposed factions, each of which has warriors that wield a supernatural power. There are a variety of minor gripes I had with the writing itself though. There were some very unfortunate turns of phrase that honestly made me laugh, but not at times when I should have been.
...he prepared to land a blow on his slippery foe.
...Darius braced for another assault, ready to counter this time, but her rage remained caged.
There were also a variety of descriptors like "dingy dungeon" and "pale paste" along with generic phrases like "in the blink of an eye" and "dropped like a sack of potatoes." I was also confused when a character used the expression "he dropped the ball" in the figurative sense, because there are never any sports mentioned to explain where that vernacular could have come from.
These were things that were obstacles to my immersion in the story and unfortunately they happened often during what were supposed to be action scenes.
Overall, this story really had the feel of a Young Adult book to me. All of the characters bordered on being idiots. There were no indications of anyone having much in the way of tactical smarts or experience. At one point some people decide to go forward with a plan that involves: being directly insubordinate, going drastically against basic odds, relying entirely on the enemy giving his weapon to someone else even though there is no indication of that ever happening before...and if it doesn't go according to plan they're all doomed. To me, this is textbook idiot plot material where the plot only moves forward because every character is lacking common sense.
I think even Darius aside, there were too many obstacles for me to get into this story. Maybe if the summary info compared it to some YA stories I would have come in with a different measuring stick and things would have been received differently, but if that was the case then odds are I might not have picked it up in the first place.
December 5, 2023
Ratings:-3.5 stars
December 9, 2018
I recieved an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
4.5☆
I just want to start by saying that I really liked this book.
Our MC Darius wakes up with no memory other than the death of his baby brother.
Pretty shitty huh?
Well things just keep getting better for the poor fella...
There's a war going on and he can't remember who's side he's on, or who are his allies. Everyone seems to want to kill him and even his 'friends' don't seem to like him very much.
Some people may not love the whole forgetting thing, but I think it worked. It was well thought out and well executed.
I liked the writing and I liked the characters.
My favourite character was Sulla, despite not being one of the main characters, he was my favourite. I'd like to see more of him in the next book.
Darius is, as you might expect, frustrated to say the least, that he can't remember anything and that he's lost the ability to tap into his powers.
At times he's sassy, which I definitely liked. The author had a great dry kind of humour.
See, this is my thing right here. Give me lots of this and I'm a happy girl.
Ending was very good and overall I'm hugely impressed with the book as a whole. Thoroughly enjoyable. I'd definitely recommend it!
4.5☆
I just want to start by saying that I really liked this book.
Our MC Darius wakes up with no memory other than the death of his baby brother.
Pretty shitty huh?
Well things just keep getting better for the poor fella...
There's a war going on and he can't remember who's side he's on, or who are his allies. Everyone seems to want to kill him and even his 'friends' don't seem to like him very much.
Some people may not love the whole forgetting thing, but I think it worked. It was well thought out and well executed.
I liked the writing and I liked the characters.
My favourite character was Sulla, despite not being one of the main characters, he was my favourite. I'd like to see more of him in the next book.
Darius is, as you might expect, frustrated to say the least, that he can't remember anything and that he's lost the ability to tap into his powers.
At times he's sassy, which I definitely liked. The author had a great dry kind of humour.
"Darius stood and grunted as his thigh reminded him it had an arrow-shaped hole in it."
See, this is my thing right here. Give me lots of this and I'm a happy girl.
Ending was very good and overall I'm hugely impressed with the book as a whole. Thoroughly enjoyable. I'd definitely recommend it!
March 23, 2024
Rating 2.5 ⭐️
This sounded like an interesting read so I was really looking forward to it. However I’m hugely underwhelmed.
The premise is great - a warrior who has his memories and all sense of sense stolen, and so tried to find his way back to who he was, learning once again how to master his magic along the way.
However the writing was quite immature IMO and felt really awkward at times. There are a lot of grammatical errors as well as storyline mistakes that make me think this book was never properly proofed or edited, a few examples below.
At one point a river ‘winded its way’ instead of wound (new word created there!)… there were multiple instances where knowledge was stated that he couldn’t have known with a loss of memory as described (OK, I was willing to forgive these as a ‘not a TOTAL loss of memory’ scenario)… Darius shaves all his hair off but then a couple of chapters later he ‘tugged at his hair, welcoming the pain in his scalp’ (now that is some rapid re-growth! He could bottle his blood and sell it to hair re-growth clinics!)
Overall this book is based on a great idea, but fails in delivery. For GR I’ve downgraded the 2.5 to a 2 because of its blah-ness.
This sounded like an interesting read so I was really looking forward to it. However I’m hugely underwhelmed.
The premise is great - a warrior who has his memories and all sense of sense stolen, and so tried to find his way back to who he was, learning once again how to master his magic along the way.
However the writing was quite immature IMO and felt really awkward at times. There are a lot of grammatical errors as well as storyline mistakes that make me think this book was never properly proofed or edited, a few examples below.
At one point a river ‘winded its way’ instead of wound (new word created there!)… there were multiple instances where knowledge was stated that he couldn’t have known with a loss of memory as described (OK, I was willing to forgive these as a ‘not a TOTAL loss of memory’ scenario)… Darius shaves all his hair off but then a couple of chapters later he ‘tugged at his hair, welcoming the pain in his scalp’ (now that is some rapid re-growth! He could bottle his blood and sell it to hair re-growth clinics!)
Overall this book is based on a great idea, but fails in delivery. For GR I’ve downgraded the 2.5 to a 2 because of its blah-ness.
December 13, 2018
I really would make this about a 3.75* but for the sake of Goodreads, it's a 4* review.
I actually, surprisingly, really enjoyed this book. I thought it had a very interesting premise to it when I read the blurb and it started off very quickly. It had the ability to grab my attention from the very first chapter.
So, what is it that grabbed my attention? The fact that the main character Darius, wakes up on a battlefield and has no idea how he got there and only has one singular memory. BUT.... he's a fearsome warrior and assassin. How does an assassin know he's an assassin if he doesn't remember anything? Well.... you see.... There are still parts of his old self that he does remember. His memories were drained but not ALL of his memories. And the one memory he does have seems to haunt him throughout the entire book.
The characters throughout were very well put together and developed nicely throughout the story. Our MC Darius starts out not understanding much of anything. He doesn't know who he fights for or why he fights, only that he fights. We see him become frustrated, have internal and external conflicts that make you wonder about his morals and then we see him develop into someone that we could honestly like. I'll be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Darius at the beginning, but at the end he ended up being a likable guy. Our other semi-MC Lex also developed well. It was difficult to understand who she really worked for and if maybe she had some big hidden secrets that we will find out as the story carries on. I'm still not sure we understand her true intentions but hopefully in book 2 we will see if she is a traitor to Darius of true to him.
Overall, I would most definitely recommend this to just about anyone who loves fantasy. It has everything that a fantasy lover would want. An easy to understand magic system, a vast world, likable characters, and fighting. Lots and lots of fighting. Also, to me, this totally could be a standalone story and I would be satisfied with how it ended and I really liked that aspect of the end of this book.
I received this book from the author and have decided independently to leave an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
I actually, surprisingly, really enjoyed this book. I thought it had a very interesting premise to it when I read the blurb and it started off very quickly. It had the ability to grab my attention from the very first chapter.
So, what is it that grabbed my attention? The fact that the main character Darius, wakes up on a battlefield and has no idea how he got there and only has one singular memory. BUT.... he's a fearsome warrior and assassin. How does an assassin know he's an assassin if he doesn't remember anything? Well.... you see.... There are still parts of his old self that he does remember. His memories were drained but not ALL of his memories. And the one memory he does have seems to haunt him throughout the entire book.
The characters throughout were very well put together and developed nicely throughout the story. Our MC Darius starts out not understanding much of anything. He doesn't know who he fights for or why he fights, only that he fights. We see him become frustrated, have internal and external conflicts that make you wonder about his morals and then we see him develop into someone that we could honestly like. I'll be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of Darius at the beginning, but at the end he ended up being a likable guy. Our other semi-MC Lex also developed well. It was difficult to understand who she really worked for and if maybe she had some big hidden secrets that we will find out as the story carries on. I'm still not sure we understand her true intentions but hopefully in book 2 we will see if she is a traitor to Darius of true to him.
Overall, I would most definitely recommend this to just about anyone who loves fantasy. It has everything that a fantasy lover would want. An easy to understand magic system, a vast world, likable characters, and fighting. Lots and lots of fighting. Also, to me, this totally could be a standalone story and I would be satisfied with how it ended and I really liked that aspect of the end of this book.
I received this book from the author and have decided independently to leave an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
September 10, 2021
*I received a free copy and I'm voluntarily leaving a review*
This book is a special one as I received a free copy from the author himself. I wasn’t sure whether I'd like it or not but I must say I quite enjoyed it.
The author executed the whole forgetting thing pretty well. The main character doesn’t remember who he is, how his powers work, who everyone else are, who is fighting who and why. This could have been a debacle if not written well but fortunately this wasn’t the case. Darius was struggling and frustrated throughout the whole book for not being able to remember. He was pretty sassy at times with a dry kind of humour which was enjoyable.
Lex was a complex character with so many layers. I always enjoy reading about a badass warrior woman living life alone by her own rules.
The storyline was engaging and action-packed. There were some twists and turns. Although I felt one of the big secrets was laid out too much before it's big reveal and I was able to grab that one beforehand but it didn't really hinder my reading experience altogether. The ending had closure but it also had great promises for the next one. In short in was an enjoyable book and I'm excited to read the next one.
This book is a special one as I received a free copy from the author himself. I wasn’t sure whether I'd like it or not but I must say I quite enjoyed it.
The author executed the whole forgetting thing pretty well. The main character doesn’t remember who he is, how his powers work, who everyone else are, who is fighting who and why. This could have been a debacle if not written well but fortunately this wasn’t the case. Darius was struggling and frustrated throughout the whole book for not being able to remember. He was pretty sassy at times with a dry kind of humour which was enjoyable.
Lex was a complex character with so many layers. I always enjoy reading about a badass warrior woman living life alone by her own rules.
The storyline was engaging and action-packed. There were some twists and turns. Although I felt one of the big secrets was laid out too much before it's big reveal and I was able to grab that one beforehand but it didn't really hinder my reading experience altogether. The ending had closure but it also had great promises for the next one. In short in was an enjoyable book and I'm excited to read the next one.
December 2, 2018
All I can say is Wow! This book is pretty awesome, it was fresh, well paced, full if excitement and suspense. I never got bored and there was never anything predictable, which are definitely plusses in my opinion.
The story was action packed and done very well.
I'm really looking forward to book 2! I can't wait to see more from this author. This being his debut I will tell you right now the guys got chops.
I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to read this book.
I was provided with a free copy of this book by the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
The story was action packed and done very well.
I'm really looking forward to book 2! I can't wait to see more from this author. This being his debut I will tell you right now the guys got chops.
I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to read this book.
I was provided with a free copy of this book by the author and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
December 2, 2018
Impressive debut from another incredibly talented Fantasy author, Andy Blinston. What a strong year I have had in discovering a wealth of really talented and gifted new authors!
Creative, powerful world building, intense action fight scenes, intelligent, driven emotional drama, and unique magic has created a strong desire for me to continue in this stunning debut trilogy. Well written, I am invested in knowing more about these characters and the direction the trilogy takes. Don't keep me waiting for books two and three Mr. Blinston! Well done and thank you.
Creative, powerful world building, intense action fight scenes, intelligent, driven emotional drama, and unique magic has created a strong desire for me to continue in this stunning debut trilogy. Well written, I am invested in knowing more about these characters and the direction the trilogy takes. Don't keep me waiting for books two and three Mr. Blinston! Well done and thank you.
December 5, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Lots of hints at more to come so looking forward to reading more from Andy. The storyline was easy to follow and good characters.
November 18, 2018
I read Oblivion without knowing what to think as it was a new release, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. From the first page you are swept into the most enthralling world, and we meet our hero Darius. He is captivating and sympathetic, yet has no morals. It is quite a feat that the author has managed to make such a character enjoyable to read.
I loved Lex and was questioning throughout the story just whose side was she on. In the end, I was pleased with the truth of the matter and am more than looking forward to the sequel which I hope gives us more of her story.
Oblivion is one of the best fantasy books of 2018. I'm glad I gave this book a try.
I loved Lex and was questioning throughout the story just whose side was she on. In the end, I was pleased with the truth of the matter and am more than looking forward to the sequel which I hope gives us more of her story.
Oblivion is one of the best fantasy books of 2018. I'm glad I gave this book a try.
November 5, 2018
Oblivion by Andy Blinston is a wonderful story to read. Andy Blinston is a brand new author for me and I am so glad I found him he is slowly becoming a new favorite author for me. I loved reading the story cause it came alive for me instead of just reading the story it felt like I was living the story and I love it. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves a wonderful story to read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 15, 2018
He wakes up in the middle of a battlefield with no memories of who he was or why he was there. All he had left was as childhood memory. She says she can help him but can he trust her? He has an army after him. Who is he? Is he good or bad? Will he ever find out? See if he will
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 8, 2021
Wow. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t confused at times. The main characters, Darius and Lex, I never really cared enough for. It wasn’t until Sulla came in that I really loved and cared for a character in this book. He’s not a main character unfortunately cause, I think if he was, readers would love this even more. He’s just that awesome. Hopefully, I get more of him in this next book. The story is good but at times can be slow. I do suggest giving it a chance though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2024
This is a pretty good book. Lots of action, interesting characters and story. Darius can’t remember his life and is trying to get his memories back, that’s a difficult quest, not knowing who to trust or what to do. Missing power and no knowledge of his remaining power.
March 11, 2020
(Updated)A good read that takes a difficult concept and makes an interesting story out of it and promises to be a good series.
Okay first as a disclaimer two years ago when I originally read and reviewed Oblivion Andy Blinston did something that surprised me. He read my review and reached out curious about it, while also doing what many new authors should, that is reaching out to their readers. I love reading and of course writing myself and he offered to allow me to alpha read for his new work. Recently Andy has finished a draft and contacted me again, while also informing me after I said i needed to reread book 1, that he went back and worked on book 1 and has updated the version on kindle. I have kept my original review unedited below.
New review 3-10-20
As I mention above book 2 is in the works and in order to do a proper Alpha read i wanted to go back and reread the original. To be honest I am shocked at the transformation the story went through. I have gone through over dozens of series and books since then but Oblivion stood out than and now. The story does take the concept of an amnesic protagonist and honestly despite knowing the concept I haven't seen concept done outside of tv, movies, and video games. Even in the Visual medium it is hard to pull off and feel legit. Well Andy pulled it of then and most certainly did it now.
The story feels much smoother now so that when the world building and setting pulls you in the characters carry you along and the dialogue is tighter never repetitive and it did not pull me out. I can not remember exaclty where i had been thrown out in the first version I can only tell that the work Andy did to the story polished it up and makes me excited to get to see what might be coming for us next. The story is a PG 13 with plenty of violence and action and some scenes that might be hard emotionally for younger readers.
The first time around i gave the a 3 star rating. For me that could mean a number of things from a good one time read to something that enjoyed and would reread in the future. I do not just hand out 5 stars but I think the story has earned that now. While it does still have somethings that caught my attention I never felt pulled out of the story.
The most interesting aspect I find is that the improvement of the story after it was published could only really have happened because of the Authors desire to work on his craft and that the fact that Kindle provides an easily way for self published author to grow and a comeback.
Overall enjoyed it as a read and learned a lot as reading it like a writer.
Original review.
I was wavering between a 3 and a 3.5 as a rating for the story. This will be a story that I will eventually buy just to have my own copy and will reread a few times as the series progresses. The strongest aspect of the story is its world building. You really do get the feeling that the world is bigger than the story. Where we just see a tip when iceberg but they could be much much more underneath.The magic system or power system that is within the story is unique, diverse, and builds upon the world in such a way that it feels as if anything is possible. As writing is a craft that improves with time and practice having the ability to set a story in a fascinating world is a great sign for a new author.
This fantasy is set at a good price and is available on Kindle unlimited. There is no inappropriate scenes within the story though there is some blood and gore. There is also some hard and tragic moments that make the story feel that it has consequences. This serve to pull me in where other parts pulled me out. And had me looking forward to where the series might go and how the author might improve.
I do believe that the characters while interesting we're not necessarily captivating. We are never really told the age of our main protagonist or given a clear description. It is not until the end that we find that he is in his mid-20s perhaps. Also It is a hard concept, but not one that is uncommon, to pull off in having the amnesiac heroic protagonist. While the story did pull me in and I came to care about the characters I did feel that the story did get awkward at times with the main protagonist. Part of this was repetitive dialogue. The character would observe something and then repeat what he observed. Even outside of dialogue the author would both show and tell which also add it to the repetitive feel and awkwardness at times.
In essence the story is stronger than many debut novels but also weaker than others. it is a good story that is worth the read but does have some first-time author flaws that is to be expected particularly for the price range and the self-publish nature of it. this is certainly a 3-star book that I will want to reread again in the future.
Okay first as a disclaimer two years ago when I originally read and reviewed Oblivion Andy Blinston did something that surprised me. He read my review and reached out curious about it, while also doing what many new authors should, that is reaching out to their readers. I love reading and of course writing myself and he offered to allow me to alpha read for his new work. Recently Andy has finished a draft and contacted me again, while also informing me after I said i needed to reread book 1, that he went back and worked on book 1 and has updated the version on kindle. I have kept my original review unedited below.
New review 3-10-20
As I mention above book 2 is in the works and in order to do a proper Alpha read i wanted to go back and reread the original. To be honest I am shocked at the transformation the story went through. I have gone through over dozens of series and books since then but Oblivion stood out than and now. The story does take the concept of an amnesic protagonist and honestly despite knowing the concept I haven't seen concept done outside of tv, movies, and video games. Even in the Visual medium it is hard to pull off and feel legit. Well Andy pulled it of then and most certainly did it now.
The story feels much smoother now so that when the world building and setting pulls you in the characters carry you along and the dialogue is tighter never repetitive and it did not pull me out. I can not remember exaclty where i had been thrown out in the first version I can only tell that the work Andy did to the story polished it up and makes me excited to get to see what might be coming for us next. The story is a PG 13 with plenty of violence and action and some scenes that might be hard emotionally for younger readers.
The first time around i gave the a 3 star rating. For me that could mean a number of things from a good one time read to something that enjoyed and would reread in the future. I do not just hand out 5 stars but I think the story has earned that now. While it does still have somethings that caught my attention I never felt pulled out of the story.
The most interesting aspect I find is that the improvement of the story after it was published could only really have happened because of the Authors desire to work on his craft and that the fact that Kindle provides an easily way for self published author to grow and a comeback.
Overall enjoyed it as a read and learned a lot as reading it like a writer.
Original review.
I was wavering between a 3 and a 3.5 as a rating for the story. This will be a story that I will eventually buy just to have my own copy and will reread a few times as the series progresses. The strongest aspect of the story is its world building. You really do get the feeling that the world is bigger than the story. Where we just see a tip when iceberg but they could be much much more underneath.The magic system or power system that is within the story is unique, diverse, and builds upon the world in such a way that it feels as if anything is possible. As writing is a craft that improves with time and practice having the ability to set a story in a fascinating world is a great sign for a new author.
This fantasy is set at a good price and is available on Kindle unlimited. There is no inappropriate scenes within the story though there is some blood and gore. There is also some hard and tragic moments that make the story feel that it has consequences. This serve to pull me in where other parts pulled me out. And had me looking forward to where the series might go and how the author might improve.
I do believe that the characters while interesting we're not necessarily captivating. We are never really told the age of our main protagonist or given a clear description. It is not until the end that we find that he is in his mid-20s perhaps. Also It is a hard concept, but not one that is uncommon, to pull off in having the amnesiac heroic protagonist. While the story did pull me in and I came to care about the characters I did feel that the story did get awkward at times with the main protagonist. Part of this was repetitive dialogue. The character would observe something and then repeat what he observed. Even outside of dialogue the author would both show and tell which also add it to the repetitive feel and awkwardness at times.
In essence the story is stronger than many debut novels but also weaker than others. it is a good story that is worth the read but does have some first-time author flaws that is to be expected particularly for the price range and the self-publish nature of it. this is certainly a 3-star book that I will want to reread again in the future.
January 16, 2019
Pretty decent epic fantasy. The book begins with an excellent scene but it left me wary wondering whether it would transpire into a likeness of the storyline of a major character in the recent The Shadow of What Was Lost. All such fears were dissuaded upon further reading. The story holds it's own and the world-building is excellent. All characters have believable motivations and there is no forced romance involving the main character which plagues a lot of fantasy books. The main female character has also been portrayed well and there are thankfully no damsels in distress but the opposite of that scenario. It is always fun to read books with short chapters irrespective of the overall book-length and that was done here nicely without compromising on intensity.
I thank the author for sending me a copy of his book and I am voluntarily leaving a review because the book actually deserves a larger audience.
I thank the author for sending me a copy of his book and I am voluntarily leaving a review because the book actually deserves a larger audience.
May 9, 2019
Andy Blinston has captured my imagination & immersed me in this new world of OBLIVION. He has created engaging believable characters, interesting lands & races.
One of my favorite things about this book is his ability to not dwell on EVERY single detail of a leaf, tree, or valley. He gives just the right amount of detail to keep you interested, understand the situation, and keep the story moving forward.
There's also a good balance between mystery/suspense, political intrigue, with just a smidgen of romance and enough battle lust to keep things interesting without being overdone & becoming a complete gory bloodbath. Again, great attention to detail.
And in full disclosure, I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily giving my own happily satisfied opinion in this review. Thanks for the great free read Andy! I thoroughly look forward to the next book in the series.
One of my favorite things about this book is his ability to not dwell on EVERY single detail of a leaf, tree, or valley. He gives just the right amount of detail to keep you interested, understand the situation, and keep the story moving forward.
There's also a good balance between mystery/suspense, political intrigue, with just a smidgen of romance and enough battle lust to keep things interesting without being overdone & becoming a complete gory bloodbath. Again, great attention to detail.
And in full disclosure, I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily giving my own happily satisfied opinion in this review. Thanks for the great free read Andy! I thoroughly look forward to the next book in the series.
February 4, 2019
What a great book! Really enjoyed this from page 1 to the last page and can't wait for the series to continue. Darius and Lex are very well written and rounded characters that really get you invested in their journey. Fast paced with plenty of action. Andy does an amazing job building the world and the people within it. The battle between the algus and rakkan is a unique one that draws you in and leaves you wanting more.
Read
December 9, 2021This book is amazing, obviously, because I wrote it!
No but seriously, I wrote the book that I wanted to read, and I'm thrilled others are enjoying it. But this book took more than me alone to produce. I had help from many aspiring authors that workshopped this over and over, then editors that helped me refine it into something gripping and cohesive, and finally many alpha and beta readers that helped the story shine (and fill in all those pesky plot holes)
No but seriously, I wrote the book that I wanted to read, and I'm thrilled others are enjoying it. But this book took more than me alone to produce. I had help from many aspiring authors that workshopped this over and over, then editors that helped me refine it into something gripping and cohesive, and finally many alpha and beta readers that helped the story shine (and fill in all those pesky plot holes)
September 15, 2021
Not my kind of book
There were a lot of things that I disliked about this book. Chief among them: the fact that the reader doesn't get to know anything about the man Darius becomes after that horrifying prologue. I'm the kind of reader that wants to know everything. I kept wishing for a prequel to fill in the massive gap between Darius as a child and the brief time we see him as an adult. Yes, we gather that he was a severely broken individual, but obviously that sprang from the trauma of his childhood. If you ask me, the way this book was written screams laziness. There's a ton of character and plot development that has just been glossed over because our character has been conveniently mind wiped, except for his fighting skills and some other basic knowledge that just seems odd for him to have retained. If all he can remember is being a child, then shouldn't he think as one? And why did he not explain the animal "escorts" (should have just stuck with "familiar" it would have made more sense)? Lazy lazy lazy. There is a ton of backstory and world building missing from this story... I hate it. It needs a lot more work. Two out of five stars to Oblivion (not even a good title, since he still remembers things). DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME.
There were a lot of things that I disliked about this book. Chief among them: the fact that the reader doesn't get to know anything about the man Darius becomes after that horrifying prologue. I'm the kind of reader that wants to know everything. I kept wishing for a prequel to fill in the massive gap between Darius as a child and the brief time we see him as an adult. Yes, we gather that he was a severely broken individual, but obviously that sprang from the trauma of his childhood. If you ask me, the way this book was written screams laziness. There's a ton of character and plot development that has just been glossed over because our character has been conveniently mind wiped, except for his fighting skills and some other basic knowledge that just seems odd for him to have retained. If all he can remember is being a child, then shouldn't he think as one? And why did he not explain the animal "escorts" (should have just stuck with "familiar" it would have made more sense)? Lazy lazy lazy. There is a ton of backstory and world building missing from this story... I hate it. It needs a lot more work. Two out of five stars to Oblivion (not even a good title, since he still remembers things). DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME.
December 23, 2018
I received a copy of this book from the author, and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
The premise of the story caught my attention, and I have not regretted reading this story.
The action started right from the beginning, and kept on through the whole book.
The story follows for the greater part Darius, our main character, who wakes up at the beginning of the story in the middle of what looks like a battlefield with no memories. He finds himself pretty much immediately on the run, helped by various persons who all say they're friends and allies, but who he's not sure he can fully trust.
I liked the writting, and the way we mostly discovered the world along with Darius. The characters met were all interesting, with individual personalities and complex motivations, which are not all revealed at once, keeping one guessing and wondering. And even with all that was revealed, there are still so many questions left unanswered, that I'll be looking forward to the continuation of the story. All in all a solid first book and first part of a series.
The premise of the story caught my attention, and I have not regretted reading this story.
The action started right from the beginning, and kept on through the whole book.
The story follows for the greater part Darius, our main character, who wakes up at the beginning of the story in the middle of what looks like a battlefield with no memories. He finds himself pretty much immediately on the run, helped by various persons who all say they're friends and allies, but who he's not sure he can fully trust.
I liked the writting, and the way we mostly discovered the world along with Darius. The characters met were all interesting, with individual personalities and complex motivations, which are not all revealed at once, keeping one guessing and wondering. And even with all that was revealed, there are still so many questions left unanswered, that I'll be looking forward to the continuation of the story. All in all a solid first book and first part of a series.
December 4, 2022
A pretty standard sword & Sorcery book. Good story with pretty good worldbuilding, it kept me entertained enough to finish. I always like stories with a psychological aspect, in this case loss of memory. He keeps the basics, language and most of his skills but has had his past wiped out, and has to learn the political situation and who's who, ie who to trust. I also liked the animal familiar, called an "escort" here, although one negative was that the relationship seemed rather one-sided, his familiar was more like a pet to be loved but ordered around. The daemons in Pulman's Northern Lights series were much better done, a true partnership. The other, more serious negative was the writing. Although the worldbuilding was good, the character interactions and inner thoughts were quite simplistic, even YA. Too much tell and not enough show. You don't need to explain that a knife wound bleeds and hurts, it's obvious! A warrior would downplay it, not feel bad about it. So I don't think I'll be continuing the series.
February 11, 2019
I thought this was a good read. Darius' amnesia works as a way to interject some mystery while introducing the characters, and setting up the world and introducing the reader to the world's conflicts. I found the main characters, Darius and Lex, to be complex and not just because of Darius' amnesia (though the unknown heightens this).
The magics in this world are interesting, both as independent powers and in the way they interact. I also like like the visuals of the icy blue algor and the firey orange ferven.
I enjoyed this enough to pick up the next book in the series. I'm hopeful the story will take the characters as we left them at the end of the story to move the world conflict forward without continuing to rely as heavily on the amnesia aspect.
I received a free copy of the book from the author, and am voluntarily leaving this review.
The magics in this world are interesting, both as independent powers and in the way they interact. I also like like the visuals of the icy blue algor and the firey orange ferven.
I enjoyed this enough to pick up the next book in the series. I'm hopeful the story will take the characters as we left them at the end of the story to move the world conflict forward without continuing to rely as heavily on the amnesia aspect.
I received a free copy of the book from the author, and am voluntarily leaving this review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2020
Oblivion has an interesting premise to it, with the main character being a warrior who has lost all of his memories. Darius’ amnesia creates a sense of mystery and works very well to introduce all of the characters and conflicts. I liked the pacing of the book and the suspense throughout, I finished it in one day!
Andy Blinston does a great job with world building and character building. The magic used is interesting, and I found the political and power factions to be interesting. All of the characters are developed well, from the main character to more secondary characters. All of the characters are complex, with their own hidden motivations.
I’m really excited for what comes next in the remaining books of the trilogy. This was a great fantasy novel and a very enjoyable read.
Note: I received this book from a LibraryThing giveaway and I’m voluntarily leaving my review.
Andy Blinston does a great job with world building and character building. The magic used is interesting, and I found the political and power factions to be interesting. All of the characters are developed well, from the main character to more secondary characters. All of the characters are complex, with their own hidden motivations.
I’m really excited for what comes next in the remaining books of the trilogy. This was a great fantasy novel and a very enjoyable read.
Note: I received this book from a LibraryThing giveaway and I’m voluntarily leaving my review.
June 30, 2025
I read this novel as part of a reddit pages BINGO card. The square it fits is "Hidden Gem" due to being a few years old with so few reviews. And I feel like it truly was just that. The story was simple enough to follow and get invested quickly, but with enough depth to keep me reading. The "I've lost my memory" trope is used well and there were some reveals I saw coming, but others that were interesting and well executed. Darius' changes from his former self seem to all be positive changes, and his relationships with Lex and the soldiers of Morgalvia are still developing. They manage this crisis together, but the climax leaves things in flux as far as their web of connections. I hope the author gets the chance to continue the story as I would very much like to see what these characters do to end their war.
June 18, 2020
The book uses some familiar elements like the amnesiac hero trying to regain their memories and the evolving of their character during that quest, but does it well and combines it with some interesting world-building to set things up for subsequent books in the series and not at the expense of delivering a complete story in this opening book either.
The narration worked well with this book, with the narrator delivering a clear performance that helped with the immersion and ensuring the characters were suitably distinctive.
Overall, an interesting opening book in this series that bodes well for subsequent ones.
[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]
The narration worked well with this book, with the narrator delivering a clear performance that helped with the immersion and ensuring the characters were suitably distinctive.
Overall, an interesting opening book in this series that bodes well for subsequent ones.
[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]
April 19, 2023
Who To Trust?
Oblivion is the perfect title for this book. Darian has has most of his memories stolen. Not just his memories, but some of his abilities and personal traits.
When he wakes up he surrounded by dead bodies and several years older than he last remembers, Darius has major trust issues. Well. Wouldn’t you?
Who is friend and who is foe, for starters.
Almost the book is taken up on a quest of discovery. To say any more would be a huge spoiler. So I shall leave it at that.
I did enjoy this book, but I think Andy Blinston, has played the lack of trust angle just a bit to much. However, overall, the story was quite engaging and worth reading for anyone who like a good gritty fantasy.
Oblivion is the perfect title for this book. Darian has has most of his memories stolen. Not just his memories, but some of his abilities and personal traits.
When he wakes up he surrounded by dead bodies and several years older than he last remembers, Darius has major trust issues. Well. Wouldn’t you?
Who is friend and who is foe, for starters.
Almost the book is taken up on a quest of discovery. To say any more would be a huge spoiler. So I shall leave it at that.
I did enjoy this book, but I think Andy Blinston, has played the lack of trust angle just a bit to much. However, overall, the story was quite engaging and worth reading for anyone who like a good gritty fantasy.
December 7, 2018
The author gave me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
The book is well written and well edited. This alone puts it high above most of the independent fiction that I read.
I am going to start off with something negative about the book. The book seems to start in the middle of a story, like a books worth of information was left out. This caused a lot of confusion in the beginning as I started my way through it. In time you get over this but I think some readers might be put off by it.
That said once you get into it it’s really good. The characters are well developed and the world is interesting.
The book is well written and well edited. This alone puts it high above most of the independent fiction that I read.
I am going to start off with something negative about the book. The book seems to start in the middle of a story, like a books worth of information was left out. This caused a lot of confusion in the beginning as I started my way through it. In time you get over this but I think some readers might be put off by it.
That said once you get into it it’s really good. The characters are well developed and the world is interesting.
December 10, 2018
"and no one is innocent..."
I agreed to voluntarily leave a review. Action and mystery began on page one. I spent most of the book totally engrossed in the characters and the mystery. I was a bit confused about who Darius was, but the reveal is worth the wait. Great character building. Fell in love with Brutus. Who is Lyra really? Oh I loved the cliffhanger. I'd like to hit the Waif magician over the head with the staff (and other murderous thoughts lol) Betrayal. Who could Darius trust? I thought the author did a good job of keeping the mystery really secret from the reader and Darius. Couldn't put it down! Looking forward to the next book. Highly recommend.
I agreed to voluntarily leave a review. Action and mystery began on page one. I spent most of the book totally engrossed in the characters and the mystery. I was a bit confused about who Darius was, but the reveal is worth the wait. Great character building. Fell in love with Brutus. Who is Lyra really? Oh I loved the cliffhanger. I'd like to hit the Waif magician over the head with the staff (and other murderous thoughts lol) Betrayal. Who could Darius trust? I thought the author did a good job of keeping the mystery really secret from the reader and Darius. Couldn't put it down! Looking forward to the next book. Highly recommend.
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