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Ranger #1
The Lost Ranger
Alex Rogers is a young, intelligent workaholic who jumped from high school, to college, to a technical career with little time for a personal life. With his dog Kinsey, he pursues his only vice, wandering in the wilderness areas of Washington State, Dreaming of adventure.
Without warning, he and Kinsey find themselves in an unfamiliar land, unable to speak the language and fighting for their lives. It is here that Alex discovers he has been dropped in the middle of an ancient struggle for power, in a land where magic replaces science.
If he can survive the near future, he has the potential to become a great wizard, feared by the very people he needs to protect.
Without warning, he and Kinsey find themselves in an unfamiliar land, unable to speak the language and fighting for their lives. It is here that Alex discovers he has been dropped in the middle of an ancient struggle for power, in a land where magic replaces science.
If he can survive the near future, he has the potential to become a great wizard, feared by the very people he needs to protect.
9 pages, Audiobook
First published June 12, 2018
370 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
September 11, 2020
Characters can make or break a story, and in this case, they definitely break it. In this story peoples' reactions and interactions are extremely unrealistic. They are predisposed to providing info-dumps at the slightest provocation. They don't seem like people so much as caricatures of what the author thinks people in a fantasy story should act like -- with exaggerated or shallow motivations and behaviors that don't fit the situation.
You want to know how ridiculously people behave?
***Very Minor Spoilers***
For example, imagine you are dropped into a magical world with no knowledge of how you got there. You spend about two days with some natives you rescued from an ambush, who give you a basic primer on magic and then ID you as having a special flavor of extreme magical power. You are accompanying them while they are trying to flee hostile territory through a forest, towards their own kingdom.
In this scenario, would you go try to take a bath in a nearby river after waking up and finding that the one who was supposed to be keeping watch is MISSING, while the other person in the camp is still asleep? No, that is ridiculous in so many ways. You would wake the other person and you'd both be on red alert, weapons drawn, trying to ascertain what the hell happened to your lookout.
But imagine that for some reason, you decide to just take a bath in the river instead. Now, upon stumbling on said lookout taking her own ridiculous river bath instead of keeping watch WHILE IN FUCKING ENEMY TERRITORY, would you stop, walk up to the water's edge, and try to engage said woman in casual conversation? No, that is also ridiculous. You would back away before even getting a full view of her (and certainly before she notices you're there), arm yourself, and take over sentry duty like the woman in the river was supposed to be doing all along.
But imagine that you do try to chat up your naked wayward lookout. Imagine that the woman then tells you that throughout her world's history, every single person with your type of magic power has caused the world to burn, without exception, even when they were good people. She goes on to say that she should kill you before your powers develop to prevent that from happening. Do you then wade into the water, and hold out your only weapon to her, hilt first, and ask why she doesn't do it? Keep in mind you only met this woman 2 days ago, she is a warrior who has already killed multiple people in front of you, and she has expressed nothing but open disdain for you multiple times during your brief acquaintance. Do you do this? No, because that is batshit stupid.
But imagine that you do, for some contrived reason. In those circumstances, would said woman say "Because I like you", then walk past you, naked, out of the water? Hell no. That is ridiculous. Your apocalyptic, calamitous ass would be so shanked.
Yet for some reason, the broad strokes of every ridiculous thing I just described happens within this book, and so, so much more. In fact, that is just a snowflake on the tip of the iceberg when it comes to characters not behaving like people, and instead behaving more like badly scripted npcs. Perhaps just as telling, the author seems so proud of the ridiculous river scene I just described that he put it on the damn cover of his book -- showing a monumental lack of self-awareness.
Bottom line: there are so many better books in this genre. Don't bother.
You want to know how ridiculously people behave?
***Very Minor Spoilers***
For example, imagine you are dropped into a magical world with no knowledge of how you got there. You spend about two days with some natives you rescued from an ambush, who give you a basic primer on magic and then ID you as having a special flavor of extreme magical power. You are accompanying them while they are trying to flee hostile territory through a forest, towards their own kingdom.
In this scenario, would you go try to take a bath in a nearby river after waking up and finding that the one who was supposed to be keeping watch is MISSING, while the other person in the camp is still asleep? No, that is ridiculous in so many ways. You would wake the other person and you'd both be on red alert, weapons drawn, trying to ascertain what the hell happened to your lookout.
But imagine that for some reason, you decide to just take a bath in the river instead. Now, upon stumbling on said lookout taking her own ridiculous river bath instead of keeping watch WHILE IN FUCKING ENEMY TERRITORY, would you stop, walk up to the water's edge, and try to engage said woman in casual conversation? No, that is also ridiculous. You would back away before even getting a full view of her (and certainly before she notices you're there), arm yourself, and take over sentry duty like the woman in the river was supposed to be doing all along.
But imagine that you do try to chat up your naked wayward lookout. Imagine that the woman then tells you that throughout her world's history, every single person with your type of magic power has caused the world to burn, without exception, even when they were good people. She goes on to say that she should kill you before your powers develop to prevent that from happening. Do you then wade into the water, and hold out your only weapon to her, hilt first, and ask why she doesn't do it? Keep in mind you only met this woman 2 days ago, she is a warrior who has already killed multiple people in front of you, and she has expressed nothing but open disdain for you multiple times during your brief acquaintance. Do you do this? No, because that is batshit stupid.
But imagine that you do, for some contrived reason. In those circumstances, would said woman say "Because I like you", then walk past you, naked, out of the water? Hell no. That is ridiculous. Your apocalyptic, calamitous ass would be so shanked.
Yet for some reason, the broad strokes of every ridiculous thing I just described happens within this book, and so, so much more. In fact, that is just a snowflake on the tip of the iceberg when it comes to characters not behaving like people, and instead behaving more like badly scripted npcs. Perhaps just as telling, the author seems so proud of the ridiculous river scene I just described that he put it on the damn cover of his book -- showing a monumental lack of self-awareness.
Bottom line: there are so many better books in this genre. Don't bother.
April 23, 2018
I rather liked this story. This is about a guy who's transported to a new world and has to make the best of it. I thought this was well done. The character does what most people would do. You show up in a new world where people are saying magic and elves exist and is like.... Riiiiiight, until one shows up and ish gets real. I do like the world building and the character development. The only thing is that the MC does get OP pretty quick. Even with that, the story overall was well done. I will be getting the rest of this series ASAP.
July 17, 2023
DNF. You lose me as a reader when the confederates are portrayed as sympathetic characters. Sorry not sorry, but the south seceded in an effort to keep slavery going. If that’s your party line, then you’re the bad guys and there’s no amount of romanticizing that’ll change that Fact.
The MC should have 100% asked Ben what the hell he was doing in the war and made sure slavery wasn’t a thing in the kingdom. Red flags.
The MC should have 100% asked Ben what the hell he was doing in the war and made sure slavery wasn’t a thing in the kingdom. Red flags.
June 22, 2018
So yeah we have this guy Alex who got transported into another world, he meet the girl of his dreams, play spy and meet another guy who was transported and who is now king. There is a lot of intrigue in the story, I really liked it. It's too bad that we couldn't have the POV of the antagonists.
June 16, 2019
Rating 3.0 stars
I am a little torn with what to say about this book. In most of my reviews I write about all the things I liked or all the things I disliked. I find for this book there wasn't much I disliked, but there also wasn't much that I liked enough to write about. The story was good but not great, I liked the characters but didn't love them. The overall plot was interesting if simplistic. The magic system was interesting but not detailed. Overall this was a good read that was also forgettable.
The story begins, like with so many other of the genre, with the main character Alex waking up in a new world. He is from Seattle and was a Jack-of-all trades engineer (civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical). He is somewhat of a loner and likes to go hiking, camping, and explore nature. During one of those trips he is swallowed up by a sinkhole and when he wakes up he is in a new world. He is dressed in a different outfit and has a sword, knife and bow. His dog is now a wolf. He hears battle and ends up helping a princess and her cousin who are being attacked. Alex helps them get back to their kingdom. It turns out the cousin Cassie is part nymph and has magic while in the water. She can also make men do anything she wants while in the water but has avoided men her whole life. She is initially very hostile toward Alex, but ends up liking him. I enjoyed her personality change toward Alex very much and wish there was more of them together. Part of the reason I think this story is so-so is because the author focused on the wrong things in my opinion. An author can focus either on the story, on the characters, or on the magic system. Focusing on any of those will keep me interested. This author seemed to focus on the scenery. Alex spent more than half the book traveling and I was getting tired of hearing about the trees and the mountains, or descriptions of each room.
The bad guys in the story were obvious to me from the beginning but of course nobody else had a clue. The attack on the princess and Cassie was a precursor for war, but King Ben and his people seemed surprised at the buildup.
Enjoyable but nothing special.
I am a little torn with what to say about this book. In most of my reviews I write about all the things I liked or all the things I disliked. I find for this book there wasn't much I disliked, but there also wasn't much that I liked enough to write about. The story was good but not great, I liked the characters but didn't love them. The overall plot was interesting if simplistic. The magic system was interesting but not detailed. Overall this was a good read that was also forgettable.
The story begins, like with so many other of the genre, with the main character Alex waking up in a new world. He is from Seattle and was a Jack-of-all trades engineer (civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical). He is somewhat of a loner and likes to go hiking, camping, and explore nature. During one of those trips he is swallowed up by a sinkhole and when he wakes up he is in a new world. He is dressed in a different outfit and has a sword, knife and bow. His dog is now a wolf. He hears battle and ends up helping a princess and her cousin who are being attacked. Alex helps them get back to their kingdom. It turns out the cousin Cassie is part nymph and has magic while in the water. She can also make men do anything she wants while in the water but has avoided men her whole life. She is initially very hostile toward Alex, but ends up liking him. I enjoyed her personality change toward Alex very much and wish there was more of them together. Part of the reason I think this story is so-so is because the author focused on the wrong things in my opinion. An author can focus either on the story, on the characters, or on the magic system. Focusing on any of those will keep me interested. This author seemed to focus on the scenery. Alex spent more than half the book traveling and I was getting tired of hearing about the trees and the mountains, or descriptions of each room.
The bad guys in the story were obvious to me from the beginning but of course nobody else had a clue. The attack on the princess and Cassie was a precursor for war, but King Ben and his people seemed surprised at the buildup.
Enjoyable but nothing special.
June 8, 2021
Comically bad. But, like, not funny.
It seemed good... above 4 stars in Goodreads, the audiobook is bundled in Hoopla (so 3 books for 1 credit), genre is fantasy and not for children.
But it wasn't good. Why? Hm, painfully predictable, flat characters, complete lack of finesse? The "romance" is so stupidly unnecessary and nearly offensive. The narrator has one terrible female voice.
Yet... it's me; I've already started the second. And sometimes when I read a book this mediocre I just have to admit that I'm impressed by the author for doing what they love without having to be the best or overthink the whole process.
It seemed good... above 4 stars in Goodreads, the audiobook is bundled in Hoopla (so 3 books for 1 credit), genre is fantasy and not for children.
But it wasn't good. Why? Hm, painfully predictable, flat characters, complete lack of finesse? The "romance" is so stupidly unnecessary and nearly offensive. The narrator has one terrible female voice.
Yet... it's me; I've already started the second. And sometimes when I read a book this mediocre I just have to admit that I'm impressed by the author for doing what they love without having to be the best or overthink the whole process.
July 29, 2018
Fast moving, no unnecessary information dumped about characters backstories, world building and magics system given just enough for the reader to fill in the blanks and a likeable MC. Another winner from this author and a nice ending that leads to book two. Any fantasy lover will enjoy this book.
November 4, 2023
3.5 Stars
Not bad, not great. The protagonist is overpowered and the antagonist is poorly fleshed out. Simple but decent world-building with a fuzzy magic system.
In short, this is professional, if derivative, fantasy fare.
Not bad, not great. The protagonist is overpowered and the antagonist is poorly fleshed out. Simple but decent world-building with a fuzzy magic system.
In short, this is professional, if derivative, fantasy fare.
April 18, 2020
DNF: I'm about 2 hours away from finishing this book and I realize that I could have finished it a lot sooner if I were not avoiding it. Normally I enjoy listening to books or reading but have found myself stagnate on this one. The MC is a Mary sue with no faults, other than the fact that he "Doubts" his magic capabilities even when he is told it takes months to learn what he learned on his second try. Another thing that made this whole book feel uncomfortable was the lead heroine's moods and actions. Oh I hate you and i should kill you, but I like you and I don't know how to cope with that so come sleep with me. Everything about this book is only skin deep, and I don't normally put down books for that reason but even the action parts couldn't really pull me in.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2018
Good Read.
The Main character gets transported to a fantasy world to become a rangers to solve a building issue in this new world.
The Main character gets transported to a fantasy world to become a rangers to solve a building issue in this new world.
May 17, 2018
Backstories kept to a minimum, character development only enough to advance the story line.This made for a quick and easy read.I look forward to reading more from this author.This was an enjoyable read.
I recommend this book to all science fantasy readers.
I don't need eleven more words to complete my review of this book.
I recommend this book to all science fantasy readers.
I don't need eleven more words to complete my review of this book.
May 28, 2018
What I always wanted to read
When a book grabs you and hold tight, slowly keeping you in the story and time gets away from you, then you know it's a good read. This book held me as well as Tom Clancy "Jack Ryan" books did long ago. Looking forward to the next book after some sleep. Morning came too fast.
When a book grabs you and hold tight, slowly keeping you in the story and time gets away from you, then you know it's a good read. This book held me as well as Tom Clancy "Jack Ryan" books did long ago. Looking forward to the next book after some sleep. Morning came too fast.
June 1, 2018
Interesting premise well developed. Alex is brought by e!ves to keep the balance .
The land is filled with magic and Alex finds that he is a powerful White Wizard, who must learn how use his gifts. He falls in love, wins his battle,?and gets engaged in the first book. I can't wait for the next book.
The land is filled with magic and Alex finds that he is a powerful White Wizard, who must learn how use his gifts. He falls in love, wins his battle,?and gets engaged in the first book. I can't wait for the next book.
May 8, 2018
Interesting if not original story, I liked the characters and the fact that our transported hero didn't stand around and moan and whine about his circumstances.
May 23, 2018
I really enjoyed this story. Excellent characters and a fast paced plot.
June 1, 2018
Fun Read
So i really enjoyed this book. It was fun to learn the history and lore of why things happened. Looking forward to the next one.
So i really enjoyed this book. It was fun to learn the history and lore of why things happened. Looking forward to the next one.
October 29, 2018
The Lost Ranger, Book One
World-Building was performed very well, magic use and experience was not too Over the Top, Very good description and inactions with various other races. Well Done overall.
World-Building was performed very well, magic use and experience was not too Over the Top, Very good description and inactions with various other races. Well Done overall.
May 7, 2018
Great read!
I read this book straight through. I loved the authors writing pace and the seamless character development. Any fan of sword/sorcery adventure should download this asap.
I read this book straight through. I loved the authors writing pace and the seamless character development. Any fan of sword/sorcery adventure should download this asap.
June 29, 2018
Nice read. Few errors, limited to using the wrong word becase it sounds like the correct one, ex: insure vs ensure.
Deducted a star because of the unrealistic war battle, some fogginess and confusion about army sizes, and the way the MC grew in magical stamina basically over 2 days without much of an explanation.
Made some scenes and topics feel like they were rushed and swept under the rug to keep the story moving.
All this makes my rating more of a 3.5 stars, but reading the book felt fun so I rounded up.
Deducted a star because of the unrealistic war battle, some fogginess and confusion about army sizes, and the way the MC grew in magical stamina basically over 2 days without much of an explanation.
Made some scenes and topics feel like they were rushed and swept under the rug to keep the story moving.
All this makes my rating more of a 3.5 stars, but reading the book felt fun so I rounded up.
May 5, 2018
Wonderful i loved this book. It is fun to read of characters pulled from our world into another
I enjoyed the way the elves were portrayed and how the magic works on the new world. I will keep reading about Alex for sure. Thanks author
I enjoyed the way the elves were portrayed and how the magic works on the new world. I will keep reading about Alex for sure. Thanks author
May 3, 2018
Fun story
I liked the characters, especially Cassandra. It was a little confusing with a character from the 20th century getting dropped into an alternate universe, but it was fun reading.
I liked the characters, especially Cassandra. It was a little confusing with a character from the 20th century getting dropped into an alternate universe, but it was fun reading.
May 2, 2018
Only my opinion
I wonder if the author has ever camped out. No matter how deep the fire is placed there is still a glow. Another. question. Has the author ever had a dog?. I did enjoy the story. It was fresh, a new direction.
I wonder if the author has ever camped out. No matter how deep the fire is placed there is still a glow. Another. question. Has the author ever had a dog?. I did enjoy the story. It was fresh, a new direction.
August 1, 2018
Great book! Immediately pulled me into the story. Great characters and world building. I enjoyed it enough to see if there were more and was surprised to find alot! I've already purchased the second book but I'm not starting it until tomorrow because I need to sleep! :)
January 21, 2019
Too much sugar, not enough salt
Its an interesting world and main character has a good personality but it seems somewhat hollow. I guess there wasnt enough dramatic tension for my taste, every roadblock sent the protagonist's way is but a stepping stone as he is an expert at anything he tries for a few hours. Decent enough tale, just not my cup of tea.
Its an interesting world and main character has a good personality but it seems somewhat hollow. I guess there wasnt enough dramatic tension for my taste, every roadblock sent the protagonist's way is but a stepping stone as he is an expert at anything he tries for a few hours. Decent enough tale, just not my cup of tea.
May 2, 2018
Dimension travel & Magic
Very fun read, mythical creatures, Hero's and Heroines, plus romance & adventure. Looking forward to more of this author's writing.
Very fun read, mythical creatures, Hero's and Heroines, plus romance & adventure. Looking forward to more of this author's writing.
April 26, 2018
Great start
I was very pleasantly surprised with the story and blend of magic.I was looking for a new series and have found one.
I was very pleasantly surprised with the story and blend of magic.I was looking for a new series and have found one.
August 17, 2018
This my first C W Lamb book and my first transmigration novel I have read in a long time that has not been in a light novel format. (If you haven't explored the light novel format, I highly recommend downloading the Webnovel app from Qidian to explore reading novels of this format).
I enjoyed the flow the author has but is no where as dark or gritty like Mark Lawrence, GRR or Sanderson. The feel was light and reading was smooth. The Character development was also well paced. For me it felt like a romance novel heaviness with a fantasy novel plot depth.
I am big fan of the 'Hero in development' plot and this novel hit the right spots. There is a good segway for the next book plot. Will definitely get it the next time I travel.
A good read.. Pick it up.
June 20, 2018
Would rate at like 3.75. This book is fun.
April 23, 2018
The lost ranger
I loved this book from start to finish the author did a great job with the main character and the story 5 out of 5 stars
I loved this book from start to finish the author did a great job with the main character and the story 5 out of 5 stars
April 22, 2018
Could use an editor
While this book could use an editor it was a decent read.
My biggest complaint was the author's obsession with the word "insure'. It was used 25 times in a book with less than 250 pages. It actually became distracting from the story.
While this book could use an editor it was a decent read.
My biggest complaint was the author's obsession with the word "insure'. It was used 25 times in a book with less than 250 pages. It actually became distracting from the story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews