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Wizard's Alley
Scraps, a gutter child, is sitting in his hiding place in a back alley, waiting for the cold thunderstorm to pass. Suddenly, lightning strikes in front of him, and then a second time. The two lightning bolts become men—two wizards—one from the Red Order, the other from the Blue.
The Red Wizard, chanting his curses, throws lightning bolts and fireballs. The Blue Wizard, singing his spells, throws lightning bolts and ice shards. So intense is their fighting, they become lightning rods. It seemed as if God Himself cast His lightning bolt, striking the ground between them and consuming both wizards in its white blaze. Scraps watched as the lightning bolt gouged its way across the alley, striking him.
Rain on his face awakens Scraps. The only thing left of the fighting wizards is a smoking crater and their scattered artifacts. He feels compelled to gather their possessions and hide them and himself. The dispersed items glowed red or blue, and he notices that he now has a magenta aura. Magenta, a combination of both red and blue, but more powerful than either.
Scraps then does what he has done all his life to survive. He hides. And unknowingly, he has become the catalyst for change in the Kingdom.
The Red Wizard, chanting his curses, throws lightning bolts and fireballs. The Blue Wizard, singing his spells, throws lightning bolts and ice shards. So intense is their fighting, they become lightning rods. It seemed as if God Himself cast His lightning bolt, striking the ground between them and consuming both wizards in its white blaze. Scraps watched as the lightning bolt gouged its way across the alley, striking him.
Rain on his face awakens Scraps. The only thing left of the fighting wizards is a smoking crater and their scattered artifacts. He feels compelled to gather their possessions and hide them and himself. The dispersed items glowed red or blue, and he notices that he now has a magenta aura. Magenta, a combination of both red and blue, but more powerful than either.
Scraps then does what he has done all his life to survive. He hides. And unknowingly, he has become the catalyst for change in the Kingdom.
252 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 5, 2020
837 people are currently reading
330 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
June 5, 2020
Not Publishable Quality
This book has the bones of what could have been a good story. There is an interesting catch at the beginning to pull the readers in, but everything goes downhill from there. It is fairly obvious that the author never edited the book (stopping a paragraph in the middle of a sentence, repetitive words, inconsistencies in plot). This is essentially an outline for a story that needs major revisions to improve the story. The characters are one dimensional and only serve to move the plot along, the protagonist just has to imagine what he wants and it happens, there is no struggle at all, characters are either 100% good or 100% bad and the only person who can determine this is the protagonist, and there seems to be no point to the story (i.e. no foreshadowing, no suspense, no anticipation). This author describes his style as a "pantser". Too bad this story has no clothes. This book is not publishable quality and no one should buy it.
This book has the bones of what could have been a good story. There is an interesting catch at the beginning to pull the readers in, but everything goes downhill from there. It is fairly obvious that the author never edited the book (stopping a paragraph in the middle of a sentence, repetitive words, inconsistencies in plot). This is essentially an outline for a story that needs major revisions to improve the story. The characters are one dimensional and only serve to move the plot along, the protagonist just has to imagine what he wants and it happens, there is no struggle at all, characters are either 100% good or 100% bad and the only person who can determine this is the protagonist, and there seems to be no point to the story (i.e. no foreshadowing, no suspense, no anticipation). This author describes his style as a "pantser". Too bad this story has no clothes. This book is not publishable quality and no one should buy it.
May 22, 2020
Terrible
The MC inexplicably gains magic powers, instantly knows how to use them, has no limit on their use, and never faces any challenges.
The MC inexplicably gains magic powers, instantly knows how to use them, has no limit on their use, and never faces any challenges.
December 19, 2021
Through a special twist of fate, I gained magical powers. Then I did this. Then I did that. Then I did the other thing. And all the things I did were really good. And I magically read the minds of everyone so I knew what to do and was never wrong. And I killed all the baddies and was kind to the little orphan children and basically I was awesome pretty much all the time. And my eyes glowed purple. Yes, purple. And the queen fell in love with me and I remade the entire kingdom without any real effort or opposition and then some guy wrote this here book and it got 4 stars on Goodreads and I have no doubt that was because I did so many awesome things. And the 1000+ people who gave my awesome story 4 or 5 stars but who never needed to explain their reasoning by writing an actual review are also really good people with excellent taste.
June 2, 2020
Not Worth It
I don't recommend this book. The plot is simple, with the main character just solving one problem after another with too simple magic. Really this book is just about how he easily can solve all his problems with no consequences kind of magic, he thinks how it should be solved and voila it's done. He is way too overpowered with little limiting him and no struggle to achieve that power. Also there is little to endear Scraps as he doesn't really convey much depth.
I don't recommend this book. The plot is simple, with the main character just solving one problem after another with too simple magic. Really this book is just about how he easily can solve all his problems with no consequences kind of magic, he thinks how it should be solved and voila it's done. He is way too overpowered with little limiting him and no struggle to achieve that power. Also there is little to endear Scraps as he doesn't really convey much depth.
September 9, 2020
Totally Unrealistic
A book about a wizard who just becomes so powerful he's like a God. No reason given why he's so powerful - it just happens. He can raise a city from dirt to an entire city. No power source, no penalties to him, he just gets a little tired.
Whatever happens in the book, the wizard just becomes more powerful to deal with it.
A book about a wizard who just becomes so powerful he's like a God. No reason given why he's so powerful - it just happens. He can raise a city from dirt to an entire city. No power source, no penalties to him, he just gets a little tired.
Whatever happens in the book, the wizard just becomes more powerful to deal with it.
March 13, 2022
2.5 Stars 🌟
This was a really odd book in the fact that I enjoyed the premise....at the beginning. I actually really liked it a lot. Then, for some reason, the author did something that I have never before read/listened to in a book. The main character (this would be in maybe the Fantasy genre - maybe? There is magic, wizards, etc) So, once the boy get his powers, he is basically omnipotent. He can do ANYTHING he wants. Build boats from scratch, build harbors, rebuild castles. He does this thing where he will go up to someone and say something like, "Give me your knowledge" and then he knows everything they know. And, he honestly does that to everyone he meets.
That took something away from the story for me because where is the drama? Where is the character development? Where can we see what it is like for a boy who had nothing to be granted powers that he does not understand at first? He goes from being a boy named Scraps, because he eats and wears scraps and lives in an alley, to being the Royal Wizard and then looking like he is going to marry the Queen. Oh yeah, he also makes himself a King....there are lots and lots of things like that.
It got to the point where I was just rolling my eyes after a while. It might be everyone's dream to be able to have this type of power, but there is a saying for a reason.... Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Will this happens to our wizard? I have no idea. But I will not be continuing with the series to find out. By the end, I was just waiting for the end because it got more difficult to believe as the book went on.
This was a really odd book in the fact that I enjoyed the premise....at the beginning. I actually really liked it a lot. Then, for some reason, the author did something that I have never before read/listened to in a book. The main character (this would be in maybe the Fantasy genre - maybe? There is magic, wizards, etc) So, once the boy get his powers, he is basically omnipotent. He can do ANYTHING he wants. Build boats from scratch, build harbors, rebuild castles. He does this thing where he will go up to someone and say something like, "Give me your knowledge" and then he knows everything they know. And, he honestly does that to everyone he meets.
That took something away from the story for me because where is the drama? Where is the character development? Where can we see what it is like for a boy who had nothing to be granted powers that he does not understand at first? He goes from being a boy named Scraps, because he eats and wears scraps and lives in an alley, to being the Royal Wizard and then looking like he is going to marry the Queen. Oh yeah, he also makes himself a King....there are lots and lots of things like that.
It got to the point where I was just rolling my eyes after a while. It might be everyone's dream to be able to have this type of power, but there is a saying for a reason.... Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Will this happens to our wizard? I have no idea. But I will not be continuing with the series to find out. By the end, I was just waiting for the end because it got more difficult to believe as the book went on.
January 30, 2021
Terribad
I had to force myself to finish this one and not abandon it halfway through. It starts off pretty well, with a poor kid getting powers from a random event. I like overpowered protagonists, but this one went off the rails way too quickly. Without really spoiling the story, I’ll add a quote from the book to illustrate:
“Two wizards stepped forward and started chanting, working a casting. I pointed at them. “No,” and they both exploded.”
This is how most of the book goes. Main character decides to do something, he uses magic, it’s done, repeat. They go through like 5 books worth of events with no more detail than “we should do this huge project,” then “ok, I just did it with magic. Let’s get lunch and decide what to do next.” No sense of how the magic works other than MC “has the knowledge.”
There is also no sense of time in the book. I know he starts off as a young child, and that he is grown by the end of the book, but I have no idea how long most things took for him to do. There was only a few weeks worth of activity documented. The rest was something like “ the MC then continued to do that for a while before he decided to do the next thing.”
If that doesn’t make sense, imagine reading a whole book like that.
By the end of the book, the god-king that the MC has become has a “climactic “ fight that tries to be “exciting” and fails horribly. Then they decide arbitrarily, without any evidence, that their enemy can’t be their real enemy and the will try to figure out who the real enemy is... in the next book.
No thanks. I’m done.
I had to force myself to finish this one and not abandon it halfway through. It starts off pretty well, with a poor kid getting powers from a random event. I like overpowered protagonists, but this one went off the rails way too quickly. Without really spoiling the story, I’ll add a quote from the book to illustrate:
“Two wizards stepped forward and started chanting, working a casting. I pointed at them. “No,” and they both exploded.”
This is how most of the book goes. Main character decides to do something, he uses magic, it’s done, repeat. They go through like 5 books worth of events with no more detail than “we should do this huge project,” then “ok, I just did it with magic. Let’s get lunch and decide what to do next.” No sense of how the magic works other than MC “has the knowledge.”
There is also no sense of time in the book. I know he starts off as a young child, and that he is grown by the end of the book, but I have no idea how long most things took for him to do. There was only a few weeks worth of activity documented. The rest was something like “ the MC then continued to do that for a while before he decided to do the next thing.”
If that doesn’t make sense, imagine reading a whole book like that.
By the end of the book, the god-king that the MC has become has a “climactic “ fight that tries to be “exciting” and fails horribly. Then they decide arbitrarily, without any evidence, that their enemy can’t be their real enemy and the will try to figure out who the real enemy is... in the next book.
No thanks. I’m done.
June 5, 2020
Absolute mess
This was a rambling wild ride of some of the worst hand wavey magic of any fantasy book I’ve ever read. The magic in this book is literally just the main character saying what he wants to happen and it happening.
This was a rambling wild ride of some of the worst hand wavey magic of any fantasy book I’ve ever read. The magic in this book is literally just the main character saying what he wants to happen and it happening.
September 8, 2020
I did this, I did that.......
Flat,unoriginal storytelling - you can almost hear the monotone delivery!
Don’t waste your time reading this.
Boring, one-dimensional characters.
It’s a no from me!
Flat,unoriginal storytelling - you can almost hear the monotone delivery!
Don’t waste your time reading this.
Boring, one-dimensional characters.
It’s a no from me!
September 12, 2020
Poorly written
I could not finish reading this one. It is an outline, not a story. There is no character development. Everyone, including the protagonist, is a cardboard cutout. He moves from one scene to the next, casting the spell, "Tell me everything I need to know," and moving on. He doesn't have to work to learn anything. He doesn't have to get to know anyone. Ultimately, he doesn't learn what he really needs to know: how to be human and how to grow.
I also have problems with the writer's lack of basic English writing skills. He switches tense and sometimes number within a sentence. Master Gray is Master Grey two paragraphs later. It ultimately became too much work to plow through the bad writing and cardboard characters to get to a predictable end where the man who started out a beggar wins the Queen.
I hope the author is better in his other books.
I could not finish reading this one. It is an outline, not a story. There is no character development. Everyone, including the protagonist, is a cardboard cutout. He moves from one scene to the next, casting the spell, "Tell me everything I need to know," and moving on. He doesn't have to work to learn anything. He doesn't have to get to know anyone. Ultimately, he doesn't learn what he really needs to know: how to be human and how to grow.
I also have problems with the writer's lack of basic English writing skills. He switches tense and sometimes number within a sentence. Master Gray is Master Grey two paragraphs later. It ultimately became too much work to plow through the bad writing and cardboard characters to get to a predictable end where the man who started out a beggar wins the Queen.
I hope the author is better in his other books.
June 20, 2020
Disappointed. The sample chapters were good...then it went downhill. Gray/Hue is suddenly the most powerful wizard around destroying older, more knowledgeable wizards left and right. Whatever he wants, he gets with a snap of his fingers.
He's a Marty Sue (the male version of Mary Sue.) Nothing is really explained and all his feats are handwavium---literally.
He's a Marty Sue (the male version of Mary Sue.) Nothing is really explained and all his feats are handwavium---literally.
August 10, 2021
I was poor then I saw two wizards fight me picked up their stuff. Now when I need something I just imagine it in my hand and I have it. When the bullies come around I magically make them fear me. While I wonder I randomly hear good advice from other people’s conversations.
In short there is no hardship it is a tale a child would tell after receiving a magic lamp.
In short there is no hardship it is a tale a child would tell after receiving a magic lamp.
June 27, 2021
This book wasn’t too bad at first, but it only got worse as the “story” progressed, a plot never developed:(. And by the time I got halfway through I was committed to finishing, whoops.
Everything in this book seemed very one-dimensional and muted, there weren’t really emotions except for the occasional short descriptions: “everyone laughed” / “A tear ran down his cheek”, and most things came very easily to the main character. He rarely struggled, or if he did it was glossed over. The world building was also pretty non-existant. There were red wizards (bad? I think? Maybe better at fighting?) and blue wizards (good I suppose, maybe weaker than the red but who knows), priests that may or may not be wizards, but they can fight so that’s cool, and a bunch of other guilds that just exist in the background until the main character needs/ wants to interact with them in order to grow his own power/experience or help someone. As soon as he needs something he finds it, as soon as he considers that a bad thing might happen, he prepares for it, and it happens exactly as planned.
The main character kind of just does whatever he wants because he has this massive amount of power and wants to make everything better, but again, everything is flat and muted, so he doesn’t face any internal struggle or true danger, he just plays god and life gets better for who he thinks are the good guys. Some of the stuff he does actually feels super shady… but of course he’s the good guy in a very simple and straightforward book…
So, not an amazing book, but I was mostly content to just sit back and read as the story puttered along (when I wasn’t rolling my eyes or bored with the fact that absolutely nothing posed a challenge to the main character) until about halfway through when I started skimming the book so I could see what happens and be done with it.
Not worth the time and effort I put into reading it.
Everything in this book seemed very one-dimensional and muted, there weren’t really emotions except for the occasional short descriptions: “everyone laughed” / “A tear ran down his cheek”, and most things came very easily to the main character. He rarely struggled, or if he did it was glossed over. The world building was also pretty non-existant. There were red wizards (bad? I think? Maybe better at fighting?) and blue wizards (good I suppose, maybe weaker than the red but who knows), priests that may or may not be wizards, but they can fight so that’s cool, and a bunch of other guilds that just exist in the background until the main character needs/ wants to interact with them in order to grow his own power/experience or help someone. As soon as he needs something he finds it, as soon as he considers that a bad thing might happen, he prepares for it, and it happens exactly as planned.
The main character kind of just does whatever he wants because he has this massive amount of power and wants to make everything better, but again, everything is flat and muted, so he doesn’t face any internal struggle or true danger, he just plays god and life gets better for who he thinks are the good guys. Some of the stuff he does actually feels super shady… but of course he’s the good guy in a very simple and straightforward book…
So, not an amazing book, but I was mostly content to just sit back and read as the story puttered along (when I wasn’t rolling my eyes or bored with the fact that absolutely nothing posed a challenge to the main character) until about halfway through when I started skimming the book so I could see what happens and be done with it.
Not worth the time and effort I put into reading it.
May 7, 2020
Entertaining all by itself and it's not as blatant a copy of Hand Made Mage as Mage Throne Prophecy was, but the basics are still the same in all three books right down to some of the details.
Someone gains magic abilities, can move through walls, water and the earth, restores strength by sleeping in the earth. At some point a spell will be found that enables him to extract knowledge from books and other people's minds. A bag of holding is found and used, a self-aware sanctum is discovered. Materials (stone, wood, entire buildings and ships) can be restored with a thought. The art of portals is discovered, so instant teleportation is a fact. The royal family is encountered, the princess falls in love (or pretends to)...
I don't mind that the protagonist is over-powered, but I do mind that these three books in a row are basically all the same story. This third one has a bit more variation and seems to make room for a sequel but it's still much too similar to be considered a stand-alone book.
Someone gains magic abilities, can move through walls, water and the earth, restores strength by sleeping in the earth. At some point a spell will be found that enables him to extract knowledge from books and other people's minds. A bag of holding is found and used, a self-aware sanctum is discovered. Materials (stone, wood, entire buildings and ships) can be restored with a thought. The art of portals is discovered, so instant teleportation is a fact. The royal family is encountered, the princess falls in love (or pretends to)...
I don't mind that the protagonist is over-powered, but I do mind that these three books in a row are basically all the same story. This third one has a bit more variation and seems to make room for a sequel but it's still much too similar to be considered a stand-alone book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2020
Just bad
Somehow a street urchin becomes a perfect wizard more powerful than any other and completes one amazing feat after another without strain or stress then succumbs to internal strife, escapes, and the story just ends almost mid-sentence. Unrealistic plot, characters, lack of true struggle and meaningless meandering from one story line to another with no apparent purpose or comprehension of how the story fits together. It appears the work of a pre-teenager.
Somehow a street urchin becomes a perfect wizard more powerful than any other and completes one amazing feat after another without strain or stress then succumbs to internal strife, escapes, and the story just ends almost mid-sentence. Unrealistic plot, characters, lack of true struggle and meaningless meandering from one story line to another with no apparent purpose or comprehension of how the story fits together. It appears the work of a pre-teenager.
July 14, 2020
Could have been good
The author had a good idea however there was no real character development, and the lead character just suddenly knows everything to do. Everything was too easy for him. There were what in hindsight appeared to be large jumps forward on time also. It's reads more like an account than a story. Will not read any more from this author.
The author had a good idea however there was no real character development, and the lead character just suddenly knows everything to do. Everything was too easy for him. There were what in hindsight appeared to be large jumps forward on time also. It's reads more like an account than a story. Will not read any more from this author.
December 17, 2021
So far this is a generous '1 star' review. The book, as others have said and I failed to heed, is quite boring. The MC has god like powers without doing anything to achieve that power. At almost 1/2 of the way through, there is nothing to recommend this book.
DNF'd ... Just too bland and boring! There's no substance. All the MC does is gain amazing powers, wave his hands or think about something and *poof* it happens. There's no development, no challenges and all the characters (especially the MC) are two dimensional at best. HOW does this get a 4.1 average rating?
In my opinion, this would be a poor book to give a child to read. I'm certain that an adult won't garner anything from it.
DNF'd ... Just too bland and boring! There's no substance. All the MC does is gain amazing powers, wave his hands or think about something and *poof* it happens. There's no development, no challenges and all the characters (especially the MC) are two dimensional at best. HOW does this get a 4.1 average rating?
In my opinion, this would be a poor book to give a child to read. I'm certain that an adult won't garner anything from it.
June 16, 2020
How many names dose a wizard need????
Well let's see. The story started out strong I was thinking this could b a good read. Then half way through I got confused. The story line went the wrong way. Scraps has all this power an it just jumped from one business to the next to do what??? Just to make money do I have that right?? This could of been a great story if it stuck to something long enough for a out come. I was getting board. Then at the end you came back to how the story started. But your left hanging. I would think twice before you buy.
Well let's see. The story started out strong I was thinking this could b a good read. Then half way through I got confused. The story line went the wrong way. Scraps has all this power an it just jumped from one business to the next to do what??? Just to make money do I have that right?? This could of been a great story if it stuck to something long enough for a out come. I was getting board. Then at the end you came back to how the story started. But your left hanging. I would think twice before you buy.
June 25, 2020
Fun story
Hue unexpectedly becomes a wizard. He is smart and knows he needs knowledge. As he progresses he gains some wealth. He begins to gather young street urchin and provides a home and education for them. He is extremely kind and generous and seems to protect his new family. He is an orphan himself. It gets real interesting when he becomes the Wizard of the castle and helps the Queen. She is the new Queen and the Wizard is the only one she can trust. So of course trouble begins to brew for the nation. This is well written and I consumed it in no time. I would love for there to be more books to follow these characters. I will miss them. Thanks James for the smiles and chuckles.
Hue unexpectedly becomes a wizard. He is smart and knows he needs knowledge. As he progresses he gains some wealth. He begins to gather young street urchin and provides a home and education for them. He is extremely kind and generous and seems to protect his new family. He is an orphan himself. It gets real interesting when he becomes the Wizard of the castle and helps the Queen. She is the new Queen and the Wizard is the only one she can trust. So of course trouble begins to brew for the nation. This is well written and I consumed it in no time. I would love for there to be more books to follow these characters. I will miss them. Thanks James for the smiles and chuckles.
April 13, 2024
Great magical adventure. The MC is definitely OP, but like the author's other books, they are humble and kind, yet ruthless to their enemies. The story line is very similar to his previous books reminding me a bit of Louie L'Amour and his repeating and successful plot outline. Highly recommended if you enjoy Sword and Sorcery books.
April 14, 2024
My Thoughts:
This is the third "story" that I have read of this author now. The first one was Heartwood Mage. Then the Dragon's Envoy doulogy. And now this book. They all have the same plot. All three heroes have some portable storage device and devout tea drinkers. All three heroes are powerful magic users and do-gooders who helped his community with bad guys jealous and trying to destroy him. They even have similar powers! Same old, same old, different name. However, even with the lack of originality, I still enjoyed all the books immensely!
James Haddock writes clean fantasy stories. If ever they are going to adopt the book(s) to film or TV series, they will have to incorporate sex and jealousy in there somewhere like they did with the Wheel Of Time.
Like the other books by this author, this too has little holes in the plot. Like, they had been sparring for a while such that they had both worked up a sweat. Wouldn't Burt know that Gray's staff can withstand sharp blades by then?
At first I thought that this is a stand-alone book. It is not. I hate cliffhanger endings and that is the main reason that this book is not really a 5 out of 5.
Daniel Wisniewski sounded different. He also has a sing-song this time. I do not know why he portrayed Gray with this kind of voice character...
Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 5
Pace = (10 hrs and 17 mins listening time)
Plot = 4
Narration = 4.5
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5
This is the third "story" that I have read of this author now. The first one was Heartwood Mage. Then the Dragon's Envoy doulogy. And now this book. They all have the same plot. All three heroes have some portable storage device and devout tea drinkers. All three heroes are powerful magic users and do-gooders who helped his community with bad guys jealous and trying to destroy him. They even have similar powers! Same old, same old, different name. However, even with the lack of originality, I still enjoyed all the books immensely!
James Haddock writes clean fantasy stories. If ever they are going to adopt the book(s) to film or TV series, they will have to incorporate sex and jealousy in there somewhere like they did with the Wheel Of Time.
Like the other books by this author, this too has little holes in the plot. Like, they had been sparring for a while such that they had both worked up a sweat. Wouldn't Burt know that Gray's staff can withstand sharp blades by then?
At first I thought that this is a stand-alone book. It is not. I hate cliffhanger endings and that is the main reason that this book is not really a 5 out of 5.
Daniel Wisniewski sounded different. He also has a sing-song this time. I do not know why he portrayed Gray with this kind of voice character...
Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 5
Pace = (10 hrs and 17 mins listening time)
Plot = 4
Narration = 4.5
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Read
July 18, 2020Worth the waiting for 2nd book - and now waiting for book 3 !!
Has plenty of strong and interesting characters who have issues and are strong willed for the most part !
Some one in their group is a trater ans its blured some lines of comfert amungst friends and alies !
And friends could get seriesly injured or killed ! Magic isfrestrating and diffivult if your new at it. But perserverience will in the end will bring sucess ! Elves and other animales and human like people with anamal like fetures but can speak english and use aheavey sword are very courious and keeps things interesting !!!
Charles R.
Has plenty of strong and interesting characters who have issues and are strong willed for the most part !
Some one in their group is a trater ans its blured some lines of comfert amungst friends and alies !
And friends could get seriesly injured or killed ! Magic isfrestrating and diffivult if your new at it. But perserverience will in the end will bring sucess ! Elves and other animales and human like people with anamal like fetures but can speak english and use aheavey sword are very courious and keeps things interesting !!!
Charles R.
June 8, 2020
Will there be a part 2?
Most people will say at the end of their book when the next one will be available; but you’ve left the journey unfinished and the reader wondering how it ends.
This is formatted exactly like the other two books but that’s okay because I enjoyed your previous two about magic and mages. I just wish you would have said part two will be available by such-and-such date.
Most people will say at the end of their book when the next one will be available; but you’ve left the journey unfinished and the reader wondering how it ends.
This is formatted exactly like the other two books but that’s okay because I enjoyed your previous two about magic and mages. I just wish you would have said part two will be available by such-and-such date.
September 7, 2020
This book might have been written for fifth graders. Too easy and silly. Not adult reading, in my opinion.
November 30, 2020
Boring
Event after event won without much challenge by an arrogant unlikable main character. I kept hoping for a better story. Don't waste your time.
Event after event won without much challenge by an arrogant unlikable main character. I kept hoping for a better story. Don't waste your time.
April 27, 2022
4 It Seems No One Wanted To Clean The City All Day Wearing Yellow Stars
Wizard's Alley (appears to be) a standalone by James Haddock.
Very good read. I would really only criticize the pace, or rather lack of a time structure. We don't know at which point he was no longer a child. We find out randomly, almost unintentionally, that he studied the Temple Priest's "dancing" for something around 13 years...
Similarly it would have been nice to know more about his wards or the other supporting characters. There was really no character building beyond the protag, and some for the Queen herself.
Our Protag Scraps/Hue Magenta/Gray is the epitome of OP (over-powered). He kind of just manifests anything to his will. While this extreme showings of power seem to tire him out, there does not seem to be any ending or rather boundaries to his will/ability. In that he's chosen Gray as one of his personas makes sense when considering the way the author highlights his understanding and opinion of "black and white" thinking.
I really enjoyed how he influenced society around him. Straddling both the lines of good and evil, drawing a natural parallel to that of the Red's and Blue's. He always made it a point to improve as much as he could. There was a certain amount of intent behind showcasing the way his past influenced how he dealt with people. There was so much activism throughout, with his response to people and actions he considered unforgivable balancing his character.
There's kind of a cliff hanger here, and as this doesn't appear to be part of a series, I can't see a way to find the resolution to this story. I especially would've wanted to experience the wedding. As well, I'm worried for Sanctum.
Wizard's Alley (appears to be) a standalone by James Haddock.
Very good read. I would really only criticize the pace, or rather lack of a time structure. We don't know at which point he was no longer a child. We find out randomly, almost unintentionally, that he studied the Temple Priest's "dancing" for something around 13 years...
Similarly it would have been nice to know more about his wards or the other supporting characters. There was really no character building beyond the protag, and some for the Queen herself.
Our Protag Scraps/Hue Magenta/Gray is the epitome of OP (over-powered). He kind of just manifests anything to his will. While this extreme showings of power seem to tire him out, there does not seem to be any ending or rather boundaries to his will/ability. In that he's chosen Gray as one of his personas makes sense when considering the way the author highlights his understanding and opinion of "black and white" thinking.
I really enjoyed how he influenced society around him. Straddling both the lines of good and evil, drawing a natural parallel to that of the Red's and Blue's. He always made it a point to improve as much as he could. There was a certain amount of intent behind showcasing the way his past influenced how he dealt with people. There was so much activism throughout, with his response to people and actions he considered unforgivable balancing his character.
There's kind of a cliff hanger here, and as this doesn't appear to be part of a series, I can't see a way to find the resolution to this story. I especially would've wanted to experience the wedding. As well, I'm worried for Sanctum.
March 19, 2023
This is the story of an overpowered Gary Stu wizard. There isn't much substance to it. It kind of reads like an off the cuff bedtime story to a six year old. It starts out with a gutter rat being hit by the powers of two dueling wizards, and somehow obtaining their powers. He then goes on to better his life, but he has no challenges. All he ever has to do is say, "give me all your knowledge" to someone and then he knows what they know. He heals people. He kills people. He magically builds things. He steals other people's money. He makes lots of his own money. He even has the queen fall in love with him. There are no limits to this power, except for getting a little tired on occasion.
It reads like a travelogue, "I did this, and then I went here and did that." The story would have been so much better if there had been challenges, like having to learn how to use the magic, for one. Limitations on the magic would have been more interesting too. And for goodness sake, some character development. I was 74% into this book when I looked down to see how much longer I had left, and realized I had had enough. I just couldn't take 2 more hours of it. I've never rolled my eyes so much during a book.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader and my Facebook page.
It reads like a travelogue, "I did this, and then I went here and did that." The story would have been so much better if there had been challenges, like having to learn how to use the magic, for one. Limitations on the magic would have been more interesting too. And for goodness sake, some character development. I was 74% into this book when I looked down to see how much longer I had left, and realized I had had enough. I just couldn't take 2 more hours of it. I've never rolled my eyes so much during a book.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader and my Facebook page.
June 11, 2025
A good story…with some major (IMHO) issues.
This is a fast moving story that doesn’t take the time to explore anything in depth. The main character shows minimal growth because everything is handed to him without real cost to him. He is loyal and caring, but since he is almost all powerful, he acts without consideration of others, and they just let him because he is so powerful.
There is tremendous repetition that becomes boring at times.
Mr. Haddock, did this even pass through a preliminary edit? There were so many times that the wrong word was used that even re-reading what you have written should have caught that I stopped counting.
All of these brought me out of your story into the real world and I had to fight to want to continue reading. This is the first, and last, of your books I will read. Not because you don’t tell a good story, but rather you tell a good story so poorly that it is not worth my time.
This is a fast moving story that doesn’t take the time to explore anything in depth. The main character shows minimal growth because everything is handed to him without real cost to him. He is loyal and caring, but since he is almost all powerful, he acts without consideration of others, and they just let him because he is so powerful.
There is tremendous repetition that becomes boring at times.
Mr. Haddock, did this even pass through a preliminary edit? There were so many times that the wrong word was used that even re-reading what you have written should have caught that I stopped counting.
All of these brought me out of your story into the real world and I had to fight to want to continue reading. This is the first, and last, of your books I will read. Not because you don’t tell a good story, but rather you tell a good story so poorly that it is not worth my time.
May 14, 2025
Read every James Haddock book you can find or download!
I have loved every James Haddock book I have read, with one caveat. James, please find a way to reach out to me or tell me how I can reach out to you; your Beta readers are letting you down!
I realize that as a former teacher of Honors English, I can be nit picky; especially regarding spelling and grammatical errors. However, each of those mistakes takes away just a little bit from the books you so laboriously wrote. I beta-read for other authors and I love doing it. Not only does it give me something different to do since I have retired, but also I get to help out all of the amazing authors I so enjoy.
If you have never read any of James’ books, what are you waiting for? Very reasonably priced on Amazon and in some cases free! (Thank you kindle unlimited)
Keep writing and I will keep reading!
I have loved every James Haddock book I have read, with one caveat. James, please find a way to reach out to me or tell me how I can reach out to you; your Beta readers are letting you down!
I realize that as a former teacher of Honors English, I can be nit picky; especially regarding spelling and grammatical errors. However, each of those mistakes takes away just a little bit from the books you so laboriously wrote. I beta-read for other authors and I love doing it. Not only does it give me something different to do since I have retired, but also I get to help out all of the amazing authors I so enjoy.
If you have never read any of James’ books, what are you waiting for? Very reasonably priced on Amazon and in some cases free! (Thank you kindle unlimited)
Keep writing and I will keep reading!
September 26, 2020
Liked it but cliffhanger
This is a first time I given a 4 star review for this author. Most get 5 stars, but i starting to have a problem with this author abandonment of his books. Copyright is 2019, and my favorite series Duty was early 2019. At end of book two promised book three soon. We had several other books released in 2020 and the ones I read I have 5 star reviews which I try to limit to the books I really enjoy. I now have four books by this author that I want another book in. Some might be stand alone, but this needed in cliffhanger and other promised a new book soon. I'm going take a break from this author. He has two other books but don't want another cliffhanger that never gets complete
This is a first time I given a 4 star review for this author. Most get 5 stars, but i starting to have a problem with this author abandonment of his books. Copyright is 2019, and my favorite series Duty was early 2019. At end of book two promised book three soon. We had several other books released in 2020 and the ones I read I have 5 star reviews which I try to limit to the books I really enjoy. I now have four books by this author that I want another book in. Some might be stand alone, but this needed in cliffhanger and other promised a new book soon. I'm going take a break from this author. He has two other books but don't want another cliffhanger that never gets complete
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