Betrayed. Murdered. Reborn. One last chance, to make it right. Theo's adventure ended with his mentor's hands around his neck. The betrayal cost him his friends, allies and everything he had built... but not his life. Though broken and powerless, Theo has one last chance to enter the Nine Worlds, wielding the knowledge and expertise of his first life. This time, he needs more than just power, he needs to unravel the deception that killed him once... and is coming for him again.Theo has discovered an incredible opportunity to advance, but it stands on the other side of a fatal obstacle. Faced with a duel to the death against an overwhelming opponent, he has no choice but to seek allies in a new world. Time is running out, so he'll need to soulcraft like he never has before...
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Probably more of a 4 than a 5 star book but it's getting 5 because I think this series could carry on forever and I'd never get tired of reading every new release in a day.
This particular entry doesn't do much to shatter the status-quos of the series and there's not too much action but I'm not upset because instead there's a lot of really good character work and the sense that the series is being moved from it's initial stage into the next one.
At the core this series is a progression fantasy with a really interesting mechanical twist, that practitioners progress by building their souls of power into exactly defined fortresses within them, doing so by bringing "real" world materials into themselves.
This is interesting enough, but Lin has adroitly crafted many of the trappings of fantasy around them in interesting ways, a protagonist from our world, who in his previous visit to the magical worlds was the promised shining hero, but whose story ended horiffically, leaving him bitter and looking to even the score, companions, each outcasts like himself, but from different worlds, each with motives and plans of their own that make them share the "hero's" journey.
Really, this is well done, and with the third book I am a bit more impressed, enjoying the way the story is being spun as much as I am hooked into the story itself. Lin continues to zig when you expect zag, but it never seems overclever, slipping new elements deftly into the plot and letting the overall mystery simmer in the background, organically driving the plot.
This is another strong entry in a unique adventure. The characters are starting to work together better, and the stakes are getting higher. Looking forward to the next book.
This is the book where the series went from a decent story by an author I like to something I'm truly invested in! Accordingly I am trying to give it what support I can. Though I don't think the first book was entirely weak, the characters and especially the plot really come into their own the more the series continues.
I listened to the first three books in omnibus format. The narration was excellent! The story was entertaining enough but I don't care enough about any of the characters to continue the series. I will likely try another series by this author at some point because the world was interesting.
Very simple leveling up storyline each book is a repeat of the last, the idea behind the soul homes and 9 worlds has promise if it was done a bit better.
This common phrase has taken on additional meaning in the last months for me. Some of us are a part of a community group that does just this for us, when we face difficult challenges. In The Weirkey Chronicles we have seen the relationships deepen between Theo, Nauda and Fiju in the first three books. They came from different worlds and first needed to learn to trust each other as traveling companions. Sarah Lin develops these relationships well as we learn more about the worlds they each originated from, their needs for personal space, and their showing respect for the differences between them.
In Archcrafter they are thrown into harrowing situations where they reach their limits in skills, or their power is drained, and they make decisions to save another's life. There is a lot of bonding in their pulling through these successfully, even though there may be major injuries. In different chapters we see how they each have their own goals, or want to return to their own worlds, which may cause them to go different directions. At the same time the author draws us into the deepening commitment they have to help each other overcome a personal problem, or to reach their next power level. They don't want to say goodbye to each other, when they have come so far in their working as a close knit team. Some may enjoy reading this series for the fast action, which keeps the plot moving swiftly. For myself, I'm becoming more interested in their self-actualization and their growing deeper into their sense of community and progressing towards common goals.
So I finished this chronicle. Then I read the epilogue. Well .... Now Lin surprises us with another conversation. Something I thought I had figured out, I see isn't that way at all. So where does that leave the reader? Wishing they could start the next chronicle immediately!
I was super impressed with the authors street Cultivation series, so dived into this with good hopes and wasn't disappointed.
Rather than typical premise of cultivating the body to perform above human expectations, this book provides a new and novel way of 'soucrafting' as the means to get stronger. The magic system is based on crafting a 'soulhome' to harness the 'cantae' (mana equivalent) which then provides the physical and magical abilities. The whole mechanics around constructing the soulhome is fascinating and done very well. It also blends the series in a crafting type cultivation book, which is something I've never come across before.
Sarah's expertise in constructing intriguing worlds is again on full display here as we are drawn into the mysterious 'nine worlds' as we follow the MC, Theo. After his first stint in the new realm ended in betrayal, he's worked hard to get back for a chance at vengeance. And now he's back and we get to follow him as he navigates it again anew looking for answers, closure and redemption.
The book also incorporates elements of progression fantasy as we get to see interesting dynamics of power levelling as the characters progress through their arcs. We also get to treated to various social and political machinations as they MC and his thrown together team makes their way to getting to their individual goals. The pacing is a bit slow and we do not get a fast paced edge of the seat action book, but that really isn't the focus here.
Kept me interested enough to read all 3 books back to back and looking forward to the next one.
This third release in the seires is perhaps the most complete book in terms of plotting or at least having an ending that feels like an end. Lin is fast writer and self publisher that has good narrative that does not suffer from lack of editing, hanging plots, or numerous reader spead bumps. At the same the story and seires does have a bit of a chapter by chapter release feel. The third person limited pov chapters pull you right through one after another with the characters being active and having an overall goal but with a rather straightforward antagonist that is there to be the final boss of the story.
Nonetheless the seires so far is a fun read and Sarah Lin seems to have have found her niche. I did see she is a patron writer who does have advance chapters or even books available for her patrons. I can respect that because a working author has to pay the bills.
One aspect enjoyed in this 3rd book is the added depth to the side characters who are his friends. They are given time to Sean and are shown to be unique in many ways and how they even see the world. . Even though the antagonist were straightforward they did get a bit of depth in a few point of view chapters themselves. Overall the story is becoming bigger and more interesting with some intriguing characters that do pay off especially in the epilog.
The story is appropriate for young adults and above.
No listing for the audiobook! Baldree continues to deliver, though I'm starting to find his voice takes more attention to listen to than I like--some of his voices I have to turn the volume all the way up.
I really enjoyed this entry. It reminded me a lot of Cradle, especially the arc from Underlord through Wintersteel. I mean, both are progression-style stories so there's a certain amount of similarity inherent in the genre, but there were still several aspects--the dynamic between the trio of allies and the combination of plot elements kept reminding me of Cradle in the best way. Compared to Cradle, this stakes in this series both feel higher and lower somehow. Perhaps its the difference in the MCs--Theo could not be more different from Lindon... he's curmudgeonly and cagey where Cradle's Lindon is optimistic and doesn't believe in defeat.
I really like how Theo, Fiyu, and Nauda are coalescing as a team--with crazy kiddo Senka tossed in to wreak chaos and raise questions. The magic system keeps getting more interesting, and the tournament fights kept me on the edge of my seat--while still feeling somewhat cozy.
Archcrafter is simply the best instalment of The Weirkey Chronicles so far. It boasts balanced pace while straddling the fine line between laser-focused plot and fun side quests. All while fleshing out the grander plot about Theo's personal mission against Vistgil.
Arriving at Fithan hub city called Norro Yorthin, Theo and friends decided to stay a little longer, especially when they hit dead end on their mission to bring Fiyu home to Ichil. The crew decided to join one of the Houses that controlled the whole city. This means that they would involve themselves in the city's power play, direct or indirectly.
With a promising event for sublime material hunt looming in near future, Theo, Nauda, and Fiyu slowly built their career and wealth in Norro Yorthin. However, some of their old enemies seemed to catch up quickly, and this entangled the crew even further to the city's politics.
The common trappings of progression fantasy is that it is too easy to get caught in convoluted progression mechanisms and side quests. However, in this book, Sarah Lin managed to wrap the main plot and sub plots nicely, all while leaving enough mysteries and building momentum for future books.
This is easily one of the best progression fantasy series out there, on par with Cradle, Arcane Ascension, and Mage Errant.
The nice thing about this series is that if you like a slow burn of progression, there are already 8 books (at the time of this review) to work through. I don't know if I could have handled reading only 3 books of this series. It's addictive- just one more, you know?
Pros: Character interactions, development as a team, combat dynamics. I haven't read many other books where teams work together, fight together, and live together to this extent, and I enjoyed it very much. Seeing everyone's progress was fantastic.
Cons: Progress can be a little slow sometimes- and, as always, the worldbuilding. The author does very well in the social/cultural realm, but less than stellar regarding the rest of the world. What do people even eat? What are sources of food, wealth, power dynamics? Does literally any animal exist aside from Sublime ones? I don't know, the author hasn't told me.
If you liked the earlier books, you'll like this one. Will read through again when the series is finished.
So, this is the first book in the series that was interesting to me (easier to get into reading). The first two books were a hard read. The magic/cultivation in this book is vastly different than any other book I’ve read. This made it harder to understand and accept. The core story is the sole reason I kept on reading this series. I want to know more about why Theo and his friend’s were killed. I hope this series continues to improve. Lastly, I am a bit disappointed by how short these books are - less than 300 pages. Normally, books like this are around 700-800 pages. While the first book made it to Audible, not sure if the other books will be worth the cost due to the books length.
Honestly the story needs a better editor to read over the Grammar errors and make the content more consistent.
The author goes out of their way to make it so so very creative and unique that it's hard to remember as the terms are hard to relate to. Concepts like mana or cultivation aren't used but I get the impression that is what they are referring to but like I said using all different terms are hard to remember. Also I don't understand the real focus of the books. Obviously it's not spent on character development or skills as they are just there and the story seems like it's all over the place and can't figure what is important. Even the main battle at the end was down played.
This is my favorite new series I've read in a while. It's a slow burn novel of growing power with a very well defined and novel magic system. The characters are well defined and show characterization as they grow from novel to novel. The progression is slow and it feels a bit like a plot with no set end date.. but that kind of resembles real life in a way :)
The pacing of first book in the series left me wondering whether I would like the rest but they continue to get better the more I read. I am truly invested in the characters and can’t wait to see what happens next. The magic concepts and world building are truly excellent. This series is a delight to read and I find myself staying up late to just read one more chapter. I haven’t done that with a series in a while.
Amazing, you get a feel for the deepening relationships of the three protagonists, the power system is restrictive in the way that opens up so many possibilities.
The is a perfect protagonist for when you've read enough generic progression fantasy, as he is an old man himself, and knows how to evade the trappings of the genre, it almost doesn't feel meta too, It does not get obnoxious a la deadpool, for example.
The three travelers continue to support one another, even if their moral compasses may point different directions.
Theo still seeks vengeance and the answer and will lie, steal and kill to meet his goals (and keep his secrets). His one advantage is that he’s done this before, and he can apply that knowledge (and Earthly science) to punch way above his weight (or weightlessness) with his gravity powers.
This series has such an interesting and unique magic/cultivation system! The character growth is smooth, and it keeps me looking forward to what their next power advancement will look like. The relationship of the 3 main characters really blossomed in this book! I’m looking forward to the next book!
I felt like some of the earlier books in the series (especially book 2) dragged on a bit more than they had to, but this was super good. Theo and the gang are growing closer as friends and as soulcrafters, and there's a very very interesting twist in the epilogue.
Again, finished it in less than a day. So, overall, binged the three books in about 2.5 days. What a wonderful start to the new year.
Liked the new settings. Plot continues to be mostly self-contained per book, with a few details being added to the overarching story. Nice to see improvements for all the main characters and Senka continues to be a mystery, yet hilarious whenever she shows up.
I love that the group moves into new worlds and cultures. Their progress is fairly constant and impressive, without their being too powerful. I also enjoy the various mysteries; the end of the book wasn't too surprising, until the very last sentence. I'm really looking forward to book four!
Enjoyed this book better than last two. Best book so far in the series. Finally a city to settle down for a while and progress. Quite liked the layout of the city, politics, economy etc. Characters developed well and their progress shown on paper than in background.
Slow in some parts but they’re just as enjoyable. I think the plot and twists were done well. On to the next one.
Liked this a little less than the second book in the series, but still a very enjoyable book. The characters remained great for me above all else, and I love how their dynamics keep developing. Also some very interesting new characters making an entrance!
A very fun series. I'm glad my husband recommended these to me!