What do you think?
Rate this book
Stories from the Circle #1-3 omnibus
Apprentice
Stories from the Circle: Apprentice chronicles the growth of Caretaker Miles Dean from the discovery of his calling through his apprenticeship to the wizard-like "Guiding Caretaker" Oliver Crucias. Earth is just one world in a macrocosmic "Circle" of worlds, and Caretakers are born with a self on each world. With the guidance of Oliver, Miles must journey in consciousness to all worlds in the Great Circle, undertaking Caretaker Quests that thwart creation's enemies who, guided by the Destructive Force, seek to bring creation to an end. Miles must grow to realize great powers, but in this latest generation, those powers may not be enough.
652 pages, Hardcover
First published March 12, 2010
1 person is currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Jared Aragona
5 books9 followersJared Aragona is an American author and college professor. His interplanetary fantasy novel "Stories from the Circle: Apprentice," won the 2011 Arizona Book Awards Glyph Award for Best Literary Fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 12, 2010
I recieved the first 3 stories from the circle books through good reads. I wont give you a long synopsis, you can find that anywhere. What I will say is that I couldnt put these books down! To make things easier I will go through each book.
The 1st book Know Thyself is a good introductory book that begins on Earth and eases you into a much more complicated galaxy of weird and wonderful planets. After the first 10 or so pages I was completely hooked (read this in a day!)The writing style is different and very refreshing. Its written in 1st person and the text is directed at another character, Miles Dean (the guiding caretaker in this book) is writing to Luzciel to recruit her.
The quest really kicks off in book 2, The Story from Riesa where I can only describe it as Quantum Leap but with aliens!Each book is set on a different planet, with the main characters inhabiting a native from each place. This book took a little more getting into- there is a lot to take in. The series has almost its own language and its in this book that you are hit with it.
The Story from Oxinopses, the 3rd and final book of this set had me absolutley hooked again. I found I could enjoy this book more now that I understood about Caretakers etc. The quest continues on yet another planet (my favourite so far) and the story gets bigger and bigger.
Now I just need book 4............
The 1st book Know Thyself is a good introductory book that begins on Earth and eases you into a much more complicated galaxy of weird and wonderful planets. After the first 10 or so pages I was completely hooked (read this in a day!)The writing style is different and very refreshing. Its written in 1st person and the text is directed at another character, Miles Dean (the guiding caretaker in this book) is writing to Luzciel to recruit her.
The quest really kicks off in book 2, The Story from Riesa where I can only describe it as Quantum Leap but with aliens!Each book is set on a different planet, with the main characters inhabiting a native from each place. This book took a little more getting into- there is a lot to take in. The series has almost its own language and its in this book that you are hit with it.
The Story from Oxinopses, the 3rd and final book of this set had me absolutley hooked again. I found I could enjoy this book more now that I understood about Caretakers etc. The quest continues on yet another planet (my favourite so far) and the story gets bigger and bigger.
Now I just need book 4............
September 3, 2010
Although originally published as three separate paperback books, Goodreads Giveaway winners receive all three under one hardcover. This was beneficial to me because I disliked the middle one so much I never would have finished it had it been a stand alone volume.
The premise of what is promised to become a nine book series is that a select few people on eight different planets are born into each generation. These few Caretakers will develop the ability to leave one body behind and transfer to the corresponding body on each of the other planets. They are part of a combined effort to preserve life and prevent destruction. Each starts as an apprentice with a guide to help them along the way.
By starting the adventure with human characters, living on the Earth we know, and with the action taking place in recent years, we are given a foundation that's comfortable and relaxing. Real brand names, highway numbers and cities allow you to identify with the characters immediately without getting bogged down by descriptions of the locations. At one point the protagonist (Miles Dean) starts to go into a mom and pop diner that would have required many adjectives to create. Clean or dirty, bright or dingy, fragrant or stale. But for reasons important to the plot he suddenly feels drawn to a Dairy Queen. The reader has most likely been there, so no time is wasted reading about how it looks or smells. I've always been turned off by authors who can't say, "A man walked in" without dragging it out for three pages describing clothes, hair, mannerisms, etc.
We're eased into the supernatural aspects of the story when Miles is dreaming. We get a brief glimpse of some of the alien worlds and the creatures that inhabit them, but not too much at once. And that's the strong point of Jared's style. The dreams end quickly and you're brought back to Earth and a trip to Denny's or the hardware store in a red and white Ford F-150. I didn't feel fatigued at the end of every chapter from having to learn too many alien names or having to take too much alien terrain in one gulp. That soon changes as each of the subsequent books take place on a different planet.
In book 2, The Story From Riesa, the main character has left his human body and the Miles Dean personality on Earth while his "mind's eye" has been transferred to the body of Habberzol, who lives on the planet Riesa. Riesa is a world plagued with disease clouds, molds, and mobile plants that all contribute to an endless variety of illnesses in the humanoid inhabitants. It's Habberzol's task in this incarnation to travel around trying to find a cure for one of the diseases. There is nothing pleasant about this book. Drugs, disease, death, rotting corpses, rival city states who's doctors refuse to work together all serve to make this part of the series frustrating and depressing. I would have stopped here if the first volume hadn't been so promising. I knew the third one had to be better.
Habberzol eventually completes his task and we move on to book 3, The Story From Oxinopses. This time the traveling Caretaker is called "Shields" and exists as a parasite inhabiting the bodies of larger creatures. This book is much more fun than the previous volume, the parasites immediately exhibit a sense of humor! The plight of the Caretakers continues - defeat the "Breakers" who are driven to destruction and death while helping to empower the "Creators" who would prefer to perpetuate society. This time around its all about educating the younger parasites and teaching them to play a strategy game similar to chess. Our hero, Miles/Habberzol/Shields is gaining more skill as we move from book to book and planet to planet. As he gets better at accomplishing his tasks the story becomes more fun to read.
I'm looking forward to The Story From Joriana, the fourth book which has yet to be released. I hear that this planet has highly advanced technology, something that we sci-fi fans can never get enough of!
My thanks to Jared Aragona for becoming a Goodreads author and offering this giveaway.
The premise of what is promised to become a nine book series is that a select few people on eight different planets are born into each generation. These few Caretakers will develop the ability to leave one body behind and transfer to the corresponding body on each of the other planets. They are part of a combined effort to preserve life and prevent destruction. Each starts as an apprentice with a guide to help them along the way.
By starting the adventure with human characters, living on the Earth we know, and with the action taking place in recent years, we are given a foundation that's comfortable and relaxing. Real brand names, highway numbers and cities allow you to identify with the characters immediately without getting bogged down by descriptions of the locations. At one point the protagonist (Miles Dean) starts to go into a mom and pop diner that would have required many adjectives to create. Clean or dirty, bright or dingy, fragrant or stale. But for reasons important to the plot he suddenly feels drawn to a Dairy Queen. The reader has most likely been there, so no time is wasted reading about how it looks or smells. I've always been turned off by authors who can't say, "A man walked in" without dragging it out for three pages describing clothes, hair, mannerisms, etc.
We're eased into the supernatural aspects of the story when Miles is dreaming. We get a brief glimpse of some of the alien worlds and the creatures that inhabit them, but not too much at once. And that's the strong point of Jared's style. The dreams end quickly and you're brought back to Earth and a trip to Denny's or the hardware store in a red and white Ford F-150. I didn't feel fatigued at the end of every chapter from having to learn too many alien names or having to take too much alien terrain in one gulp. That soon changes as each of the subsequent books take place on a different planet.
In book 2, The Story From Riesa, the main character has left his human body and the Miles Dean personality on Earth while his "mind's eye" has been transferred to the body of Habberzol, who lives on the planet Riesa. Riesa is a world plagued with disease clouds, molds, and mobile plants that all contribute to an endless variety of illnesses in the humanoid inhabitants. It's Habberzol's task in this incarnation to travel around trying to find a cure for one of the diseases. There is nothing pleasant about this book. Drugs, disease, death, rotting corpses, rival city states who's doctors refuse to work together all serve to make this part of the series frustrating and depressing. I would have stopped here if the first volume hadn't been so promising. I knew the third one had to be better.
Habberzol eventually completes his task and we move on to book 3, The Story From Oxinopses. This time the traveling Caretaker is called "Shields" and exists as a parasite inhabiting the bodies of larger creatures. This book is much more fun than the previous volume, the parasites immediately exhibit a sense of humor! The plight of the Caretakers continues - defeat the "Breakers" who are driven to destruction and death while helping to empower the "Creators" who would prefer to perpetuate society. This time around its all about educating the younger parasites and teaching them to play a strategy game similar to chess. Our hero, Miles/Habberzol/Shields is gaining more skill as we move from book to book and planet to planet. As he gets better at accomplishing his tasks the story becomes more fun to read.
I'm looking forward to The Story From Joriana, the fourth book which has yet to be released. I hear that this planet has highly advanced technology, something that we sci-fi fans can never get enough of!
My thanks to Jared Aragona for becoming a Goodreads author and offering this giveaway.
September 17, 2010
I found out today that I won a copy of this book from Goodreads. Once I receive it, I will get it read and review it. So excited!
I received this book on Saturday. The beginning is already interesting! Cannot wait to get further into it!!
Update: I am over 3/4 of the way done with this book. It started very slow for me as the characters, worlds, etc were very confusing to me. About midway I got really interested in it and the reading is going better. Not normally my type of reading. I would call this true science fiction. Too many new worlds to keep straight. I also have a really hard time with names, planets, cities, etc that I cannot pronounce.
I love the themes in this this book. The fact that every decision they make has the chance to impact others and future a little bit, a lot, negative, positive are just incredible. It is neat to find out how each decision affects the lives around them.
I feel that the author is very talented at writing. The creativity is outstanding to build all these worlds and characters.
Will post more once I am finished.
Finished the book last night. This was def a challenge to read. As I stated previously, this is not my normal genre so I was very happy for the challenge. It took me a long time to get into the book as I was left confused most of the time. About 1/2 way through the book, I was able to connect with two of the many many characters. I still am not sure at points who was doing what.
If you are a fan of science fiction and love new names, new characters, worlds, and love attention to detail (complete with pictures) this book is a must read. It was incredibly detailed. The worlds that the author created left me wondering how anyone could come up with so much details on new worlds, species, etc. I give this book 4 stars as I still love the overall message that every decision made in life has a huge impact on everyone present and future. It is a very strong message.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book Goodreads First Reads program!!
I received this book on Saturday. The beginning is already interesting! Cannot wait to get further into it!!
Update: I am over 3/4 of the way done with this book. It started very slow for me as the characters, worlds, etc were very confusing to me. About midway I got really interested in it and the reading is going better. Not normally my type of reading. I would call this true science fiction. Too many new worlds to keep straight. I also have a really hard time with names, planets, cities, etc that I cannot pronounce.
I love the themes in this this book. The fact that every decision they make has the chance to impact others and future a little bit, a lot, negative, positive are just incredible. It is neat to find out how each decision affects the lives around them.
I feel that the author is very talented at writing. The creativity is outstanding to build all these worlds and characters.
Will post more once I am finished.
Finished the book last night. This was def a challenge to read. As I stated previously, this is not my normal genre so I was very happy for the challenge. It took me a long time to get into the book as I was left confused most of the time. About 1/2 way through the book, I was able to connect with two of the many many characters. I still am not sure at points who was doing what.
If you are a fan of science fiction and love new names, new characters, worlds, and love attention to detail (complete with pictures) this book is a must read. It was incredibly detailed. The worlds that the author created left me wondering how anyone could come up with so much details on new worlds, species, etc. I give this book 4 stars as I still love the overall message that every decision made in life has a huge impact on everyone present and future. It is a very strong message.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book Goodreads First Reads program!!
Read
October 11, 2010I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
I tried really hard. I am sure that there is a good story in this book for me to read. I just couldn't get into it.
What I did like about the book:
There are plenty of illustrations and charts so that you can understand the concepts.
The ideas are really quite creative and original.
I tried really hard. I am sure that there is a good story in this book for me to read. I just couldn't get into it.
What I did like about the book:
There are plenty of illustrations and charts so that you can understand the concepts.
The ideas are really quite creative and original.
November 12, 2010
The first of three 'books' in this novel helps you understand the others, but if it was the first book individually in a series, I never would have read the second. It reads almost like a how-to guide. It does sound incredibly realistic, however, like you have found a book the narrator actually wrote for his real apprentice--and maybe to convince you that Caretakers were real.
The last two 'books' are stories of Miles Dean living different lives on different worlds, each with their own completely new culture, ecology, communication, government, history, customs, natural laws, etc. He uses more and more unique skills to navigate his way through his lives while trying to complete missions that at times seem impossible, relying on instinct alone to tell him the right path.
It is amazing how detailed each world is, and hard to imagine how the author will create five more worlds to equal these.
The narrator warns of the dangers of unhealthy skepticism in today's Earth, and the dangers of modern life which is used by Breakers to increase the effects. There are lines throughout the book like "It was quite an amazing journey, and I'm about to tell you about it" which make me want to strangle the narrator for being a pretentious idiot, but the story makes up for it.
I won this book on First-Reads.
The last two 'books' are stories of Miles Dean living different lives on different worlds, each with their own completely new culture, ecology, communication, government, history, customs, natural laws, etc. He uses more and more unique skills to navigate his way through his lives while trying to complete missions that at times seem impossible, relying on instinct alone to tell him the right path.
It is amazing how detailed each world is, and hard to imagine how the author will create five more worlds to equal these.
The narrator warns of the dangers of unhealthy skepticism in today's Earth, and the dangers of modern life which is used by Breakers to increase the effects. There are lines throughout the book like "It was quite an amazing journey, and I'm about to tell you about it" which make me want to strangle the narrator for being a pretentious idiot, but the story makes up for it.
I won this book on First-Reads.
November 15, 2010
This book was a goodreads first reads win. I really enjoyed this book. It took me a long time to read because the writing was very rich with detail. The characters were multi-dimensional, and the worlds to which they traveled were very different from our own. I liked that there were lots of detail in the descriptions of the different species, ecosystems, and cultures of each of the worlds that the characters traveled to. It was also a nice touch to have the book written directly to me as the reader (like a personal letter). I felt it helped to make me feel like a part of the story, not just reading a traditional fantasy story that someone else experienced. I can't wait to see what happens in the net books in this series!
September 21, 2010
*Won on GR First Reads*
Woohoo! An author from AZ. I'm looking forward to reading this book.
Update: I received my copy on Friday. Unfortunately, I didn't get to read it this last weekend, but hopefully I'll get to read it over Labor Day weekend. Yeah for holiday reading.
Woohoo! An author from AZ. I'm looking forward to reading this book.
Update: I received my copy on Friday. Unfortunately, I didn't get to read it this last weekend, but hopefully I'll get to read it over Labor Day weekend. Yeah for holiday reading.
December 4, 2010
WOW. What a story. If you are a lover of fanstasy, you will love this book. Jared stopped by Page Readers to talk about his book http://t.co/UdnNwJI too!
Want to read
February 27, 2012My initial foray into the 'First-Read Books' program. Will be reading and then reviewing this freebie as soon as it arrives.
Want to read
October 9, 2010I won this omnibus from Goodreads First Reads. I am looking forward to reading it now that it's arrived.
Want to read
August 24, 2010I just learned I won a copy of this book through the First Reads program. Looking forward to reading it as soon as it arrives.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews