GTR

I'm done with modern fantasy!

Reviewed: 05-24-25

Modern fantasy, like book tubers accuse traditional fantasy of, relies heavily on repetitive tropes. From morally ambiguous characters to the incessant barrage of girl boss leads surrounded by weak, emasculated, and dimwitted men, this is the template that most modern fantasy follows, and “The Art of Prophecy” is no exception. Long, tedious, and utterly predictable is the only way to describe this book. If you’ve read other modern fantasy, you’ll already know what happens in this one. Needless to say, I won’t be continuing the series, and I strongly advise against reading this book.

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Amateur Hour!

Reviewed: 05-13-25

I made it about three-quarters of the way through the first book before I decided to give up. The narrator was an absolute clown with her ridiculous accents and monotone voices. Why would anyone hire someone with such a barely coherent British accent to narrate an Asian-inspired novel? Seriously, why? The narration was a complete joke.

The book itself wasn’t much better. I wasn’t sure what the plot was, except for murdering people for an evil kid that resulted in people becoming his slaves, who then went on to murder others. Why? To kill the emperor, of course. Why? I had no clue beyond the boy being told to do it by a “Yokai,” which in Japanese lore can be both good and evil. We weren’t told what it was, but the kid did nothing but evil, so you could come to your own conclusion. Basically, I couldn’t care any less if these idiots completed their quest or all died trying. There was no one to root for or even care about.

Needless to say, I don’t recommend this book. The narration was terrible, and the story was equally disappointing.

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1 person found this helpful

Disappointing and Tedious

Reviewed: 04-26-25

I genuinely wanted to enjoy this book. The prose was superb, and the flow of words was truly enjoyable. The book began well but gradually became monotonous. The ridiculous “magic system” lacked substance, and the world was dull and uninspiring. It barely qualifies as a fantasy novel.

While the aforementioned issues were problematic, they aren’t the primary reason I won’t continue the series. The main reason is the protagonist, Helena. She was utterly insufferable, and the narrator’s constant emphasis on her crying only exacerbated the tedium. The narrator essentially cried for Helena throughout most of the book. I’m not entirely sure it’s the narrator’s fault, as the character was written as a childish, impulsive, ungrateful, and fearful brat. Why the author chose to make her age 19 yet her actions that of a 12-year-old is a mystery to me. There’s just no way I would begin to consider enduring another novel with this lead character.

In contrast, the narrator did a decent job, except for Helena. She was the only bright spot in an otherwise dull and uninspiring novel. I would definitely listen to more novels she narrates.

Overall, this book was not an enjoyable read. I wouldn’t recommend it.

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Amateurish at best!

Reviewed: 04-16-25

Audible should rectify its labeling practices. This children’s book is not suitable for adult or young adult readers.

The headline adequately encapsulates the issues. The author’s lack of care or professionalism is evident in the work.

The characters are one-dimensional caricatures of fantasy archetypes. The effeminate bard, gruff dwarf, angry warrior, childish scaredy cat wizard, and the amazing girl boss leader are all poorly executed. The wizard’s description suggests she is in her late 20s or early 30s, but her words and actions imply she is nine or ten years old.

The narrator’s performance is equally poor. Nonsensical voices are used for poorly written characters, particularly the wizard.

I strongly advise against purchasing this book.

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Ok but not Lovcraft

Reviewed: 04-02-25

I’m genuinely perplexed about how to assess this book because it abandons its advertised premise. It’s marketed as a sequel to The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and while it does incorporate familiar characters, locations, and entities, the connection between them is minimal.

I have serious doubts that the author read, understood, and appreciated The Shadow Over Innsmouth, or any of Lovecraft’s works. I don’t want to spoil the plot, but if you’re a fan of Lovecraft, this book is likely to disappoint you. The entire plot of The Shadow Over Innsmouth and the cosmic Lovecraftian entities are completely subverted and turned upside down. In fact, I think you’ll enjoy this book more if you’ve never read Lovecraft before.

The narration was quite poor. The narrator struggled to imitate a man’s voice, and the voice she used for the lead character was not suitable for the material. While she might be capable of narrating other content, I would be hesitant to listen to her again.

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Horrible

Reviewed: 03-29-25

There’s a reason most Dungeon Masters don’t allow Kender in their games. It’s not because they’re overpowered. It’s because they’re the most asinine creatures ever devised, and they’ll destroy a group in a heartbeat. Their entire character is nothing more than every known obnoxious trait put in a single character. This all leads me to Tasslehoff. He’s always been nothing more than Jar Jar Binks time a million. There is nothing redeemable in his character, and every second dedicated to him is preschool-level foolishness. Unfortunately, this book has a ton of him, and I just couldn’t finish it. If Wizards of the Coast ever actually wants Dragonlance to succeed, Kender nonsense needs to go away. Yeah, there are a few people that like them, but most of not, which is why every time Dragonlance attempts a revival, it’s cancelled fairly quickly. People don’t want to deal with this foolishness. In any event, I DNF this and I don’t recommend this series. I’m done with Dragonlance until I see new writers with a new vision for the setting.

The narrator couldn’t do a man’s voice if her life depended on it.

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Not for me

Reviewed: 03-21-25

It was fine, I guess, but I’m not reading on. Way, and I mean way, too many point-of-view characters. Chapter after chapter of new characters that you barely get to know before jumping to the next. When you finally return to one of the characters you already met, it’s been so long I forgot what they were doing.

With 25+ main characters, you would think one was likable, but no. Personally, I could not care less if they all died. The romance was juvenile at best and really should’ve been avoided, as the author doesn’t do that very well.

Some people may enjoy it, but it wasn’t for me.

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Horrible

Reviewed: 02-28-25

I usually don’t write reviews unless I’ve read at least halfway through a book. However, I’m making an exception for this one. First and foremost, the writing was juvenile and incredibly predictable. Every sentence spoken to the main character ended with the main character saying “I don’t understand,” and I’m not exaggerating; it happened after every single sentence. Additionally, how many times could one character push her curls out of her face? I lost count somewhere in the hundreds. The main character was also incredibly stupid, which didn’t help the reading experience at all.

The narration was the second worst I’ve ever heard, with only Axe Norman being worse. Honestly, that’s a high bar to meet, but Eva Wilhelm was giving it her all. She has no business narrating anything, let alone a book that costs money.

Needless to say, I do not recommend this book to anyone.

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That old friend that came to visit.

Reviewed: 02-24-25

You know when an old friend visits after years of not seeing them? You hang out, have drinks, and reminisce about the good old days. However, as the two or three-day visit extends into a week, you start wondering when they’re going to leave. That’s Kings of the Wild. The first two-thirds were a solid 5/5, but the last third was just a 2/5.

It was simply too long. I found myself desperately wishing it would end. The final third dragged on from one insignificant moment to the next not having the good sense to conclude. If this book had been cut by about five hours, I believe it would have been remarkable. As it stands, it was merely average. It wasn’t good enough for me to read the second book in the series.

The narrator was adequate, although he couldn’t even manage a female voice if his life depended on it. Additionally, what on earth was the deal with the southern redneck accent? It felt so out of place that it was jarring.

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Not with a bang but a whimper.

Reviewed: 01-19-25

It really did go out with a whimper. I don't think I've ever read a series that started on such a high and just completely faded out. Personally this was such an anticlimactic ending that I would read another book by this author. Don't want to get sucked into another series only to walk away completely let down.

Narrator was very good and would recommend books narrated by him.

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