Paul

Did no one listen to this before they published?

Reviewed: 08-04-23

Look, I know this book is an authority. Content is clear and great.

But the audiobook is like a first draft reading. Past the first couple chapters, we get to hear the narrator pause often in the middle of sentences, then clear his throat and start the sentence over again. Full sentences are repeated — one time, an awkward pause, and then another. You can hear the narrator’s frustrated sigh when he misspeaks, occasionally a drink of water.

It’s clear that someone intended to go back and edit the recording before publishing. But that didn’t happen.

I’m just waiting for the moment when this dude’s wife or child interrupts the reading, and he has to tell them, “I’m in the middle of recording something!”

Because honestly that wouldn’t be out of character.

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White knight fantasies

Reviewed: 07-29-23

MC is a typical white knight-type, who has been pining after a girl for a long time, until one day a bad guy gets a date with the girl, who is, of course, powerless. MC then has instant growth, without any believable character development, and rushes to save the day. Learns he’s a dragon, but never processes this fact; like a good white knight, he asks, “can I use this to save the girl?”

MC is overpowered and shallow. Villains are shallow. Hell, every character is shallow.

As far as plot goes, this might have the bones of something decent. Unfortunately that’s no help, because a good narrative would be driven by well-conceived characters. These characters are superficial at best.

Great performance by narrator. It’s a shame that the story feels like we’re beholden to a white knight, incel fantasy the whole time.

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3 people found this helpful

Freaking fantastic.

Reviewed: 07-02-21

I first heard about the story on NPR interview about 9 years ago. Since then, the title is kicked around my brain, and I’ve always meant to revisit it.

Incredibly glad that I remember the story. It’s freaking fantastic.

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Let’s be honest about the writing

Reviewed: 05-13-18

Andrew Rowe - in this, his first and self-published work so far as I can tell - is not a very good writer. Besides run-on sentences, there are words used incorrectly, confusion in subject-verb agreement, wrong usage of subjunctive or indicative moods, frequent pronouns with unclear antecedents, etc.

But for all that: damn if he isn’t a good storyteller.

There are also a few glaring plot holes, which thankfully belong to ancillary story points (so do not damage the main thrust of the story).

All in all, it’s a very good story, though I do hope Mr. Rowe will make judicious use of a capable editor in the future.

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