4/5 Stars Alita: Battle Angel by Pat Cadigan

May 30, 2021May 23, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, dystopia, Fantasy, scifi action, Alita, movie adaptation

Narrated by Brian Nishii

Run Time: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Summary:

This is the book novelization of the movie.

Additional Comments:

It’s been long enough that I remembered the story but not all the details.
Fun despite hitting almost every scifi/dystopian/fantasy cliché. Wounded heroine who can’t remember her past discovers her powers and uses them to start sticking it to the evil overlord types in her crappy universe.
I still feel bad for the doc’s ex-wife.
That poor dog.
Fight scenes are well-described.
The love story angle fell flat here, but that’s okay, this movie never really focused on that.
Hugo’s occupation was clearer to me this round.
If you liked the movie, you’ll likely enjoy the book. It was a nice refresher. I’m sure there are plenty of sequels as I think the movie was based off a long anime series.

Conclusion:

Faithful adaptation of an action flick.

Audiobook Promotions …

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is rc-1-3-audio-ad-1024x536.jpg

Many of my 49 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
River’s Edge Ransom – Prequel to Redeemer Chronicles (Amazon) (email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is DC-set-ad-1024x536.jpg

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian. (Amazon) (free codes)
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Amazon) (Please email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift. (Amazon) (free codes)
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma. (Amazon) (free codes)
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother. (Amazon) (free codes)
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble. (Amazon) (free codes)
More Scifi:
Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there. (Amazon) (free codes)

Guardian Angel Files:

Spirit’s Bane – Allister and Mina are training to be Guardians. Satan’s out to get them. (Amazon) (free codes)
Kindred Spirits – Mina’s exiled to Earth. Allister’s stuck in the Heavens. (Amazon) (free codes)

3.45/5 Stars Recruitment by K. A. Riley

May 15, 2021May 2, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, dystopia, Paranormal Ginger Sue, K.A. Riley, YA dystopia

Narrated by Ginger Sue

Run Time: 8 hrs and 53 min

Summary:

Kress and her friends are swooped up … this is more conscription than recruitment if you want to get technical. That takes about 1/3 of the book. The rest is the beginning of their training.

Additional Comments:

3.5/5 Stars Main Character – Tries a little too hard to hit that average but amazing teen protagonist vibe. Glad I looked up her name because I would have gone with Kris, not Kress. The connection to a raven was new-ish and cool, a great excuse for her to be able to see and hear things she normally wouldn’t be able to.
4/5 Stars Side Characters – A nice variety of personalities. I might be mor of a fan of Mandy than the others though.
4/5 Stars Plot – The what happens is typical dystopian fare. Predictable but still decently satisfying if you’re not completely inundated with this flavor of story. Evil government, check. Naïve populace, double check. (I would like it more if that part wasn’t so sadly realistic.) Training the youth as a last-ditch effort, check. The end twist works but is very predictable.
3.5/5 Stars Worldbuilding – typical dystopian world with a few neat added tidbits.
1/5 Stars Pacing and closure – This is essentially a very, very, very long, wordy prologue to the rest of some unseen story. There’s not even much sense of this chapter ending. That sort of thing would be better in book 2 of a trilogy, but I expect better out of book 1. The way this ends just sort of leaves a sour taste in one’s mouth. It’s not even like a “oh, I really need to see what happens” vibe, more like a “wow, that’s annoying. 9 hrs I’m not getting back.”
3.5/5 Stars Performance – The narrator fit the MC very well. Some of the cadence took a bit of getting used to. This is rare for me because I listen at a faster speed and that tends to fix stuff like that, not cause it. Props to the narrator for being able to distinguish 8-ish core characters.
The use of the word conspiracy was odd.
4/5 Stars Cover – pretty and decently on point with the genre.

Conclusion:

There are definitely cool parts, but if you like closure, definitely NOT the book for you. If you want to take a gamble, I recommend waiting until there is a combination book and springing for that. The other two books in the trilogy aren’t released, so I’d recommend a different medium until that’s ready.

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 42 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4.45/5 Stars The Gladiator and the Guard by Annie Douglass Lima

May 6, 2021April 23, 2021 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Audiobooks, dystopia, Young Adult Annie Douglass Lima, Joseph Baltz

Narrated by Joseph Baltz

Run Time: 16 hrs and 13 mins

Genre: YA, Action, Dystopia?

Summary:

Bensin gets accused of a crime he didn’t commit. He’s sentenced to death in the arena and winds up as a gladiator. Meanwhile, Coach and Bensin’s sister are trying desperately to find a way to free him before it’s too late.

Additional Comments:

4/5 Stars Main Characters: Bensin goes through a brief time of being a complete jerk, but he thankfully gets over that. Ellie’s cute, but in audio it’s just painful. That’s not the narrator’s fault. He does whiny girl well, but oy, still painful. Coach Stein’s a hapless but nice guy. These are all characters you can root for.
Plot 4.5/5 Stars: It’s a very long book, but there’s excellent flow to what happens. There’s also good balance between the two stories: Ellie/Coach and Bensin.
Performance 4/5 Stars: Joseph Baltz does a lovely job with distinguishing the characters. There were some annoying parts where he tries to convey speaking while somebody is chewing. I get that, and he does it well. Still doesn’t make those parts less annoying.
World Building 5/5 Stars: The Krillonian Empire isn’t exactly one you’d like to live in, but it’s well described and very interesting.
4/5 Stars Cover and Title Fit: very well.
3/5 Stars Sense of Closure: You do get the sense that this ch closes, but there’s clearly a third book. It’s not exactly the sort of series you’d be okay to read out of order.
2/5 Stars Preview: This is probably just a pet peeve of mine. I find previews of future audiobooks terribly annoying, especially if the audiobook isn’t ready yet.

Conclusion:

A very, very, very long but good entry in an excellent series.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

Audiobook Reviews 4/5 Stars: Wilders by Cass Kim,

September 12, 2019September 8, 2019 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, dystopia, Horror Cass Kim, Liz Brand, post-apocalypse, Wilders Series, zombies

Cover from Audible

Narrated by Liz Brand

Summary:

Renna’s the quiet, good sort looking to branch out and have a more exciting senior year of high school. But she lives in a world where curfews are strictly enforced because a virus has turned a small set of the population into killing machines (figuratively). When an outbreak happens near her home, she’s forced to flee.

Additional Comments:

World-building 4/5: The idea of a half-pocalypse is unique to me (It might be very common, but the genre isn’t my usual fare). The story has an interesting take on zombies. (It tries ridiculously hard not to make the Wilders zombies, but it’s a car of protesting too hard.) Wilders are essentially the Reavers from Firefly in the way they behave. Things that deter Wilders are loosely plausible.

Main character 4/5: The reader can sympathize with Renna’s desire for normalcy.
Side characters 3/5: They’re all very well fleshed out but Alyssa annoyed the heck out of me by the end. She was offset a bit by Sidney.
Performance 4.5/5: Gonna admit to starting out biased on this one. I already knew that I loved the narrator’s voice. That usually goes a long way in making me like an audiobook. The narrator distinguished all major players and rendered the scenes believably.
Plot 3/5: Started in a strange spot with the kid sneaking off to a party, went into way too much detail there, then skipped to some action and solid world building, got bogged down in navel gazing and stupid decisions, then wrapped up.
Closure 4/5: You can tell it’s the setup to a series but there is a. Ice feeling of this phase of the story being concluded.
Content Warnings: 6 f-bombs, plus quite a bit of casual cursing

Conclusion:

Light (in gore but not language), this is a YA dystopian zombie tale that’s surprisingly workable. Yeah, yeah, they’re not zombies… just similar.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong. (Narrated by Liz Brand)

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Nonfiction:
5 Steps to Surviving Chemistry – A primer for chemistry students. Breaks down concepts into simple terms.

5 Steps to Better Blurbs – A book for writers looking to improve their book descriptions

Audiobook Reviews 4.45/5: Midnight Black The Purge by R.J. Eastwood

April 2, 2019March 20, 2019 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, dystopia, thriller assassins, audiobooks, dystopia, RJ Eastwood, thriller

Cover’s okay. Novel’s much better than cover.

Summary:

Billy Russell’s career as a cop ended abruptly when he went down for murdering the man who killed his wife. He’s shipped off to prison but gets a reprieve 15 years later because the new government wants men with his particular set of skills to work for them.

Additional Comments:

– Characters 4/5 stars: Billy’s an amusing narrator. He doesn’t try to pass himself off as the perfect guy, but his morals are firmly set in their ways. It’s clear he’s willing to stand by his beliefs. Jade’s a bit flat as a character, but their interactions are believable. The cast of other characters fulfill their roles well without standing out one way or the other.

– Plot 4.5 (until the very end): Billy’s stint in prison and his trip back to Earth are well-described. His fish-out-of-water feel comes across as very genuine. The progression through his early days on the job unfolds naturally.

– World-Building 4.5/5: We know it’s a disaster out there, and Billy slowly comes to understand the new world and how it works. The world is superbly crafted, but not very likable (as one would expect from dystopia).

Side note: I feel like this world and the one from Captive State have a similar vibe.

– Ending 3/5 stars: Kind of disappointing. I expected more since there was great build up to that point. Billy’s largely a spectator in the end events.

– Content Warnings: some violence, some cursing (~3 fbombs), a few adult scenes started then fade to next day

Conclusion:

If you enjoy a well-crafted world and don’t mind that world being grim, this is a solid choice for you. Billy’s a hero you could see as a normal guy.

Associate links to follow…

Amazon Prime

Free Kindle Reading App<iframe style="border: none;" src="//rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?o=1&p=12&l=ur1&category=kindlereadingapps&banner=1P3YWVYE8G217EXN4182&f=ifr&lc=pf4&linkID=f01aa285daaa206ccf8013117f7ae99a&t=juliecgilbe05-20&tracking_id=juliecgilbe05-20" width="300" height="250" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no">

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Movie Reviews 3/5 Stars: Captive State

March 22, 2019March 20, 2019 Julie Gilbert dystopia, Movie Reviews, scifi aliens, Ashton Sanders, John Goodman, Johnathan Majors, scifi, Vera Farmiga

Upon looking back… this is as confusing as the movie

Summary:

Two brothers get orphaned when the world’s suddenly taken over by aliens. One supposedly dies a hero in the early days of resistance. The other, just goes about his business in a factory sorting old pictures from data cards. He wants out of Chicago, but he’s trapped, like everybody else. John Goodman plays a cop (the partner of the detective who died leaving two pre-teen sons). He’s trying to keep the surviving kid safe, in his own way.

Additional Comments:

– Was my intro summary confusing? Well, it ain’t gonna get much better if you see the movie.

– Plot 3/5 stars: It’s very disjointed. Things make sense in the end, and there’s a bit of satisfaction in knowing that. Still, the first half of the movie hardly seems related to each other.

– Film choices 3/5: I’m certain there’s a better word than that, but some of the angles they chose to employ were stupid. For large sections, there was a complete top-down view. That made sense in some cases and not in others. Also, several spots featured closeups to the actors. I mean, you should see this dude’s pores and nose hairs close. Finally, shaky cam. There is no reason to have the man/woman with the camera following some poor actor at a jog. I get that it’s supposed to induce a sense of urgency. I got mild nausea and sweeping irritation as a result.

– Characters 3.5/5: Besides not really knowing most of these people’s names, you do get to follow quite a few people on both sides of the “conflict” – those who help the alien invaders and those who want to fight for freedom.

– Comments on the aliens: I might have taken them more seriously if they didn’t resemble ticked off porcupines. The tracking bugs were devious, gross, and kinda cool. The alien ship looked like a runaway anthill. Ender’s Game this is not.

– End twist 4/5: I enjoyed the end twist. Yes, you can see it coming, but it’s still satisfying and finally ties up at least some of the crazy random threads that permeate this movie.

Conclusion:

Weird movie. Not necessarily an emotional lift, but I guess it’s okay. To be fair, I’m not a huge fan of dystopia. This is billed as scifi, but it’s more dystopia (world’s gone to the aliens).

Associate links to follow…

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Alita: Battle Angel – Worth Seeing Twice

March 6, 2019March 7, 2019 Julie Gilbert dystopia, Movie Reviews, scifi Alita, Battle Angel, Rosa Salazar

*Will likely contain spoilers
Introduction:

A friend wanted to see Alita in Dolby. Since I have A-List and I’m currently between books, I decided to tag along. It was a great idea. Alita has some serious replay value.

Additional Comments:

– As my friend pointed out, the dialogue has a lot of foreshadowing. I definitely did not pick up on that first time around.
– Once you know the plot, you can focus on more of the story and characterization.
– I tend not to agree with most critics, but it’s a little surprising that it’s getting quite a few meh responses. It’s highly entertaining.
– Things I noticed:
– More of Chiren’s development. I think she changed the most throughout the story.
– Tanji really isn’t an Alita fan. I mean it was obvious the first time but moreso the second time.
– The reason she walks into the bar and picks a fight.
– Everybody in this world holds some serious grudges, especially most of the hunter warriors.
– Things I missed:
– Quite a few characters are only named like once. I missed it the first time. I missed it the second time.

Conclusion:

If you get the chance to see Alita twice. Take it.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

2.5/5 stars (rounded = 3) Watchers: The Watcher Series Book 1

March 3, 2019March 2, 2019 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, dystopia, Young Adult AJ Eversley, Chelsea Stephens, Steven Campbell, Watcher Series

*There may be spoilers in the discussion

Summary:

Sawyer’s a Watcher. The world is broken. Watchers protect the last scraps of humanity in this part of the world.

Additional Comments:

– Dystopia isn’t a genre I typically gravitate to. Keep that in mind as you move forward because that might be the underpinning reason behind why the book was just meh to me.

– I heard the audiobook, which flipped back and forth between first person sections by Sawyer (Chelsea Stephens did these sections) and third person sections Kensey (Steve Campbell). Bouncing between perspectives is a viable way to write a book, but there’s no reason to change perspective from first to third for the guy’s sections. Just struck me as odd. I also think the female narrator could have read the whole book no problem. It didn’t add anything to have a guy do Kensey’s sections. (Don’t get me wrong, the male narrator did a nice job with the performance.)

– World-building (5/5 stars) – The first sections were slower but way more interesting than the end sections. It’s a rather grim world, but it’s very well described.

– Characters (3/5 stars) – Sawyer’s a strong female lead, but she’s not very likable. (It’s a thing that she tries not to form attachments because this is the sort of world where one shouldn’t get attached to anybody.) Kensey’s supposed to be the perfect guy (strong, handsome, available). Everybody else is forgettable. Coleman’s motives aren’t very clear unless “world domination” counts. He’s more of a superhero story villain, but the problem is that this isn’t a superhero type story.

– Plot (3/5 stars) – The progression of the story goes from try to survive to rescue random people several times. There’s a romance subplot thrown in the mix cause that’s what happens in all YA dystopia books. There are a few interesting twists about who’s who.

– End (2.5/5 stars) – So predictable it hurts. There’s not much sense of closure because it’s clearly set up to make you buy book two.

– I’ll include some more specifics in a spoiler section after the ads.

Conclusion:

This is one person’s opinion. If you read the reviews, you’ll find a lot of happy people. There’s a lot of action and some great world-building in here. If you really love YA Dystopia, it’s a good series to try.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Spoiler Section:

– The idea of Carbons is cool, but it kind of takes away any sense of suspense. The epilogue bears this out. The ch before ends with Sawyer lamenting the fact that Kensey’s really gone. But is he? Epilogue – nope, Kensey’s very much alive. Well, at least there’s a copy of him running around fit and hale.

– When one kills off this many characters, it’s hard to get attached to any of them.

– Sawyer’s father or a copy of him or whatever forces Kensey to torture her to find out information about the Watchers, but since Kensey couldn’t really control the torment, he apologizes and it’s all good. Kissy scene to follow.

Awesome Movie Reviews 4.5/5 Stars: Alita: Battle Angel

February 16, 2019February 16, 2019 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, dystopia, scifi cyborgs, Jennifer Connelly, Rosa Salazar

*I will attempt to put spoilers at the end

Summary:

A damaged cyborg (destroyed body, intact core and brain) is discovered in the trash heap by Doc Ido, a man who repairs machine parts in people. She doesn’t remember who she is, where she came from, or what she was supposed to be doing. Doc puts her in a new body and so Alita comes into being.

Additional Comments:

Character development 4.5/5: I think Dr. Chiren (Jennifer Connelly) had the most character development. Doc’s stubborn but has a heart of gold at the beginning and the end. Alita (Rosa Salazar) develops a bit too.
Plot 4.5/5 stars: Surprisingly complex for an action movie of this sort. It’s more than just a teenage girl cyborg discovering herself, it’s about a battle angel remembering her identity and deciding to fight for those she loves.
Action/Fight scenes 5/5 stars: CGI like crazy, but still cool to watch. Not sure it’s worth extra to see in 3D, but I did end up seeing it in 3D/Imax and the experience was pretty neat. There were a few chase scenes, but they didn’t seem like random action movie write-ins for the sake of including a chase scene.
Music 4/5: Wasn’t impressed in the beginning, but the first credits song and most of the music throughout fit well.
Humor 4/5 stars: It had its moments between the dark ones. Will include some highlights below.
Ending 4/5 stars: They’re certainly gunning for a sequel. Box office scores will determine whether or not they get their wish. At the same time, I believe they had enough closure to make this feel like a completed story.
Warnings: High level of violence. But that was apparent even in the trailer.

Conclusion:

One of those movies that is better on a big screen. Jury’s still out on whether the normal digital experience is just as good, but seeing things in 3D was cool.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Spoiler Section:

Humorous points:

Alita discovering a favorite food – chocolate or eating an orange for the first time.
When the dog-loving hunter warrior goes after the guy beating on Alita and comments “He wasn’t a dog-lover. I hate that.”
When Alita’s body gets destroyed and Doc finally puts her in the Beserker shell and the nanotech fashions her to what she thinks her body is … and the nurse comments that Alita’s a bit older than Doc had originally imagined.
Alita and Hugo (Keenan Johnson) share a touching but intense moment and she breaks it by finally apologizing and acknowledging that it was indeed an intense moment.
When Zapan gets his face cut off. He catches it and is just standing there like “you cut off my beautiful face.”

Daring point:

They weren’t shy about offing characters. Technically, Hugo could still be alive. Alita fell from the sky city too and her brain was intact, so who knows. Didn’t think they’d kill Hugo’s friend. It’s depicted as a violent, largely lawless world, so it makes sense.

Audiobook Reviews 3/5 Stars: Beds Are for Flowers by R.K. Gold

December 19, 2018December 15, 2018 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, children's, dystopia, Family, Fantasy, middle grade children's fantasy, RK Gold

Narrated by Julie Hinton

Summary:

Clarence’s father is dying from some unknown illness. A Reaper comes by every day to see if he’s ready to travel the long road to Ganedyn, which I’m assuming is paradise. Many who travel the road don’t need it. While his mother’s willing to sacrifice years from her life, she doesn’t want the kids, Clarence and Jessi, doing the same. Desperate they resort to different tactics. Jessi sneaks next door and steals a bird from the Neighbor’s garden. That buys a little time. Clarence goes to speak to the neighbor and gets sent on a quest to dislodge the Reaper in the Tree, who’s presence there is pretty much the source of the problem.

Additional Comments:

World-building (3/5) – A lot of imagination went into creating this bleak, colorless world. Much of the lore is explained fairly naturally, but the worlds don’t make much sense. There’s a normal, mortal world, a paradise, and The End. Part of what bothered me is the naming system or lack thereof. The Neighbor, the Red Reaper, The Reaper in the Tree, etc. I wish they had real names instead of titles. Caggers (sorry about spelling) are fears from one of the worlds creeping into the mortal realm.
Characters (3.5/5) – Clarence, Wakoba, and Jessi are stereotypical questing kids. Clarence is the one given the quest. Jessi’s his sister, the brave one who carries a bat around. Wakoba’s the timid friend who has to face his fears to fulfill his part of the quest.
Plot (3/5) – It follows a logical path, but I don’t get a good sense of the world space or time passing. Part of that might be that time in the dark place they travel to (forest?) and nearing the Pit gets skewed. The characters go from one conversation to another talking about what’s happening with little actually happening until the final confrontation.
It’s 100% kid-friendly.
Disclaimer – it’s probably more literature-based fantasy than I’m used to. There are probably deep roots of moral lessons in here about taking care of the Earth/world you have, one person making all the difference, and the power of kids. Guess I just look for more direct, sword or bow-wielding action in my fantasy. There are plenty of scythes about because of the Reapers, but there are too many restrictions on them to make for a good old-fashioned fight. (Can’t kill a reaper with his own weapon.)

Conclusion:

Fans of RK Gold will probably enjoy this tale. Those who gravitate to Middle Grade literature too might find lots to love within. It reminds me of Treasure: Seed Savers by S. Smith. They’re both books about a world on the brink of collapse due to mismanagement of resources.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Narrated by Brian Nishii

Run Time: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Audiobook Promotions …

Narrated by Ginger Sue

Run Time: 8 hrs and 53 min

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Audiobook Promotions …

Narrated by Joseph Baltz

Run Time: 16 hrs and 13 mins

Genre: YA, Action, Dystopia?

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Audiobook Promotions …

Narrated by Liz Brand

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Associate links to follow…

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Associate links to follow…

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Associate links to follow…

*Will likely contain spoilers Introduction:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Associate links to follow…

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Associate links to follow…

Spoiler Section:

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Associate links to follow…

Spoiler Section:

Humorous points:

Daring point:

Narrated by Julie Hinton

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Associate links to follow…

*Will likely contain spoilers
Introduction: