Starlyn

Audiobook Reviews 2.5/5 Stars: The Chronicles of Starlyn by Craig A. Price, Jr.

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy , ,

 

Summary:

Eventful, quite violent prequel to The Crimson Claymore. Arria loves her mother so much she’s willing to use dark magic in a desperate attempt to save her.

Additional Comments:

–        Content Warnings: Fantasy violence, quite a bit of it. Decapitations, torture, rape, imprisonment, blood sacrifices, if it’s violent and dark it’s probably at least talked about in here.

–        This story is equally about Starlyn and her sister, Arria with a wee bit about their mother.

–        World Building 4/5: The author has a complex and rich world filled with several races. The focus is not on humans, which is refreshing for a fantasy tale.

–        I kind of wanted to know more about the mage. It’s been a while since I heard The Crimson Claymore, but I think it might be the same mage.

–        Audio 2/5: The narrator is okay, but the audio quality is poor. There’s a tinny quality that makes it sound like it’s coming through a can.

 

Conclusion:

If you’ve enjoyed The Crimson Claymore, this story is a nice way to get re-acquainted with the characters.

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

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.


OR

Audiobook Reviews 4.45/5: Crimson Claymore by Craig A Price, Jr.

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, Writing , , , , ,

I tried valiantly to get you a picture, but WordPress would have none of that.

 

4.45/5 Stars Great Start to an Epic Fantasy

Summary:

Searon and Starlyn and company go on an epic quest to save Calthoria from all kinds of evil.

Additional Comments:

– I heard the audiobook version, so forgive me if spellings are a tad off. First, let me say this is a great start to an epic fantasy series and I did enjoy listening to it. Want to make that clear in case some of the rest seems nitpicky.

– Characters 4/5 stars – The main characters are pretty well defined and, for the most part, likeable. The wizard is characterized as annoying and he definitely lives up to that. While good characterization, it still irritated me. Searon’s a tad overpowered like a video game character somebody obsessed over for a few decades and just kept leveling up skills. (He’s good with every kind of weapon he lays his hands on, but then again, so are most of the main characters.)

– Character development 4/5 – Searon does develop a little emotionally throughout the story. He at least learns to let go of the main driving force behind his bloodthirsty rage against the drayaks. Not many others change.

– World-building (4/5) – Starlyn’s race is essentially elves. They’re cool. Pretty in tune with nature. I like how she breaks out of that mold. There are a number of different, terrifying races. Their motivations are murky, and they seem to be controlled by humans or dark wizards or something with a big chip on its shoulder.

The difference between mage, wizard, necrowhatevers, witches, and whatnot got tedious, but I think it would click better if I was wider read in this particular genre.

– Plot (4/5) – While action-packed, it doesn’t really seem like there’s much rhyme or reason to much of the quest. Simply put, bad guys are attacking and good guys have to unite to fight them off. Pretty sure that’s the plot of most epic fantasy stories, yet it still works here.

– Fight scenes (5/5) – many and awesome. Perhaps even overdone in the sense that even if there’s not a wider battle going on, there’s usually a sparring match of some sort.

– Confusing: Not sure why the title centers on Searon’s weapon. It’s a cool weapon, but it’s not immediately apparent in the first story why the crimson claymore matters. I’m assuming it’ll have greater meaning later in the series, but the weapon’s importance seems a minor point compared to the war arising between the various races on this world.

Conclusion:

Fun, relatively clean (I mean there are a LOT of fight scenes) epic fantasy story. It’s a series worth checking out. Audiobook version is definitely recommended.

 

 

Associate links to follow…

Amazon Prime

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.