Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsHit it out of the park! Fantastic!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 11, 2021
I will admit, I stumbled upon these novels while stalking the work of Nick Podehl. And in a bid to spend all my unspent audible credits before they disappeared, I took a gamble and got these books. They are as different in terms of the tone of the writing to the voices displayed in the audiobook, in a great way. The ability for these books to be part of a whole and still take you to different worlds, scenarios, and view points with each series while never losing track of the main objectives of each character is so truly unique.
Andrew Rowe mastered this genre with his work and Soulbrand is one of his best pieces of writing so far. If you’re reading this review in hopes of finding a good series, check his website and see how he draws out the reading series (I’ve listened in many different orders, I find starting with Sufficiently Advanced Magic to be the best although when I originally started it was with the Broken Mirrors trilogy and it was still wonderful).
If you’re looking for a review of Soulbrand and a fan of the series, you already know it is going to answer a ton of questions and leave you at the end wanting answers to even more! There is no true cliff hanger, it is an “Andrew ending” that will definitely allow us to begin the next series with a great starting point.
The characters have significant growth per usual, the fluidity in sexuality and gender is a high point to the author for his inclusivity in this book as he did it many times throughout the novel very discreetly. It was written with open-minded characters and I wish more children had access to books that were so entertaining and yet so “not in your face” about their openness as this series. I know it isn’t a focal point (the fight scenes, weapon cataloging, and characters were amazing in this series — as well as answered back story questions) but the way Rowe writes about characters preferences and descriptions is so wholeheartedly amazing. You rock, man. And to the rest of you, go read this book. Go read the series. Join us on discord. And then get on Reddit and tell us all your theories and questions!
