The First Fear: Yay or Nay?

I have just finished my listen through of The First Fear, and decided I enjoyed it enough to give a review. I'm not one for long essays, so I'll just use a Pros/Cons list instead.

Pros:

+ The narrator, Alister Austin is FANTASTIC! There are a lot of characters in this book, and through a wide array of different voices and accents he manages to give them all a distinct sound. His narration is smooth and clear, and really adds to this book.

+The idea behind the powers of the Empowered Ones (and the Gifted) are quite unique. Depending on which emotion is focused on, different abilities surface. Fear makes you run fast/jump high, anger is super-strength, as well as a wide variety of others, I thought it was quite a neat idea.

+The characters are all distinct in their dialogue and motivations, and due to a large cast size, there is no doubt you will find yourself attached to at least a few of them.

+A lot of the set pieces (an arena, infiltrating a noble's illegal party, a grand siege) are familiar and enjoyable.

+The length (just under 9 hours) isn't too long or short, and made it easier to set a goal to finish it.

Cons:

-The pacing is extremely fast, often too much for certain story beats to have the impact that they were intended. It sometimes makes character moments feel unearned, or set pieces far too brief to enjoy as much as I would have wanted.

-There are a lot of commonly used tropes here (love triangles, Chosen Ones, and evil empires to name just a few) but whether it's too much is up to the reader to decide. I was able to enjoy the story for what it was despite the tropes, but some people may be turned off by it.

Conclusion:

I would say this audiobook is definitely a 'Yay' for me, as I enjoyed my listen. I look forward to book two!

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2 people found this helpful

An entertaining take on the Sanderson vibe.

The book comes across as a more digestible take on Mistborn and The Reckoners, with seemingly a nod to Star Wars and Cook’s The Lady.
You have a few different POV’s with emerging characters, which came across well as well as some very interesting secondary characters.

I enjoyed the book, pacing made for an easy listen and I imagine the trilogy is an easy read. Much easier than a Mistborn re-read with far less whiny characters.

The twist at the end and pitched battle in particular stood out for me. The twist making me curious for the rest of the series and did what the tin would suggest.

A couple of gripes.
One is editing, as it felt adverb heavy with a few repetitions and a couple of modernisms.
The second was the narrator. A solid job, but a couple of duff pronunciations and too much emphasis on ‘u’.

Book 3.75*
Audiobook 3.5*

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1 person found this helpful

A gripping, action packed tale

The First Fear is a gripping, action packed tale sure to entertain not just Fantasy fans, but anyone who enjoys a well thought out story.

I'd heard good things about the First Fear, but I had no idea it would be a roller-coaster of a tale. The overall story is a unique spin on some tried and tested themes, which make it feel both nostalgic and intriguing at the same time.

The author's world building is spectacular, creating an Industrial-era empire and blending it beautifully with the malevolent power of the Supreme pitted against The Empowered Ones and their Gifted allies.

The characters (warts and all) are realistic and Mr. Olney does an amazing job of developing them throughout the story. The pacing is excellent too; the author gives just enough information to develop a scene without over-explaining everything. The action sequences are stylish and slick with plenty of twists and turns.

Overall, this was a fantastic story and I look forward to diving into the next book.

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2 people found this helpful

Star Wars plus Mistborn equals....

This book reminded me of two of my favourite fantasy sagas! I look forward to the next book.

The setting is much like Brandon Sanderson's first Mistborn trilogy i.e. evil empire, oppressed populous, super powered ruler, as is the unusual basis of of magic. This time it is emotions rather than metal!

Some of the dialogue reminds me of Star Wars, especially in fight scenes.

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1 person found this helpful

Engrossing read, great story and novel mechanic

I really enjoyed this book. It is a strong story with well rounded characters. The novel approach to power/magic is an ingenious twist on what is, at times, a well trodden path. Well worth a read.

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1 person found this helpful

An interesting world making for an enjoyable story

The Empowered Ones' world, their history and the individual characters and magic that inhabit it are all well thought out, and I enjoyed it a lot. I agree with much of what has been said in other reviews regarding the pace and narration, which is my lazy way of not just repeating it.

I've not read Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy, but if you like Larry Correia's Grimnoir Chronicles, I'll be surprised if you don't enjoy this first book. I look forward to the second book in this series.

Note: this is a review for the audiobook only, as I have not read the book.

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