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clayjones's review against another edition
3.0
Fun world, story and characters are predictable
I was initially hooked- and finished - because the setting of this novel is fresh and captivating. I wanted to learn more about the rangers, titans, magic, and other civilizations. That really carried the book for me. The main character was naive, she felt much younger than she was said to be. The other characters all felt one dimensional. The plot was predictable and didn’t seem to go anywhere until about halfway. I think entire chapters from the first half could be removed.
Anyways, I backed the sequel on kickstarter and I’m excited to read more!
I was initially hooked- and finished - because the setting of this novel is fresh and captivating. I wanted to learn more about the rangers, titans, magic, and other civilizations. That really carried the book for me. The main character was naive, she felt much younger than she was said to be. The other characters all felt one dimensional. The plot was predictable and didn’t seem to go anywhere until about halfway. I think entire chapters from the first half could be removed.
Anyways, I backed the sequel on kickstarter and I’m excited to read more!
mythical_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lcasswrites's review against another edition
The book is well written and decently paced, I just didn’t find myself interested in where the plot was going, and I wasn’t invested in the characters.
rg9400's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Read for SPFBO 9. I enjoyed this book. I really liked what it was attempting to do with its stubborn character who had deep seated hatred ingrained within her. The world seemed pretty cool, and the line by line craft was very strong for a self pub book. A lot of this book is a journey though, and that's simply not my favorite type of story. It's a strong book overall though, and it has a satisfying conclusion.
brodz54's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tylerbrown7844's review against another edition
4.0
I won a free copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway, and give this unbiased review as a thank you to both Goodreads and the author!
I really found myself loving the world Rosell has built here. The map is extremely detailed, the interplay of colonies, Gasts, and ancestral lands mirrors historical events of earth which a fresh take, and the variety of fauna described is breathtaking.
I have, at times, issues with some of Leiyn’s thoughts and actions. It’s hard to empathize with her early in the book, she is clearly extremely prejudiced against the Gast, and isn’t afraid to show it. This is obviously commonplace for the world, but is rebuked by other characters as well. I understand what the author is going for - Leiyn’s feelings are not unrealistic, perhaps I’m just projecting my own real world feelings against prejudice. However, I think where one issue lies (or, where it could be made easier to accept) would be with how Gasts are portrayed initially.
From the beginning, it’s shown that a Gast shaman helped Leiyn survive birth at the explicit request of Leiyn’s mother. The mother knew it required her life, and willingly gave it. All this is shown. But then we see that the father didn’t realize this, and Leiyn was raised hating Gast, thinking the Gast killed the mother and cursed Leiyn. Perhaps had we only seen this perspective, later having it revealed to be otherwise, it would’ve been easier to see through Leiyn’s eyes.
I also sometimes think there’s pacing issues, there’s a lot going on and the plot is fast, at the expense of some character development. I definitely think more time showing Leiyn with Acalan and Zuma would’ve been a welcome thing.
Some spoiler bits I loved:
Leiyn being captured by the Odiosa just as she’s accepting her own magic is a very good plot point!
Rosell also does a very nice job setting up the sequel - throughout there are references to life beyond the Silvertusk Sierras, and the maps provide interesting details of the area. So to know that’s where the sequel goes certainly made me interested!
I really found myself loving the world Rosell has built here. The map is extremely detailed, the interplay of colonies, Gasts, and ancestral lands mirrors historical events of earth which a fresh take, and the variety of fauna described is breathtaking.
I have, at times, issues with some of Leiyn’s thoughts and actions. It’s hard to empathize with her early in the book, she is clearly extremely prejudiced against the Gast, and isn’t afraid to show it. This is obviously commonplace for the world, but is rebuked by other characters as well. I understand what the author is going for - Leiyn’s feelings are not unrealistic, perhaps I’m just projecting my own real world feelings against prejudice. However, I think where one issue lies (or, where it could be made easier to accept) would be with how Gasts are portrayed initially.
Spoiler
From the beginning, it’s shown that a Gast shaman helped Leiyn survive birth at the explicit request of Leiyn’s mother. The mother knew it required her life, and willingly gave it. All this is shown. But then we see that the father didn’t realize this, and Leiyn was raised hating Gast, thinking the Gast killed the mother and cursed Leiyn. Perhaps had we only seen this perspective, later having it revealed to be otherwise, it would’ve been easier to see through Leiyn’s eyes.
I also sometimes think there’s pacing issues, there’s a lot going on and the plot is fast, at the expense of some character development. I definitely think more time showing Leiyn with Acalan and Zuma would’ve been a welcome thing.
Some spoiler bits I loved:
Leiyn being captured by the Odiosa just as she’s accepting her own magic is a very good plot point!
Rosell also does a very nice job setting up the sequel - throughout there are references to life beyond the Silvertusk Sierras, and the maps provide interesting details of the area. So to know that’s where the sequel goes certainly made me interested!
sezmo83's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
laurarhds's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wolfmantula's review against another edition
4.75
I’ve known about Rosell for some time, but never actually read anything of his, despite backing the first two books of this series on kickstarter. Now that this is part of the SPFBO-9, I knew I had to make sure I read it, and if I knew how amazing he was as a writer and storyteller beforehand, I would have definitely read this, The Legend of Talseries and The Runewar Saga immediately. Rosell paints a wonderful world full of beauty and adventure. As he brushed in the details, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by how magical and real it felt, as if I was watching Félix Ortiz himself, who did the cover and extra artwork, bringing it to life on canvas. The cover and interior art is part of the reason I backed the Kickstarter in the first place. But now that I’ve read this incredible story about one of the best heroines in fantasy, I have to say that Rosell is vastly underrated and should be talked about way more often in fantasy circles, and maybe he will be after entering The Last Ranger into the SPFBO this year.
I love stuff that has a real historical feel to it in a fantasy setting, and The Last Ranger does a great job of that. The setting feels like early colonial America in Colorado, that assumption is based on the beautiful artwork and cover, as well as the fact that the author lives there. After doing some quick research I discovered there were many tribes that inhabited the Rocky Mountains, so I’m not exactly sure what tribe gave him inspiration, or if it was just the beautiful Rocky Mountain scenery itself. Whatever it was, it inspired an epic fantasy tale of resilience and redemption for an indigenous heroine who can wield a bow better than Hawkeyethat overcomes the odds of her tribe being slaughtered. The story only gets better with the friendships, the magic and the journey they make through the Titan Wilds. Dealing with corruption, titanous spirit beasts, shapeshifters and sorcery, The Last Ranger is one hell of a start to an exciting new world! I also need to mention that there is a part near the end that floored me with laughter because it’s one of those goofy lines that I would say to someone.
“When we close our eyes to other perspectives, no matter where they come from, we become a little more blind to the truth. Truth does not belong to us or the Gasts, nor to the Gazians or the Ofeans. We each claim but a sliver.
Only by putting those pieces together can we see the world as it truly is.”
The characters were all great, even the main antagonist made me hate him every time I just saw his name pop up. But Rosell did such a fantastic job with the main character of Leiyn, that this felt like such a breeze to read. From the get go, she was a great character and the development as the story went on as she discovered more about herself and her past was handled with great precision and care. The secondary characters were great as well, I really enjoyed Isla and Batu’s parts more than any of the other secondary characters. They were major pieces to Leiyn’s transformation throughout the story and without them, it may not have been as great.
The only issue that I really had with all of this had to do with the audio, but with that said, the narration by Imogen Church was pretty amazing. She did such a great job of getting into the characters and the story to a point where it felt like she loved it herself. Now with that issue, Imogen’s narration was a bit slow for my taste, and my taste is listening at 1.0 speed. I had to kick it up a tad to 1.25 to get a better experience, and because all it needed was a kick up, I didn’t find it as an actual issue or something to dock it for. The speed could lead to some feeling like the story drags a bit, so if you’re reading this, just kick it up a tad and the experience is still there and it still feels like it’s going at a normal speed!
the_midwest_library's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Let's talk about this beauty. This is a great book, not just a great book for an indie release like objectively this is a really fantastic fantasy book and start to a new fantasy story.
Things to love: our main character is stubborn and has a complex arc in this book which I think was well handled. She is fighting with engrained prejudices and festered self hatred for her biased opinions which I felt like was properly reflected on, and naturally grew from. The story and world is really compelling, and the pacing was really consistent. I also really liked the side characters.
Things that I would love to see improved upon in the next installments: I would like for the politics and lore to be more developed there were moments where I felt like we were just told something would work out a certain way or occur a certain way because "reasons" which didn't make me feel like the political intrigue aspect was as grounded. I really hope our main character actually has growth in a mature way, because of the tropes her character faces I hope that we see an upward trajectory for her because while in this book she was sometimes an idiot it fit the narrative. I think going forward we need her to be a bit sharper and have a bit more critical thinking skills armed with her current knowledge.
Overall, this was a great read. I flew through it, I think more people should pick this up and I'm looking forward to book 2.
Things to love: our main character is stubborn and has a complex arc in this book which I think was well handled. She is fighting with engrained prejudices and festered self hatred for her biased opinions which I felt like was properly reflected on, and naturally grew from. The story and world is really compelling, and the pacing was really consistent. I also really liked the side characters.
Things that I would love to see improved upon in the next installments: I would like for the politics and lore to be more developed there were moments where I felt like we were just told something would work out a certain way or occur a certain way because "reasons" which didn't make me feel like the political intrigue aspect was as grounded. I really hope our main character actually has growth in a mature way, because of the tropes her character faces I hope that we see an upward trajectory for her because while in this book she was sometimes an idiot it fit the narrative. I think going forward we need her to be a bit sharper and have a bit more critical thinking skills armed with her current knowledge.
Overall, this was a great read. I flew through it, I think more people should pick this up and I'm looking forward to book 2.