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Title: Soul of the World
Author: David Mealing
Narrator: Rebecca Hamilton
Format: Unabridged
Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
Language: English
Release date: 06-29-17
Publisher: Hachette Audio UK
Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary
Publisher's Summary:
As the fires of revolution rage....
The city of New Sarresant simmers with discontent. Civil war looms as the Crown's authority is challenged by revolutionaries. Sarine, a young street artist, only cares about surviving - and staying one step ahead of the law. Yet her hidden powers will draw the attention of both royalists and rebels, and soon she will have to decide whose side she is really on.
And chaos spreads across a continent....
On the battlefields, General Erris d'Arrant must lead the armies of New Sarresant against its rivals in the south. Yet the enemy seems to know her plans before she even makes them. Erris needs to find out how, but the truth will be far darker than she could have imagined.
Three heroes must rise or the world will fall....
In the forests, Aruk'Jur wields an ancient magic that keeps his people safe. Yet the prophecies that have always guided his people have become corrupted, and war between the tribes seems inevitable - unless he can find a way to prevent bloodshed.
With its gripping action scenes, vibrant characters and imaginative magic system, Soul of the World is epic fantasy at its very best - a stellar debut from a major new talent.
Look out for Blood of the Gods, book two in the Ascension Cycle, coming May 2018.
Critic Reviews:
"Compelling characters and a unique magic system. Mealing does a fabulous job with the intricate world-building and leaves the reader wanting to get their hands on the sequel." (RT Book Reviews)
"Imaginative and elaborate epic fantasy [with] strong characters and rich worldbuilding." (Publishers Weekly)
"A compelling read, one that's all the more extraordinary since it's a debut work: rarely have I encountered such a level of narrative control and sophistication in a first novel." (Space and Sorcery)
Members Reviews:
Awesome story and amazing characters!
I really enjoyed this book. I liked every main character and loved the perspectives of each one. I highly recommend this book as I enjoyed it more than any book I have read in a long while. I hope you enjoy as much as I did. I am really looking forward to the next book.
A Debut Author With A Lot of Potential
I have to be honest, I'm a little conflicted about how to rate this book. There is a nearly even divide of good & bad here with the good coming out a nose ahead of the bad.
Here we go with a "Pros & Cons" review, as that seems to be my go-to with 3 star books.
The writing takes on a beautiful, French-influenced style, but is oddly constructed & tiresome to read.
Soul of the World is written in a way that causes my inner narrator to stumble all over the page. She tends to do that a little bit anyway, but in particular I found myself going back to reread sentences way more than I am comfortable with.
A couple peculiar, recurring word choices combined with an occasionally odd sentence structure had me feeling a little like I was reading a translation. The author's profile says that he speaks French, which may explain where some of the unfamiliar phrasing & language structure come from.
Now, this may not be a problem for everyone who reads this book, but it was for me.
That being said, I really enjoyed the French influence where naming conventions are concerned.
