- Title:
- Quest
- Author:
- A.J. Ponder
- Release:
- December 15, 2021
- Format:
- Audiobook
- Narrator:
- Benjamin Fife
- Series:
- The Sylvalla Chronicles #1
While this book has some charm, I think the whole “rebellious princess” thing is insanely played out and unoriginal at this point. You’re only really told she dislikes her life because “reasons” and you don’t have enough time to experience it, so when she runs off, you hardly have a reason to care.
The story is told in a narration format, which is interesting, to say the least. I like the character bios for the supporting cast as they’re introduced. The supporting cast is more interesting than the supposed main character, but it also starts to feel a bit crowded at times. After a while, it’s difficult to know who you’re supposed to care about, or even remember them because there are so many.
The audiobook narration doesn’t help with this issue and leaves something to be desired. While the overall narration is alright at best, there’s very little inflection in his tone or variance in his voice, if any. The only real exceptions to that are the character voices, and even then, they’re not done particularly well. None of them have distinct or unique voices that make them recognizable.
One example of the narration falling super flat is during a combat scene (Chapter 43 on Authors Direct.) where you’d expect to be engaged and on the edge of your seat. It’s read in the same boring voice that the rest of the book is. A character supposedly yells to another that he’s cumming to help, but the character’s voice doesn’t convey that AT ALL.
The final issue I noticed with the audiobook is the seemingly random pauses in dialogue. It must have been the end of one recording session and the beginning of another, or something akin to that. Because there will be this awkward 5(ish) second pause between dialogue or scene setting that’s incredibly distracting. I was listening at 2x speed and noticed it.
I’m unsure who the intended audience for this book is. I think a middle school kid would get tired of it after a while, as it’s not that exciting. And anybody more mature would have a plethora of other fantasy novels to choose from. It’s alright if you want a more comedic, slow-paced story. But if you’re looking for something engaging or exciting, keep looking.
NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.