Been a long time

It's been a long time since I've been so captivated by a story! It's nice to fined a book that doesn't throw a hero that can do no wrong at you!!

As the authors note said he doesn't always do the correct thing, it's true but in some way it gives you the ability to connect with the characters in a way that most books fail to do, although you know what he is doing is wrong you can understand and from an outside point of view and sympathise with his reasonings! And if I'm completely honest I probably wouldn't have done much different if given the tools he has and faced with the same situations!! That's not to say there are a few parts in the book that didn't annoy the hell out of me due to the stupidity of the main character, but I guess without it there wouldn't have been the fantastic story that is portrayed here!!

Overall anyone that is looking for a story full of adventure and with a dynamic plot full of twists and well conceived idea that isn't all "moral high ground" this is a really good place to start, and anyone that isn't sure, give it a crack, I did and don't regret it 1 bit!! Looking forward to the next in the series

5 people found this helpful

Can These Embers Grow To An Inferno?

What an excellent start to a series. I was intrigued by the author's "warning" so decided to give it a go. I think he overdoes it a bit and this is far from the darkest fantasy I have read but yes this is no soft wizards and elves story. It does contain some very adult themes and as the adolescent Daniel tries to come to grips with all the normal challenges of teenage life he's also getting to grips with some rather disturbing abilities. It develops extremely well as Daniel's naive and blase approach to what he can do leaves him open to accusations and he begins to grow mentally and develop and lose empathy in equal measure. There is one excellent moment when the coldly logical alien mindset of another race forces him to confront the true meaning of some of his actions.

The story builds things very nicely but in these kinds of coming of age tales the acid test is whether the author can maintain his story's qualities once their lead has done his initial growing. If Manning does this and keeps its throught-provoking and challenging nature in the remaining books then it will be a pretty hot series!

8 people found this helpful

Dark, Gripping, Emotional and yet uncomplicated.

What made the experience of listening to The Mountains Rise the most enjoyable?

Michael G Manning captured the essence of the adolescent brilliantly. The writing was straightforward but at the same time managed to convey plenty of emotion.

The writing was also done in a show me rather than the descriptive manner in which many of the books I've read lately use. I very much believe that with strong characters this style of writing is perfectly balanced and leaves some things up to the readers imagination/interpretation. This leads me to the next point which is there wasn't needless pages of descriptive scene setting, you were given enough but the story was allowed to flow much better and at no point did i feel like any of the writing was used just to fill out pages.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Daniel as he is the star of the show although so many others were just as good. His growth from boy into the dark and sometimes terrible figure he became was excellent and kept me listening long after i should've being asleep.

Have you listened to any of Alex Wyndham’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No this is the first. I thought he was good, characterizations were diverse enough as to make it easy to distinguish each character. I look forward to him narrating the next book in the trilogy.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Many of the scenes in the book carried a real emotional weight. I don't want to spoil it for anyone so i won't say anymore than that.

Any additional comments?

Really glad i tried a new author. Lately i have been disappointed in many of the books I've started listening to but this one really grabbed and held my attention throughout. It's a dark story to be sure but i never felt it was needlessly twisted like some other dark fantasy books in recent memory. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed!

2 people found this helpful

absolutely brilliant loved it from start to finish

kept me hooked from the beginning haven't been enthralled like that for a long time

4 people found this helpful

Two days..

Two days it took me to finish this masterpiece bailing on spellmonger series coming from series souch as the Demon cycle, Kingkiller Chronicle, The Broken Empire, and the First Law universe. If you recognize the titles above and are wondering on this one, dont, its a great listen.

1 person found this helpful

The best of dark.

Iwas abit cautious starting but the second the forest gods were mentioned I was hooked.

1 person found this helpful

Wow...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

One of the most original stories I've read.

What about Alex Wyndham’s performance did you like?

He's no Michael Kramer but then who is. However, once I got used to him I'd be happy to have him narrate the books.

Any additional comments?

This has to be one of the most original ideas for a fantasy book I've ever come across. I was so hooked that once the story got started, and the concept behind the book became apparent I couldn't stop listen. My only complaint is I now have to wait for the second book to come out.

1 person found this helpful

Written in similar fashion to Eddings. Note to self..yes for next book.

Brilliant from the start.
Mostly from the main characters point of view, just the way I like it. Well paced.
Cannot wait for the next book. Great, non irritating narration. 100% give it a go.

1 person found this helpful

Very entertaining. Need the next in the series!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Good story and an original idea.

Any additional comments?

My only negative is that the narrator seems to give everyone a Cornish farmers accent. Still, get past that and a thoroughly entertaining listen..

1 person found this helpful

Absolutely dreadful

I listened for sometime hooding that the story would pick up to least a different level however it went from bad to worse The narrator was very good and if it hadn’t been for him I would have given up earlier I wonder what the narrator thought about the said story line ?