Adventurers Wanted: Albrek's Tomb, the third book in the Adventurers wanted series follows Alexander Taylor (goes by Alex) as he is requested by one of his old company members to find Albrek, a dwarf who went missing searching for new mines in the village of Thraxon. Alex and his company have to go through many dangerous places to get to Thraxon in search of Albrek, and run into trouble along the way.
I really liked the first two books in the Adventurers Wanted series, Slagboth's gold, and The Horn of Moran. Slagboth's gold and The Horn of Moran were Alex's first two adventures, which introduced me to the fantasy world of magic and adventures, all throughout the book. It was fun to see Alex adapt from being a normal sixteen year old kid, to an adventurer on a quest to find gold, having to slay dragons in the process. I was able to experience getting to know magic in the world for the first time with Alex, and it was fun to see how he decided to deal with the problems he faced with his inexperience. It was a great shock for me to learn that Alex was a Wizard, and was going to have to learn to use and control his powers. I liked being introduced to dwarfs and elves and different magical creatures. Alex has troubles in the first book with one of the people in his company. This extra added tension made the book even better.
Albrek's Tomb did not do these things for me. I am very aware of all of the magical principles and different types of characters. It introduced a couple of new things, like magical duels and paladins, but the book did not do this often. My biggest problem with the book is that Alex seems to already to be a very powerful wizard, so nothing really challenges him as a character. There's really no arch for him in this book. He isn't trying to learn about magic, or grow in his powers. Another issue I have is that all of the characters seem to get along really well, and there is pretty much no conflict between anyone that the company meets or with anyone in the company. One example of this is when Alex gets into a magical duel with a paladin, and won (even though the paladin was much older and much more experienced), and then they pretty much became best friends. Another thing I don't like with about the book is that it erases a lot of the characters which I got to know in the first book. The company is very different, and has only has a few members from Alex's previous company. There was one character that seemed like she was a potential love interest for Alex, but she is not in the third book. Even if characters from previous books do come back, there would be too many characters to keep track of.
I am only about halfway through the book, so some of the things that I don't like might change as I keep reading. The book has just dragged on from the beginning, and I don't look forward to reading it as much as I did the first two books in the series. I would give this book a 1.5/5. I highly recommend the first two books, but this one was just disappointing.
I really liked the first two books in the Adventurers Wanted series, Slagboth's gold, and The Horn of Moran. Slagboth's gold and The Horn of Moran were Alex's first two adventures, which introduced me to the fantasy world of magic and adventures, all throughout the book. It was fun to see Alex adapt from being a normal sixteen year old kid, to an adventurer on a quest to find gold, having to slay dragons in the process. I was able to experience getting to know magic in the world for the first time with Alex, and it was fun to see how he decided to deal with the problems he faced with his inexperience. It was a great shock for me to learn that Alex was a Wizard, and was going to have to learn to use and control his powers. I liked being introduced to dwarfs and elves and different magical creatures. Alex has troubles in the first book with one of the people in his company. This extra added tension made the book even better.
Albrek's Tomb did not do these things for me. I am very aware of all of the magical principles and different types of characters. It introduced a couple of new things, like magical duels and paladins, but the book did not do this often. My biggest problem with the book is that Alex seems to already to be a very powerful wizard, so nothing really challenges him as a character. There's really no arch for him in this book. He isn't trying to learn about magic, or grow in his powers. Another issue I have is that all of the characters seem to get along really well, and there is pretty much no conflict between anyone that the company meets or with anyone in the company. One example of this is when Alex gets into a magical duel with a paladin, and won (even though the paladin was much older and much more experienced), and then they pretty much became best friends. Another thing I don't like with about the book is that it erases a lot of the characters which I got to know in the first book. The company is very different, and has only has a few members from Alex's previous company. There was one character that seemed like she was a potential love interest for Alex, but she is not in the third book. Even if characters from previous books do come back, there would be too many characters to keep track of.
I am only about halfway through the book, so some of the things that I don't like might change as I keep reading. The book has just dragged on from the beginning, and I don't look forward to reading it as much as I did the first two books in the series. I would give this book a 1.5/5. I highly recommend the first two books, but this one was just disappointing.
Dang, it's pretty unfortunate that this book doesn't seem to be very well written, especially considering the cool premise behind it. The idea of things like wizards and paladins sound cool, but like you talk about, a great idea can be torn down by bad character development and relationships. It would seem annoying to have everyone in a story be close friends, in addition to a main character with very little growth. Great job on the review!
ReplyDeleteIt always sucks when a series falls off a cliff like this. The problem of there being too many characters to try and freshen up the story is one that is all too common in these big series. I do wonder if your opinion of the book has changed now? Sometimes books get much better in the second half.
ReplyDeleteWhen I often read a review, I'm expecting to get a good book recommendation. However, I think it's equally important to watch out for some books that aren't as good. It kind of sounds like the writer of the series had a good idea to begin with but the delivery was wrong. There's also always the danger of making a character too overpowered, because then the story becomes bland. I liked how you compared this book to the previous installments of the series, and how you didn't have to give a huge summary of the book for the reader to still understand your review. Good job.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the disappointment and letdown you feel when a really good series somehow fails to deliver and ends up flopping. The mistake of overpowering the main character is a common trope, and I agree, it definitely sucks out all the excitement from the plot. Much of the interest in a fantasy story like this may be created from watching the main character train and grow to adapt to new, magical surroundings. When that's vanished, the story loses suspense - you already know the protagonist will win. Nice review -- however, I wonder if this book well get better as it progresses?
ReplyDeleteMost of the series I have read do this exact same thing, as time goes on the series get worse and the last books usually are not that good. I liked how you explained the difference between this book and the others you've read and specifically what this book did not accomplish. It was easy to read and follow, good job!
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