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Shadowborne

Written by: Matthew Callahan
Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
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Publisher's Summary

They'd trained their entire lives to be heroes, only to discover they're no longer needed....

The Shadowborne had always fascinated Will. His grandfather's stories told of mythical warriors wielding dark, ancient magic, defending justice and battling dragons. But that's all they were, bedtime stories...until the Shadows embraced Will himself.

Now, propelled from the normal world into the mythical realm of Aeril, Will must learn to control his newfound power while discovering his place in this strange, new world. With his brother, Madigan, at his side, he sets off on a journey to uncover the truth of a secret that has been buried for centuries. For an ancient evil is stirring in Aeril, an evil that seeks to destroy the very fabric of reality. Can Will and Madigan discover the key to saving Aeril before all is lost?

If you like fast-paced action, raw emotions, and dark supernatural forces, then you’ll love unlocking the secrets of this epic adventure.
©2019 Matthew Callahan (P)2020 Podium Audio
Epic Action & Adventure
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Profile Image for Langer MD

Passable Isekai Adventure

There is an entire category of Japanese Fantasy where an MC from our plane finds him/herself transported into a Fantastical realm characterized by Swords & Sorcery realities. In Matthew Callahan's take on the theme, 14-year-old 'Will Davis' discovers that he can magically manipulate shadow (like a 17th level Illusionist in DnD) and travels with his 16-year-old incipient blademaster brother 'Madigan' through a secret tunnel to the realm of Aeril. Once there, the brothers learn more about the imaginative world in which they're ensconsed, develop their skills & powers, and join a mission to confront the once-thought-dead blood-sorcerer 'Dorian Valmont' as he seeks ancient artifacts that will grant him overwhelming power.
The vocabulary/prose is adequate, the action is well-choreographed, and Callahan's descriptive skills are considerable.
Unfortunately, the characters are shallow (often actually annoying), and the uncomplicated plot is straight-up juvenile. This book feels like it was written for a manga-addicted pubescent audience without hitting them with YA clichés.

Solidly in the book's favor, however, is commendable narration: Eric Michael Summer reads with a bit of a monotone.. but with impressive diction, timbre, cadence, and voice-acting. Podium Audio engineers furthermore provide a characteristically excellent listening product with outstanding sound editing. You will not go wrong choosing the audiobook version of Book One of 'The Relics Of Antiquity' series if you decide to give it a chance.

I confess that I'm personally more of a  "mature" High/Epic/Dark Fantasy-SciFi fan (and this book is a little bit too sophomoric for my tastes).. but it's not horrible - if you're satisfied getting a relatively superficial Good vs Evil plot with plenty of magic and action.
'Shadowborne' rates 5 stars out of 10 - worth a download if you can get it as part of the 'Plus' initiative - but not meriting a Credit (should they ask for one).

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Profile Image for Customer NJC

interesting storyline: frustrating characters

while I want to see where the story goes, it could be so much better. it seems much of the plot is propelled by forced misunderstandings and unreasonable omissions on the part of the characters.

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