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thetigerwrites's review
3.0
follow along the adventures of a street urchin with low self-esteem, a run of bad luck, and a best friend who blames him for just about everything.
this is a fun fantasy romp with an interesting main character, an okay supporting cast, and a good number of inconsistencies (which might be intentional).
the epilogue gives us the framing for how the story is told and allows Mister Brooks some flexibility in recounting the events, but too many still felt like something missed, rather than a storytelling choice.
this is clearly set up for a novel, both because of how it end and some of the things hinted at there, and I'm curious as to where that story will go.
this is a fun fantasy romp with an interesting main character, an okay supporting cast, and a good number of inconsistencies (which might be intentional).
the epilogue gives us the framing for how the story is told and allows Mister Brooks some flexibility in recounting the events, but too many still felt like something missed, rather than a storytelling choice.
this is clearly set up for a novel, both because of how it end and some of the things hinted at there, and I'm curious as to where that story will go.
julianav's review
2.0
I was very excited when I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I enjoy fantasy novels and hoped that this novella will introduce me to the rest of the books set in the same setting.
Some of the positives:
- The author does a great job with descriptions. The city of Amaford comes to life with its bustling market, poor Bridge districts and its slums as well as wonderful descriptions of its people.
- Many of the supporting characters are great, such as Ma, the stern but loving tavern owner and Grubbs, the fruit seller.
- The narrator's voice for the main character and many of the other supporting characters is great.
The negatives:
- The author needs to master dialogue. Many conversations, especially those that include confrontations degenerate into bad cliches. This is by far the weakest point of the novella.
- Character development is uneven. Jim, the main character starts off as slightly sarcastic urchin (a word an urchin shouldn't be able to use in conversation) and descends into a useless clumsy weakling, who takes on the blame for things that are out of his control. One of the other important characters is so abusive towards him, I was stunned that he was portrayed as Jim's best friend.
- The performance of the female voices and some of the male voices wasn't great. At times, I felt that the narrator's pacing was a lot faster than the pace of the book to the book's detriment.
- The story didn't end on the cliffhanger, which I believe was the intent. Instead it kind of dragged along for the last few chapters and instead of wanting to find out more, i was relieved when it ended.
All in all, I would say the story requires some rework, but the author's main strength lies more with world building rather than character creation.
Some of the positives:
- The author does a great job with descriptions. The city of Amaford comes to life with its bustling market, poor Bridge districts and its slums as well as wonderful descriptions of its people.
- Many of the supporting characters are great, such as Ma, the stern but loving tavern owner and Grubbs, the fruit seller.
- The narrator's voice for the main character and many of the other supporting characters is great.
The negatives:
- The author needs to master dialogue. Many conversations, especially those that include confrontations degenerate into bad cliches. This is by far the weakest point of the novella.
- Character development is uneven. Jim, the main character starts off as slightly sarcastic urchin (a word an urchin shouldn't be able to use in conversation) and descends into a useless clumsy weakling, who takes on the blame for things that are out of his control. One of the other important characters is so abusive towards him, I was stunned that he was portrayed as Jim's best friend.
- The performance of the female voices and some of the male voices wasn't great. At times, I felt that the narrator's pacing was a lot faster than the pace of the book to the book's detriment.
- The story didn't end on the cliffhanger, which I believe was the intent. Instead it kind of dragged along for the last few chapters and instead of wanting to find out more, i was relieved when it ended.
All in all, I would say the story requires some rework, but the author's main strength lies more with world building rather than character creation.
nairforceone's review
4.0
How Not to Be a Rogue is a very quick and charming first entry in what is sure to be a great fantasy series. It introduces a great, if relatively incompetent character in Jimmy as well as an interesting world that has many wrinkles I'm eager to see expanded upon in future installments.
While some of the humor is a little repetitive, the heart of the book really comes through around the 50% mark and stays through to the end, which I really enjoyed. If you liked the childhood flashbacks of The Lies of Locke Lamora, you'll surely find a similar charm here.
While some of the humor is a little repetitive, the heart of the book really comes through around the 50% mark and stays through to the end, which I really enjoyed. If you liked the childhood flashbacks of The Lies of Locke Lamora, you'll surely find a similar charm here.
jimbob_luke's review
3.0
The world of Amaford is an interesting place that I’d like to visit again.
I found the characters’ actions tO be very realistic. The main character, Jim, is a smart mouthed thieve and his best friend is a bumbling fool. Jim is very cunning and uses this to steal and get away from enemies. In the second half of the novella, they seemed to swap roles! Jim can’t even help in the kitchen without setting himself on fire and his best friend seems to be making more sensible decisions. I enjoyed the action scenes and the interaction between the secondary characters, especially Ma. Sean Duregger's narration was very engaging and I would definitely listen to more audiobooks narrated by him.
I found the characters’ actions tO be very realistic. The main character, Jim, is a smart mouthed thieve and his best friend is a bumbling fool. Jim is very cunning and uses this to steal and get away from enemies. In the second half of the novella, they seemed to swap roles! Jim can’t even help in the kitchen without setting himself on fire and his best friend seems to be making more sensible decisions. I enjoyed the action scenes and the interaction between the secondary characters, especially Ma. Sean Duregger's narration was very engaging and I would definitely listen to more audiobooks narrated by him.
mugadum's review
3.0
Delightful quick read! Jimmy has a buttload of sarcasm and I love that. Plot wasn't stellar by any means, but the distinctive characters more than made up for that. I think I'll be heading on over to read [b:How Not To Be A Scribe: Trials of Amaford Novella|45434024|How Not To Be A Scribe Trials of Amaford Novella|Zack Brooks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1556757094i/45434024._SY75_.jpg|70185788] while I'm waiting on the second in this series.
tavenorcd's review
4.0
How Not To Be A Rogue, by Zack Brooks, may have one of the strongest first person voices I’ve read in a long time. I’m starting with that emphasis because this book lived and died on its first person perspective. And I mean both words literally!
Brooks thrusts readers immediately into the life of a pauper living in the city of Amaford. From what I can tell, Brooks is slowly building a much larger fantasy world; the book comes with a beautiful map of the city at the beginning. I love maps. I’m a sucker for them.
And as a supposed “thief,” our main character Jimmy rushes around the city, doing rogue-like things. As the story progresses, Jimmy gets in over his head, bad things happen, and in the end, his situation progresses into a circumstance I can presume sets up future tales.
While the plot itself isn’t necessarily original by any means, the characters of How Not To Be A Rogue shine brighter than almost any indie book I’ve read so far. It is hard to write memorable characters, especially from a first person POV, but Brooks pulls off the impossible. I may have just finished the book, but I can recall the names of most of the cast: Jimmy, Grumps, Ma, Big Brother, Graham, Theren (shout out to having a villain with the same name as the character in my novel, by the way!). Yulie. Livia. Even the characters that weren’t on the page for long at all stand out in my mind (Jazmin).
Combine all of this with a dark, sarcastic, self-deprecating first person point of view . . . well let’s just say I read this story in practically one sitting.
On to the scores!
Writing: 9/10. Strong first person POV is hard to pull off. Brooks did it.
Characters: 10/10. Seriously. Read this book, even if its just for Jimmy’s banter with himself!
Plot: 6/10. Perhaps the weakest point of the story. It’s not bad, but it didn’t surprise me, either. It’s the characters that drive this tale, anyway!
Setting: 6/10. I can tell Brooks has a fantastical world behind the curtain, but we only saw a glimpse of it with this story. I didn’t get a sense of what made this world “fantasy” other than a few stray references to typical fantasy things. The city itself, though, feels alive with its Districts, and I love the map!
Overall: 7.75/10. A solid four star score! If you’re looking for mad, comedic, quick read, How Not To Be A Rogue will exceed all expectations. Its rich, multi-dimensional characters push the story from page to page; it barely feels like you’re even reading.
Brooks thrusts readers immediately into the life of a pauper living in the city of Amaford. From what I can tell, Brooks is slowly building a much larger fantasy world; the book comes with a beautiful map of the city at the beginning. I love maps. I’m a sucker for them.
And as a supposed “thief,” our main character Jimmy rushes around the city, doing rogue-like things. As the story progresses, Jimmy gets in over his head, bad things happen, and in the end, his situation progresses into a circumstance I can presume sets up future tales.
While the plot itself isn’t necessarily original by any means, the characters of How Not To Be A Rogue shine brighter than almost any indie book I’ve read so far. It is hard to write memorable characters, especially from a first person POV, but Brooks pulls off the impossible. I may have just finished the book, but I can recall the names of most of the cast: Jimmy, Grumps, Ma, Big Brother, Graham, Theren (shout out to having a villain with the same name as the character in my novel, by the way!). Yulie. Livia. Even the characters that weren’t on the page for long at all stand out in my mind (Jazmin).
Combine all of this with a dark, sarcastic, self-deprecating first person point of view . . . well let’s just say I read this story in practically one sitting.
On to the scores!
Writing: 9/10. Strong first person POV is hard to pull off. Brooks did it.
Characters: 10/10. Seriously. Read this book, even if its just for Jimmy’s banter with himself!
Plot: 6/10. Perhaps the weakest point of the story. It’s not bad, but it didn’t surprise me, either. It’s the characters that drive this tale, anyway!
Setting: 6/10. I can tell Brooks has a fantastical world behind the curtain, but we only saw a glimpse of it with this story. I didn’t get a sense of what made this world “fantasy” other than a few stray references to typical fantasy things. The city itself, though, feels alive with its Districts, and I love the map!
Overall: 7.75/10. A solid four star score! If you’re looking for mad, comedic, quick read, How Not To Be A Rogue will exceed all expectations. Its rich, multi-dimensional characters push the story from page to page; it barely feels like you’re even reading.
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