lindsaylacher's review
4.0
***Disclaimer: This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.***
Unwilling Souls is a debut fantasy novel by Gregory D. Little and is the first book in a four book series. This book masterfully combines elements and themes of fantasy, sci-fi and fantastical mythology in ways that take the reader on a breathtaking journey.
After the safe haven she has been living at is attacked on her sixteenth birthday, Ses Lucani must flee for safety once the ensuing investigations reveal a secret that puts her at risk. Now, Ses must do whatever it takes to reach the parents who abandoned her...even if that means joining up with a strange boy named Murien, who seems to live a shadowy existence of his own.
First off, let me just say that the world building in this book is PHENOMENAL. It felt very rich in details and I could so easily picture this incredible world as I followed Ses's adventure through it. Additionally, Ses is a relatable YA protagonist who draws you in and makes you genuinely care about what is happening to her. Unwilling Souls has a ton of interesting concepts such as it's socio-political set up and its use of tools that are imbued with soul energy and the plot has multiple twists and turns that I did not expect. Overall, I gave this book a four star rating and I honestly cannot wait to continue forward with this series.
If you are looking for an action packed tale that will transport you to another world and take you on an adrenaline inducing adventure then Unwilling Souls is the book for you.
Unwilling Souls is a debut fantasy novel by Gregory D. Little and is the first book in a four book series. This book masterfully combines elements and themes of fantasy, sci-fi and fantastical mythology in ways that take the reader on a breathtaking journey.
After the safe haven she has been living at is attacked on her sixteenth birthday, Ses Lucani must flee for safety once the ensuing investigations reveal a secret that puts her at risk. Now, Ses must do whatever it takes to reach the parents who abandoned her...even if that means joining up with a strange boy named Murien, who seems to live a shadowy existence of his own.
First off, let me just say that the world building in this book is PHENOMENAL. It felt very rich in details and I could so easily picture this incredible world as I followed Ses's adventure through it. Additionally, Ses is a relatable YA protagonist who draws you in and makes you genuinely care about what is happening to her. Unwilling Souls has a ton of interesting concepts such as it's socio-political set up and its use of tools that are imbued with soul energy and the plot has multiple twists and turns that I did not expect. Overall, I gave this book a four star rating and I honestly cannot wait to continue forward with this series.
If you are looking for an action packed tale that will transport you to another world and take you on an adrenaline inducing adventure then Unwilling Souls is the book for you.
krismoon's review
4.0
While I think the beginning was a little rough -the reader only allowed in Ses' head and no one else's, and very little dialogue, for the first 30% of the book-, I thoroughly enjoyed the book overall! There were lots of interesting elements and fantasy concepts that were fun to read. Looking forward to the next one!
jessicafee86's review against another edition
5.0
If you know anything about me, you know that I am a huge animal lover, and this book gave me the loyal steed that I never knew I needed. Sort of creepy, sort of cute, surprisingly loyal and 100% awesome, the animals in this book are a well fleshed force to be reckoned with.
"Naming the spider had helped her nerves. When she looked at a creature with a name, no matter how frightening, it was harder to feel fear or disgust. It was almost like a pet. A big dog. It's just a big, bristly dog I'm hugging. Just a big, bristly, eight legged dog."
Seriously, almost everything about this book (at least in the second half) has to do with super smart, possibly immortal spiders that abhor violence, it's pretty awesome.
"Arach Arbor. Ses struggled to suppress a shudder. She had no wish to live in a city built inside a gigantic, dead spider and filled with smaller, but still huge living spiders."
"Inscrutable and supposedly invincible, only one thing about the spiderlings was certain: the only violence they tolerated in the corpse of their mother was that which they inflicted to keep the peace."
See?! How can you not be in love with the spiders already?! But the spiders aren't the only thing that keep the story interesting, they're just an intense part of the world building. Our story begins far away from the spiders, with Ses Lucani, a 16 year old whose father is a terrorist and whose mother is a leader in the local government.
Both of her parents have been in an intense feud for her entire life, so Ses was raised by her Grandfather. When Ses gets older she gets sent to a magical school located in the center of the earth, called The Pit. Not only is The Pit a magical school, but it also doubles as a prison for the gods.
Everything about this book was fun, the world was interesting, the characters were likable, and the story was overall very engaging. I hope that more people are able to discover this book because it's a great example of the gems that you can find when you try reading books by independent authors and/or publishers.
(If you enjoyed this review, more can be found on my blog: http://bookstocombattherain.blogspot.com/)
"Naming the spider had helped her nerves. When she looked at a creature with a name, no matter how frightening, it was harder to feel fear or disgust. It was almost like a pet. A big dog. It's just a big, bristly dog I'm hugging. Just a big, bristly, eight legged dog."
Seriously, almost everything about this book (at least in the second half) has to do with super smart, possibly immortal spiders that abhor violence, it's pretty awesome.
"Arach Arbor. Ses struggled to suppress a shudder. She had no wish to live in a city built inside a gigantic, dead spider and filled with smaller, but still huge living spiders."
"Inscrutable and supposedly invincible, only one thing about the spiderlings was certain: the only violence they tolerated in the corpse of their mother was that which they inflicted to keep the peace."
See?! How can you not be in love with the spiders already?! But the spiders aren't the only thing that keep the story interesting, they're just an intense part of the world building. Our story begins far away from the spiders, with Ses Lucani, a 16 year old whose father is a terrorist and whose mother is a leader in the local government.
Both of her parents have been in an intense feud for her entire life, so Ses was raised by her Grandfather. When Ses gets older she gets sent to a magical school located in the center of the earth, called The Pit. Not only is The Pit a magical school, but it also doubles as a prison for the gods.
Everything about this book was fun, the world was interesting, the characters were likable, and the story was overall very engaging. I hope that more people are able to discover this book because it's a great example of the gems that you can find when you try reading books by independent authors and/or publishers.
(If you enjoyed this review, more can be found on my blog: http://bookstocombattherain.blogspot.com/)
milesenglish's review against another edition
5.0
Picked this up as part of a story bundle, and honestly this was one of the best of the bunch. It's got some really amazing world building that creates a great atmosphere throughout the whole book. Little has a great imagination and the bravery to actually use it.
bookreststop's review against another edition
4.0
I really appreciated the pacing of this story. There was action at every corner. Any down time for Ses, our protagonist, felt like relief and much needed for her sake. There were twists near the end I didn’t see coming and absolutely loved! I felt so invested in Ses and her missions. At the start, the world building was a little disorienting, but it comes together very well half way through. A very unique, intricate fantasy world unlike any I’ve read. Definitely worth checking out!
jsilber42's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great debut fantasy novel. Part 1 of a 4 volume series, Unwilling Souls combines a steam-punk-esque (for lack of a better term) world, a likable YA protagonist, some great, unique world-building concepts, lots of mysteries, and a relentless, thriller-like plot to keep you turning pages.
My favorite aspect of the world-building involves the cities: in the long-ago war with the gods, impossibly large creatures fought for the gods against the humans. After the humans won, the skeletal remains of the creatures now form the physical basis of cities, which are built into and around the bones. Each city is named after and built around a unique monster, and the author delights in using this feature to give each city a different feel. We visit three cities in Book 1; the map suggests there are several more that we
may get to explore in future volumes.
While the book is fun and (mostly) breezy, its themes are much heavier. At its core is a dark, murky moral question - what price is justifiable in the name of saving the world? I look forward to seeing how the author attempts to answer this question over the course of the series.
My favorite aspect of the world-building involves the cities: in the long-ago war with the gods, impossibly large creatures fought for the gods against the humans. After the humans won, the skeletal remains of the creatures now form the physical basis of cities, which are built into and around the bones. Each city is named after and built around a unique monster, and the author delights in using this feature to give each city a different feel. We visit three cities in Book 1; the map suggests there are several more that we
may get to explore in future volumes.
While the book is fun and (mostly) breezy, its themes are much heavier. At its core is a dark, murky moral question - what price is justifiable in the name of saving the world? I look forward to seeing how the author attempts to answer this question over the course of the series.
bookwormdaydreamer's review against another edition
4.0
What an enjoyable ride! I really enjoyed this one. It's fun, fast-paced and had lots of action. Ses was a great protagonist and I liked seeing the world through her eyes. I found her to be a compelling and interesting character which made me care about her and her story. I actually started this today and finished it just a few hours later. I couldn't put down my iPad, it's how engrossing it was.
The book starts off in The Pit, a place at the planet's core which apparently housed a sort of magic school for smiths and temples to the gods. However, the gods in this story have been imprisoned for hundreds of years with The Pit serving as their prison. There is a fascinating blend of magic and technology which I thought was very original and interesting. However, the most interesting part of the story was the cities which were housed in the bones of monsters the humans slew in the war.
The story in this stayed personal, which makes sense considering that it's a first book and Ses was just starting to understand the implications of her world and her heritage. It takes place in the timespan of less than a week, which contributed to the fast pacing. However, the series will apparently become more epic in scope and add POV characters as it progresses. For now, I enjoyed the story as it is.
It's not difficult to understand given that the lore and world-building is well-spaced out and there was little to no info-dumping, and there was a very small cast of characters. The story pretty much revolved around Ses looking for her father which is more interesting than how I make it sound. There are a few twists which I didn't see coming, but also made sense. The ending does make me ask a few questions which I believe would be answered in later installments. Whatever the case may be, the ending definitely sets the stage for expanding the scope.
I'm looking forward to reading the sequel. I enjoyed the setting, the world-building, and the story. It's very fast-paced and there aren't any parts which dragged- hence why I finished this in less than a day. I highly recommend this book for people who enjoy unique settings and stories!
The book starts off in The Pit, a place at the planet's core which apparently housed a sort of magic school for smiths and temples to the gods. However, the gods in this story have been imprisoned for hundreds of years with The Pit serving as their prison. There is a fascinating blend of magic and technology which I thought was very original and interesting. However, the most interesting part of the story was the cities which were housed in the bones of monsters the humans slew in the war.
The story in this stayed personal, which makes sense considering that it's a first book and Ses was just starting to understand the implications of her world and her heritage. It takes place in the timespan of less than a week, which contributed to the fast pacing. However, the series will apparently become more epic in scope and add POV characters as it progresses. For now, I enjoyed the story as it is.
It's not difficult to understand given that the lore and world-building is well-spaced out and there was little to no info-dumping, and there was a very small cast of characters. The story pretty much revolved around Ses looking for her father which is more interesting than how I make it sound. There are a few twists which I didn't see coming, but also made sense. The ending does make me ask a few questions which I believe would be answered in later installments. Whatever the case may be, the ending definitely sets the stage for expanding the scope.
I'm looking forward to reading the sequel. I enjoyed the setting, the world-building, and the story. It's very fast-paced and there aren't any parts which dragged- hence why I finished this in less than a day. I highly recommend this book for people who enjoy unique settings and stories!
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