Melissa Delport

The Legacy was clearly a setup for this book; and if you made it here, the issues the I had with The Legacy (Legacy Series, #1) {1st person POV - present tense, Drama, et. al} didn't bother you as much as they did me. This review grades on a curve (no stars deducted for issues in the series previously noted).

The Legion can stand on its own (and in fact I would recommend starting the series here); although some comparison is probably warranted. To start with, there is a much more "showing" and less "telling," making this story much easier to engage with. World building is also much better as the Rebecca, and party, wander across the landscape. In addition, there appears to be more dialog that enables the narrative to show off more range with each character; even if the default cadence and intonation still bugs me.

As we wander through what is supposed to be an apocalyptic landscape, but really doesn't feel all that different except for a few feral humans and mutants (rados), we get a fair amount of action to offset the more detailed character building that still relies too heavily on "info-dumps." There are a few mysteries/surprises make the story much more interesting than it otherwise would be ... with more than a few unresolved at the end (cliff-hanger).

Still ... most of the story remains frustrately predictable, given some of the poor decisions made by the heroes. That makes this an amusing diversion, but not much else. (Psst ... evil villian here; pardon me while I reveal my villianous plan in sequential, gloating monologues. It's not like you can esca ... wait, where'd ya go?).

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.… (más)

Story: So much drama ... this was a character driven story that injected a whole lot of relationship/romance style drama that is just not in my wheelhouse. I was hoping for more of an action/adventure thriller than the emotional self-flagellation that drives the plot conflicts here. My fault for glossing over the "love and passion" in the author's blurb ... however, because I have difficulty connecting with characters that focus on interpersonal drama, I enlisted my daughter's opinion as well to be fair. Unfortunately, outside of the relationship conflicts, there really wasn't much story left. The World Building was fairly standard for a post-apocalyptic world that was not as interesting as I had hoped for; in addition, it was almost exclusively in the beginning of the story in a series of "info-dumps" that were exacerbated by the nearly emotionless cadence of the narrator. I felt like I was listening to a class lecture. The characters themselves seem formulaic with little to no growth by the end of the story ... nothing very memorable.

Performance: I am not a fan of the First Person POV; but if anything can make it work, it would be as an audiobook. Unfortunately, that is not the case here. The story was delivered with minimal inflection that made it too easy to tune out. This made it more difficult to tell which character was speaking, which also made it difficult to appreciate any dialog that tries to develop/support the relationship conflicts. In short, there just was not enough energy to keep me fully engaged in the story.

** I set the narration speed to 1.25 to resolve some of the cadence issues

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Ratings Guide
---------------------------------------
[ ***** ] Amazing Read - I was completely engaged in the story/character(s); made an impact on my point of view about something or 'spoke' to me in a profound way; a favorite that I can re-read many times. At the top of the genre.
[ **** ] Great Read - I really enjoyed this book. Some aspect of the story was new/refreshing to me and/or intriguing. Well researched with few, if any, editorial or subject matter issues. Recommended for everyone.
[ *** ] Good Read - Solid story with a 'good' ending, or has some other redeeming feature. I connected enough with the characters/world to read the entire series. Most of the books I read for fun are here.
[ ** ] Okay Read - Suitable for a brief, afternoon escape ... if you don't mind the predictability, lack of character growth, and/or typical genre tropes. Not very memorable. May only appeal to a niche group of readers (a lot of 'classics' end up here). Any issues with the story/characters are offset by some other aspect that I enjoyed. Recommended for some (YMMV).
[ * ] Bad Read - I didn't connect with the story/character(s) at all; significant aspects of this story irritated me enough that I might not have even finished it. Series was abandoned. Not recommended.
---------------------------------------… (más)

The Legacy (Legacy Series, #1)
The Legion (Legacy Series, #2)

So ... take everything that I disliked in the first book and double down. I absolutely hated this one ... most especially the protagonist (Rebecca), who was a complete twit for the first third of this story. So much so that I was sorely tempted to abandon this book (even with the luxury of it being an audiobook where you can just tune out the stupid stuff until things get interesting again). Unfortunately once out from the ridiculously manufactured personal conflicts and into the action ... I was so irritated that even the little problems in the action text (such as battle decriptions, tactics, et. al.) were now impossible to ignore and only made me dislike the story even more. On the up side ... if you liked the first two books, this one is more of the same and should be okay for you (YMMV).

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. … (más)