The Best Barrenworld Yet!

This is quite possibly the best installment yet in the Barrenworld series! It has all the whimsical adventure of the previous books, and all the classic high fantasy elements that were instilled as essential by the great fantasy authors long ago. It's also funny at times, and remembers not to take itself too seriously. This one, though, this one is also touching, heartbreaking, and full of treasured characters making noble, selfless decisions. This is both the sort of book that could serve as a very satisfying conclusion to a great series or be used to bridge the gap between eras in an ongoing story. Whichever it proves to be, I think it'll be my favourite of the Barrenworld books.

I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but this is a reluctant hero/unlikely hero choses to make the ultimate selfless act sort of story, and although I had a pretty good idea of where the story was going partway through, the payoff was so much better, so much more devastating, and so much more uplifting than I expected.

Oh, and that comic relief? Best set of lines in the book: "Did you EAT him?" "I told you I was hungry!" (Forgive me if that's not exact. I was listening to the audiobook, after all!)

As always, Joel Jackson's narrative performance was a pleasure to listen to. The story is easy to listen to, the multiple characters and points of view easy to keep track of, and the pacing is perfect. If there are more Barrenworld books to come, I hope that Joel continues to get the narration job, because at this point he is the voice of this wonderful world.

I was granted complimentary audiobook acccess to Barrenworld: Rise of the Red Sun by the author, J. Edwards Holt, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you as always for the opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

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