Today I have another first for this blog: an audio book review. I don't typically listen to audio books, but I found this to be rather enjoyable because I could listen to it while I did my housework or just while resting. Today's review is of Compendium, a book by Alia Luria.
Blurb:
Winner of the 2015 National Indie Excellence Award in Fantasy, silver medal in the 2015 Readers' Book Awards in Fantasy, and a finalist for the Independent Author Network's Book of the Year in the Science Fiction, Fantasy and First Novel categories.
On the heavily forested planet of Lumin, the Network has slept, dormant, for over six hundred cycles. Only a select few remember that it resides beneath the crust of the planet, waiting, and for those who remember, the battle for Lumin’s future has raged in the shadows.
When Mia Jayne’s path crosses with an ancient volume in the Archives of the Order of Vis Firmitas, this ancient battle moves from the shadows into the light. Compendium opens up a world of knowledge, and, for the first time since arriving at the Order, Mia has the key to reclaim the freedom she has lost. To do so, she must choose between her conscience and her heart. Conceived against an ailing world of fantastical beauty where long-lost technology tips the balance between extinction and survival, Mia must remember that there is always a choice, and that makes all the difference.
Review:
It took me a few chapters to really get into this book and to get a proper feel for it. At first I wasn't much interested as it felt like the tired old ideas, and I felt fans of Star Trek or perhaps Star Wars would enjoy this book. It felt rather redundant with many typical scifi themes being repeated.
Once I listened to more of this, I enjoyed it more. Parts of it remind me of Tony Diterlizzi's WondLa, and for whatever reason, the Hunger Games to some extent. There are some very obvious parallels between Compendium and the Harry Potter series, with some similar stereotypes and common themes. Compendium, however, I feel, teaches more important life lessons with real life consequences of our actions.
As a genealogist, the author really hit a nerve when Mia sneezed on Compendium, and with the poor continued abuse of the book. I found myself laughing aloud time and time again and the commentary of Compendium, greatly appreciating it's humor. It was interesting to hear more about Mia's world and to see how Compendium was used, and it's limitations.
In my opinion, the characters were interesting and well developed and the story well written. The narrator did a good job of bringing the characters to life, although some of the voices of the older characters were just too similar. However, I did enjoy this and I would recommend it for younger readers or listeners.
This audiobook is available on Audible for $19.95 or free with 30 day membership trial. Or you can get it for $17.46 on Amazon as an audio book, $19.99 for paperback, $2.99 as an ebook or free with Kindle Unlimited.
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