A Nice Surprise with some Really Fun Characters

I usually find superhero universes really hard to suspend disbelief in, and am thus not a big seeker of of superhero fiction. I did enjoy one of the authors' other series though, and thought the length of the book made for a decent value, so I went for Forging Hephaestus.

As the ratings imply, I am really glad I listened to this book. The story was nuanced and the author was decently skillful at leaving the sources and function of the various powers up to the reader's imagination while still establishing that there were limits. My favorite aspect of the book, though, were the characters. Their personalities were great; they were colorful, and left just enough to the imagination for me to really turn them into believable characters.The main hero suffers ever so slightly from a lack of strong motivation, but beyond that is fun to root for and see what she does next. After listening to this author's writing in different series now, I am really impressed and delighted by his characters.

There are some comments in other reviews about the narrator's performance, but I honestly did not notice any of the negative points about the narration. The voices were distinguishable and clean, and not overacted. I was very pleased with this listen and am interested in listening to the next book in the series.

172 people found this helpful

Worst book I've ever liked

While I had a good time listening to this book, I was simultaneously distracted time and time again by certain habits and tics of the author and the voice actor, so much so that I'm not going to bother with further works by the same author.

First, the good: I enjoyed most of the main characters, and there were a lot of side characters who were also fun and distinctive. I liked the story, and I especially liked the idea of a guild of villains that basically exists to keep villains from running too far afoul of the capes. There were few throwaway scenes, and while almost none of the scenes reached a depth I was hoping for, there was plenty of action and stuff to keep the reader interested.

Now, the not so good. This book is cluttered with indications that the author badly needs an editor, and there are other habits shown that indicate that the author, while a good spinner of tales, is not that proficient of an actual writer.

Examples of bad stuff:

* Jarring sentences, similar to "He was left with three dollars left."

* Too much telling and not enough showing in many cases. The author repeatedly falls into the amateur's habit of looking into the thoughts of more than one person in a scene, which is used as a shortcut to get around the more difficult, more subtle task of showing us (and letting us get the idea ourselves.)

* The author has no ear at all for word frequency. The rarer the word, the less often it should appear, unless you have a good reason to use it otherwise. When the reader hears the same rare word twice in close proximity, but there's no apparent intent behind the repetition, it's jarring.

* The author has to tell us _everything_. He cannot show us just enough to infer the remainder; no, he must explain to us in detail the exact meaning of every word and gesture. Something similar to what he might write: "She arched an eyebrow, wrinkling the skin of her forehead, as if she were about to say something sarcastic. 'Oh, really?' she said sarcastically, her tone broad and overstated. He understood her sarcasm and nodded." (Oh, and don't expect many surprises. There are very, very few. The author simply gives away too much.)

* Almost every character has the same vocabulary, which made too many of them blend together into a single voice.

* My final peeve with the author is the Exposition Hat. This book is full of long, detailed explanations, and no matter who is soliloquizing, they lose their own voice and start speaking like a story's narrator. Everyone has the same approach to explaining things, the same teaching style. No fewer than fifteen characters put on the Exposition Hat at some point or another.

I also had some issues with the voice actress. She simply had too few, well, voices in her repertoire, and she put too much of an emphasis on hyper-enunciation and too little on emoting and conveyance for my liking. Her speaking rate was good, and she never mumbled or swallowed words, but in the end I had trouble buying that every character enunciated every word so exactly, and spoke to their friends and colleagues in equally formal tones.

But again, this was not enough to really stop me from enjoying the book. I just don't think I want to spend another 20 hours with a writer and speaker whose combined habits distract me so much from an otherwise fun experience.

158 people found this helpful

Would a Guild of Han Solos be so bad?

Unlike his Super Powered series, which leans toward the optimistic side, this is more realistic (as much as a book of super heroes CAN be). The "Capes" get caught up in the glitz and glamor while the "Villians" end up doing the good (but not for noble reasons, just because "chaos" is not profitable). I love the characters and the back stories are awesome! Zealous is a personal favorite!

Keep it up and I look forward to Ivan's tiptoe on a razor's edge of power and sanity! Well done!

88 people found this helpful

A+++

Being a "Villan", class 101.

I love almost all of Hayes's work and this is one of the better ones.

Great worldbuilding, tons of action, unique characters.

Amy Landon did great as narrator, giving each character it's own voice.

35 people found this helpful

Solidly entertaining

If you've ever read Brandon Sanderson's The Reckoners series - YA superheroes (anti-heroes) super villain - this is basically an adult version. Not that the plots are the same, or even similar, but the core concepts are familiar. There are elements of D.C. and Marvel comics, and just a whole lot to like in this book.

If one were to look for the weakness in this book it would be character development and world history. Not so much that we don't come to understand the characters, because we do, but that it stretches even superhero credulity that superhero or metas could master their skills and be inducted into their 'roles' (being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers) in a matter of weeks of training and testing.

This book was good. Really, good, actually. But it's missing the carefully thought out and meticulously obsessive structure and revision of the kingkiller chronicles or the deliberate almost frustratingly slow training and growth of understanding in the wheel of time.

Of course this isn't high epic fantasy, and this isn't Patrick rothfuss, Robert Jordan, or Brandon Sanderson; its Drew Hayes. But this prolific young author has published an astonishing selection of fiction and they only appear to improve with practice.

While this book could have benefited from being 30% longer and a better developed and less predictable plot; it was nevertheless good enough for me to write a real review - which I'm very rarely inspired to do.

Great book. Great start to a new series, and hopefully a sign of more goodness to come.

Whether you like fantasy, comics, or just want to lose yourself in a good book, Forging Hephaestus is a an excellent option for your next read.

34 people found this helpful

Well written and engaging anti-hero story

Would you listen to Forging Hephaestus again? Why?

When the sequel eventually drops I'll likely give this book another listen. I listen to enough books that a refresher is usually necessary. It would be fun listening again, the book was well written enough to be entertaining even with knowledge of the plot.

What other book might you compare Forging Hephaestus to and why?

Super Powereds, also by Drew Hayes. It's a similar story of anti-heroes gaining acceptance and overcoming adversity. They're both well paced and entertaining.

What does Amy Landon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator did a great job. The voices were all distinct and memorable. She brought them to life very well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It didn't quite grab me enough to keep me from doing other things, but it was definitely one I looked forward to hitting play on in the morning.

29 people found this helpful

A solid story from the villains POV

This is an interesting one in the hero tropes...a book about the bad guys that both exemplifies why they are the bad ones and at the same time, shows you the true human qualities of each one without being one dimensional. Sure there are those who want violence for violence sake but the majority don't head in that direction for some truly logical reasons.
The story is snappy, well put together, and believable in the interactions between the individuals. I particularly like that there is really no true good or bad overall, just an interesting grey of ideals that are dealt with accordingly if crossed (and spectacularly gory in some spots).
And lo to those that bring about the inner demons of some of the big bads and unleash them on others. Fornex can be god damned terrifying when he wants to be.

Highly recommended. Would like to see more of these characters later on in a sequel!

28 people found this helpful

Not a waste of time but not at the top of any list

Quick review: Story was spotty and had holes. The narrator was dry and at times sounded like a generic safety video voice over. Decent fight scenes and character progression was accomplished. All in all not a bad book for people who love the genre and are looking for a "next" book. Would read a sequel.

21 people found this helpful

Surprisingly good story and narration

I bought this during the $4.95 sale a couple of weeks ago. The villains side of the super hero genre has been done seemingly to death but since I'd just finished the Sanderson Reckoners series I have this a try. The characters were likeable and had some depth. Since I just finished the Reckoners I was making constant comparisons to that universe and they certainly had similarities but that might just be the genre.

The action is well told. The author doesn't get tied down explaining every nuance of the world despite it being a long book. The character development has a good pace. There are plenty of plot hooks despite having a pretty good resolution. I hope Drew Hayes continues this series.


The reader felt to be a good fit to the female lead in the story.

19 people found this helpful

Good story, but not the best fit for the narrator

What made the experience of listening to Forging Hephaestus the most enjoyable?

It is a fun story.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the play on the villains being heroic and the heroes being somewhat villainous, the grey area between moralities.

Would you be willing to try another one of Amy Landon’s performances?

Here's the thing, Amy is a good narrator, but she's not good for this kind of book. The problem is that there are so many strong characters in this book and the perspective changes often. Sometimes this causes confusion as to who is talking or who is having what thought. Given the large amount of disparate characters in this book I would have loved for it to follow the style of say "Ex-Heroes" and have multiple narrators, it would have lessened the perspective confusion and allowed someone like Amy to do a great job on the strong female characters while not having most of the male characters sounding essentially the same.

Any additional comments?

It's a really fun story that has many great moments.

I wish the author would do less perspective hopping and stay in one frame longer. I also don't like the "Later she would realize .." type thing that he often does in his novels.

The grey areas of morality are always fun to explore.

19 people found this helpful