"Andy Weir cannot write and I'm tired of people pretending he can.

First, let's talk about characters- well, there is no character here. I only see a vague man-shaped science textbook in an astronaut suit. Wait, let me put my glasses on. OH, I know him. Quirky, wisecracking, nerd who likes space.. It's Mark Watney.



Mark Watney's alone in the space, again. Oh. Can you believe his luck? Anyway, he's alone and he's quirky and nerdy and that's all very nicely boring but hold on.. there are flashback scenes. We get to meet other people. A diverse group of scientists from many countries to save the world. YAY.

No, I take that back. No YAY. This is no diverse group of scientists. This is a collection of bad, outdated racial and character stereotypes stolen from bad Hollywood movies from white directors. Sure, the Russian drinks vodka. Asians speak with horrible accents. (I was ready to punch the narrator at that point.) Kids are all polite and interested in lessons and all laugh at the teacher's jokes. (This Mark Watney Pro Max is a schoolteacher and Andy Weir's never been in a classroom) The bossy female boss is bossy. Scientists make sex jokes that are not funny if you're not a 14 year old virgin. (Remember that famousThe Martian boobs emoticon? I just love Andy Weir's characters.) And of course, every one lovessss our hero. There's even a line in the book along the lines of 'everyone likes you better' . Yes, really.



It just grates on my nerves. It's obvious the author does not have much experiences with human relationships but instead of using that and giving his characters more life and making them awkward and human, he has to have them become HEROes: perfect little Gary Stus who are smart and nerdy social butterflies, and most popular guys in the multiverse.

Wait, there's an alien. Oh my god, finally something interesting.......annd it's not. Rocky, the alien's character, had to be offensive to aliens if aliens read badly-written sci-fi books. He waves and thumbs up and mimics our hero because
1, that's logical we all mimic when we see another species make weird signs with their appendages and
2,because the alien has no culture of his own apart from what a 12 year old kid thinks how aliens eat, sleep and shit.

Once they got talking, (yes they talked. I'll get to that later.), we finally learn Rocky's personality. It must be quite different from humans, coming from a different universe and all but wait a minute. He's nerdy and quirky and is talking like a certain human we know. *Gasps He's Mark Watney with eight legs.

By now, we've already got a Mark Watney in the spacecraft Hail Mary. There is a Russian Mark Watney on Earth with vodka. Another Mark Watney with boobs. An Asian Mark Watney. Now there's an alien Mark Watney. It's an abundance of Mark Watneys. Who said this is not sci-fi horror? Mom, pick me up. I'm scared.



So let's take a look at the plot maybe that's where the five star reviews get their stars from. But... but....there is no plot. I actually liked the idea of an apocalypse causing aliens being single celled bacterium kind of organisms but that's it. Apart from this, the rest of the whole plot is a childish daydream that could be concocted by any middle grade school children who have watched star trek once.
It is juvenile to the point of embarrassing. A junior school-teacher is the hero Earth sent for the first ever interstellar mission? Okay. Sounds unrealistic but okay.
Then he's the first person to be allowed to experiment on the astrophage (the alien space invaders). That's it. Just him in a laboratory. For a world-ending scientific discovery.
One person is coordinating the entire multinational mission. And she's exempted from any legal repercussions. She's absurd to the point of not resembling a human female. Andy Weir would have us think she's a real human woman but I bet she's a robot and Andy Weir doesn't even know it.

Two of the entire 3 person-crew died leaving only our hero. (Not a spoiler. Happens at the very beginning.) That's probably because Andy Weir knows he can't handle more than the astounding number of one character. So, he killed them off. Nice.
He met an alien and everything goes smoothly because Our HERO figures out the alien language in record time. Of course. And not just general phrases but really long, completed sentences. Combine that with their shared personality or lack there of, makes their conversations sound like a kid playing astronauts and aliens by himself.

And this all happens in the first chapters. The rest is just massive info dumps from our hero (I'll just keep saying our hero because that's what the MC and Andy Weir wants us to think. H.E.R.O.) because he's so smart and awesome and convenient problems arising only to be solved by, you guess it, our hero because he's so good at science stuff and, you know, so smart and awesome.

This whole plot is a slap to the face but the ending? It's a kick to the groin. It's like Andy Weir thinks 'Well, you've endured this whole fairy tale, might as well get this cheesy and extremely implausible ending shoved down your throat. Goodbye.'

This is not a book but a wish fulfilment of a childish sci-fi fantasy Andy Weir must have thought up during one boring physics class back in middle school and it's utterly embarrassing. If I had written it, I would not have showed it to my cat, let alone a publisher. At the end, Andy Weir did not make me care about Mark Watney Pro Max nor about Earth and apocalypse or Rocky even. Everything's just over the top and ridiculous. It's like a parody. Not a real novel.

I saw that it's already been bought to be made into a movie. The Martian movie was 100000 times better and if this is turned into a movie, who knows? I might enjoy it. Maybe Andy Weir is better suited at drafting movie ideas than actually writing these not-books. Because honestly, this is the second time I've tried his writing and both times, I felt like I was trapped in an elevator during blackout with someone I can’t stand."

"Why has so much adult 카지노싸이트 Fiction deteriorated into YA-style, surface level, dumbed down, mediocre writing?

No science, immature and underdeveloped characters. Stupid dialogue.

Trying to find good 카지노싸이트 Fiction is like trying to find a good tv show amidst all the "reality tv".

Will someone please write some new science fiction that requires a few brain cells?"

"CWs: graphic violence, murder, implied torture, threats of sexual violence, implied sexual assault, implied rape, child prostitution, loss of bodily autonomy, non-consensual surgery, human experimentation, gender dysphoria, misgendering, PTSD, racism

Rep: bisexual white MC, Hispanic panromantic asexual MC, Japanese nonbinary MC, amputee character with prosthetics

(this review has mild spoilers but nothing specific)

I had very mixed feelings for most of this book and was actually contemplating 3 stars. But decided to lower my rating after reading the last 20%, which I disliked a lot.

So I'll talk about that last 20% first: basically, a major plot twist occurs regarding our nonbinary MC, Hiro, related to their gender identity. Just want to make a few points clear: the author is nonbinary so this is an ownvoices portrayal of that specific rep. I really liked Hiro's character - their personality stood out to me the most from the cast; their strength and determination, their self-confidence, and how they fully embraced their gender identity in a rigidly binary gendered world. I also liked the occasional use of Japanese words and phrases in their dialogue. Also, I'm a cis woman so won't go too much into this as it's not my place. I was just extremely uncomfortable with what is revealed about Hiro towards the end (although it fits the theme of loss of bodily autonomy that the author tackles in this book). Apart from that aspect, the plot twists in general and the climax as a whole did not work for me at all.

**Check out this ownvoices take by a nonbinary reviewer: iam's review** (will try to link more here as I find them)

Other things I didn't like:

- This novel is HEAVILY advertised as being inspired in part by The Handmaid's Tale with queer characters at the forefront, and it definitely is - but it never really explores those themes? Like, we learn about the cruelties our protagonist the First Sister faces in the Sisterhood; how she is stripped of her voice, name and identity, groomed as a child, forced to sexually service all the soldiers - but that's just it, we learn about what happens to the First Sister and not all the other women similarly stolen from their homes or sold by their families. There are only perfunctory mentions of other girls. It almost felt like individualizing an institutional and societal failure. Even in the end, there's no mention of abolishing the Sisterhood, only reforming it instead.

- Rather than interrogating the misogyny, patriarchy, and institutionalized sexism that can bring about such a system, the author decides to focus on specific instances of the Sisterhood mistreating the Sisters, e.g. taking away their voices, denying them education, killing those who dissent. I wanted a more cutting, harsher look at how this system came about in the first place.

- While I appreciate how the sexual assault and rape are implied rather than graphically shown, I personally needed to see an explicit discussion on these things and the trauma that entails. Instead, it felt like it was avoided. Also, what about things like the threat of pregnancy, abortion, etc? It's not even mentioned, which I thought was really strange.

- That's why the whole Sisterhood thing felt kinda gimmicky and tacked on to me, honestly. Not only was it barely explored, it didn't really mesh with the main plot of bringing an end to a centuries-long space war.

- Also, there are several scenes in which some characters experience deteriorating mental health (e.g. hallucinations, severe breaks with reality) due to using certain tech. And the story treats this in a too-bad-nothing-can-be-done-about-this way.

- The overarching plot was fairly simple and I don't think it warranted all the meandering that happened in this story.

- There was a little too much introspection from the MCs for my taste.

- The villain's character was poorly done, in my opinion: hardly intimidating and way too easily defeated (maybe cause this is a planned trilogy? since the real villain didn't have a huge role here...either way, I'm judging this book on its own).

- Lito as a character had a lot of potential but was ultimately a pretty bland guy. He just felt very passive to me; reacting to people and events around him rather than taking action on his own. That's part of his character arc but even after facing some major revelations, I didn't see much growth in him.

I doubt I'll be continuing with this series. Despite all my issues though, these are *my* issues at the end of the day. If you want to see a queer dystopian space opera with easily digestible world-building, I'd say give this a shot! The writing is pretty good and I liked the pacing. Also, I found some of the side characters super interesting. I absolutely loved the premise and the themes the author set out to examine. Sadly, the execution fell short for me.

PS: the blurb is slightly misleading. I wouldn't really call this a romance. A couple of romantic scenes but no actual romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review."

"Herald, or the entire God Eater Saga by Rob J. Hayes, is my pick for the best self-published fantasy books of 2024.

"Books, I have long since learned, can enslave or liberate a person as surely can a sword. But often, with a book, the subject won't know the difference."

First, I will repeat what I said in my review of Demon and Deathless. The God Eater Saga by Rob J. Hayes is a big series divided into three trilogies. Herald is the first book in Age of the God Eater trilogy. Deathless is the first book in Annals of the God Eater trilogy, and it takes place a thousand years before the events of Herald. Finally, Demon is the first book in Archive of the God Eater trilogy, and the story begins three thousand years before the events of Herald. These three surmised the first phase of The God Eater Saga by Rob J. Hayes. Hayes wrote the three first volumes concurrently, and he’s currently writing the second phase of The God Eater Saga, the respective sequel to these three books.

I would see built again all which was torn down, made grander than before. The villages lost will rise into something greater. The people killed will give their names to a new generation of humans free from the shackles of thralldom. I would unite mankind into a single nation. An empire where human and angel can live together in peace and prosperity. —SAINT DIEN HOSTAIN. TALES FROM THE FIRST AGE

Although I am not following the recommended reading order of The God Eater Saga, which is to read Herald, Deathless, and Demon in that order, I must say… Rob J. Hayes has done a superb job in making sure each first book in a series worked as a standalone or a suitable starting point. If you read Herald first before reading Demon and Deathless, I am confident your reading experience of this 235,000 words long novel will differ from mine. But in my case, I read Demon and Deathless first. Yes, I did the reverse reading order. It is impossible to tell how I'd feel about Herald if I read it first before Demon and Deathless, but from my experience in this realm and reality, reading Demon and Deathless first enormously boost my enjoyment of Herald. I believe I have made the right decision when it comes to the reading order of the first phase of The God Eater Saga, and my instinct said I would give Herald a 4-star rating instead of 5 stars if I had read it first before the other two books.

Honours only value is in keeping weak men in line by making them believe themselves strong. —ERTIDE HOSTAIN

A thousand years ago, humanity’s greatest heroes killed God.

Now, under the brutal rule of warrior-kings, the land of Helesia has fallen to chaos. Demons stalk the deep forests, monsters roam free of their prisons beneath the World Vein, and ancient terrors rise again. Renira Washer lives the dreary life of a laundry girl, dreaming of adventure. When a stranger from her mother’s past appears with a dire warning, Renira’s peaceful life is shattered, and she’s thrown headfirst into millennia old war between Heaven and Earth. In Renira’s blood, hides a secret: the angels are not all gone. Only the Herald can ring in the Fifth Age. Only the Herald can bring God back to life.

"It will soon be forgotten. The weak always forget their failings and rely too heavily on their successes. The strong learn from every failure and make pains not to repeat them."

Picture: Orphus, The Archangel by Andrew Maleski



History is written in blood, but the future will be forged in holy fire. Demon is the survival and origin story of the now legendary Dien Hostain, Deathless is a political epic fantasy story that depicts the genesis of the Godless Kings who took their way to Heaven, and Herald is the coming of age epic fantasy story about Renira and her entanglement with deadly prophecy and surviving figures from Annals of the God Eater and Archive of the God Eater. It visits a lot of familiar fantasy tropes with the standard Rob J. Hayes’ twists. I don’t know about you, but for me, one of my favorite things about reading Hayes’ novels is the great characterizations and the over-the-top action sequences in his novels. And I mean really over-the-top battles reminiscent of reading manga or watching anime. This isn’t to say Herald is an anime-inspired novel like The Mortal Techniques series. It has angels, monsters, fantastical clashes of magic, and prophecies, but those factors are not exclusive to anime per se. That said, from the prologue and my past experiences with Hayes' books, I knew already what kind of epic-scale battles I would get from reading Herald, and I certainly got what I wanted in the middle and ending portion of the novel.

“The First Age was an era of darkness. Humanity was a broken people, hiding in caves and forests. Demons roamed the world with savage impunity and made thralls of any they could capture. There was no belief. There was no faith. There was only fear and pain. —THE DIVINE TRUTH, AUTHOR UNKNOWN”

Before I talk about the action sequences, there’s one important element to be clear about first. Herald is not an action-packed novel, and the book is better for it. It has its fair share of skirmishes and small battles, but most of Herald is a slow-burn novel. Hayes took his time to develop Renira’s character development with the unlikely companion she met in her journey to fulfill her mission. As I mentioned, Herald is the main novel in the first phase of The God Eater Saga. As a book, the word count of Herald is bigger than Deathless and Demon combined. And I must repeat this statement again for several reasons: I wouldn’t have rated Herald this highly without reading Demon and Deathless first.

“A man can be neither born to the blade nor led to it. It is a calling, one that cries out to man's soul. —RIKKAN HOSTAIN”

From my own experience and recommendation, the best way to enjoy Herald is to read this after you read Demon and Deathless first. Some readers will disagree with that suggestion, and I accept that. But this is my review and recommendation. There were more than many symbolisms, characters, dialogues, and world-building that were heightened because I had read the other two books in the first phase of The God Eater Saga. To give some examples, let’s begin with the deep, rich, and twisted history of the Hostain family. Dien Hostain, Ertide Hostain, Rikkan Hostain, or Emrik Hostain, and more. Meeting or hearing about these characters for the first time would not mean much to me if I hadn’t read Demon and Deathless first. The same also can be applied to the angels: Orphus, Armstar, Eleseth, Mathanial, and more. Once again, I am not saying you do not get to learn about them at all here. You will. But being familiar with them instantly since their first appearance in Herald enhanced a lot of their dialogues and actions for me.

Picture: Eleseth, The Light Bearer by Andrew Maleski



I will refrain from mentioning other character’s names in this review because I am unsure which one will be counted as spoilers due to the nature of the saga. I can, however, say this is a tale of sacrifice, bravery, knowledge, faith, and trust. The conundrum of which side to believe is a strong driving factor of the narrative, and once again, this point is strongly enriched after you read Demon and Deathless. Hayes is doing something special with The God Eater Saga, especially world-building-wise. Reading the first book of three series in the same world three times felt like it shouldn’t work, but it did. When I read Demon, I craved the sequel when I was done. The same situation happened with Deathless as well. But when I was reading Herald, not only did I want to read the sequel of Herald, but it also made me excited even further to read the continuation of Demon and Deathless. I’m so curious to find out all the details of the events in the time gap leading to the events of Herald.

"A typical human appreciation for art. You think the word only applies to depictions on canvas. It is far more expansive than that. It is the expression of imagination to inspire emotion. Whether it take the form of a painting, or music, or a play, or a building. It is art. And if my tower had been completed it would have inspired such emotion that none who looked upon it would not be awed. Even Emrik understood that once. Perhaps more so than any other."

If you’re a reader who demands satisfying and destructive action sequences to end your epic fantasy book, then you do not need to worry. Hayes has prepared a vividly devastating to close the last pulse-pounding chapters of Herald. Brimming with fire and blood, the over-the-top anime battles where magic, angels, humans, and weapons violently clash were breathtaking. Fire, blood, and lightning rampaged through every scene in the climax sequence. Plus, Hayes added a time limit to the stakes. I think this is a great storytelling decision. In the first book of a series, it is rare to see many protagonists get killed off. And I am not saying that happened in Herald. You have to find out for yourself. But my point is this. There is the argument in the first book of a series that the climax sequences can feel safer because we know the main characters will survive. Hayes has implemented a time limit to the mission Renira and her friends took, and it flared the tension in the final chapters. I loved it. When the build-up and the denotation are executed properly, like Herald did, this is a good way to revitalize the intensity that the climax sequence of the first book needed. Hayes accomplished that. And in this tale, while it may feel predictable at times, I do believe Hayes has prepared some surprises for us readers.

“Sometimes bravery is naught but desperation wearing a fine mask. But true courage lies in the hearts of all men if they have but the opportunity to look for it. —SAINT DIEN HOSTAIN, FROM ROOK’S COMPENDIUM”

Herald and The God Eater Saga is definitively the incredible start of an ambitious and epic fantasy series. Rob J. Hayes is in the middle of crafting his magnum opus. I am genuinely anticipating the future of both The Mortal Techniques series and The God Eater Saga. I strongly believe when the three phases of The God Eater Sagas are completed, this will be one of those series readers can read over and over again and find something new. Connecting the mazes of histories, lore, and dynasties will be one incredible reading experience. Bring on the second phase of The God Eater Saga.

"I was created to kill… But I have long since discovered a passion for learning. There is something about books that makes apparent the fragility of wisdom. Wise words are urgent, unburdened by the need to sound prolific. The meaning is far more important than the delivery. But written wisdom can be structured, designed to stick with the mind. It contains within it the possibility of existing long beyond the lives of those it touches."

Picture: Herald by Felix Ortiz



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