Audio Book Review: The Half-Assed Wizard

The Half-Assed Wizard

By:  Gary Jonas

Publish Date:  June 4, 2017, Audiobook Release September 11, 2017

Format:  Audiobook - 4 hrs 29 mins
Narrated By:  Joe Hempel

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Series:  1st in The Half-Assed Wizard series

Impression:  Smart aleck wizard that learns he needs to apply himself.

Synopsis:
A couple of jerks wake me up at the crack of noon. Seems my klepto uncle stole an ancient deck of Tarot cards from a high-powered wizard, and too many losers want to ruin my day to get them back.

The cards are cool, so I check them out, but my magic-happy cousin, Sabrina, tells me I'm not supposed to touch them. Oops. Too late. Now the damn cards are tuned to me, and if someone else wants to use them, I have to die. Why couldn't she have led with that information?

Magic was never my scene, but my dad is one of the most powerful wizards in the world, so I've got unrealized potential if I ever bother to apply myself. I'd rather power nap, but with wizards, gunslingers, and cannibalistic shark dudes coming at me, that's not gonna happen.

They say I'm a half-assed wizard, but if I don't play my cards right, I'm gonna get my whole ass killed.

First Sentence:
If I'd known they wanted to kill me I would have stayed in bed.

Purchase At:
Amazon

Audible

My Thoughts and Summary:

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.


Don't let the length full you. It's a shorter read/listen, but we quickly get into Brett's world of wizards that's he's worked to NOT be part of and the band life he enjoys as it all crashes together in trouble.

Joe is a narrator I've listened to before. He fits Gary's characters well with their dry sense of humor. Joe voices the characters with tones that fit their standing and personalities. There is a twist to the characters and they (or the narrator) acts their parts well. Nicely done.

Brett doesn't want to do magic. The pain of the blood price is something he's not into.

Brett is a younger man and feels to fit the part of a band member. He's a stereo type where he doesn't like wordy explanations, but at times he shows how smart he really is. He comes across as a slacker, but is still the star of the show in the book as he knows what to do and it's easy for him when he applies himself. He's surrounded by strong secondary characters thanks to his family's reputation.

Sabrina, his cousin, is a strong and smart character here. She has no problems using magic and yields it with perfection. Then we have Michael, a band mate of Brett's. He's special and had my attention from the moment we met him. The author did well in how he "spoke" of Michael through Brett before we met Michael, and it drew my attention to him when first walked on the page.

Brett then grows more responsible as the story goes. He is distracted with the people working to get to him and the tarot cards.

Want to talk magic? Do it in six words or less - that's Brett request, as he doesn't want to deal with it. He might be lazy, but we repeatedly see he's not dumb. Now, Brett being lazy is not all bad. It gives a little spice to the book and Brett's character. At times it feels as though he doesn't know what to do, but then all the sudden he does. More a smart aleck than anything. I enjoyed his flavor of spunk.

I enjoyed the way Gary plotted this story to come together in the end. Crafty. There was a twist to who's connected to who and what the ultimate goal is. I was surprised at one twist to the story. I enjoyed the power we find in Brett and curious to see what he may do with it in the future, along with his friends too.

I would enjoy listening to the rest of the series.



****If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon and/or Audible. Thank you!