Read Online Journey of a Betrayed Hero Volume 1 eBook Brandon Varnell Aisoretto AISO

Product details File Size 3923 KB Print Length 260 pages Simultaneous Device Usage Unlimited Publisher Kitsune Incorporated (March 19, 2019) Publication Date March 19, 2019 Sold by  Digital Services LLC Language English ASIN B07P16DZTG

Journey of a Betrayed Hero Volume 1 eBook Brandon Varnell Aisoretto AISO Reviews

• Okay, allow me to get two things out of the way.
  1) I did not complete this novel, only getting around 70% of the way through. So I cannot judge if the end usurps expectations, but I simply could not force myself.
  2) I bought the kindle version, so I am operating under the basis of the novel being sold for 3 dollars.
  
  So, if I'm giving this novel 2 stars, what does it do right? Well, highest praise I can give is that it wears its inspirations on the sleeve. Works such as Arifureta and Rising of the Shield Hero clearly form the basis of the story's premise, where Jacob the hero is "betrayed" by the kingdom he saved and uses his overpowered non-magic to make a living and ultimately hook up with the Dark Lord's daughter. The cynicism we get from our hero is welcome, and the fact that he bulls through scenes where we would otherwise be bogged down in dense, cliched misunderstandings is a major attraction. Even as the author shamelessly rips from other novels, the simple approach really does work, and adds a level of charm that you cannot find in many other places. In addition to the cute (if generic) artstyle, this novel is a great pickup for anyone wanting to step into the light novel world.
  However, I must now get objective here. Yes, the protagonist has a certain nonchalance to him, but he is incredibly staid. As far as I read, he never faces a challenge that is not immediately turned in his favor because of plot convenience, and is clearly a product of the times. When he starts spouting out insults like "douchenozzle" or constant witticisms in battle, it can really jar a reader out of this medieval-esque world. Especially considering he's 18, and spent the last few years in this world. Durandal is clearly just a Zero no Tsukaima reference, and fails to add anything to the story beyond a juvenile sense of humour that, again, is done much better elsewhere. The main heroine is an overpowered, but pure, demon character, a sort of blend between Yue (Arifureta) and Maou (Maoyu) - and though she does get some character development (specifically where her feelings are directed) she too simply serves as the generic love interest with overpowered magic who still gets puts into completely avoidable peril for the sake of the protagonist's heroic moments, who always arrives in the most convenient manner and timing possible. There is no tension in the novel because of that, and the constant stream of "embarrassing" moments (very few of which carry any embarassing elements, but it's a word you will hear ad nauseam) take away from any real development scenes.
  I was tempted to give 3 stars, and simply pass it off as generic and bland but acceptably so, but even at $2.99, you are far better off simply reading any piece of literature that inspired this one- any I, or other reviewers, have identified are worth your time, so much so that I have to dock a point simply because to spend time on this novel rather than, say, Arifureta, is a net loss to you.
• Now, from the afterword and what inspired Brandon to write this two volume series, I can say that I did have an enjoyable time. However, because of the short nature of this series I felt like something was off in how characters and plot were developing as the story rushed on. Unlike such similar works like Shield Hero and Arifrueta we don't see the slow meticulous build of the hero that would take a few volumes to work out, instead because of the rushed and short nature of the series we don't feel that built connection between the characters and ourselves as they journey through the plot and come to face each of their personal traumas and work on repairing them to a state were they feel like their former selves but a little stronger for the experience.
  
  It was still an enjoyable read and I can't wait to see how the story climaxes, but it still feels a bit incomplete.
• I truly enjoyed the first volume of Journey of a Betrayed Hero from a story and character perspective. I felt that the story itself was well-crafted and the characters were fleshed out with their own unique personalities. Each character was a joy to read and they all added something unique to the story… even smaller side characters such as Agatha. The illustrations throughout the book were absolutely amazing as well and looked like they could have been used on an official piece of anime key art! 
  
  While I do give this book a ton of praise, it does come with a few criticisms. First would be the pacing of the book. The first three chapters are separated by Interlude chapters which I felt was an absolutely amazing choice. It provided small side stories and backstory to some of the supporting or minor characters in the series and really made them feel important. The issue I ran into is that chapters three, four, and five felt exceedingly long compared to chapters one, two, and six. It created a rather big imbalance in the pacing and made the middle of the book drag just a bit. Don’t get me wrong, though… the story was great and it kept me turning the pages but I saw several points during a chapter where it could have ended and a new chapter could tell the remainder.
  
  You may ask what the point would be to adding another chapter if you were just splitting up the same amount of content? It’s a mental thing. Being on chapter 3 for, say 50 pages, or being on chapter 3 for 25 and chapter 4 for 25 gives someone a sense of progression. Plus, longer chapters makes it harder to stop and take a break from the story. You could put a bookmark right there at the beginning of chapter 4 knowing that you made it to a progress point instead of taking a break in the middle of a chapter and worrying that you’d have to re-read it to make sense of things up until the point you stopped. Sure, it’s not a huge issue… especially since I read the entire book in one sitting… but I think it just helps with the flow to divide the story up a bit better and to have all chapters around the same length.
  
  The other criticism is that the book could have used another pass when it comes to editing. I found quite a few incorrect word choices and/or misspellings but I do understand that it happens to us all. I, myself, have read through my books three times AND passed them through both Grammarly and Microsoft Word Spell Check and still missed stuff. Nobody can catch everything but I think a better job could have been done in this case to help minimize that as much as possible. It didn’t stop me from enjoying the story; however, but the occasional error did snap me out of my suspension of disbelief. I simply shrugged it off and continued onward, though.
  
  All-in-all, this was still a VERY solid effort from Brandon and it has me very excited to see the conclusion of the story in the second volume! Being an independent light novelist isn’t easy… trust me… I say that from my own personal experience. However, just because someone is independent doesn’t mean they can’t tell a quality story.
  
  Brandon told a quality story. You should take the time and read it. Period.
• I have followed this author and have enjoyed all of his books.
  
  I did not know what to expect in this series, but I found myself enjoy this book a lot. I started it and did not put it down until I had finished it.
  
  If you come here looking for the next William Shakespeare then you won't find it here. But if wanted something fun, enjoyable to read. This is just what your looking for. Enough drama, romance, and fights to fit the story. The story moved right along, which I really enjoyed.
  
  I plan on reading this again in the future when I have an evening free with nothing else to do but enjoy myself.