Impyrium audiobook

3.5.Reseña en: http://www.eltemplodelasmilpuertas.co...

IMPYRIUM by Henry H. Neff is the first book in a brand new fantasy series sure to knock your socks off! This YA novel boasts a hefty 585 pages of pure excitement and adventure. Neff creates a very complex world, and as a result, the story starts out slow. At first, all the characters, the land’s history, and the new vocabulary can be confusing. However, eventually it starts to click and as a result, pacing begins to pick up. It is then that the book starts to become a lot of fun. I genuinely love Hob, one of the lead characters. I deeply care for him and really hope that he will somehow end up in a good situation. He is crafty, intelligent, loving, and not to mention has great self-preservation skills. His relationship with Hazel is really special and genuinely believable as it unfolds in an innocent and natural way. In fact, the last few lines of the novel, shared between these characters, is perhaps the best way to button up the first book in the series. I honestly cannot wait for the second installment to see how this partnership develops and where their stories go next. In fact, all the characters in this novel have distinctive traits and virtues. The three Faeregine triplets themselves could not be more different from one another. Consequently, this creates conflict as each have their own opinions and views about the world, which makes the story that much more similar to competing personalities in real life situations. The author’s effort to ground these characters helps readers share an emotional understanding with them, despite the fantastical elements of the book. However, the Faeregine sisters, Violet, Isabel, and Hazel, as well as Hob, do feel much older than their ages of twelve and thirteen. Of course these characters have had more experience in their short lives than many have had in longer ones, but they still read as more mature teenagers on the cusp of adulthood. This problem could have been solved by making them seventeen. With this, the novel still would be appropriate for young audiences and still would convey the same ideas and themes. Despite the age issue, IMPYRIUM on a whole, is a wonderful book. It is the first high fantasy series I have begun that has not been so clinical in the descriptions that it lost the thrill and adventure. It is a story that creates a roller coaster of a ride with unexpected twists and turns that will leave the audience wanting more.Originally posted here: http://www.yabookscentral.com/yaficti...

This book is for grades 5-8. It reminded me of Harry Potter, though I felt more complex. The story takes place 3,000 years in the future in a world of magic and dragons. So kind of a mix of high fantasy and alternate history. I found this really cool. I also liked the two main characters: Hazel and Hob. Wonderful world building with imps but also completely original creatures like the kitchen hags. They were my favorite. Plus, the dialogue was witty and clever. It was just a fun book.

*4.5 because the romance killed meeeee*This book was really good! There was tons of action at the end, but the beginning was slow. It started to pick up when (view spoiler)[ Hazel and Hob crossed paths (hide spoiler)] . I found myself liking the parts that focused on Hazel more because she was just so interesting and relatable.ALSO, the romance KILLED me. Their little saying... MY HEART HAS BEEN RIPPED APART! asdfghjkl!!!!!!!!Sorry, fangirl moment. This book was overall really good. It was just a bit slow for the first 300 pages or so.

The Faeregine dynasty has been ruling Impyrium for over 3000 years with the help of magic, but what the public doesn’t know, is that their magic is slowly becoming weaker every generation, until Hazel is born.Hazel the youngest in the royal family, gladly spends all her free time perfecting her magic in private, and staying as far away from the public as possible, considering that everime she shows her face they call her a discrace to her family name.Hob lives with his mother and younger sister in Dusk working in the empire’s mines. One day a stranger invites Hob to work in a secret organization that is trying to put an end to the Faeregine dynasty. Hob accepts, knowing he will be getting paid more then he could ever imagine, escaping his miserable life in Dusk, and fighting for what he thinks is right. But does he know exactly what he just signed up for? Soon Hob meets Hazel, and realizes what this organization is trying to do! Is he fighting on the right side?What is Hazel’s magic really capable of doing? I think this book was very well written. Jeff has created this whole new world filled with magical creatures in such detail. By the looks of it, I think that it was one of the biggest books on the list, but once you start reading it, it goes by very quickly, and it leaves you wanting more to read. The plot that Neff creates can be a little confusing at times, but if you kept reading the book, the story keeps adding up and linked together to create the big picture. I do hope this book will be continued into a series!

Appropriate for: age 13+I loved this book so much. I stayed up late 5 nights in a row just so I could finish it. I liked both main characters a lot. The magic had some new, interesting elements to it. The mystery was very compelling. No swear words (yay!) but it has pseudo swear words such as the B word for illegitimate child. I recommend it for older teens because of the violence and the concepts are a bit hard to grasp.

The master of unpredictable plot twists and perfect world building strikes again. If I had to make a comparison, Impyrium is a combination of Downton Abbey, Frozen, and the Targaryen bits of Game of Thrones, with steampunk flair; but, it is uniquely its own. I’ve put off reading this for a bit, because I thought nothing could touch the near-perfection of its predecessor, The Tapestry Series. Like Tapestry, this is an example of fantasy at its best.

Welcome to Impyrium, the world that remains after a great cataclysm happened on Earth. For over three thousand years, the Faeregine dynasty has ruled Impyrium. Now, twelve year-old Hazel, the youngest of royal triplets, is set to inherit the power of her ancient family. Enter servant boy, Hobs. A young man who has been recruited by The Fellowship, a rebel group opposed to the Faeregine's and all magical families of the upper class.Hob's works his way into Hazel's life, becoming her friend and tutor, only to realize that she is not the evil that he has been told about. Hazel believes in her friend Hob's and trusts him with her life. Together, they confront the lies and conspiracies that confront the world of Impyrium. However, Hob's is bond to The Fellowship by dark magic, and in the final confrontation he might have no control. Who will win the day?My Thoughts-Loved it! Beware though, this is a hefty read of almost 600 pages. I gobbled it down :) From the get go I was drawn into this magical world that remained from what was left of our own world. The book starts out with the discovery of the ancient city of Vancouver and then expands into a royal dynasty that has existed for thousands of years. The old world is unknown, thought to be a myth by most.Hazel is an albino and carries Old Magic within her. She is thought to be the rebirth of an ancient queen, The Reaper, a power hungry sorceress who razed the world, but also kept it safe from demons. The Fellowship believe that they must kill Hazel to prevent another tyrant. Here in lies our twisty plot and amped up tension. The reader falls in love with Hazel, the protected princess whose eyes are slowly opened to the injustice around her. We know what is coming, betrayal, but we just have to wait to see how it plays out.The author weaves a magical world full of history into Hazel's background, and Hob's, as her tutor, teaches her all about the outside world. There are plots to unfoil, people to reveal, and royalty to betray. It is just a great big bunch of fun to read. I loved the characters, each one with their own deep stories and desires. But most of all, I loved Hazel, the girl who holds her own and creates her own destiny. I'm giving this one 5 stars!

3.5Overall, I enjoyed this story. It reads like a sort of MG High Fantasy, and I liked the world building and how it didn't seem, to be, to be overly info-dumpy. Things were gradually laid out as they became relevant, and I liked the different perspectives we got to see through the two main characters eyes.Really, I think the characters were a highlight for me. They were written so well - so believable and relatable, and they came from very different backgrounds with very different perspectives, so it was nice to see the world through their eyes and also to watch their growing friendship.It was also nice to see characters slightly out of the norm. Hazel is a young albino girl and Hob is part First Nations - not demographics we often see portrayed in positive lights. (I recall reading something once about how almost all albino characters in books and movies are evil, and here we have no just a non-evil albino character, but a main character as well.)One of the best things about the story, for me, was that it wasn't entirely straight forward. People's loyalties were questioned and tested, and while I didn't fall for the obvious red herring, I did find myself turning pages eagerly to find out exactly what was going on and who was betraying who.The said - while I enjoyed the story as I was reading it, I can't say it left all that strong of an impression on me. I do want to continue the series - assuming the series does get continued - but I could also see myself sort of forgetting about it after a few months, let alone years.***ETA: One thing I had wanted to mention that I forgot to was the seeming ages of the girls.The three sisters are triplets, all around 12; however, Hazel was the only one who actually seemed to be roughly 12 - perhaps slightly younger. Isabel read closer to 15 and Violet around 18, which made Hazel seem very immature by comparison. It was a bit jarring and I had to keep reminding myself that the girls are actually all meant to be the same age.I think it actually would've worked better if all the girls were a bit older - like if they were all meant to be 15. Especially because of the things that are expected of them in this story.Hob also seemed a bit older than his given age, but he had a rough life and was forced to take care of his family early on, so it made a little more sense in his case.

I had to keep checking my brain for examples of twelve-year-olds and thirteen-years-olds every time I wanted to give side-eye to some depictions that I thought were probably too mature for that age. But then I reminded myself that this is a middle school fantasy, and once I let myself suspend that reality, then I was totally sucked in. An entertaining young adult read for those who like magic. A well-crafted story with a strongly developed magical world. Way better than the Magicians.

I hadn't heard anything about this book, but when it came in at work I noticed the quote on the cover from James Dashner saying, "I haven't read about a world so deep, so purely magical, so well-developed since Harry Potter." Then I turned it over and saw another one from Eoin Colfer saying, "A rare jewel. A new classic in the fantasy genre." Um, well, ok, if you guys insist. I'll bite!While I definitely don't think this series will ever become another Harry Potter, there's certainly something there. It's like, it has all the depth of Harry Potter, if not more, but without the humor, maybe, or that sense of wonder. But more maturity. I dunno, but whatever it was, it worked for me!It took awhile for me to start really feeling attached to the characters, but man, I kind of love them now, and even the great HP took three whole books to get me to that point. But then, this book is almost 600 pages long, so it gives you plenty of time to get immersed in the world (our world, a thousand or so years from now-ish, with magic and dragons and demons and a major ban on technology--but not in a preachy kind of way at all). It's a slower, less action-packed sort of fantasy novel, but it's just the kind of slow-burn story I find super satisfying, because it is so well-developed. Neff apparently has another series set in this same world earlier in time that I haven't yet read, but I will obviously be getting around to that soon!There are a few things that bugged me, and there's one secret bad guy that I kind of knew was a secret bad guy for pretty much the whole book, and a villain-confessional-monologue bit at the end (omg, why can't villains just ever keep their bragging to themselves???), so this book is not quite perfect, but...I really enjoyed it and am TOTALLY looking forward to book 2 in what already feels like too long from now. Anyway, don't go into it expecting it to blow good ole-Harry P. out of the water or anything, but if nothing else it's FOR SURE a great read-alike for those kids that have read all the other HP read-alikes already (I have several of those at my library, and have already told one of them that he probably needs to read this ASAP).