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  • The Tunnels Beneath - uneven storytelling in the Aldoran Chronicles
By Lore | Sat, 09/16/2023
The Tunnels Beneath Book Cover
Book Review
Fantasy
Michael Wisehart
Tim Gerard Reynolds

This latest installment in the Aldoran Chronicles gets off to a slow start, but eventually finds its footing and delivers meaningful progression to the series. All the main PoV characters return, but for me they are not all created equal. Ayrion remains the most compelling of the bunch and he finally gets his chance to return to his homeland after he was banished as a child. For anyone who has read the Street Rats of Aramoor this is an interesting storyline, but sadly this is end loaded in the book and it can be a slog at times to get there. Especially in the Ty storyline where way too much time is spent recounting what has already occurred. Ty is the typical "chosen one" trope character and he is the least interesting of all of the PoV characters. At least Ferrin's storyline continues to be solid with him playing a role in some big events and Adarra's storyline also has its moment. All in all it's an uneven entry in the series that isn't the return to solid story telling I was hoping for.

I think the hard part for me is that I don't find the "chosen one" character interesting at all so I flip flop from interested to uninterested as the PoV character changes. If you have enjoyed the earlier entries in the series I do still recommend that you pick this up as there is more good than bad, but this is the fourth book in the series already and frankly it is time to wrap it up. I still remain hopeful it will end on a strong note.

Tim Gerard Reynolds narrates the audiobook and delivers his usual excellent performance. Audiobook listeners have the luxury of listening at faster than 1x speed for the slow sections and I must admit I took that step during the multiple story recaps that occurred with Ty's storyline.

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