I’m VERY MUCH enjoying this series so far. The first was a great introduction to the world and characters, and the second book continues that momentum forward, becoming a compelling read that I devoured as voraciously as a mimic might his prey.
There are only a couple of minor things about the characters’ personalities and dialogue choices that occasionally irk me, but I won’t even bother getting into those specifics here in this review. (and an issue with one of the voice actor’s botched job at an English accent) On the whole, the audio production team does a fantastic job adding effects to the voices during specific moments that add another layer of immersion to the (mostly) top notch voice acting. However…. my main gripe with this series so far **is** related to audio production. The sound quality itself is excellent, BUT the audio levels are constantly bouncing between the actors speaking quietly into the microphone, and YELLING INTO IT. It’s never NOT jarring and it occurs over the entirety of both books so far. Imagine straining to hear quiet dialogue, only for every few sentences, to have that character or another one YELL into the microphone. It’s impossible to set up earbuds in such a way that these audio levels aren’t a constant nuisance. (and the Audible app has NO option to even out these audio levels for you)
The fact that I’ve continued these books (and thoroughly enjoyed them, looking forward to more) DESPITE having some voice actor scream into my ear every 15 seconds speaks volumes about my enjoyment of the series. But I certainly hope these issues are better addressed in future books.