Reviews

The Fourth Sage by Stefan Bolz

dom_millennium's review

1.0

THE GOOD: Female teenager living in a world controlled by an evil corporation attempts to escape the hands of tyranny and suppression by banding with a team of like-minded individuals and leading them to freedom. It is an interesting premise.

THE BAD: This coming-of-age novel feels very much aimed at a young audience. Story mostly takes place in maintenance shafts, elevators, and air ducts inside a giant evil building which makes for a very bland setting.

THE UGLY:

Spoiler

The stupid hawk. For some reason, the author decided to include a 4 month old bird that can communicate with the main protagonist through telepathy to help her escape. Why?! What an easy way out for the author it was difficult to wrap my mind around. Oh, there's a problem? Let the hawk fly and tell you what's coming up, where to go, what to do, and believe in yourself! Later on, a deaf character is introduced that can communicate through telepathy as well. The protagonist can look through the hawk's eyes, etc, etc.

. Such a disgustingly easy way for the author to write what would otherside be difficult problems to solve. Ruined the whole story for me. In fact, I had tried to read this book two years prior but had to put it down after about 35% completion because it was so bad. I decided to try re-reading all the books I've never been able to finish over the years because I found them so boring and I was eventually able to drudge through this book until completion. Not easy to get through but I could see this book possibly being appealing to very young readers aged 10-11.

mfeibel's review against another edition

5.0

Wow. This book is amazing. So many characters to get to know and love. Aries is a stupendous and relatable heroine. And her companions all have these qualities to make them unique. I cannot wait to read the next books to get to know them better.

And, even aside from the wonderful characters, this plot is so fascinating. There are so many levels to it that it lends itself to more than one read. Every time you think you understand how the world works, something shifts and you realize it's all much deeper than you realized.

Another great book by Stefan Bolz that teaches us about how the world can be changed by a small group of young people who use their talents to come together for the greater good. And it's also just wildly entertaining.

Read it.

dominic51487's review against another edition

1.0

THE GOOD: Female teenager living in a world controlled by an evil corporation attempts to escape the hands of tyranny and suppression by banding with a team of like-minded individuals and leading them to freedom. It is an interesting premise.

THE BAD: This coming-of-age novel feels very much aimed at a young audience. Story mostly takes place in maintenance shafts, elevators, and air ducts inside a giant evil building which makes for a very bland setting.

THE UGLY:

The stupid hawk. For some reason, the author decided to include a 4 month old bird that can communicate with the main protagonist through telepathy to help her escape. Why?! What an easy way out for the author it was difficult to wrap my mind around. Oh, there's a problem? Let the hawk fly and tell you what's coming up, where to go, what to do, and believe in yourself! Later on, a deaf character is introduced that can communicate through telepathy as well. The protagonist can look through the hawk's eyes, etc, etc.

. Such a disgustingly easy way for the author to write what would otherside be difficult problems to solve. Ruined the whole story for me. In fact, I had tried to read this book two years prior but had to put it down after about 35% completion because it was so bad. I decided to try re-reading all the books I've never been able to finish over the years because I found them so boring and I was eventually able to drudge through this book until completion. Not easy to get through but I could see this book possibly being appealing to very young readers aged 10-11.