Buryoku, Weavers of Qi: Box Set

Buryoku Collection, Book 2

By: Aaron Oster

Narrated by: Mare Trevathan

Buryoku Books 4-6 in one convenient Box Set!

After escaping Doragon’s clutches, Roy finds himself stranded in the Windblight, a harsh desert under the control of a rival clan – one that won’t think twice about tossing him in their fighting arena to pay off a perceived debt.

Meanwhile, Aika, Ferry, and Hermit face their own problems in the form of retribution from the Itachi clan. While Hermit might be a Sovereign, his sister carries the same title.

With enemies closing in on all sides, the three of them must work hard to stay ahead and continue on the trail of their abducted friend.

©2024 Aaron Oster (P)2024 Aaron Oster

Good narrator, okay story, questionable characters

The narrator is good. The male voices seem awkward at times but you get used to it. The varying cadence really adds to certain scenes.

The pacing in the first 3 books was great. I found those books difficult to put down. Book 4 follows this course and I highly recommend it. The pacing starts getting shaky in book 5 and the issues are only magnified in book 6.

The real issue is the lack of character development for Roy. He is insufferable! How can you possibly rationalize being so unwilling to change your ways or learn from the strongest martial artist on the continent despite getting rocked at every turn. This man should be dead to rights and he knows it, but refuses to leverage the opportunities given to him to get stronger. I’m with the dungeon core on this one, Duncan must have dropped him on his head a few too many times damaging his squishy brain. Roy single handedly makes the middle of book 6 drag on and become borderline painful to listen to. Not to mention very little actually happens compared to books 1-4.

Most of the other characters also suck. They are either inconsistent, unbelievably stupid, or flat out annoying. Warping Silver sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Hermit is cool though.

Generally good books, but it’s no Cradle that’s for sure. Good passive listen and phenomenal value (3 books for 1 credit), so definitely deserves a 4/5.

If I bought the books individually I would rate them as follows:
Book 4 - 4.5
Book 5 - 3.5
Book 6 - 2.5

Still not good maybe even worse than first box set.

I made it through the first box set. Hoping that the series would get better or that the main character would grow out of his need to whine and complain at every turn. I was wrong. It only got worse. The main character is such a disappointment and leaves you frustrated at every turn. Complete waste of time. Not worth the read.