The Stradivarius

Astra Epsilon, Book 2

By: Brayden Dodge

Narrated by: Graham Halstead

Quest Update: Reunite the team. Current Status: Complete.

After finally reuniting on the Orchard Fortress, it seemed like the team would make a clean getaway...until a magical glimpse into the future revealed their horrible—and imminent—demise. At least they finished their first quest, right?

Even if they somehow escape their impending doom in the next thirty seconds and make it back to the Stradivarius, their troubles are far from over. The soulforged vessel is a floating warzone. In addition to all the normal dangers that space travel poses, the derelict ship is packed with fromlirs. Hordes of the tiny lizardmen stalk the halls, led by a mech-suit capable of ripping through metal like tissue paper.

Orion wrestles with his self-doubt—made all the worse by torrents of verbal abuse from a snarky AI. Arcana, still intent on becoming the greatest caster in the universe, wants nothing more than to leave the team behind, and after her actions during the escape, Galek is inclined to let her. Echo needs new spells to round out her healing repertoire—and new drugs to try. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Syzygy still hasn’t found shoes.

©2022 Brayden Dodge (P)2023 Podium Audio

Good but...

I enjoy the idea of this style of genre, but Brayden felt the need to include perverse language throughout which didn't add any literary value to his writing. I'd have loved to read this book too my kids but that isn't going to happen.

Why is Arcana and the ship AI so annoying? Those two characters almost ruined the story for me.

Most original and engaging story

I thoroughly enjoyed the originality of the characters and the new story that is unlike anything I have read. The author’s ability to weave the character’s story lines together is impressive and the imagination of the story as a whole was exciting, entertaining and brings the reader into the story. I can’t wait for the next installment of this series.