Soul Quest The Soul Quest Trilogy Book 1 eBook Amy Jones
Download As PDF : Soul Quest The Soul Quest Trilogy Book 1 eBook Amy Jones 
Beginning high school is a completely normal,
human right of passage but how normal would it be for someone who isn't
entirely human?
Let's say you're special, capable of harnessing
the Earth's energy to defeat soul sucking monsters and you don't even know it.
You go to school, meet new people and form
friendships only to discover that you and your new click are something
otherworldly. You're life becomes a comic book cliché. By day you solve algebra
problems and by night you rid the world of evil beings.
This is my life. My quest is to protect innocent
souls... and pass the ninth grade.
Soul Quest The Soul Quest Trilogy Book 1 eBook Amy Jones
First, let me say that, overall, I find the story itself rather intriguing. I have a few issues with the story, but overall, I think that the story is OK.I think it might make a decent made for TV movie. And I think this author should continue writing.
But...
Editing is important. I've reached the 80% mark in the book and feel I must write the review now, rather than when (if) I finish the book. To be fair, I probably WILL finish the book, partly just because managed to drag my way through it this far. Again, the story held my attention. I'm writing the review now because of serious editing issues.
Again, editing is important.
The plethora of misused words, along with a few elided words and verbs used in the wrong tense is making it more and more difficult to continue. Normally I would have stopped reading long before this, but I found this story intriguing enough to want to finish reading it.
As it's the first of a trilogy, and I seriously doubt I'll be purchasing the next one, due to the editorial issues with this one. I may not finish it since I really have no intention of continuing to read through such jarring errors that keep yanking me back to reality rather than letting me really, thoroughly, get into the enjoyment of the story.
The latest (and only quoted example I'm giving) is near the end, at the 80% mark. A student arrives at a school dance to find the entrance decorated "with a large heart shaped archway covered with white tool and red and pink carnations."
The word is tulle, not tool. This, so far, is the most egregious misuse I've come across and one of the most jarring, as I was just really getting back into the story from the prior set of misused words, and suddenly had an image of an archway covered with a giant hammer or saw, painted white.
There are misuses of there vs. their, and many places where compound words such as outside are separated to out side, which, while jarring, don't bring totally bizarre images to mind.
A good editor (or perhaps running it by several different "editing" readers) could make a big difference in weeding out these sorts of errors and make reading this story a pleasant diversion rather than a constantly jarring experience.
Honestly, I wouldn't give it a 5 even without the errors, but at least a 3 or maybe even a 4.
As my Kindle is currently estimating only 7 minutes left in the book, I probably will finish reading it, just to see how it all turns out and what the cliffhanger will be that is supposed to make me want to buy the next in the series.
I'd like to say that I'd buy the next one but can't justify spending money on a book that is likely to be just as jarring to read as this one is.
It's not a bad book, but with all the errors, I can't really say that it's a good one either.
Update: I did finish the book but it does not change my review. The preview of the second book in the series showed that it has the same editing issues as the first so I will definitely not buy it. I wish the author all the best, and to those who can enjoy the books well enough, despite the issues...well, enjoy! More power too you and thanks for helping the author make money!
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Soul Quest The Soul Quest Trilogy Book 1 eBook Amy Jones Reviews
I have to say that I couldn't make it past first few chapter. The author had a great idea but just kept repeatingbsame phrases. Also I have a child born just abfew days aftervthesenkids were to have been born. The author cant count. She kept upping their age. For example a child born October 31 2001 would not be 7 yet in April of 2008. Not until October. These kids would be freshman in 2015. She kept supping their age. I cant have faith for the rest of the book if the beginning facts are so messed up.
This is going to be short and to the point. Soulquest just wasn't the book for me. I think I get what the author was going for with the story. But sometimes, a story just doesn't sit well or resonate with a reader and that is the case here.
For me, there was just too much going on. The story jumped back and forth between 2001 and 2014 (there may have been a few other years in there, as well). And it was indicated at the opening of each chapter, but I had a hard time keeping my bearings. To be perfectly honest, I'm still not sure what happened in Soulquest.
The amount of characters was a bit overwhelming, too. As far as the "otherworldly beings", there were Oracles, Guardians, Nature Spirits, Elders, Aengels, Daeva. That's not to mention the actual characters Liv, Melissa, Laith, Brayan, Meena, Hala, Paul.... I felt as if I needed to compile a list to keep up with who/what everyone was, not to mention what was going on.
I will say that the main character, Liv, has a cute teen voice and there were some parts to her story that I did like. The rest, though, simply overwhelmed me.
Again, I'm not saying that Soulquest isn't enjoyable for some, or many, readers. It has a 4-star rating average on and GoodReads, so obviously many readers do like it.
Soul Quest starts off in need of a tough editor, but rounds off to a formidable first publication. Structure problems early on do not stop Amy Jones' story from being suspenseful and touching.
I read Soul Quest on my for a humble 99¢. When I posted my review on Goodreads, Amy Jones contacted me to thank me for my review. She is a smart, gracious, level-headed woman who can appreciate constructive criticism. I highly recommend Soul Quest because-- while the first acts of the book are a bit shaky-- it pulls together to be what promises to be an engaging trilogy. Plus, you can't really go wrong for less than a dollar.
Soul Quest is one of those books that has a really excellent premise but could have stood to be edited a few more times. I feel like the indie writing community has been really supportive of Amy Jones, but perhaps because of the glowing support, she hasn't had anyone be honest with her. George Lucas realized after it was too late that he had spent too much money making The Phantom Menace a terrible fuster-cluck of a story. Nobody told him they had doubts because he was freakin' George Lucas, but the Star Wars book series shows that it could have been saved. Lucas has good ideas, as proven by the original trilogy.
Luckily with books, until they are published or the release date is announced, it's never too late to fix some major problems. Hopefully, as Soul Quest is the start of a trilogy, Amy Jones can learn from some of the problems with the first book. Soul Quest may have suffered from a lack of a tough editor, but it is in no way irredeemable. I enjoyed the book overall. Everyone needs feedback and editing, even if they don't have a major publishing house behind them. Amy Jones just needs to find a tough friend to help her hone her ideas.
The premise, that demons (we'll call them demons for those who haven't read it) would orchestrate a world event on the scale of 9/11 to start a war and feed off of the suffering of humanity is brilliant. I'm still not sure if it's too soon to use 9/11, but that was a bold risk and I can't say I was determinately against it.
The real problem is with the structure. Jones jumps between multiple narrators and relies too much on telling us her backstory rather than showing it. We meet Liv at the start of the book and then jump back in time to just before her birth. This is a smart choice, but one that sets up a missed opportunity.
As we go through the years bringing us back to present, Liv could have been used as an outsider. Characters who were insiders could have taught Liv all of the backstory we needed to know as readers. I think Jones worried that if she didn't explain it all early on, she'd lose her audience, but I would rather be left curious than read multiple paragraphs coldly explaining how spirits in this universe work. We get back to near-present about 20% of the way through the book (according to my progress). In the first of a trilogy, that is not too long to wait to really understand what is going on.
Because the narrator changes, I often found myself confused over who was talking. Changing first person narratives need very distinct character voices and not too many of them. A third person narration-- or one that jumped simply between Liv and Beau, would have been easier to manage. She might have lost some opportunity to hear how the head of the oracles felt, but I'm not sure we needed that. Literary critics bash on female writers for talking too much about feelings and not about events. I'm a woman and I maintain that you need to understand emotional processes to understand motive sometimes. We just have to be sure that we try to show feelings rather than tell them, where we can, and that we don't forget to be concrete about what is actually happening in a scene.
As for formatting, the version had some flaws. From my own experience, I'm going to guess that return spaces were used where section/page breaks should have been. I found quite a few blank pages between chapters in my read. I also would have liked to see some kind of formatting change between first person, past tense narrative and first person, present tense thoughts. There were a few minor homonym switches (wondering/wandering) that an editor could have caught, as well.
Jones starts off every chapter with a quote. I like it. I've been doing the same thing in my book series. Jones isn't limited to famous Greeks like I am. Jones doesn't limit herself to pretty, popular, neat inspiration quotes either. She boldly quotes Hitler at a poignant moment.
The descriptions in Soul Quest are quite beautiful. I especially like the description of Arcadia (and that she chose to call it that). Her interpretations of demonic infection, guardian angels, and soul mirrors are clever and serve the story well.
I tend to have a problem in modern fiction when everyone has names that sound like Bratz dolls. It's my own personal taste and I try to put it aside. Real people have odd names like Brayan, but I like to see them balanced out with normal, common names. That's probably why I was tickled pink that an oracle, a spirit, a non-human character, was named Kevin. My best friend always wanted to name a hamster Kevin because it was so normal and non-threatening. Naming him Kevin gave me a laugh. I think it's good when you can find little spurts of joy in something as heavy as a post-9/11 spiritual drama.
As for the characters, I thought they were all very distinct and well rounded. Brayan reminds me of one of my own characters in his heart-breaking insecurity and just as Jones intended, I can't help but like Laith. I think I liked his narration best. It was sweet, genuine, and distinct. Laith is one of the few characters who isn't as-smart or smarter than the writer and so his simple diction was refreshing. I am a total Hermione Granger type. Laith's thought-process was endearing without being too stereotypical slow kid.
More than half-way through you start to see the kids discovering and using their powers. It's cool, but I feel like it would have been more exciting if we hadn't gotten a Cerebro File-esque breakdown of their abilities much earlier in the book. Again, I feel like some reorganization and cuts could have made this book a 5-star, easily. By the time the third act was really taking off, I was eager to join the cast and shank the baddie with a light sword in the school cafeteria.
The final act really showed the true potential of this series. Jones writes grief beautifully and genuinely. She has created a cast of balanced, diverse characters and a story I care to see resolved. Soul Quest is an honorable first publication and I believe that I will be reading the next book on my to see if it gets better.
One last idea. What if this book was subtitled Soul Quest The Daeva You Know. Just an idea.
First, let me say that, overall, I find the story itself rather intriguing. I have a few issues with the story, but overall, I think that the story is OK.
I think it might make a decent made for TV movie. And I think this author should continue writing.
But...
Editing is important. I've reached the 80% mark in the book and feel I must write the review now, rather than when (if) I finish the book. To be fair, I probably WILL finish the book, partly just because managed to drag my way through it this far. Again, the story held my attention. I'm writing the review now because of serious editing issues.
Again, editing is important.
The plethora of misused words, along with a few elided words and verbs used in the wrong tense is making it more and more difficult to continue. Normally I would have stopped reading long before this, but I found this story intriguing enough to want to finish reading it.
As it's the first of a trilogy, and I seriously doubt I'll be purchasing the next one, due to the editorial issues with this one. I may not finish it since I really have no intention of continuing to read through such jarring errors that keep yanking me back to reality rather than letting me really, thoroughly, get into the enjoyment of the story.
The latest (and only quoted example I'm giving) is near the end, at the 80% mark. A student arrives at a school dance to find the entrance decorated "with a large heart shaped archway covered with white tool and red and pink carnations."
The word is tulle, not tool. This, so far, is the most egregious misuse I've come across and one of the most jarring, as I was just really getting back into the story from the prior set of misused words, and suddenly had an image of an archway covered with a giant hammer or saw, painted white.
There are misuses of there vs. their, and many places where compound words such as outside are separated to out side, which, while jarring, don't bring totally bizarre images to mind.
A good editor (or perhaps running it by several different "editing" readers) could make a big difference in weeding out these sorts of errors and make reading this story a pleasant diversion rather than a constantly jarring experience.
Honestly, I wouldn't give it a 5 even without the errors, but at least a 3 or maybe even a 4.
As my is currently estimating only 7 minutes left in the book, I probably will finish reading it, just to see how it all turns out and what the cliffhanger will be that is supposed to make me want to buy the next in the series.
I'd like to say that I'd buy the next one but can't justify spending money on a book that is likely to be just as jarring to read as this one is.
It's not a bad book, but with all the errors, I can't really say that it's a good one either.
Update I did finish the book but it does not change my review. The preview of the second book in the series showed that it has the same editing issues as the first so I will definitely not buy it. I wish the author all the best, and to those who can enjoy the books well enough, despite the issues...well, enjoy! More power too you and thanks for helping the author make money!
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