Search For A Review:
Reviews are in order by last name of author.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G| H | I | J | K | L | M |
| N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| Books of the Year | About Me |
| ARC Reviews | Recent Posts |
| The Den (Home) |
MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.25/5
Format: Kindle Whispersync
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Sometimes adventure knocks. Other times, it hurls woodland creatures at your airship.
After Ozzie and Alex rescue their grandfather from the clutches of warrior librarians, they discover their adventures in Terravenum are only beginning. Stone Hunting isn’t easy—especially when petulant Dark Lords, curmudgeonly hermits, and a Hack Tech gladiator sport stand in the way.
Meanwhile, their father Humboldt has problems of his own. After seven years in captivity, he’s sent on a mission with the worst partner imaginable: Skhaar the Annihilator, the brute who stole his freedom. Failure means death, but success spells disaster.
Ancient prophecies, skulking perils, and monstrous denizens of the deep await the Forsythes. Good thing Grandfather brought his cricket bat.
MY REVIEW
It’s been quite a while since I’ve been in the world of Terravenum, four years to be exact, and it felt like I never even left. I have a love for these YA/middle-grade fantasy books like Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld and I think Terravenum Chronicles fits directly in that category with them. It’s light, it’s fun, it’s just good for the soul and I should’ve picked it up months ago. This read and review is long overdue because Thugwallop was released in November of ‘25 and here we are nearly a year later! Because of some personal things going on in life, I put ARC reads on the back burner, but we are back on track now. Anyways, I remember reading Debunked in 2022 and felt fascinated by Abbott’s world, him adding a “story so far” section was the perfect thing I needed to dip my toe back into the world with Thugwallop.
One of the coolest things to discover in Thugwallop is that the title of the book is named after the sport found within the story itself. The game is absolute chaos, but incredibly fun, it is like a demolition derby fought entirely in mech suits. For visuals, I’d say it’s a brilliant high-octane mashup where Gladiator meets Edge of Tomorrow meets Robot Wars. At first I was thinking Real Steel, but Thugwallop sets itself apart by putting the character directly inside a heavily customized “hack tech” suit, battling it out in an arena surrounded by fans wanting to see someone lose. Tell me that doesn’t sound exciting, it takes up a good part of the book, but I honestly wanted even more! I would not have been mad if this section took up more of the book.
Abbott does a great job with the development of the characters in this book from where they were in Debunked. Ozzie’s reserved and awkward personality, while still there some, has changed out of necessity. He showed it some in Debunked and even more-so now. He can no longer just sit back, he is stepping up and growing into a bit more of a leader. Alex was already outgoing and adventurous, but now she’s learning when to channel that energy and when to dial it back, rather than always going headfirst into every situation. Instead of being polar opposites, they are now balancing each other out with their intelligence and strategy. With the addition of their grandfather, Sir Quidby, to the crew, it adds an extra layer and meaning to their change. Pascal and Layla continue to bring that needed camaraderie that adds in extra laughs and worries throughout the story. No addition is bigger than Humboldt, the father of Ozzie and Alex, who gets his own POV. His perspective adds a sense of mystery and tension to the story as we get to explore deeper into Terravenum after he is forced into a life-or-death mission with the worst person possible, Skhaar the annihilator.
Dito again uses footnotes to help explain deeper into certain things, I like this, but as I mentioned last time, I’d like to see those formed within the story rather than footnoted. Aside from that one thing, Thugwallop is a worthy successor to Debunked and never had a dull moment where it felt like filler to give the book more pages, everything was earned. Abbott’s wild imagination has created something so fundamentally strange that even Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Journey to the Center of the Earth would scoff at. Great characters, deep lore in a weird world, plentiful action and great tension to boot.
