Eight: Undaunted

Eight, Book 3

By: Samer Rabadi

Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann

How does an old man in an eight-year-old body hunt down a killer? With wisdom, courage, and a healthy dash of magic.

When a murderer-turned-monster escapes, the evil once restrained now roams free, leaving death in his wake. Inleio, the former lodge master, has fallen, and the responsibility to avenge his death lands squarely on Eight's shoulders.

The chase is treacherous and wild, leading Eight and his hunter team to the nearby city of Albei. There, they face more than just their prey. Political schemes, intrigues from the rival Healer's Lodge, and even assassins threaten to derail their mission.

The stakes are higher, the enemies fiercer, and the Long Dark's shadow looms ever closer. Can Eight's years of wisdom, honed skills, and sheer determination carry him through? He's faced hungry beasts, explored the wilderness, and survived first contact with civilization. But this time, the challenge is greater, the danger more insidious.

Eight 3: Undaunted is a novel of pursuit and peril, of urban struggles, and of a relentless dance with life, death, and magic. It's an adventure that tests the very essence of Eight's being. Join him as he faces his most daunting challenge yet, but remember, in the game of survival, even the wise can fall, and the Long Dark waits for no one.

©2023 Samer Rabadi (P)2024 Podium Audio

Finally

some representation for post-dump clarity, 🤣
fantastic read, as usual for this series.
I need the next 10 books though

Well told story

This was a really good continuation of the story. It was interesting to see the various animals and talents and going through the towns and seeing the different types of people. I look forward to seeing what the author does in the next 5 books! I will be buying them.

Unique World Building

Unique World Building, Magic system, Creatures, Conflicts, power struggles.
In a lane all its own.
Excellent narration.

Fantastic!! Again!!

I reviewed the first two books and I absolutely feel the same way now, as then. So damn good! This book didn’t go anywhere I expected, but Rabadi delivered. The reality is that he met all the plot threads and wove in new ones. Absolutely fantastic. Get this book and get the first two.

Daunting Length and A Forced Edge

I like long titles, but 23+ hours is a bit daunting (intend the pun if you like). It's the kind of time investment that wants to give you a sense of "this should be a life changing experience" -- and it's not. Don't get me wrong, it's engaging and clever -- especially the Meso-American spin rather than pseudo-Japanese or pseudo-European on what is essentially a isekai/RPG adventure. The series hasn't lost it's gritty edge three books in, to it's credit. However, this third book's plot feels inverted. It's said that the third great impulse after nutrition and procreation is re-writing someone else's work. I'd like to suggest to Mr. Rabadi that this book in the series should have been primarily about the Long Dark with the Borba Hunt arc woven throughout it.

The other thing I want to say is that there's an implication made about Eight's adopted children and their feelings about each other that hints at the open sexuality aspect of this alternate world's embracing of polygamy. I understand the need to significantly differentiate that world's cultural norms from ones that Eight would be used to -- and indeed to recognize that human cultures differ in reality. However, to introduce the concept of open sexuality among characters who are truly children impacted me as an unnecessarily forced exercise in "lets be edgy for the sake of being edgy". When I once took a college level course in creative writing, I challenged other writers about the gratuitous use of profane, obscene, and vulgar language to imagine how they would express themselves if the assignment excluded such language. The point there (and here) was not to be prudish. It was to point out that if one doesn't absolutely have to poke a bear, then don't poke it.

All things being said, I'll look forward to a fourth volume in the series, and it will make it's way into my listening library.

MC is a overpowered wimp.

The MC is supposed to be an old guy but he is in a boys body. He is all the time second guessing himself crying or pouting about something. Then he will go and kill stuff and mope and cry again. Oh the humanity! I am done.

great books

these are honestly very well written for the genre. I appreciate the focus on relationships (platonic) and community over the standard lone wolf.

Well-crafted & intriguing

The world is deftly drawn, with the complex and interesting Eight at the center. I appreciate his thoughtfulness and high degree of principles. A full supporting cast is well-crafted, especially Ikfael and Yuki. The pacing is steady, which is both a blessing and a bane, in terms of sustaining the same level of interest. The emphasis on community was a nice change from other books in this ilk. The narrator, Gary Tiedermann, has a beautiful voice and delivers the story in a manner that fits the written word just right.

Too long for so little

I appreciate and love that the author kept the same pacing and style as the previous books. The overall arcs were fantastic and the careful detail was lovely, but in my humble opinion the length of each arc was drawn out too much. High quality book, author, and content- however this book seemed a little watered down with a me quantity perhaps. Looking forward to the fourth book.

a unique story

it took a little while to get into this one but by the end it was good