I say this as a scifi fan and a fantasy fan, but the show is great. The characters are interesting. The plot continues to build and get more exciting. Recently I’ve found myself trying to think back to previous arcs and glean some idea of what is coming next. Reading the books seemed like an obvious next step. I was surprised by what I liked most about the book. You can use this link to get the audiobook for free.

Just like the show, the book has interesting characters and great storytelling. The production quality of the audiobook was really high, which definitely helps make it a better experience.

The show is a much condensed version of the more in-depth book series. This is pretty common. Some characters were combined together or eliminated entirely. Many plotlines were shrunk down or eliminated.

But what really impressed me was the way the author writes. Obviously this can’t really come through in the show. For example;

“Are you kidding? That guy was a mystery wrapped in an enigma and crudely stapled to a ticking fucking time bomb. He was either going to hit somebody or start a blog.”

The author uses a lot of contemporary teen vernacular and slang, but it never feels forced. This makes the writing feel at once accessible and crafty. It’s hard to explain. I found myself laughing or judging or feeling what the author wanted me to feel. This is uncommon for me as a reader. I tend to read with a certain emotional stoicism. This author does a good job of getting under my skin.

One of my favorite things about the way these stories are written is that the settings of the scenes are often very banal. These aren’t people who are generally on crazy adventures. They’re just doing the normal things people do most of the time. The characters also talk about normal language being similar to magic. The words we speak on a daily basis have great power to heal, to harm, to destroy, to change the world around us.

Basically, this book makes me think magically about everyday life. Too often we are caught up in our lives and unattentive to the impact of our words and deeds. We all have the magical power to give joy and comfort and happiness to those whose paths we cross. We should!