I really did not like the sound effects of this book. I didn’t want to leave a review because I wasn’t sure if I just didn’t like sound effects in an audiobook, but after listening to a book with wonderful, peaceful, well incorporated sound effects, I realized it was this book.

I DNFed a chapter or two in because I could not get past the sound effects.

2.5 Stars

One thing that I've said many times is that for some reason, when you have books in the Epic or High Fantasy genre, it is sometimes harder to build the world in my mind if I am listening to an audiobook versus reading an actual print version. I think it is because when there are new and complex descriptions, you can normally reread a sentence if it didn't make sense or even reread paragraphs if you get a little ways farther in the story and realize that you have no idea what you are reading. Unfortunately, in an audiobook, that is a harder thing to do. Now, I am going to add Science Fiction books - or at least THIS Sci-Fi book - into that category.

First of all, this was not a normal audiobook. It was more of a graphic audio production. With these type of graphic audio books, it is usually a crap shoot on whether or not it makes the story better or worse. Sometimes the story is so over-produced that it takes away from the listening experience of the reader (and by reader I mean me). In this case though, I think they did a really good job with the production of this audiobook. The narrators did a great job and the whole production of the story -with the sound effects, music, the robots, etc.- everything was done very nicely.

Unfortunately, there were many things that took me out of the story and some of these things were just too difficult to come back from. This story throws us into a brand new world with some extremely complex world building but does not really take the time or utilize accurate descriptions for the reader to set the stage. I always call it "building the movie in my mind." Some authors do this so brilliantly that before you know it, you are watching it on a screen in your mind and there are no blurry parts that complicate the movie. I had real issues trying to build a picture on this one. I cannot even keep track of how many times I would have to hit "stop" and then "rewind" because I realized that I had absolutely NO idea what the heck was going on. Once or twice is okay. Many, many, many times is not.

We get to meet our MMC Ordulis Cavo. He is supposed to be a morally grey character, but honestly, I never could really get a feel for him. He's tough. Got that. Other than that, there was not much depth to him. I will say that the sidekick - Pookie - definitely stole the show. That was definitely a positive.

This was a "new to me" author and again, sometimes it is just hit or miss as you do not know what to expect. I went into this with a very open mind because the Sci-Fi genre is one that I enjoy. The plot though, seemed extremely convoluted to me and I just felt lost too many times. The storyline was also interspersed with some very odd humor that just felt.....forced.

Thank you to NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for the opportunity to listen to and review this audio ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone. This book will be out for publication on January 28, 2025.

Thank you NetGalley and Paul L. Centeno | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for this ARC audiobook for review. This audiobook is amazing!! Between the sci-fi story line, the multi person voices who brought each characters to life, and then the sound effects added really brought the fighting, robots, and scenes together. This audiobook was a real production as you read about Ordulis Cavo, the convict, and his journey fighting evils with his funny quips and bands of heroes.

This book was a fun fantasy I ended the audiobook as it brings you into the world with our main character

So here's the thing. I love sci-fi, and I love fantasy, and so when I saw this book available as an ARC on NetGalley, I thought, "This seems like a really cool blend of the two genres! I'm excited to see where this goes." As you can probably tell from my rating, I did not enjoy where it went.

Before we get into the problems I had with this book, I want to take a minute to appreciate the production quality of this audiobook. The production quality for this was top tier. The voice actors were amazing, the sound effects were appropriate and interesting, and I wanted to add the music that played in the background to my own playlists. The production team has my respect. They did an amazing job, and their performance is the only reason this book has a full star.

I'm going to be very honest here. I think the production quality was the only redeeming feature about this book.

First, this book had some of the most purple prose I've ever read in my life. The descriptions were flowery and convoluted, and often didn't even make much sense. For example, one of the characters is described as "unwittingly readying himself for a challenge few if any could undertake in the cosmic realm." At another point, a female character is described with the phrase, "She stood still without a hint of wincing" and another example comes when a male character is described with the nonsensical sentence, "He accepted his demise and that angered him." The purple prose made it hard for me to track with the story and hard for me to take any of it seriously.

Second, this book was not written in a way to accommodate an audio format. I work in orality, and one of the first rules of oral communication is that you have to take into account the fact that your audience can't go back and reread something if it doesn't make sense. This means you need extra explanation and re-explanation for terms, ideas, and characters that you don't expect the audience to already be familiar with. Centeno does not do this. He built a very elaborate world filled with new terms to describe every aspect of the system, but he rarely if ever re-explains or reminds the reader what certain species look like, what certain terms mean, or who certain characters are. This meant that I spent a lot of the story trying to remember who and what was being referred to because there was such a high influx of strange terms without any of the scaffolding needed for my mind to properly sort and organize the information.

Third, the worldbuilding really didn't make sense. This world included everything from steam-powered flying ships to mechas to Medieval castles. Every time I thought I'd gotten a feel for the world, another genre would get added into the mix, and it made for a very disorienting and incoherent experience. At one point I started tallying genres that I'd come across, and I was still adding to the list in the last two hours of audio. Now, I love a good genre mash-up as much as the next person, but 10+ genres is a bit much especially if you're not going to fully flesh out or develop any of them.

Fourth, the writing suffered from a heavy case of "tell don't show." As the listener, I was constantly told how everyone was feeling and what had happened, but--even with the immersive sound effects--I never really felt like I was present and part of what was happening. I could visualize what was going on some of the time thanks to the audio effects, but I was never there myself, feeling what Ordulis was feeling and experiencing the world through his eyes.

Fifth, let's talk about Ordulis. The book's blurb describes Ordulis as a war criminal who has to grapple with the shadows of his past. I'll be honest, I didn't see a lot of grappling. Ordulis was violent and impulsive and had one of the filthiest mouths I've read in fiction, but he didn't have much of a true character arc. He seemed to reach realizations about who he'd been and who he wanted to be when it was plot relevant and not in a way that felt coherent or logical to me as the listener. By the end of the book, I was still wondering why anyone trusted or respected him because his decisions were so illogical and needlessly violent that everyone's support for and respect of him made it seem like they were either looking at a completely different character or had somehow been brainwashed.

Sixth, I struggled with the author's decision to use modern slang in Ordulis and other characters' mouths. This story supposedly takes place hundreds and thousands of years into the future, and yet characters constantly said things like "yuppers" and "lit," and at one point one character accuses another of being "a botox face hoe." The use of such modern slang consistently jarred me. Slang changes quickly, especially in the age of the Internet where people's speed of communication is so much faster. If people have been communicating at such a pace for thousands of years, then it is extremely unlikely that they would use modern slang or reference modern products like botox. Hearing those terms and products referenced, therefore, created a constant feeling of cognitive dissonance between when the author said the story took place and what the characters' vocabulary said about when the story took place.

Seventh, this book treated the female characters in an extremely unsatisfying way. Right off the bat, we're introduced to a centuries-old manic pixie whose name is--unironically--Pookie. Given all the other modern slang in the story, I found this name deeply uncomfortable, especially when she acted like an overexaggerated five year old (except significantly more cringy and less coherent then any five-year-old I've ever met). Next, we're introduced to an ancient last-of-her-kind nature priestess whose role in the story is to help the main character understand the power of Mother Nature and who firmly believes from the beginning that he's a good person who can save the world. Her story remains tied to his for the duration of the book, and she is not allowed to have her own plot, motivation, or successes separate from what he achieves. All the other female characters also exist solely for the purpose of promoting Ordulis' journey, and none of them even have the shadow of a character arc that Ordulis is given in the story. The male side characters were also not given character arcs, but the female characters personally bothered me more since they were often given worse fates and conveniently disappeared at the right moment to make Ordulis stand out as even more special and amazing in a way the male characters didn't.

Eighth, the plot in and of itself was not very coherent. There was a villain that the characters were supposedly fighting to defeat, but they spent so much time on random side quests that I spent a good 90% of the book wondering if they were even going to defeat the villain at all. Most of these side quests did not seem to have much of a purpose to me, and they fractured the overall plot, making it even harder to track what was going on in the story and why the characters were doing what they were doing.

All in all, this book is not a good representation of either the sci-fi or the fantasy genre, and I am not planning on ever reading anything by this author again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Independent Book Publisher's Association for giving me a copy of this audio production in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 !

This is my first experience doing a science fiction audiobook, and I have to say, I really want to dive into more sci-fi after finishing this one!

Who doesn't enjoy an antihero war criminal with a rough past! And a fun sidekick, Pookie!

I struggled in the beginning, I did the audiobook for this one, and I found myself having to repeat a lot of the chapters in the beginning in order to get a full grasp on what was happening. (I think it stems from my lack of experience with sci-fi). I think physically reading it would have made the beginning easier to digest, however, I would say the audiobook is a must listen.

The world building was extremely creative, filled with a lot of action packed scenes. This made for a great and fun audiobook because of all the production sound. I think this made for a more captivating story when it's designed this way, rather than two narrators just reading. The sound effects were out of this world (literally) and truly made this experience. You were able to feel as if you are actual in the middle of the battle scene. The narrators were incredibly talented.

There was also a lot of humor in this book that I wasn't expecting, but worked out so well.

All around a fun listen. This story really peaked my interest in expanding into sci-fi and I'm so happy I gave it a try!

Thank you to NetGalley & IBPA for providing me with this Audiobook!

(2.0 Stars)

Thank you to #NetGalley for providing this audiobook for reading and review.

I want to look for the positive. The audiobook was highly produced, much like a "graphic audio" book, but to be honest... it was better done than a lot of the graphic audio books I've read on Audible. The vocal effects were done well and you could still understand the words being said. The background sounds did not step over the narration, and the narrators were very good. If I was rating the production quality of this audiobook it would be at least 4 of 5 stars.

The book itself just wasn't for me. The author's page says he "yearns to create something completely new", and I wonder if that is more a negative than a positive. I feel like the story was just all over the place and the plot (if there was one) was lost in the mix. The characters were non-relatable, and the "world" was nonsensical.

There are some writers who are just naturally funny. And then sometimes humor feels forced. I am very particular about humor in books where humor isn't the main focus of the book. I think this book was trying to attempt a lighthearted humor, which was a swing and a miss for me. It just felt like the book was trying to do too much, be too many things.

If you like Christopher Moore, or Jason Pargin, you might like this book.

This was my second book by this author. I may try to read his book The Vagrant Chronicle, because it is critically acclaimed, but other than that (and unless I find it amazing), I wouldn't read more by this author. However, I would listen to an audiobook he produced.

This was a wild ride of a book. It feels like a bunch of short stories all put into on fun adventure. I got to listen to the audio for this and it was very cool with all the sound effects. It felt like a GraphicAudio book. The narrator’s did a fantastic job. There were a few words that the main character used that were not sensitive to this day and age. So if I had one critique, I would ask that they change those words.

This is not simply an audiobook, it is so much more. It has sound effects, voice effects, accents done by the narrators which all combine into making a very enjoyable audiobook.

I do not normally listen to Audiobooks, they tend to bore me and lose my attention rapidly. This book however grabbed me from the start and kept me listening.

The story itself is amusing and if you are looking for a laugh-out-loud moment then you will surely do just that with this one. And it has exciting and intense scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The world creation is slow building but once you get into it it is incredible. While this book is a science fiction, so of course you can expect the standard robots it is this and oh so much more.

This novel was quite surprising to me, and deals with a complicated morally questionable...morally gray main character and his snarky robot friend who have couples banter the whole time. It is a book about redemption but with a humourous tinge to it all.

I highly recommend this as something refreshing to anyone who loves fantasy and science fiction, especially for those who have been sucked into those dragon books or full cosmospheres.

Overview:
In a dying world where the remnants of ancient power are fading, Ordulis Cavo—a former war criminal haunted by his past—is given an unexpected chance at redemption. The planet is on the brink of destruction, threatened by a ruthless sorceress who seeks to control Anima, a powerful and mysterious energy source that could reshape existence itself.
Reluctantly pulled into the conflict, Cavo is forced to team up with an unlikely crew of warriors, rebels, and outcasts to stop her. But his journey isn’t just about fighting external threats—it’s also about confronting his own demons and deciding what kind of man he truly is. As he navigates betrayals, violent battles, and moral dilemmas, Cavo must choose between remaining a villain or forging a new path.
In a universe where power corrupts and past sins never fade, can a man built for destruction truly become something more?

First Thoughts:
I have to start with a confession: I have never read or listened to a science fiction book before. So, I might not be the best person to judge the sci-fi elements of this story. But! I went in with an open mind, determined to give this audiobook a fair shot and properly evaluate both the story and the listening experience.

Initial Struggles – A Rocky Start:
Right from the beginning, I struggled to get into the story. The transitions between scenes and chapters felt abrupt, sometimes even random. There were moments where I had absolutely no idea what was happening or how one event connected to the next. The pacing felt disjointed, making it difficult to grasp the flow of the plot.
Another major hurdle was the worldbuilding. It was complex—too complex in some parts. The book throws the reader into a completely new, unfamiliar world, where literally everything is different from what we know. While that’s great in terms of creativity, it also makes it so much harder to follow when there aren’t enough detailed explanations or descriptions to help ground the reader.
The names of places, objects, and concepts were completely unfamiliar, and I struggled to keep up. When an author builds a brand-new world from scratch, extra effort needs to go into making it accessible to the audience. A comic or visual adaptation would have been perfect for this story, allowing readers to see the world rather than trying to decode it through vague or minimal descriptions.

The Listening Experience – A Mental Workout:
I’m not exaggerating when I say that I had to fight my way through this audiobook. There were multiple points where I completely lost track of the story and zoned out, simply because I didn’t understand what was going on. I’d estimate that about 70% of the time, I had no idea what the characters’ current goal was or what the main conflict in the middle of the book even was.
And that’s such a shame because I can tell there’s a genuinely interesting world behind all of this. With more descriptions and better scene transitions, this could have been a fantastic immersive sci-fi experience. But as it is, the lack of clarity and structure made it frustrating to follow.

Writing Style – A Mixed Bag:
One thing that did surprise me was the poetic inserts at the beginning of each chapter. They were beautifully written and completely different in tone from the rest of the book. It was a nice contrast, especially considering how rough, crude, and fast-paced the main story was.
I also really appreciated that the characters had distinct speaking styles. Their speech patterns and dialogue reflected their personalities, which shows how thought-out the world actually is—or could have been, if the writing had included more descriptions and scene-setting.

Characters – A Tough Hero and a Favorite Sidekick:
The protagonist, Ordulis Cavo, is clearly designed to be the ultimate antihero. He’s hardened, ruthless, and doesn’t show much emotion. His past defines him, and while the story gives him chances to change, those moments felt rushed and underdeveloped.
That being said—Pookie was my absolute favorite. (I hope I spelled her name correctly!) She was the highlight of the book for me, and I found myself looking forward to her scenes. So, it was honestly disappointing when she wasn’t part of the missions anymore. The story definitely felt less fun without her around.

My Favorite Scene (for the Wrong Reasons):
Hands down, the funniest moment in the entire book was this one quote from the protagonist:

“This one’s for you, Pookie.” […] And then he started to breakdance.

I lost it. The way the scene was set up, combined with the stiff delivery and the background music, made it so unexpectedly hilarious. 😂😂😂
In general, the humor in this book was crude, sometimes borderline ridiculous, but it worked because it fit the personalities of the characters. Even if I wasn’t completely invested in the plot, these unexpected moments of absurdity kept me entertained.

Audiobook Experience – The Saving Grace:
The absolute best part of this experience was the audiobook production.
Without the sound effects, background music, and robotic voice modulations, I definitely would have marked this as DNF (Did Not Finish).
The production elevated the story, making it feel more like a cinematic experience rather than just an audiobook. The robotic characters sounded authentically mechanical, and the music added an extra layer of immersion. If I had read this as a physical book, I don’t think I would have made it past the first few chapters.

Strengths:
Poetic chapter introductions that added a unique stylistic contrast.
Distinct character dialogue styles that made the world feel authentic.
Crude, sometimes absurd humor that surprisingly worked in the context of the characters.
Pookie (easily the best part of the book).
Outstanding audiobook production with immersive sound effects and robotic voice distortions.

Weaknesses:
Extremely rough scene transitions that made it difficult to follow the plot.
Overly complex worldbuilding that lacked enough explanations to make it accessible.
Too many unfamiliar names that made it hard to keep track of important elements.
Lack of descriptions that could have helped visualize this completely new world.
A protagonist who was just “tough” with almost no emotional depth.

Final Thoughts:
I really wanted to like Tabula Rasa, but in the end, I struggled too much with the execution. The world had so much potential, but without enough explanations, descriptions, or smoother transitions, it felt confusing and inaccessible.
However, the audiobook production was phenomenal. The sound effects, robotic voices, and music added so much life to the story that, despite my struggles, I kept listening. If I had read this as a physical book, I doubt I would have finished it.

Would I recommend this book? For hardcore sci-fi fans who love complex, chaotic worlds - maybe.
Would I recommend the audiobook experience? - Absolutely.
Would I read another book by this author? - Only if it had more descriptions and a clearer structure.

⭐ Rating: 2.5/5 (Purely because the audiobook production saved it from being a DNF.)

The audiobook was easily the highlight of this experience. With background sounds and immersive production, it felt almost like a graphic audiobook, making the story far more engaging than it might have been in print.

The book is character-driven yet action-packed, a combination I usually enjoy. However, the action scenes often felt rushed, with the protagonist overcoming obstacles too easily, which diminished the tension. The overall plot was predictable, lacking the twists and stakes needed to keep me fully invested.

The world-building took time to settle in, but once established, it painted an intriguing setting. The mix of sci-fi and fantasy elements had potential, and I appreciated the philosophical undertones, though they occasionally felt heavy-handed.

Ordulis Cavo, the protagonist, was a compelling antihero with a dark past, adding some much-needed depth to the narrative. The supporting characters, like Laza’rethus and Pookie, brought interesting dynamics, but most of the cast felt underdeveloped, and the relationships—especially the romance—lacked emotional impact.

Despite its strengths in atmosphere and ambition, the execution didn’t fully land. Some passages were overly descriptive, dragging the pacing, while the story at times felt overcrowded with ideas that weren’t fully explored.


While Tabula Rasa has an intriguing premise and solid world-building, its predictable plot, rushed action, and shallow character development kept it from truly shining. The audiobook adaptation helped elevate the experience, but overall, it left me feeling lukewarm. That's why I'm giving it 2.5 ⭐.

I have no problem with swears whatsoever and frequently read things that have pretty wildly colorful diction. No holds barred is my usual take.

This audio book has some chosen swears that are vulgar and crass in such a manner that I won’t be repeating them for the sake of the review. Inappropriate and offensive. The narrator has great inflection and the sound effects used are similar to a graphic audio production but the actual writing of this story was very clearly not for me. I cannot in good conscience recommend this.

This is a very well-produced audiobook, with sound effects, music, an echoing AI voice and a full cast of characters. I can tell the author worked hard on this and likely over a number of years. There is interesting world-building and good visual descriptions throughout.
However, it just didn’t work for me. Some of the gratuitous swearing seemed like it was meant to engage younger readers with how “adult” they are. In several places, “vocabulary words” were used then explained. Then there was the impromptu break dancing. Some of the aliens and their voices were fun, but we couldn’t enjoy it on our own - the main character had to respond or reflect on the exchange so we’d know it was ok to laugh. For all these reasons it has a strong YA (+ cursing and name-calling) vibe that left me cold. Is there any reason off the playground to call someone a f*cktard?
In addition, the plot wasn’t easy to follow. I made it to 57% and didn’t really have a good sense of what was happening, so I finished it at 2x. Giving it 2 stars (and a bar of soap!) for the production quality and world building. If the author works more on plot and storytelling, he could be quite good. And to be clear, I don’t have a problem with swearing to define a character or in reaction to a situation, like Ari in the old HBO show Entourage. This was different.
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #TabulaRasa for review purposes. Publication date: 28 Jan 2025.

I listened to the audiobook for this review. Thank you to NetGalley, Paul Centeno and the publishers for the chance to review this nobel.

First of all, massive kudos to both the author and the whole team for production on the audiobook for my experience with this book. The sound effects, voice effects, accents done by the narrators made this experience so enjoyable in a way Im glad I chose audiobook instead of my own internal narrator. I listened to a 36 hour audiobook two years ago and now I read books in an old British guy’s voice and I simply cannot get rid of him. I need narrators to keep me sane lately.

Im not usually a scifi reader. You go into sci-fi books a lot of the time assuming, “we’re probably gonna get robots, and aliens, maybe some weapons of mass destruction” and I wont spoil it, but Tabula Rasa gives you sci-fi but times ten, and in a way readers who specialize more in fantasy (romantasy too) will love.

This book is funny, maybe without trying. But I had at least seven laugh out loud moments in each chapter. Of course as it gets more intense Im clinging to the edge of my seat whiteknuckled (I really dont want to spoil it for anybody) but the whole time, Im just like “I fucking love this world…” I wanted to hear more of it and get into more drama and more conflict just to see where it’d take me and what the main character would grumble about.

Centeno’s character presentation throughout the whole novel is so… simultaneously surprising and refreshing, because I’ve needed sci-fi characters out of the humdrum you always get (if you know what I mean, you know what I mean). A complicated, morally questionable main character and his snarky robot friend, having couple’s banter the whole time. From probably paragraph one (the first two minutes of the audiobook) I was hooked. It was extreme self control that prevented me from rating the book 5 stars before I even got to chapter 5.

Redemption arc, check, humor, check, world building, check. Sound effects, check. Grumpy sunshine, check. Love this novel and audiobook. Highly recommend to people who need something refreshing after burning out on dragons and shadow daddies.

Ordulis Cavo is a convicted for his war crimes. He must fight a power hungry sorceress. This will be a journey and an adventure. Can he redeem himself and set himself a new destiny..

Well written and narrated (I listened to the audiobook). Varied characters in this fast paced novel, which has audio effects not just narration. There will be adventures, danger, battles, heroes and villains but who will win in the end.

2.75

Very well narrated audiobook with background sounds etc that was very much like a graphic audiobook. That was the best part.

The story is character driven but is action packed - which I do enjoy , however sometimes the action scenes felt rushed with the MC just overcoming things rather without difficulty. The overall story also felt predictable. The characters also a little one dimensional and lacked complexity, not to mention that the romance felt forced.

The world building took me a while to really sink into but once that was solidified, it was great. 😊

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

Review 26/01/2025
3,5 ⭐

Tabula Rasa by Paul L. Centeno is a real adventure through multiple planets and universes full of magic and technology. Drawn into this quest, you are introduced to Ordulis Cavo and his epic journey against evil.

This audiobook is full of music and background sounds that made it feel like a movie and you are along with all the adventurers and individuals Cavo encounters on his journey.

Whereas at times I myself seemed a little lost in the world building and all the places, I found the magic system just a little less grandly developed. Whereas I don't quite know how I feel about the protagonist and antagonist yet, I quickly found that I was totally a fan of the side characters! I especially liked the great variety in these.

Despite this being one of my first really Comic fantasy reads, I really enjoyed the humor woven into this book. Especially with the way our main character sometimes doesn't want to believe it all himself and reacts like a normal human would.

One of the lesser points is that the MC seemed a bit too overpowered at times in my opinion. Some battles seemed to be just a little too easily won over and over again, only to have others happen again and again through yet another escape. Always just a little too easy if you asked me.

I also found the romance a little too forced, after all, for me it didn't even need to be in there! In fact, I think I would have liked it more without it.

The narration was very interesting. It had background sounds that made it more immersive. I did not enjoy the music between chapters much though. It was a little too loud and messed up the flow in my opinion.

As for the story itself, I enjoyed the scifi elements a lot. Atlas was very interesting as a character.

Loved most of the characters (especially Atlas), except the antagonist I found her too 2-d for my tastes.

Loved the scifi elements, I could have read a whole book just on our MC's past, it'd make for a great space opera.

I didn't enjoy the circus scene, it felt superfluous but the break dancing bit was a lot of fun.

Sadly I didn't really enjoy the fantasy side of this novel, which is a shame cause fantasy is my bread and butter. For me it just felt too stereotypical and I don't mean in the sense that nothing felt new or different, I mean in the sense that it felt like we'd been dumped in a facsimile of a world rather than a real one.

I wouldn't read this book again but I would read another by the same author, especially if it was scifi.

Very interesting science fiction style fantasy book, Definitely keeps you interested. It is captivating and addicting. The audiobook has background sounds. Almost like a graphic audio, It is done very well.