Aeon Legion: Labyrinth

Like so many others, I bought this book because I enjoy J.P. Beaubian's youtube channel, and was interested in not only supporting his work, but the way that he exercised the thoughts presented in "Terrible Writing Advice" It's been a while since I read a fiction, published book, and a large part of that is because I had less time and energy for reading for a while but also because I grew tired of a couple of tropes I see over and over again. Tropes in themselves aren't bad, but (1) I find a lot of them to be tired and boring without fresh insight, and (2) a lot of them involve toxic behavior. That I find myself reading urban fantasy aimed at young adults probably says a lot. I also find myself having a really, really hard time understanding time travel: my brain seems to stop so much as trying as soon as it's brought up. Which is why I was really, really pleasantly surprised when I read Aeon Legion. There's a lot of concepts and phrases introduced within the first few chapters: the author does a beautiful job of making it easy to understand and remember. The explanations themselves are relatively simple (despite being time travel/new culture) and when I found myself forgetting a term, context provided the rest. He makes it really clear what the time travel devices can and cannot do, and doesn't info dump. Instead, it's nicely paced with plot still progressing, which keeps all the new terms relevant. The characters, for the most part, act like people. It seems strange to say, but a lot of time in media it seems like characters have a role to fill within a plot, instead of simply being interesting people existing in an interesting narrative. Where the it seems like a character acts against their own interest, or makes so many unlikely decisions it feels impossible when added up. The world does not turn to revolve around the main character in this book: she has people for and against her, but they also have their own problems. Things don't magically line up for her: she makes things happen. It doesn't always turn out the way she wants, and she fails from time to time. But the plot is pushed by choice, instead of chance, which I find valuable. Overall, the book is engaging. You want to know what happens to the characters, whether they'll succeed or fail. The pacing feels appropriate: not once was I wishing a scene was over. The set ups pay off, and the characters struggle to get what they want which makes it all the more rewarding and authentic. That being said, it isn't without fault. There is an important question that feels dropped when it should be pursued. It feels like the main character has an unnecessarily harsh bias against another character. There are spelling and grammatical mistakes. But honestly... for all of the things the book gets right, the things it gets wrong seem trivial in comparison. It's a good read, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Admittedly, the decision to read Aeon Legion: Labyrinth was something that it took me awhile to come to, for the simple reason that with the exception of maybe The Terminator and Quantum Leap, I don’t really like stories where time travel is a primary plot device. Things can become migraine-inducingly complicated in a very short period of time. An often-used quote from Star Trek puts it more succinctly: “Temporal physics always gives me a headache.” And indeed, if you take into account the number of paradoxes put forward by the possibility of time travel, then you have a sufficient reason to reach for a very large bottle of extra strength Excedrin. Fortunately, Aeon Legion eschews all the more confusing aspects of time travel for an epic coming-of-age tale. The majority of the story takes place in the city of Saturn, a civilization that exists in a realm called the Edge of Time, and observes and polices all time travel, which the reader quickly learns, is a surprisingly common invention. From the city of Saturn, the Aeon Legion, with the help of the Sybil, a group of precognizant individuals who can sense crimes before they are committed (think Minority Report) prevents incursions and alterations to time that can cause devastating events called “temporal crashes.” They enforce the Temporal Accords, a set of laws governing what is and is not permissible for time travel, and punish those who attempt to use time travel for their own personal gain, utilizing astounding “singularity tech” which uses time manipulation as both a tool and weapon. But I digress. Aeon Legion came to my attention after traversing the stygian depths of YouTube and discovering a delightful series called “Terrible Writing Advice,” by the book’s author, one J.P. Beaubien –whose last name I have to hinder the tendencies of my Louisiana-bred tongue from enunciating in the French manner. Petty opinions about names aside, Beaubien’s popular YouTube series is a delight to watch, teaching aspiring authors how to avoid common tropes, attitudes, and pitfalls of unseasoned writers via ironically teaching them what not to do, in a snarky, wink-and-nod manner, and using creative freeze frames filled with even more snarky subtext. Altogether, his videos are very enjoyable and educational, even for veteran writers, like myself, who are always open to learn new things in a different way. This novel approach has gained him a following of around 224,000 at the time of this writing, and almost certainly a built-in fandom and audience for his book. Getting back to the subject at hand, Aeon Legion is one of those books whose cover managed to attract me. Though I am not one to judge a book merely by its cover, I freely admit that it does help. But as stated in the beginning of this review, I did at first balk at the prospect of reading a story based on time travel. However, the plethora of positive reviews quickly won me over, as well as the desire to get back into actually taking the time out to read, rather than listen to audiobooks alone, and I coughed up the $2.99 to add it to my Kindle collection. [Ahoy, mateys! Beyond this point, there be spoilers!] The beginning of the story hits the ground running with a real page-turner of a battle in the middle of a public library in our present date and time. An average girl named Terra Mason receives her first encounter with the Aeon Legion, when a platoon of actual Nazis from 1940s Germany intrude upon her time, led by the unexpectedly kind, polite, and very un-Nazi-like Commander Hanns Speer, the inventor of the time gate that brought himself and his men to Terra’s time. Hanns’ particular plans, however, are quickly thwarted by Alya, a member of the Aeon Legion, whose abilities and beauty Terra is astounded by as she soundly defeats and routs the Nazis back to their own time. After an act of bravery of which Alya takes notice during the struggle, Terra is approached by the beautiful warrior to become her squire: a new recruit for the Aeon Legion. In spite of the uphill battle to get Terra to overcome her fears and accept the offer, the story soon shows that this was the absolute easiest part in a tale where afterwards, literally everything becomes a trek through hell to gain respect, skill, and the honor of joining the Legion as a full Leginnaire. Terra, from a point in history of relative peace, prosperity, and security, is then dropped like a babe in the woods into the midst of a civilization beyond anything she has ever imagined, and then into the most grueling training of her life alongside recruits composed of fierce warriors from different points in the past, present and future. Few, especially Terra, fully know what awaits them as trainees in the Aeon Legion’s torturous regimen, where failure in any way means washing out of the program. As an outsider and underdog, seemingly outclassed among battle-hardened fighters from differing times of war, Terra faces near-insurmountable odds that push her courage, strength, and determination to their absolute limit, revelations that threaten shake her faith in the Legion to her core, and the machinations of enemies of all that the Legion stands for, all to become what she has, for the first time in her life, truly desired to be: a Legionnaire and heroine. Did I like it? Short version. Absolutely. Long version: When I decide on whether or not a given book will be something that I will be interested in, I look to the number of positive reviews, as I believe most of us do, and take time to peruse a few, attempting to avoid any spoilers dropped by the less discreet. But when it comes time to review that very same book, I see what both supporters and detractors have said about it, deriving clarity from some of the complaints from the negative reviews. Aeon Legion is a story where the insight of negative reviewers came in handy to form my opinions in a manner better than any positive opinions did. This is, of course, not to say that I disliked the book. But once again, I digress. During my time reading the story, it became clear to me that Beaubien is the type of writer that likes to subvert the reader’s expectations, especially when it comes to tropes –small wonder, as in his “Terrible Writing Advice” series, he tackles these very elements by showing us how they can be misused by the less experienced. But in Aeon Legion, he goes above and beyond to avoid most of what the reader would expect from a coming-of-age YA novel. Terra, as a character, starts off the story as lazy, indecisive, and full of fear, but in a “conversation” with Alya (one of the more hilarious parts in the book, I’ll admit, due to how the Legion’s time-manipulating technology is used), she is quickly won over. After this point, however, Beaubien skillfully avoids any and all plot and narrative conventions that would paint her as some kind of “chosen one.” Rather, the story goes out of its way to kill that notion in every possible way, from her views of her poor physical shape, to her shortcomings among her much more aggressive and talented peers in the Legion, to the dismissive nature of nearly everyone around her, including the very ones that would have the greatest reason to mark her as any kind of fated hero. Through this, the reader learns quickly that Terra Mason is about as far from any “chosen one” as she can be. However, it all works to the story’s credit, as it is her shortcomings and difficulties that make every one of her successes in the story something that I found myself cherishing far more than in any other story of its type. I lost count of how many times I fist pounded or whispered, “yes!” whenever Terra was able to overcome a particular obstacle in her journey. Speaking of journeys, Aeon Legion still weaves a solid “hero’s journey” tale, though Beaubien’s persistent avoidance of trope traps makes it anything but conventional. In addition to Terra’s glaring shortcomings, the company she keeps (or rather, is somewhat forced into) in the Legion is hardly the standard fare of your typical epic adventure. Two of the three mainstay characters during her training, a medieval knight named Roland, a Japanese warrior named Hikari, and a Turkish soldier/scholar named Zaid, were very much the antithesis of archetypes of their characters, with Roland being deceptive, manipulative, and lazy, and Hikari detesting any concept of honor while being selfish and brutal against her fellow recruits. Both wear on Terra’s nerves constantly at first, and she is the subject of numerous lumps in one-sided sparring matches with the far more skilled latter. Only Zaid, who does not at first appear to come off as an archetype of anything, truly becomes a mentor and someone whom Terra learns to trust, being unble to rely even on Alya, who apparently abandons her soon after recruiting her and bringing her to Saturn City. Even Praetor Lycus Cerberus, the head of the academy, comes off as almost sadistic, though the diary entries that preclude each chapter give the reader a glimpse into Cerberus’ true motives. But during the story’s progression, the reasons for the characters’ behavior is revealed, and the reader is made aware of the masks that everyone in the core circle of characters wear, hiding their deepest hearts as Terra and the recruits’ training culminates in the crucible of the Labyrinth, where every skill and technique they have learned will be tested at very real peril to their own lives. And so, to say that this story was merely interesting would be quite the understatement. Though it is hardly for this reason alone, Aeon Legion has easily become a favorite of mine by way of Beaubien’s skill in characterization and storytelling. Anyone who has seen my YouTube videos will know what will hook me faster than anything is a story with excellent worldbuilding, and the civilization of Saturn City has this in spades. This is chiefly expressed in its ubiquitous time manipulation technology, which allows a plethora of both conventional and military applications, from storing instances of one’s self in one time frame in order to “reset” themselves after grievous injuries and even prevent aging, to merely generating food out of these stored instances, thus creating the city’s post-scarcity utopia. These and more are achieved by a device called a shieldwatch, which uses what the Saturnians call “singularity technology” in order to control time. But the most dazzling display of this tech, is, of course its uses in the hands of the Aeon legion, which can use it to slow down, freeze, and speed up time as an accelerant for their thoughts and actions, or as a shield against non-singularity weapons. Even the aeon edge, the Legionnaires’ primary weapon, uses various types of time distortions in order to make it both indestructible and deadly. But this technology, combined with their self-imposed position as the guardians of time (Think the Timelords of Doctor Who fame, but less douchy), has earned the Saturnians many enemies, from rogue time travelers to various empires that have developed technology similar to their own, to rapidly-evolving Lovecraftian temporal aberrations and the terrifying, entropy-manifesting Faceless. These factions, Beaubien describes to a greater or lesser degree of clarity in the story proper, but provides a handy glossary at the end of the book that describes these in more detail, as well as other terminologies and tech. There even is a “map” of time at the book’s beginning, so that the reader can better understand how the Saturnians view time as a branching pathway, with our timeline as only one of many deviations produced by significant moments in history. This is expressed in the narrative and dialogue by occasional references to events that have never happened in our own timeline, as well as introductions to characters that should not exist in our universe, as well as one terrifying encounter during Terra’s grueling trek through the titular Labyrinth. And considering the fact that this story is only to be the first in a slated series, with an intriguing epilogue that hints of further trials to come for the heroine, it cannot help but generate a keen interest in what will happen next. But Aeon Legion is, of course, not a perfect work. And there are a few bumps in the road that Beaubien hits, which, though they did not impede my enjoyment personally, some readers may find to be a detriment to their own entertainment. As mentioned in the beginning, I allow both positive and negative reviews to make me reflect on the various pros and cons contained within the book. And one element that stood out to me on the downside was Beaubien’s avoidance of tropes. As much as I have praised his subversion of expectations, many readers who thrive on this may find the story’s deviations from certain “tried and true” paths to be an annoyance, as he does this with the zeal of a germophobe trying to disinfect his home. Another issue that I believe that anyone –myself included– would find, and has found to be somewhat off-putting, was the presence of more typos and grammatical errors than one would expect in a mainstream published novel. This is not to say that the book is riddled with them, but the reader will run into a few from time to time. And these, though they have proven to somewhat disrupt immersion from time to time, have not been full-on deal breakers for me. Of course, as someone who has read plenty of self-published works, such issues have become something that is expected. But I have also read works in the same vein that are more thoroughly polished, with practically no errors. So for those who are easily put off by such errors, Aeon Legion may prove to be a frustration to read, at the very least. Finally, I am forced to admit that the fact that so many of the secondary characters, with the exception of a few, seem either dismissive or outright unlikeable (with the exception of Roland, whom I found to be hilarious in spite of his shiftless attitude). This might be a turn-off for readers who like stories with far more characters to empathize with or relate to than only Terra, whose actual appearance Beabien is rather slim on, making for another point of frustration with readers who may prefer better physically-defined protagonists. Of course, for some, these three issues may only be nitpicks, though the first I found to be both refreshing and somewhat annoying all at once. The reader’s mileage, however, may vary. Wrapping things up, Aeon Legion is a fascinating and engaging first outing or Beaubien, whose grasp of the writing craft in his YouTube series is matched only by his skill as an author. He truly understands how to weave an amazing world and characters, while avoiding tropes that create a pitfall into anything resembling mediocrity, and has certainly grabbed my attention. A sympathetic heroine with massive obstacles to overcome, and a path that leads her to discover her true self in a world beyond imagination made Aeon Legion: Labyrinth an unforgettable tale that I was very happy to have picked up, and J.P. Beaubien an author that certainly is one to watch. I eagerly await the sequel, so that I can dive right back into this amazing world and experience Terra’s further adventures. Well recommended!

Wow, what a surprising tale! I didn't expect the page-turner this book turned out to be. There are a lot of typos and some grammatical errors that are slightly distracting, but other than that, I've only got good things to say about the story. It's unlike any I've read before; there are influences from other sci-fi and fantasy works, but overall it's unique, with tons of action, surprising humor, and a plethora of likable characters, not the least being the main gal, Terra (my favorite has got to be Roland the knight, though). The time travel technology, history, and concepts are a little beyond me, but they're woven into the story in such a way that I never felt overwhelmed. I was really surprised by how well the descriptions of characters, scenery, and battles painted a picture in my mind--I feel like I could draw them from memory, even though I've never seen them. By far, the best part of the book is the characters. I found myself genuinely curious about their backstories and am looking forward to learning them, whenever the next book comes out.

It is very hard to word my thoughts regarding this book. The most simplest thing I can say is that it was amazing. I loved how the story unfolded, how Terra went from an average everyday girl to a hero. Seeing her grow was the best part of this story, every little step felt monumental and when I reached the climax of her character arc I was on the edge of my seat. I also veryuch enjoyed the side characters. Alya, even though we see her in spades was very enjoyable with her quirky personality. And Lycus was an absolute joy, with how imposing he was. Hikari was also a favorite, especially the way she and Terra worked off each other and how they became rivals. I can definitely see the Naruto inspiration with how you framed these two characters. I'd have to say Roland was my favorite side character. I loved how two faced he was and how Terra could always see right through him. And Zaid was also an amazing character too, being a bit of a mentor figure to Terra. If there was one complaint I had for this book, I wish I could have gotten a little more time to see Terra interact with these characters. The latter half of the book made up for it, but I do wish that when they became a team we could have gotten a tad more of their dynamic. Either way this was still enjoyable and I'm glad I got this book. There is so much more I wish I could say, but if I kept going I'd be here all night. I cannot wait for the next book in the series, instant buy for me.

I don't know what that would say about me, but it was nice to read a more cohesive, and more well-thought out story in this genre. I wanna go through my issues with the story first, then give it the praise, that I believe it deserves. CONS: -There were some typos strewn throughout the story, as well as some extra misplaced words here and there. I started highlighting them near the start of the story, but although they took me out of the fun for a little bit, I pressed on. -Some descriptions of Saturn City felt unstructured. I had a hard time developing an image in my head, as to how the city appeared. -We don't know why Terra's parents let her go on this journey, nor do we get the excuse she used on them. They just kinda accept that she's going to Time Cop school? -Some parts of the story felt rather tell-y instead of show-y, and it felt a bit contrived sometimes, especially since there are instances where we are shown a lot and left to piece things together. -Some sentences felt so contrived and could've used some rework. -Some words were mispelled, probably because of phonetics ("shown" instead of "shone") which a lot of native speakers can struggle with (the whole debate about "they're", "there", and "their" comes to mind.) and like the typos, took me out of the story a little bit. -"Nulls" doesn't sit right with me. Like Terra herself, and the Forgotten Guns, even if stopped in their trails, wouldn't they still be significant enough? Maybe the Sybil are just strictly defined by how their view time from their angle, and that could pose problems in and of itself. A star still shines brightly, even if it is far away. PROS: -I really enjoyed Terra's personal journey, as well as the other people in her strike team. They felt like real people, even though they could feel stocky and stubborn about their backstory sometimes. It was nice to see Roland, just for once, live up to the legacy of knights of old, and Hikari actually coming to terms with other kinds of strength rather than raw talent. -The introduction of other timelines and other civilizations from Continuum Lambda (and others) was a really nice touch, especially with the translation tech that Saturn City would definitely need. There was that one instance of them losing their translators, and having to rely on tirones who could actually speak several languages and communicate nonverbally. -Some of the more inventive ways the Shieldwatch could be used was very nice to see, instead of it being "who has more points in using this and that". It was nice to see some creativity imposed on these strict rules, although it's not really explained how some of the stronger characters mastered their tech and techniques. I hope that gets explained later on in the series. Is it because they've used their tech for so long, that they can control it right down to the extremes of extremes? -Having "Fate" not be Fate in the traditional sense was nice, even though such things are hard to mess around with when writing about religious groups who can LITERALLY see time. -Taking the baddest, evilest group in all of modern history (Nazis) and showing both sides of them was nice. Not all Nazis, like Hanns, were cackling, evil maniacs, but people who just wanted the best for their nation and the rest of the world. Bad guys should, but not always, be people who believe they are fighting for the right cause, because history is written in the blood of those who lost. (MAX EDGE LEVEL ACHIEVED) -Having Terra question the whole shebang was nice and shows her to be cautious, skeptical, and morally righteous(?). -"Talented" characters in stories can often feel lazy when done wrong, as they can almost never commit any mistakes. That, I didn't feel, was present in this story, and actually provided some challenges for the more talented characters. -The Manticores are pretty well thought out, like, imagine an ever-evolving biological being that can live forever. Scary stuff, man. Kinda like the Primal Zergs in StarCraft II. All in all, I quite enjoyed the story for what it was. A way to schew our viewpoint on our own world history, and considering what might've happened if things were a bit different. I look forward to reading more of your work, and if you ever need someone to bounce ideas off of, or just to proofread, I'm your guy! Sincerely, the dude who wrote this review. The Manticore is still one of my favourite things about this story. "Oops, we ate someone with a conscience and now we've got a conscience of our own. Damn it." I wonder if that's reflected in AIs in this story as well?

Found this story after the Author's humorous videos consisting of terrible writing advice. Upon continuous listening to his sarcastic tips, I grew interested in this book. And it was time well spent. Though I'm not exactly well read... I find myself sitting front row to the trials and tribulations of a hapless highscooler's journey to become something more than what she seems. Her doubt felt real as she sees those who are her superiors but ultimately climbed to their level to become a hero without losing herself. It makes me want to try harder as well, to become someone who refuses to yield to struggle and strife. Though there were a few wrong words in several places, I found no issue with the content or style. It was like drinking cool water, it flowed without frying my throat like soda or making me want to stop like coffee. Even with it's numerous influences, I only saw Aeon Legion and it standing upon its own merits. And that includes the high-speed fights that wouldn't be out of place in an Anime. This book is its own world and I find myself wondering how other characters would sink or swim in it. So with that said... Until Next Time.

I struggled a bit with whether to give this five stars or not because this is not truly a five star book in the same sense that some of the best books are five star books but, instead, rather that this book achieves its modest goals in stunning and brilliant fashion. Moreover I devoured this book in two settings so anything that can grip my attention that convincingly deserves a strong recommendation. This is a good book (and a great first novel) with some limitations but many very strong points. The writing is solid, the ideas very creative, and its world a convincingly real place. Rarely do you see a first book, particularly in a cliche heavy genre like sci-fi, that fleshes out its characters with real motivations and depth. The antagonists, in particular, are not randomly evil but rather (for the most part) desperate people trying to do the best they can, operating in the dark against powers they don't comprehend. If a creative story about time traveling warriors defending space-time from the evils that emerge from the broken edges of time sounds like fun to you then you should definitely check out this quite impressive debut.

I consider myself an avid reader and we'll versed in storytelling from a technical aspect, and in this book I have found not only an enthralling story filled with memorable characters, but something I find to be a rarity in novels these days. A character based not around fate or destiny as so many protagonists are, but a deterministic character. The author has masterfully evaded so common tropes and cliches that are commonplace to books of this theme while still producing an excellent story. I truly cannot praise this book enough , and I eagerly await the second story. J.P. Beaubien has proven himself an adept weaver of stories and a clever world builder,most delightfully refraining from the barrage of exposition so many stories tend to do. His work is thorough and engaging and exemplifies what the mind can do with a little imagination.

Terra Mason is a heroine you will enjoy to follow. The universe is clever and interesting. The pace is fast and the antagonists are great! It's rare to see a good time travel story. I also really liked the themes of the book, the limit between a hero and a monster, destiny and choice, and being an ordinary girl wanting to be extraordinary.

Thats what this book was for me. The first Pages really couldn`t keep me invested, but i already bought it and so i choose to finish it and boy did it pay off. The characters develop well, the story unfolds better and better, the narative sucks you into it and i really couldnt lay it aside after crossing the halftime. For a first time book especially this one is really great and i hope the author continues this series.

A lot people seem to be giving this overcritical reviews, pointing typos and the 'anime like plot'. However, while the first chapter is full of typos, the rest of the book isn't that bad. As of criticisms of the plot, I think people are taking it too seriously. The author once said on his YouTube channel (Terrible Writing Advice) that he likes a certain amount of cheese in the media he consumes - this is certainly reflected in this book. It's refreshing to read a book that is enjoyable without any pertention. If I was critically analysing this book I'd probably give it four stars, but I enjoyed it so much I don't have the heart to give it less than five stars. I'm really looking forward to the sequel, it has potential to be a very good series.

Yes it is. I binge-read it over a weekend. Beaubien is good at making you read just another chapter... until it's 4am. I'm a sucker for world-building, and thought Aeon Legion's setting was believable (notwithstanding time travel, swords beating guns, and other space magic).

Ho conosciuto l'autore su YouTube (il suo canale si chiama Terrible Writing Advice) e ho comprato il libro dopo aver visto tutti i suoi video, come supporto per lo splendido contenuto. In circostanze normali, forse la lettura dell'estratto non mi avrebbe convinto a prenderlo per intero: non che sia un inizio troppo lento (anzi, tutto il contrario), ma ad alcuni potrebbe sembrare infarcito di cliché (i nazisti, l'improbabile eroina, il guerriero tanto formidabile da essere intoccabile) e scoraggiare l'acquisto, magari perché poco fiduciosi dei lavori autopubblicati. Ma sono felice di aver avuto pazienza e lasciato che la storia prendesse il suo ritmo, perché Labyrinth è un'avventura di fantascienza scritta con amore e impegno che ci presenta un mondo dettagliato, un cast molto ampio e viariegato e stuzzica costantemente la nostra curiosità. Temevo sarebbe stata un'opera dagli orizzonti molto più ridotti di quello che mi sono trovato di fronte. Ovviamente si tratta pur sempre del primo libro di un giovane autore e non tutti gradiranno alcune scelta stilistiche o narrative, ma nel complesso sono molto soddisfatto e lo consiglio a chiunque cerchi una bella avventura del genere. Acquisterò certamente anche il seguito.