Imagineer (The Imagineer Series Book 1)
Our Heroine: Me. And boy, are we all in trouble. A seventeen-year-old with a love of fantasy and unmanageable hair? Hardly anyone’s idea of the knight in shining armor. I went about life with no idea the world around me was not as it seemed, until one dark night I saw glimpses of things I knew shouldn’t exist.
I’ve got enough problems of my own to deal with, but the glimpses of what I’m certain is a magical world that tantalize me like no other. When I find a pair of turquoise glasses that allow me to properly see everything, I put those bad boys on without a second of hesitation.
I probably should have hesitated. I’m now neck deep in kobolds, pookas, magic castles, youkai, unruly werewolves, talking houses, and an ancient magical mystery in need of solving.
Oh, and magic lessons. Turns out I’m an Imagineer, which was totally unexpected. An Imagineer creates by using imagination, willpower, and magic to form whatever they wish. Their only limitation is imagination, and imagination? Has no limits.
At least, if you’re doing it right.
Tags:
Magic is REAL, like really real, intellectual competency, if that even is a thing, I made it a thing, terrible parenting, friendship 101, awesome sidekicks, Reagan being BAMF, because she’s awesome that way, wendigos, and other scary creatures, cool grandmothers, road trip!, Brazil, a little India, complex magic, imagination has no limit, Mongolian metal music, fluff, all the feels, bizarre roommates, modern with magic, magic engineering, sort of based on reality, I don’t even know, I tried, a bit of kidnapping, featuring special guest star: kobold, no pookas were harmed in the making of this story
Reviews (146)
Okay, but dear gods, HR, please work on your grammar and spelling!
As with most of HR’s stories, this was enjoyable; certainly something to appeal to readers with a penchant for escapism and wish fulfilment. The protagonist (a young woman apparently unscarred by years of benign but unforgivable parental neglect) is remarkably sanguine about her powers. Her stumble into her mystical tutelage, too, was just a bit too damned convenient. I’ll stop there - spoilers and all. But what really detracts - as it often does with HR’s work, are the spelling and grammar. To be fair, the errors are few(ish), but they grate. So, if that sort of thing matters to you, you should brace yourself. Like so many American authors it seems, HR has a problem with irregular verbs. The past tense of the verb ‘shake’ is not ‘shaked’. It’s ‘shook’. The past participle is ‘shaken’... and so on. And spelling: The principal of her school is her ‘pal’ - remember that from grade school - not the ‘principle’ (sic). Things don’t ‘jive with’ (sic) unless they’re dancing. They ‘jibe with’. Don’t believe me, see Miriam-Webster. You might ask “so what? Because language matters and HR knows it. It’s her stock in trade. And for the fee she should get it right.
Another Brilliant world to explore
I'm not sure how many personalities Honor has but as it results in incredible worlds from all over the fantasy genre... I don't care. Her capacity for creating worlds that combine fantasy and believable realism is a joy to read. So many authors loose a sense of internal consistency in order to make their stories more fantastical but Honor Raconteur uses her plot and lovable heroes to keep you engrossed without need for embellishment. Imagineer is a story of a girl who was raised wishing magic was real and when she finds a hint of it in the world we all know she pursues until she finds the place where she has always belonged. It combines extensive mythology with pop culture references and a heavy dose of memes goodness. There are certainly dangers but the soothing of her soul that happens when Rea realizes that she isn't crazy and is no longer alone makes this book feel like a mental hug from someone you love. This story is just an introduction to all the adventures to come but it is an eminently satisfying one. Try this book or any of her others. They are wonderful.
Not up to usual standard
I could not get past the 3 rd chapter. I usually like this authors work, but not this one. Simplistic young adult fare.
A great start to a new series!!!
Imagineer is the first book in a new series by Honor Raconteur. I have read all of books by Honor Raconteur, and I have greatly enjoyed reading all of them, and I could not wait to read this book as well. I was not disappointed when I read this book. From the very beginning, I was hooked, and I read this story very quickly. I basically stopped what I was doing for a couple of days, so I can focus on reading and finishing this book. I thought the magic system in this book was very interesting, and I loved all of the different magical people as well. I thought Reagan was an awesome character, and I cannot wait to see what happens next for her. I cannot wait for the next book to come out, so I can learn more about this world, and get to know some of the other characters better as well.
Something of a disappointment
I've liked many books by HR in the past, and this one sounded interesting in concept. In execution, it felt surprisingly shallow...as well as short, ending without any significant conflicts resolved. It was definitely not to the level of Shingami Detective, and I can't tell whether it was intentionally written down to a younger audience (which I think was a mistake, if so) or was just not given the same level of effort. There were several points on which I think feedback from a good set of beta readers would have been helpful. Some of them were scientific (a fantasy book can avoid science, but if science is going to be directly referenced, it should be correct), some of them cultural (it was off-putting to hear colonization from Europe described as the source of humanity spreading across the world, particularly in a book like this one that draws from a variety of mythologies). If there's a sequel, I'll read it; the author has earned benefit of the doubt with some excellent other books. If the second book also disappoints, then clearly this series is not for me.
One of her better efforts. Hope it continues
Having read several of her books, I believe I liked this one as well as any so far. The characters were engaging and developed during the story. There was plot progression, and some interesting secondary characters, though she needs more work on those. She is developing a more pleasing "voice" in her writing and hope that progresses. Don't usually leave a review on first books in a series like here but maybe others will enjoy this book enough to motivate continued improvement in later books. No romance so far but we'll see in future. She could do with an engineering consultant more than Russian linguist, IMO. Recommended
Very Satisfying!
I discovered and grew to like this author when she created medieval worlds. I believe that this may be only the 2nd of her novels that takes place in a modern or futuristic world that I have read. I look forward to many more of her "urban fantasy" works to come. It is a very good place for her to display her talents if this book is any indicator. She is one of a very, very select group of authors that I read who ALWAYS hit a home run with each book release. I would say that she would do well with a "mainstream" publishing house, but I am selfish. I want her to keep releasing books exactly as she is doing so now. Going with "Big" publishers seems to ruin authors these days. As a result, I have not purchased anything for pleasure reading from a mainstream publishing house in almost a decade now. I even stopped buying Kevin Hearne's books (and I love his writing). I suspect that Indy authors of this caliber will eventually destroy the mainstream fantasy/science fiction business model as we know it today. ...and that may not be a bad thing. :-)
Great start to a new series
Looks like another winner for Honor. It is a completely different story line than most of her other series except for the magic, of course. This has the usual set of interesting characters and does a good job of introducing the MC and the magic principals that will govern this universe. It also sets up for a nice long series that will keep us waiting for the next story. It is perfectly suited for readers of all ages and I highly recommend you purchase it immediately so you don't fall behind the rest of us.
Imagineer A Great Start to a New Series
This book was a wonderful ride through childhood, when we first believed in magic and had a wonderful imagination. I could so relate to the main character and her dysfunctional family. I wish I could have found the magic like she did. I can hardly wait till the next book comes out. I want to learn about all the magical races and find out if they can fix the portals, so magical races can once more travel around the world again.
Great concept, fun read, but ...
I enjoyed this book, and will read the sequels, when available. Imagineering as a new type of magic concept is intriguing, and the storyline is interesting. There are two thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars. The first is that things happen far too conveniently for the main character, which strains credulity. If there were limited luck for an individual in this books version of reality, then the main character must have consumed most of her life's supply in this first book. It is not that nothing bad happens, but the balance feels off. The light tone of the book is a great, but it could be more balanced and still be light in tone. The second is that it seems like the supporting characters cannot have any good/novel ideas; they all have to come from the main character. I get that she is supposed to be a prodigy (or something like that), and many of the ideas coming from her make sense for her to contribute, but really, are we supposed to believe that none of the adults would think of using Google Docs to share info or that some of the adults might not all be so gracious towards her? That's just a couple of many examples, which make the supporting characters less believable as real people.
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