Space-travelers, Aliens & Stickmen, OH MY! – The Fourth Consort

After finishing The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton in one day, all I have to say is… uhh, yes?????

This book completely exceeded all of my expectations (which, to be fair, were pretty low… but STILL, I was so happily surprised by this story)!

The story is short and sweet—only 288 pages or 8 hours and 25 minutes for the audiobook (which is how I experienced the book).

Audiobooks for me are typically very easy to consume, but this one made it even easier.

The narrator, Barrie Kreinik, was engaging and honestly a fantastic choice for the story. My only question is: why didn’t they choose a male narrator (since the main character is male)?

But that’s beside the point… The Fourth Consort is a sci-fi fantasy with a (would you believe it?) happy ending. And of course, I’m all here for that.

I will say, though, I had no idea where the book was going, but I was totally along for the ride. I was pleasantly surprised with how it wrapped up in the end, especially given that I wasn’t even sure what a good outcome could be for the story —though I did feel a tiny bit of disappointment because some closure was left wanting.

Now, let’s talk about the composition of the book itself.

It strikes a good balance between plot and characters, though there’s not much world-building (since it’s a standalone), so it definitely leans more towards being character-driven.

Throughout, you might find yourself loving, hating, and being confused by some of those characters—but that’s part of the fun. The book had me giggling throughout, with lots of funny little quips between the characters, and I also really appreciated the main character’s morals and how they developed over the course of the story, especially in how they interacted with the other characters.

All in all, I really enjoyed this standalone novel. It was a fun ride, and really had a little bit of everything—humor, action, thrills, and even some cuteness.

I’m giving it a 4/5 rating, and with its set date to come out in just a couple of days (February 25th), I’ll definitely be recommending this book to my friends!