Review: Finally, a good sequel to The Builder
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 25, 2012
These books are not stories, there is no theme to them, they just play out like rambling diary entries of the main character.  There is no objective set out in the beginning and no quest is undertaken to support the book.  Tor-the main character-ambles from place to place, working in a bakery one week, attending classes one week, setting up a brothel one week, and as long as you are okay with this type of book, you will probably enjoy the first book, The Builder, and this book, Counselor.There are three components to these books:Magic is approached in a very likable way.  Wizards are not crazy-looking, long-bearded old men, they are inventors of magical devices.  Tor, the main character is a college student, learning to be a Builder (a magical engineer).  He takes classes, learning his craft and the reader quickly realizes he is the best of the builders.  This approach to magic is inventive and interesting, and it makes the first book, The Builder, a good read.The second component is Tor's character.  Tor does not realize he is a good builder and is very insecure.  His misunderstandings always lead to some tense confrontations.  He is also a good guy and will always get in at least one fight per book, defending someone.The negative component of this series is the idiotic talk about sex, lots of it, with as many people as possible.  This component turns books 2, 3, and 4 into Penthouse Forum letters, and making these books read like diaries really emphasizes this poor component.  This makes the three middle books almost unreadable, and this, coupled with the horrible proof-reading almost caused me to give up on this series.This book, Counselor, has these same three components, and spends most of the time discussing the first two, only occasionally wasting the readers time with the third.  In this book, Tor doesn't discuss group sex over and over (this is what ruins 2, 3, and 4), in Counselor, he ruminates about same-sex partners (and puts it down in his diary) and occasionally embraces the free love world he lives in, but, for the most part the book concerns itself with Tor accepting himself, as a great builder and as a nice, if insecure guy.The writing style could be better; someone sticks their tongue out at least a score of times in each book (at least 50 times in the third and fourth books) and most of the time, I don't even know what emotion it is supposed to convey.The proofreader is the laziest, semi-literate person in the world and if this person gets fired, I would probably give this book a higher rating.If you liked The Builder, you will like Counselor, even though you have to waste time with the books that come between them.