N8

What a fun ride

Revisado: 12-17-24

This was a fantastic book; Always kept me guessing as to what really happened to Joe's little sister, until the very end. I can honestly say that I never saw the end coming, but it definitely fits with the rest of the book, so it's really well thought-out and a very appropriate ending to the book.

The plot line is just superb; the character development is done pretty well, although I think it could have been done a little better, as I felt a good knowledge “about” the characters, but didn't feel like I “knew” them intimately, like in some other books.

I've studied a bit of the science involved in this book (obviously it differs in some major ways), however, the science that is mentioned (not going to give any spoilers here) is actually very accurate with what we currently know, so I thought this was really well done.

I found myself chuckling quite a bit throughout this book, as there were just some really humorous parts - it doesn't try to be funny, but it comes off as irony that is humorous.

Ray Porter did a phenomenal job narrating this book; he always does really well, but he absolutely nailed this one, in my opinion; he was able to voice male and female voices, as well as add in emotional inflection and emphasis as well....he really made this story come alive.

I'd highly recommend this book if you are into a mystery, some believable science, and just a fun ride all throughout. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series already!

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One dimensional story, great narration

Revisado: 09-19-24

Spoilers Ahead!

This book started out okay; it had a good premise and a mystery that made me want to keep listening....then it quickly descended into some really weird writing styles and trivial details used as filler.

Hystad's writing became very “clipped” about a quarter of the way through - think bullet points (instead of writing in descriptive terms where you could actually “see” the story in your imagination).

There was an overarching mystery (what the tokens were all about), but this quickly became more and more boring as I began to see exactly what they were - what the title of the book says - echoes....I was waiting for the big reveal, but (so far) it has not come.

I've listened to everything but the last 1.5 hrs, and the “ending” is a real letdown for me. Spoilers ahead....

One of the characters I really liked was killed off near the beginning of the story, and her death added basically nothing to the story, and in my opinion actually detracted from it, as there was some good character development between her and Silas....so this was a real letdown for me.

Guys who were trying to kill everyone in the beginning of the book, now all just decide that it's in everyone's best interest to all work together and work for the good of everyone involved....seemed very hasty in the “ending” part (like I said, I've not gotten to the actual ending).

On a positive note, Jay Snyder, as usual, did a phenomenal job; he nails most of the narration in this book - even those characters that seem to add nothing to the story and are difficult to imagine what they'd be like because the character development is so lacking.

So, in summary, it's an okay story, but nothing spectacular. In my opinion, you could use your credit on something a lot better.

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Superb narration, okay story

Revisado: 09-14-24

This was a pretty good book; although I don't think it was anywhere near as good as “The Import”. There was a slight twist of plot in this one, but nothing too surprising. The character development in this one was not as good either; we got to hear about what Riker did but not really as much about his thought process.

Snyder, as usual, did a phenomenal job; he is quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators, easily up there with Scott Brick, Ray Porter, and the like.

This is still a good book; it's entertaining and a good distraction from daily life - I just wouldn't go into it expecting an intricate plot with lots of twists and turns.

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Bad narration, bad story, PASS on this one

Revisado: 08-30-24

I could not finish this book. There is quite a bit of graphic violence in the beginning of the book, but it's central to the story, so it makes sense. Then the book takes some real strange turns, and I found myself not knowing what to think of it. The main character (a woman) is portrayed to be rambo basically, even though she's only studied mixed martial arts...but all of a sudden, she has skills such as evasion, weapons, psychological deception, etc - all from “reading novels”....that was too much of a stretch for me.

In addition, the one male in the story (supporting character) is portrayed as being a total geek - no experience with fighting, firearms, intense situations, etc. He is totally dependent upon the woman for his well-being....there is nothing wrong with this persay, but it has to be done in a realistic way - the woman cannot have just read novels to pickup all the skills necessary to defeat special operations soldiers and other such characters.

The woman is fighting men twice her size, and always does everything correctly and never has any problems that she can't figure out....it's just totally unrealistic and completely adverse to actual reality....meaning NOTHING ever goes perfectly for a male or female character, and part of the draw of a story is to experience them have some sort of failure and to come back stronger after figuring out how to overcome it.

The narrator (Peter Berkrot) is horrible, unable to actually distinguish between characters in the story, unable to add emotional inflection to his narrating, and unable to narrate male/female/children voices properly.

If all this wasn't bad enough, then the author took a good portion of the book to discuss topics such as the ethics of a moral decision, the admonishing of subordinates that takes minutes or longer, summarizing “action scenes” through the narration of other characters talking about them, the principles of communism, etc.

I could not even finish this book, because it just got so ridiculous. I'd definitely pass on this one; wish I could get my money back.

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Action packed, emotionally stirring, Best book

Revisado: 08-28-24

This is one of the best books I've ever listened to, and I've listened to most of Lee Child's Reacher series, Mitch Rapp, David Baldacci's King and Maxwell, etc. This book is right up there with all of those.

Baier's writing is just absolutely superb; he makes characters come alive - children, women, hard-as-nails men, all of them. Action-packed, a really likable main character that is guided by his own moral compass, and a story that twists in ways you won't see coming.

Snyder is absolutely fantastic in his narration of this book as well. Easily giving life to all of the characters so well written by Baier. Women, children, men, various accents, all of them are just absolutely nailed. He inflects emotional tones and qualities into his narration so that you can actually hear the characters as if they are really speaking. This is some of the best narrating skills I've ever heard.

On top of all this, there is the superb way you actually are given a glimpse into the main character's head - what he does to calm his nerves, how he deals with stuff going sideways, his thought process as he tackles problem after problem. In short, you come away feeling like you really know this guy, and are rooting for him while he is taking on the bad guys, and never stopping no matter how much he feels like it.

If you're into action, mystery, wholesome writing, a strong moral compass on the main character, and really emotionally pulling content, you will love this book.

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Likable main character, lots of action

Revisado: 08-26-24

I really liked this book; it reminded me a lot of the old-school Reacher books. The main character is a very likable guy - always trying to do the right thing, helping the weak, protecting the helpless. There was always a mystery going on, which made me want to keep listening to figure out what was going on. The plot was pretty good, and the character development was really well done; I found myself actually caring what happened to characters in the book, even the dog. The mystery was a little bit underwhelming, as I had figured out what was going on maybe half way through the book, but there were still other things going on that made me want to keep listening.

The action was really well done; had the same element of “slow time” that Reacher books have. You just get this feeling that this guy can handle pretty much anything, which is a nice break from normal life. On that same point, Scott Blade did an excellent job describing things in the story. The action scenes were really descriptive (nothing too gory), but so were the other scenes. I remember remarking to myself that I loved the way that the main character described everything when he encountered something new (people, places, his gut feelings, etc)

The narrator, Alan Phillip Ormond, did a fantastic job. He used quite a bit of emotional inflection in his words, distinguished between different characters well, and was able to nail both male and female characters in the story; he was also able to nail different dialects and accents. He reminds me a little bit of Dick Hill, but with a lot better ability to voice different characters.

I definitely will be listening to more by this author and narrator.

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Superb book, always a mystery+great main character

Revisado: 08-12-24

No spoilers.

This is a great book. There is always a mystery that made me want to keep listening to figure out what was happening. When one mystery was resolved, there was still another one. Very well done plot. The main character is a really good man, desiring to do the right thing, has integrity, honor, committment to getting the job done.

Interestingly enough, the book is great, but it's great for what it doesn't have in it. There are no political diatribes, no expressions of the author's views on society or any other topic (told through a character's eyes). There is no LBGTQ content (something that a lot of writers have begun introducing into their books). This book has a great plot, great action scenese vividly described, and a great character that could easily be a role model. I still have roughly 3 hrs left in the book, so thus far, this is my take on it.

Edoardo Ballerini does a phenomenal job distinguishing between different characters in the story; he nails different accents, emotional inflections, tone of voice for male/female/child characters, etc.

Just a fantastic book, and it won't be my last from Jack Mars.

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Too much drama, not enough of a story

Revisado: 07-11-24

This book is the second book in the series, and I think it's even worse than the first one. The story really drags on, and there is much more drama than anything else. Again, the alpha female theme permeates this book, and the plot line is really quite shallow. There is no real underlying mystery that made me want to keep listening. The narrator, again, was decent, but really lacks the ability to differentiate between character's voices, and so the book never really came alive for me.

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Okay story, decent character development

Revisado: 07-11-24

This book is okay; plot line is really shallow, but there is pretty good character development. There is an underlying theme of the alpha female and the males are typically seen as not up to par as their female counterparts. The book really never got off the ground, in my opinion, and just seemed drawn out. The narrator was decent, but really lacked the ability to voice female characters properly (in my opinion).

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LGBTQ Themes

Revisado: 07-11-24

I really liked this audio book until LGBTQ themes were introduced. I have absolutely nothing against books which have these themes in them, however, they need to be tagged appropriately, so that customers know what they are getting. The main character in this book (a man) is married to another man, and there is enough references to this (that is totally unnecessary to the plot line) that I feel this should be tagged with this theme. I personally do not wish to listen to books with this theme, so I am going to return it.

Other than that, the plot line seemed good; the character development seemed pretty decent as well. The narrator did a phenomenal job, as usual.

If you're not bothered by LGBTQ themes, you'll probably really like this book.

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