Dr. Geoff

This is a gripping, exciting, high octane book!

Revisado: 05-31-24 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I am a long-time fan of Scott Bartlett's and I have read most of the books he's written. I am relatively new to Joshua James, but I have now read a few of his books as well. These two together? Just think about Reese's cups. Peanut butter and chocolate may be good on their own, but when you put them together? Divine.

I was an early backer of the Kickstarter, so I had read about 20 chapters of the Forever Ship already, but wow, wow, wow, did this thing just pop. Bartlett and James together are much better than the sum of their parts.

I really liked the POV perspective changing for each chapter. It's easy to start hating the Ornu early on, There are many sub-plots with the complex and realistic characters, and the short POV chapters really keep the story moving. The Ornu are large, 4-armed snake-like sentient creatures that have enslaved humanity and several other races. They lead a stellar empire and humans are now a vassal race. Complete with embedded kill switches in their chests. They serve the Ornu. Let's call it what it is: All of humanity is now slaves to these greedy, narcissistic, and violently domineering overlords. And we humans aren't worth snap to them. They've sucked humanity dry for everything they considered useful, and keep us entertained with virtual reality and entertainment to serve them. Most of humanity has lost all hope, and in their despair have accepted the situation. But everyone knows that desperate times call for desperate actions. In this case, stumbling on ancient tech and an ancient immense battleship? That's alive? You can't get better than this.

It all starts quietly, with an odd signal in Primeval. Captain Bill Henderson, who the Ornu has re-educated since his grandfather and father went rogue on the Ornu, and XO Bina Chakravarti discover the signal, stave off the Ornu killing them, and then have the audacity to capture a dreadnaut! Captain Henderson is Captain of the Mark XI Patrol Ship Tennyson, and in that instant, his life changes, even though he doesn't know it yet, and it will never be the same.

And the action only goes up from there!

They say that history repeats itself, and in the case of Captain Bill and Bina, Al Stone the Marine Captain and his detachment, and those who are tired of being vassals for overbearing and oppressive alien snakes, who as far as I can tell have NO advantage but technology and firepower... I couldn't stop turning the pages.

This collaboration between Bartlett and James has wonderful worldbuilding and characters, fabulous story arcs, and edge-of-your-seat action. I stayed up listening way too late more than once. The chapters are pretty short, so it's easy to keep reading to see what will happen next. And you're going to want to.

Narrator Mark Boyett, who has narrated all of Scott's books, is perfect for this volume. His tone, his mannerisms, and his characterizations of different people, races, and situations bring the story to life. His nuances and subtle shifts convey so much beyond the words alone, and it is clear that he has a crystal clear grasp of the people and situations at play.

I can't wait for the following books in the series to come out. This is a 100% must-read / must-listen.

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Gripping, riveting story line and superb narration

Revisado: 11-27-23

Miles Rozak has done it again with another thrilling listen! I have been a fan of Rozak for some time now with this edge-of-your-seat gripping action space thrillers. Starship Found, Child Missing is a book that grabs you from the start and won’t let go. I have already read the Kindle version, but I really wanted to hear it, as well. The narration is outstanding, with narrator Tom Taylorson, who has also done Peacemaker Wars and Blackout Invasion. He really captures the different characters well, and certainly the emotions of the story line. The basic question is: What will one former marine due to get is kidnapped son back? Answer: Anything. Even if he has as resources a questionable character named Tess, who is a brilliant surgeon, and saves sone Ollie right at the outset. Even if all his assets are gone, including his go bag. Even if his aging service dog, Maggie, gets a new lease on life. Even if everything and everyone he knows are all gone. Ollie is still out there, and he will stop at nothing to get him back. This is a heart-stopping thriller of a military SF story that is brilliantly produced and written. I would seriously recommend this book to anyone. Take the walk of a desperate parent who can and will do anything to get his missing beloved son back, right up to his last breath. The fact that Earth, time, and everything are gone won’t stop him. You really don’t want to miss this one!

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A wonderful tale of a hideous 4th of July alien invasion on a small island!

Revisado: 03-04-23

I have long been a fan of Nathan Hystad since the early days. Nathan has a way to create the worlds and actually bring us into the story and into the character’s lives. I both read this book and listened to it, and I highly recommend the discounted Audible add-on as the narration is exceptionally good. If anything hearing it brings the story more to life. Jonathan Davis did an excellent job of characterizing the voices. Elliot largely thinks in his head and talks to himself, Bones will remind you of real people you know, and Buzz and Kim are excellent. He captures the aliens, and the male and female roles very well. A good narrator can make or break a story like this, and Jonathan Davis really captured the narration superbly.

The story takes place on Bell Island, in 1984, over largely 1 day - July 4th. Several reviewers have said that they did not like the characterizations of the characters, but I found them to be spot on. I remember the 80’s, and as it happened I was an island dweller not far from the setting of this book in the early 90’s - about the same time. Nathan has done a wonderful job of characterizing the teens and adults in the book, and has really picked up on the authentic island experience. So he either lived it or collected the experiences and perspectives of actual island dwellers to the nth degree. That might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he did a fabulous job of characterizing the very laise-fare and “who cares, what difference does it make” attitude. As well as everyone knows pretty much everything about everyone on a small remote island.

From the VHS videos of the time, and cassette tapes to the hand-crank windows in cars, he did a great job picking up on the 80’s theme.

And all was more or less okay - until another storm of the century, and we start finding out about the aliens. And not just one bunch of aliens, we are dealing with two groups of aliens. And one is hunting the other. And they really don’t care if the humans get in their way. The hunters love hunting for the sheer sport of it, and the hunted don’t want to be found.

From the minute clues left, the memories that MC Elliot has from his youth, and a mom in a mental hospital due to her own alien encounters 40 years prior to when the story takes place, we start to see the real picture emerge. The aliens exist and they are out hunting. And people are dying.

This is a combination story of teen life, and the trials and tribulations of that, island life, and what happens when you drop a real crisis into the mix. A crisis that no one believes is real until the bodies start collecting.

I think this is a great setup for the rest of the series. My biggest problem with Nathan Hystad these days is that he is writing faster than I can read and listen. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, since he is one of my all-time favorite authors.

I highly recommend this riveting, gripping story. It feels a little slow at first, just little clues here and there that there is serious trouble on Bell Island. But it then takes off like a speedboat and all you can do is hold on for the ride. One of my favorite characterizations was the alien control panels - No one was using graphical interfaces back then, they were just being invented! I also loved that absolutely no one was who they appeared to be in both good and bad ways. Lastly, that it is an uplifting story in a way which shows that ordinary people can become real heroes.

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Great story to listen to, just excellent!

Revisado: 01-16-23

When we first met Nikole in The Sentinel, she was traumatized badly by the recent death of her son. On her way to work one day, she is catapulted into a fantastic new world: Hadria, due to a near-fatal car wreck on her way to work. And, more importantly, her main skill: is being unskilled.

Book 2 starts with Nikole back in the "real world," but she is near death from the car wreck. Sometimes she feels like she can still dimly see Tako and the Nonpareils from Hadria, where she defeated the Dragonsai and saved the world from war.

Then, as Earth grows dark around her, she returns to Hadria. But she's changed. Now she is Nikole the Seeker, not the Sentinel. She is a blue, pointy-eared Outland Fay. And she has retained her skills, but all of her possessions are gone. She also discovers that in her new lite LitRPG world, time passes a lot faster than on Earth, and a bunch of time has passed since she returned home. Did she die on Earth? She's not sure.

Now, given a new task by the Goddess, she is trying to figure out if Elandria's arch-enemy, her sister, is trying to hide another Outlander - strangely, also from Earth, who is trying to build a huge power base and take over Hadria. By brainwashing everyone with a philosophy of equality - while some are evidently more equal than others. Sound familiar? Can Nikole and the Nonpareils unravel the great riddle in time?

This adventure is every bit as good as the first, and in some ways better. There is enough of a light touch of the LitRPG that it provides framework and structure and adds to the entertainment to support a riveting tale.

All of the Nonpareils are back except one - who has been reeled in by a great pretender, whom Nikole has identified from Earth as an evil villain indeed. His crimes - multiple murders. Will the Nonpareils survive? Will Nikole find a new companion/familiar with Mojo, the ghost cat gone? And is she truly dead on Earth? How can she possibly survive, let alone succeed in her newly appointed role as the Seeker?

This book builds a lot on the first book. It means that rather than introducing and building on characters, we can focus more on getting to know them and solving all the tasks and impossible challenges Nikole, Tako, and the elite Nonpareils and dragons face.

This was another excellent and engaging read and listen. I both read the book and listened to the audio version, which was expertly and very enjoyably narrated by Erin Bateman. Her accents, tones, intonations, and expressions do a superb job of personifying the characters. She clearly "gets" Nikole and her story. Her narration really captured the different moods and emotions of the characters. I listened to the book after having started reading it on a very long 11-hour drive, and it was a perfect long-drive listen. It really kept me absorbed and entertained for the entire drive.

I am truly hooked on Nikole and the Nonpareil's story, and I can't wait for Book 3: The Survivor coming out soon.

Stephanne Payne has delivered the goods on this, her second book. My hat's off to Aethon Publishing; they know how to pick excellent authors.

I recommend this enjoyable and engaging book to anyone interested in a lighter version of LitRPG and a book full of characters that seem drawn from real life that you will really get involved with.

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Welcome to the Systemic Era - If you can survive

Revisado: 10-02-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Chris Lodwig is a new author to me. When I heard that he had a new book coming out, I decided to read Systemic, so I could read the new book in sequence when it comes out. I'm so glad I did.

This book revolves in a seemingly utopian future world around 4 main characters: Maik, who is in love with a rather elusive and mysterious woman known as LAFS. His story and the journey become our into to the Systemic era and world. Then there are three and a half other main characters, and the book really revolves around their stories: Eryn is looking to hike across a desert to go visit her mom. Lem is happily married to a wife who wants a baby when we start. And Thomas, who lives as a hermit in the desert and ends up saving Eryn. The half character is Sadie, Thomas's dog. And I'm not counting the AIs or the System itself, which could be considered characters in their own right.

Dave Cruse does a very solid job at narrating the story. He captures the emotional states of the characters well, along with the action and suspense of the scenes. He does an extremely good job with the voices of the System and the various AI characters. I don't hand out 5-star ratings lightly, but Cruse did a really outstanding job with this narration.

Chris Lodwig has a very cerebral and emotional writing style, in which we know what the characters think and feel from their own perspectives. Not necessarily the reality of what is happening, but we know what they experience. The book starts a little slow and takes a while to gain momentum. Trust me, though, it is well worth the wait, and the action and the intrigue pick up after the opening chapters with Maik, and they never stop after that. It becomes a real page-turner.

When we meet Eryn, everything changes. To the point where, after you finish the book, you may want to go back and read it again, now knowing what all the secrets, intrigue, and mysteries lead to. Don't even bother trying to second-guess the characters or the author, there is absolutely no way to figure out what will happen next. You have to read it to find out! That is my favorite kind of book, and Lodwig really delivers the goods.

The book's premise is an all-powerful and controlling AI-based system that runs every aspect of human life. But people are no longer challenged, struggling, or threatened, everything is nice, and everyone is happy and hopefully content. Then why are suicides becoming an epidemic? Why is the pervasive drug Kumfort such a problem? You'll have to read Systemic to find out, as nearly anything and everything I say here will be a spoiler.

Suffice it to say that you will not expect the way the book goes, the truth of our heroes, and definitely not how it ends. I highly recommend this book. Chris Lodwig's intriguing and creative, the inventive premise is more than enough to build this world.

My litmus test for a new author (to me) and a book is threefold: Does it entertain me and provide a good story and a good escape? Is it well written with few errors grammatically and linguistically? Would I want to read the next book in the series, and would I recommend it? The answer to all these questions is an emphatic YES for Systemic, and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series. I highly recommend this book to almost any reader, whether you like futuristic, sci-fi, dystopian, or just a good read. With a very high-quality narration from Dave Cruse, this one is a great listen. Get it!

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Wonderful LitRPG adventure with great narrator

Revisado: 09-06-22

Nikole is on her way to work, listening to an audiobook. But the playback gets flaky. When she looks up, a deer is trying to cross the highway, and to avoid hitting it, a big truck crosses into her lane...

And she wakes up in foggy woods. In a new body. A blue one. With pointed ears. And she quickly figures out she's not on earth anymore. But she figures that she is in a coma in a hospital somewhere or that she has died.

So begins this new LitRPG adventure from a new author, Stephanne Payne. Stephanne does a very good job at describing the world and building the backstory of all the many races that populate it. She also has great characters that are very relatable, in some cases very humorous, and seem true to life. Lastly, Stephanne does a great job describing the terms for LitRPG game systems and how the characters - live and NPC (non-player characters) interact with the world. Some scenes and descriptions of Nikole trying to figure out how the game controls she can see work are very funny.

Nikole's main sidekick is Taco, a healer, a wizard, and a nonpareil, meaning he is an elite character - the best of the best. Tako reminds Nikole of her recently deceased son, and because of this, that threat winds throughout the story as it influences many of Nikole's decisions.

The narration by Erin Bateman is skillfully done. She is very good at articulating different characters with different accents and speech patterns, both male and female. The narration was good enough to add to the story and make it more enjoyable overall. This is my first book with Bateman as a narrator, and for me, she did a good enough job to rate 5 stars. I was switching back and forth between the ebook and audiobook, and it was a great way to check names, spellings, pronunciations, and such. I enjoyed the narration.

In the world Nikole finds herself in, Hadria has a serious problem. All the races seem to hate the dragons and feel oppressed by them. Well, not all of them, but a significant faction by an evil autocrat gathers an enormous army trying to defeat the dragons and all who stand against them.

Oddly enough, it is Nikole, a character who starts with no skills, no abilities, and no knowledge, who comes to the rescue. But how can she defeat an army and a tyrant?

This is a great, frolicking adventure. I enjoyed the gameplay aspects of the story, I loved the worldbuilding and the characters, and I found myself really looking forward to reading and listening to more so I could find out what happened next. Stephanne Payne has created a truly unique perspective on this world and the races and characters that live in it. It was a very refreshing and enjoyable read, and I highly recommend it. I, for one, cannot wait for the next book!

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Riveting listening to epic space adventures!

Revisado: 08-10-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Scott Bartlett is a wonderful author, and like a fine wine, he gets better with age. I started reading and listening to his books several years ago, and now, whenever he comes out with something new, I'm right there, just because I know I'm going to love it.

Mark Boyett is the perfect narrator for Scott's work. He is deep-voiced, driving, gritty, and sounds like the kind of characters Scott writes. Indeed an excellent fit for the captains of powerful and staggeringly huge spaceships, fleets, and battles.

One signature of Scott's writing is realistically flawed characters that you feel like you know. They are human, imperfect, alien, and rarely due what you'd expect or what you want them to do. Another aspect is his incredibly descriptive and strategized action scenes and space battles, they are amongst the best in the biz.

In terms of setting and scope, Scott writes about incredibly challenging and impossible situations that require a brilliant military strategy to win, or at least to survive. That's some of Scott's genius with the military space opera he writes. One of the aspects of Scott's works that I like the most is that they are not simple military space battles. There are tons of characters, each with their backgrounds, backstories, and motivations. There are human elements, and there are political elements that motivate the characters. These are not shallow fluff; they are full-depth, high-octane adventures that will get you involved and engaged with the fully evolved characters and wanting more.

That's why these box sets are so great, you will want more at the end of each book, and you'll be able to get it right away. I love listening to these stories during long drives, flights, and walks.

The well-known sci-fi author Ray Jay Perrault says, "A good SciFi Author shows you an alien world; a great one takes you there." Scott Bartlett and Mark Boyett take you there for 6 books and 44 hours of listening. This is an excellent box set.

I highly recommend this box set for any fans of Bartlett and Boyett and for anyone that loves incredibly well-written military science fiction. This is a great value and 6 books of awesome listening.

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As real - and terrifying - as it gets

Revisado: 05-16-22

I have long been a fan of Veteran and veteran SciFi writer Craig Martelle. This one is, without a doubt, one of his best works.
It takes an insider, someone who can write from real life, to capture the nuances and little details that make this kind of story come alive. Beyond plausible, straight to probable, from a guy that obviously was involved with 3 and 4 letter agencies in the course of his agency and intelligence career. To tell the truth, so have I been. And this one scared me to my bones because it was like reading the anecdotal versions of mission logs and a life I also was a part of. Whew. They don't come more real than this.

Some parts of the story were clearly fictionalized, but they made the story hang together. The tedium of waiting for info and intel beyond your control or influence. The desperate need to act when you can't because you don't have a target to act on. The bad coffee! The dreaded interagency shuffles and the more dreaded politics got in the way of saving lives. It's all there. Rick Banik and his team got on a fast track that I found a little too fast for at least my experience, but they were needed to make the story flow. They didn't detract from the story, just like PTSD flashbacks when the President asks you a question. Balancing the need to work that digs into family time. Trading the safety of your own family and the desperate need to get them out of harm's way while you throw yourself directly into its path. Bending the rules to the breaking point to achieve the objective. Dealing with deadly, precise, well-trained professional operatives who are too well funded and who have absolutely not one shred of humanity, decency, or morality. It's all there.
So real that it felt like recapping mission logs and after-action reports.

This was my first time listening to Basil Sands, and it took a little getting used to because Rick, the main character, came off as a bit snide, a bit arrogant, and not that likable. But after a few chapters, I realized that Sands was doing an excellent job capturing Banik's character. His other accents and voicing of characters were spot on, and I give him top marks for the narration.

Whether or not you were in the field, or work in intelligence or for Justice or one of the other departments or agencies, this is an excellent thriller and a truly terrifying novel of our time. One that I hope does not come true. The book was written several years ago, and with the state of the country and the world right now, you can only imagine how much closer we are getting to a story like this in the headlines.

If you are looking for a read that will keep you enthralled, engaged, on the edge of your seat, and unable to put it down or stop listening, this book is for you. I can only imagine what Martelle will be delivering in the next books in the series, and I can't wait to find out.

Highly recommended.

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A thought provoking and internal journey of More

Revisado: 05-16-22

This is a book and story in the science fiction genre, and there is somewhat of a science fiction vibe and atmosphere to this first work of Sarah Jessica Curry. But I candidly found this soul searching and enlightening piece to be more of a blend of self-enlightenment, positive self-imaging, and uplifting aspects of life rather than a more science fiction or fantasy piece.

This piece is in three distinct sections, which occur serially in chapters. The three distinct story arcs are the story, the aim, and the life. Life is self-affirming poetry narrated by author Curry. One unique and lovely aspect of listening to SJ Curry reading her own poetry is that you can actually hear her turn the pages as she reads. She has a good narrative voice to listen to, and so do the other two narrators for the different sections, K.S. Lee for the story and Isaac Vega for the Aim sections. Together, they do make an enthralling listen.

This is a short work, not an epic saga. It is about an hour and a half of listening.

At first, I was a little put off because I kept saying, "This is not science fiction. Where's the science fiction?" to myself. But then, I did a mental reset and said to myself, "Just listen to the narrators. Go with the concept, listen to what they're saying." Once I reframed the piece a bit, it was easier to get into what Emerging Light was all about.

The concept of putting the listener outside the usual frame of reference, as if they are above the planet's sphere and looking down on it, almost like being in orbit, was a good juxtaposition for the three parts of the narrative.

One thing that I also found really tied the whole concept together was Sarah's epilogue, or endpiece, explaining what led her to write Emerging Light. It was a powerful way, having listened to the work, to tie it all together and make it meaningful.

So if you step outside the genre box a wee bit and realize that this is not science fiction or fantasy in the traditional sense but more in the vein of self-enlightenment and self-fulfillment, this is very good work indeed.

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This ENORMOUS megabox set is an INCREDIBLE bargain

Revisado: 05-13-22

It is almost hard to comprehend - 65 hours of listening for one low price. Not ONE book of listening pleasure, but 7! Separate and aside from the actual intrinsic value of this mega book compilation is the value of getting the ENTIRE Universe in Flames series, with 2 bonus volumes. That has a lot of value because typically, once I start a series, I'm in it for the whole ride. And I almost always wind up getting supplemental books, so this represents a wonderful, lengthy listening experience. These days I have far more time to listen than to read, so it only makes sense to be doing so.

Christian Kallias is a wonderfully descriptive author. He can express the real aspects of his characters, including their flaws, strengths, and humanity - or otherworldliness, for that matter. I wanted characters to do something that they just would not, could not, or simply did not do. And that's some of what makes the characters and situations come to life - their brashness of youth, their cunning and deception, their individuality. The main character Chase, as it turns out, has some very special traits - as his friend observes, he doesn't seem to be aging. And he gets visited by a Greek Goddess in a vision, among other things that we learn, which I won't spoil for you here.

Kallias is extremely good at bringing you right into the frequent action scenes, and his space fighter scenes, his space battles, and his political and military scenarios are extremely well done and quite enjoyable. In short, Christian Kallias is an excellent writer and can't paint realistic worlds and people (and non-human races) with his words. He has a unique blend of mythology, politics, military space action, and world-building.

Zachary Johnson does an excellent job of narrating these books. He gets across enough variation in the way people think, feel, and therefore speak that he makes the human and non-human characters come to life. He has a smooth tone, lots of variations in speed, tempo, emotion, and volume, and does an excellent job of bringing the story to life. I thoroughly enjoyed the narration. I usually listen while driving, and the narration kept me on point and paying attention. There was one name of a particular Greek Goddess in book 2 that he pronounced differently than expected, and a few narration "re-dos," but not enough to be more than a minor annoyance. Overall, the narration was well done.

Science fiction author Ray Jay Perreault says, "A good SciFi Author shows you an alien world; a great one takes you there." In this Megabox set, Christian Kallias takes us to his worlds and characters.

I highly recommend this box set for fans of military space opera. For the value of this collection - this one's a no-brainer.

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