First Line of Defense 2 Audiobook By Benjamin Kerei cover art

First Line of Defense 2

First Line of Defense, Book 2

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

First Line of Defense 2

By: Benjamin Kerei
Narrated by: Travis Baldree, Gary Furlong
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $33.90

Buy for $33.90

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Morgan Mars is doing everything he can to protect humanity from alien invasion.

But even his new organization, The First Line of Defence, isn’t enough to save what’s already lost. Sectors are collapsing like dominoes as the aftermath of the 20th Cycle invasion leaves everyone trapped in the falling Sectors. No one knows what to do. No one, that is, except Nicholas Thistlebush. He has a plan to save Sector 6. The only question is, what will it cost him?

©2024 Benjamin Kerei (P)2024 Podium Audio
Adventure First Contact Humorous Post-Apocalyptic Space Opera Science Fiction
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about First Line of Defense 2

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    184
  • 4 Stars
    45
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    13
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    195
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    8
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    153
  • 4 Stars
    34
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    17

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Question on existence, done in a fun Sci/fi way.

While a departure from book 1, it is a great, fun alternative perspective of the Great Game.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book two

I think this is as a great book two in this series and I cannot wait for another. I enjoy the rejuvenating story in this one

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not what I expected

It's not very similar to the other books by Benjamin Kerei. It doesn't even feel like it's in the same universe as the first book and only has brief appearances by Morgan. I can see how this might have been a chance for the author to play with different concepts, including some psychological trauma, but it really didn't fit well with the first book.

There were some interesting developments, but since they were with Morgan and weren't the focus, they feel brushed over.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely hooked

Loved both narrators. Great story. Can’t wait for that next one. When does it come out?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a beautiful Painting

The first book in this series almost lost me. By the time I was half way through this one I was ready to quit the series. I only stuck around because I was at work and bored.

I am glad I stayed with it. It was like watching one of those speed painters, the ones that paint backwards and upside down. At first your hoping it's worth the time. Then you get annoyed and a little angry. Then you finally start to see something in the painting. By the time the painter finishes the painting the right way your amazed and let breath.

During the last half of the book I cried, laughed, then cried some more. Thank you Benjamin, Travis and Gary for the beautiful painting you made for us.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Felt Like Filler

There was retcon shenanigans; A new MC that took up most of the book; and not a lot of progress made. IMHO this is a filler book ( or maybe 2 filler short stories rammed together.

Alright, here’s a spoiler alert. You’ve been warned!

The new MC is an atheist who gets power that he thinks resembles those of the Christian God (they don’t, btw). This leads to him and others philosophizing as well as him going insane. The insanity part isn’t so bad, but there’s nothing even remotely interesting about the junior apologetics course. Also, this is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, but if God is as powerful as the Bible portrays,why on earth would the apparent age of the universe prove anything? The MC literally starts off as an archeologist who’s researching ruins put there at the start of the game and he can’t put that together?
On to the retconning. Remember that sign over everybody’s head that lets everyone else know what bad things they did? Poof, never happened. The eradication of all the baddies? Poof, just a bit of population control so some are still around. I’m not even going to get started on Morgan’s new “wife”.

All in all, this book was about the author wanting to write a one-off MC story in the same universe, with a much different tone and a little set up for Morgan’s eventual return. If he’d just done that as a start to a new series, I wouldn’t have minded, but doing it when I was expecting station silliness or at least a fun team-up against a kraken (as depicted on the cover). Instead I got an atheist’s guide to being an agnostic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Different from the First, Perhaps Even Better

In addition to Morgan, there is a new main character. Usually, I find that adding both a new main character and a new narrator tends to detract from the experience. However, this book is impressively good! The political and emotional elements, as well as the plotlines, are so masterfully crafted that they made me wonder about the high level of intelligence and emotional understanding required to achieve such depth.

Initially, I was skeptical about Nicholas's storyline, but it brought tears to my eyes several times. It also explored fundamental theological questions from a thought-provoking perspective, earning an incredible level of respect from me. The exploration of existential crises and the emotional range of the AI and similar lifeforms added further depth to the already well-developed characters and storylines.

Overall, don't be put off by the lower ratings. Be prepared for a more mature storyline with a dual focus on Morgan and the new main character!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

confused by 2nd narrator at first.

honestly both performances were well done. just a bit of a suprise at first. store was a little more of a slow burn. a greater depth to the mental aspects of this new world. excited for the next book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A side book too early

This feel's like book 5 of a series but, unfortunately this is book 2, and that doesn't really bode well for the reader.
Having a different main character for book two is a bold choice, and an MC that is almost the exact opposite from our first books protagonist. The tonal shift, does lead to good world building, but also take up 3/4 of the book, and that is why it doesn't feel great for book 2 in a series.
It's not a bad book, but rather, it almost feels like a side story, or something parallel to what made the first book so good. I usually don't mind those, but as this is a main-line part of the story, and we are exploring a glossed overview of how vast and alien the universe truly is. It's just not exciting because it's a 80 year old man sort of playing a pirate adventure on a sea of stars. That sounds cool, but it's used to be an allegory for just how little the humans don't understand with what they are dealing with... which isn't really that cool when it's the majority of the book.
I want to finish with something good. As with Ben's other books, his strongest parts of writing is understanding family, and love of community, I didn't know where to fit that bit of info in here, but he really does understand how to express enjoyment and love for family that few sci/fi authors get. He really does know how to give motivation through emotion, and it never really feel's hamfisted or something that is backburner.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I need more

This book was much more serious than the last one. It still had funny moments but the main plot almost brought me to tears a few times. It’s honestly amazing writing and I hope we see more in the series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!