That ending!

Such a good book! All books by Devin Hanson and this is no exception! Wonderful all the way around, of course, with my favorite narrator!! Wonder if there will be another book within this universe...

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Immortality through the Matriarchs

Note: Even though this is Book 2 in the series, it works just fine as a stand alone. In fact, Book 2 has a whole new location and cast of characters.

Book 1, The December Protocol, was good. It held my attention all the way through. Yet I like this book even a little more. It’s certainly different. Book 1 was set on Mars with a detective hunting down missing young ladies, knowing that several had been murdered recently. Here are Venus, the Matriarchs rules supreme and the Have-Nots are tired of it. And I can’t blame them fully – I would be tired of eating yeast cake for every meal too.

Leila Everard has the greatest character growth. She’s a privileged young lady who thinks she’s ready for everything life has to throw at her, including her test to become a Matriarch herself. Meanwhile, Jackson has recently been hired onto a maintenance crew does everything needed to maintain their Venus habitat. A lot of that work is dangerous and done in full atmosphere suits that can protect against the dangerous acidic atmosphere of Venus. Their lives get tangled together when the unthinkable happens: some idiot decides kidnapping a Matriarch or two (Lola and Cynthia) will give them better quality lives. Ha!

I love how the background is seamlessly woven into the narrative of action and character building. I never felt trapped in an info dump nor did I get battle fatigue. The characters are clever and realistic. Both Leila and Jackson are young and they only know what they know, but they each put that knowledge to good use.

As a biologist, I would have enjoyed a bit more on the science of near immortality and why family groups must rely on specific unfertilized human eggs for their rejuvenation treatments. After all, we can get stem cells from several human tissues these days, including fat, bone marrow, gut, etc. But if you don’t care to question the underlying science, it’s a great thriller. 4.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Rhett Samuel Price gave a very engaging performance. His female voices are believable & all characters have distinct voices. While I loved he went the extra mile to make characters sound like they were wearing masks when needed, there were a few sentences that were a little hard to understand. Price is great with all the emotions in the story too. I felt he was fully engaged in the tale as well, his own excitement for the story coming through. There were no technical issues with this recording. 4.75/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Rhett Samuel Price. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Wow!

The Matriarch Manifesto takes place on Venus and is completely different from how life is on Mars in the December Protocol! The secret to long life on Venus isn't as barbaric. But life is a bit tougher on Venus. The people of Venus live in floating cities in the clouds. Living space can get a bit cramped!

I do think this book is fine as a stand alone, but still recommend The December Protocol as well so you have the full story.

Excellent narration by Rhett Samuel Price! He always does a fantastic job with all the different character voices!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

ready for the next

was a predictable story but fun none the less. the expansion of the world is great life on Mars is so different. now I wonder if we will get a story on earth.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful