Official Blurb
Twenty years after the American civil war, former slave Marcus Riggs fights for his life in a British harbor, in a world where Invaders came to enslave all of humanity.
They came. They conquered... they died.
Now, new powers battle Empires and Nations in a world torn... Asunder.
My Review
Wow. Cool. Need I say more? What do you mean, "that's not a review!"
Well as the blurb says, this sci fi story is set twenty years after the American civil war and after the invaders of H.G. Wells have passed away. So the lead characters are ex slaves caught in England by the invasion of aliens. What a great concept, that alone hooked me and made sure I was going to listen. Once it started it turned out to be action packed, and as a bonus read by a great narrator.
The heroes are caught up in a society fractured by the coming of the aliens. The British nation and empire is dissolved as warlords have set themselves up are using the alien tech' to make grabs for any and everything.
It's a conflict rich environment that is peppered with so many strange and exciting things that I was totally hooked on that side of things. The characters likewise feel real and are also filled with conflicts that seem designed to hook the reader.
Simply put, I was blown away with how great this story was, and was very sad on reaching the end. This audio book is the first in a series, and the subsequent parts are not released yet ( at least my Googling couldn't find it).
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Monday, 19 March 2012
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Acts of Desperation by Tim Dodge
Official Blurb
Ray Davis is newly divorced, going nowhere at a dead-end job in a warehouse, and has almost worked off the debts his ex-wife rang up. Then his underinsured brother's need for a liver transplant forces Ray to come up with a lot of money, fast. When he attempts to recover the profit he made with an old business partner, Ray discovers that the partner is dead and his investment has fallen into the hands of a drug dealer. The dealer has used the cash to buy a large supply of cocaine; he and his gun are not inclined to return the proceeds. Ray enlists a crude private eye to help him get it back, and he falls in love with Jenna, a beautiful waitress. His struggle to recover the money soon takes him deep into a swamp of crime, drugs, murder and revenge. Caught in a war between rival dealers, he comes to realize that the stakes have risen beyond the woman he loves or the money he needs to save his brother. He's fighting for his life.
ACTS OF DESPERATION is the new thriller from Tim Dodge. It combines crime, action, adventure, romance and humor into a roller coaster ride of a story.
My Review
The blurb above tells you all you need to know about the story! This is a thriller set in the modern world and features a believable protagonist in a desperate situation. I think most of us can sympathise with the lead characters dilemma, a desperate need for cash to help family member.
I really liked the lead character, he starts off seeming to be just your regular guy, but then slips into the seedy underworld, which at first seemed a little out of character, yet you soon realise that the guy is actually "that sort of guy" and it's no longer out of character. It's a very well done transition.
As with most good thrillers there is a lot of tension intermixed with action and a few good twists to keep you on your toes.
Recommended.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Ray Davis is newly divorced, going nowhere at a dead-end job in a warehouse, and has almost worked off the debts his ex-wife rang up. Then his underinsured brother's need for a liver transplant forces Ray to come up with a lot of money, fast. When he attempts to recover the profit he made with an old business partner, Ray discovers that the partner is dead and his investment has fallen into the hands of a drug dealer. The dealer has used the cash to buy a large supply of cocaine; he and his gun are not inclined to return the proceeds. Ray enlists a crude private eye to help him get it back, and he falls in love with Jenna, a beautiful waitress. His struggle to recover the money soon takes him deep into a swamp of crime, drugs, murder and revenge. Caught in a war between rival dealers, he comes to realize that the stakes have risen beyond the woman he loves or the money he needs to save his brother. He's fighting for his life.
ACTS OF DESPERATION is the new thriller from Tim Dodge. It combines crime, action, adventure, romance and humor into a roller coaster ride of a story.
My Review
The blurb above tells you all you need to know about the story! This is a thriller set in the modern world and features a believable protagonist in a desperate situation. I think most of us can sympathise with the lead characters dilemma, a desperate need for cash to help family member.
I really liked the lead character, he starts off seeming to be just your regular guy, but then slips into the seedy underworld, which at first seemed a little out of character, yet you soon realise that the guy is actually "that sort of guy" and it's no longer out of character. It's a very well done transition.
As with most good thrillers there is a lot of tension intermixed with action and a few good twists to keep you on your toes.
Recommended.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Monday, 16 January 2012
The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J. Sullivan
Official Blurb
They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly.
There's no ancient evil to defeat, no orphan destined for greatness, just two guys in the wrong place at the wrong time. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in a plot to kill the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out…and so begins this tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.
The Crown Conspiracy is book one of the six-book saga: The Riyria Revelations. Eschewing recent trends toward the lengthy, gritty, and dark, the Riyria Revelations is a return to traditional fantasy combining great characters, humor, and drama in appropriate measures. The series is told through six novels each a separate episode in a single epic tale . Across the entire chronicle, mysteries build, characters evolve, and plots thicken, but each is a self-contained story that can be enjoyed in its own right.
My Review
The blurb above pretty much says everything you need to know about the story and actually says it better than I could. It's a fantasy romp with great likeable characters. I listened happily and enjoyed the experience. It's a light story, with the odd moment or two of gore to add spice.
It was narrated by Nathan Lowell, the author of the "Golden Age of the Solar Clipper" series of podiobooks, and frankly, I could listen to him all day long. This story just seems to match his reading style.
I don't think there's anything to add. It's a fun adventurous fantasy story :)
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly.
There's no ancient evil to defeat, no orphan destined for greatness, just two guys in the wrong place at the wrong time. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in a plot to kill the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out…and so begins this tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.
The Crown Conspiracy is book one of the six-book saga: The Riyria Revelations. Eschewing recent trends toward the lengthy, gritty, and dark, the Riyria Revelations is a return to traditional fantasy combining great characters, humor, and drama in appropriate measures. The series is told through six novels each a separate episode in a single epic tale . Across the entire chronicle, mysteries build, characters evolve, and plots thicken, but each is a self-contained story that can be enjoyed in its own right.
My Review
The blurb above pretty much says everything you need to know about the story and actually says it better than I could. It's a fantasy romp with great likeable characters. I listened happily and enjoyed the experience. It's a light story, with the odd moment or two of gore to add spice.
It was narrated by Nathan Lowell, the author of the "Golden Age of the Solar Clipper" series of podiobooks, and frankly, I could listen to him all day long. This story just seems to match his reading style.
I don't think there's anything to add. It's a fun adventurous fantasy story :)
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Storm Over Warlock by Andre Norton
Official Blurb
The Throg task force struck the Terran survey camp a few minutes after dawn, without warning, and with a deadly precision which argued that the aliens had fully reconnoitered and prepared that attack. Eye-searing lances of energy lashed back and forth across the base with methodical accuracy. And a single cowering witness, flattened on a ledge in the heights above, knew that when the last of those yellow-red bolts fell, nothing human would be left alive down there.
And so Shann Lantee, most menial of the Terrans attached to the camp on the planet Warlock, was left alone and weaponless in the strange, hostile world, the human prey of the aliens from space and the aliens on the ground alike.
ANDRE NORTON has become one of the highest rated authors of science-fiction adventure now writing. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, a book collector, and s-f fan, Ace Books have had the pleasure of presenting her best novels in newsstand editions.
My Review
This is a classic sci fi story, telling a good pulpy sci fi story including heroes, aliens, battles and mysteries. With that description how could it be bad! As the blurb describes a powerful alien forces attack a human camp on new world, and a young lad is the only survivor.
What can he do? How will he survive? What dangers lurk on this new planet? Will the aliens come looking for him?
Lots of questions, and all the answers are explored in typical sci fi style. I really enjoyed the story. The narrator is Mark Douglas Nelson, one of my favourite Librivox readers, who has now posted this book over at Podiobooks.
My only niggle with the Audiobook, is some of the incidental music which at times seemed a little inappropriate and perhaps a little loud at times too. But this is a minor negative on what is an excellent book.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
The Throg task force struck the Terran survey camp a few minutes after dawn, without warning, and with a deadly precision which argued that the aliens had fully reconnoitered and prepared that attack. Eye-searing lances of energy lashed back and forth across the base with methodical accuracy. And a single cowering witness, flattened on a ledge in the heights above, knew that when the last of those yellow-red bolts fell, nothing human would be left alive down there.
And so Shann Lantee, most menial of the Terrans attached to the camp on the planet Warlock, was left alone and weaponless in the strange, hostile world, the human prey of the aliens from space and the aliens on the ground alike.
ANDRE NORTON has become one of the highest rated authors of science-fiction adventure now writing. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, a book collector, and s-f fan, Ace Books have had the pleasure of presenting her best novels in newsstand editions.
My Review
This is a classic sci fi story, telling a good pulpy sci fi story including heroes, aliens, battles and mysteries. With that description how could it be bad! As the blurb describes a powerful alien forces attack a human camp on new world, and a young lad is the only survivor.
What can he do? How will he survive? What dangers lurk on this new planet? Will the aliens come looking for him?
Lots of questions, and all the answers are explored in typical sci fi style. I really enjoyed the story. The narrator is Mark Douglas Nelson, one of my favourite Librivox readers, who has now posted this book over at Podiobooks.
My only niggle with the Audiobook, is some of the incidental music which at times seemed a little inappropriate and perhaps a little loud at times too. But this is a minor negative on what is an excellent book.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Black Star Passes by John W. Campbell
Official Blurb
Follow along with Arcot, Morey, and Wade as they discover a revolutionary form of propulsion, visit our neighboring planets, and go up against aliens from a rogue solar system that passes close to our own. These three stories (Piracy Preferred, Solarite, and The Black Star Passes) were originally published as a serial in Amazing Stories magazine.
My Review
This book is a "classic" from the Golden age of Sci Fi. Super villains using new science to feather their nests and Super Genius scientists seting out to battle them. Great stuff. Remember when you listen that these stories were written decades ago and the author didn't have the scientific knowledge we have today. Back then telephones had wires, they didn't VCR let alone DVD!
All three stories are good. In the first, someone is robbing aircraft in mid flight and there are no witnesses as all of the crew are left sleeping. In the second story, the heroes travel into space and find alien civilisations. In the third, it steps up a notch and becomes a full on WAR!
In summary, great stuff, the sort of thing I wish they'd put on the "Escape Pod" podcast occasionally.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Follow along with Arcot, Morey, and Wade as they discover a revolutionary form of propulsion, visit our neighboring planets, and go up against aliens from a rogue solar system that passes close to our own. These three stories (Piracy Preferred, Solarite, and The Black Star Passes) were originally published as a serial in Amazing Stories magazine.
My Review
This book is a "classic" from the Golden age of Sci Fi. Super villains using new science to feather their nests and Super Genius scientists seting out to battle them. Great stuff. Remember when you listen that these stories were written decades ago and the author didn't have the scientific knowledge we have today. Back then telephones had wires, they didn't VCR let alone DVD!
All three stories are good. In the first, someone is robbing aircraft in mid flight and there are no witnesses as all of the crew are left sleeping. In the second story, the heroes travel into space and find alien civilisations. In the third, it steps up a notch and becomes a full on WAR!
In summary, great stuff, the sort of thing I wish they'd put on the "Escape Pod" podcast occasionally.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Friday, 23 December 2011
The Scars by William Tennant
Official Blurb
Peter Everett is a man stained with grief, his life becomes a struggle of decisions as he watches the lives of the people around him dissolve and burn.
Mags Donne is a damaged, bruised young girl, reaching out into the darkness, trying to take control of her life.
Their Scars are what begin to unite them, with the people that surround them.
The Scars is a novel of difficulty, hatred, love, intrigue, kidnap, wrongdoing, abuse, laughter and beauty.
My Review
This is a thriller/soap style book with high drama at its core. To be honest I was not sure I was going to enjoy it and only tried it as a punt in the dark.
I am very glad I did try it. The reader has a delicious voice that is like lovely sweet treacle and it was his voice that kept me downloading the chapters.
The story starts out like a love story, and rapidly turns to tragedy that turns a knife in your gut. Part of this is the story itself, and part the fact that the reader has a way of presenting that pain so that you can almost feel it.
The middle section of book started to feel a bit soap-like while I was listening and I thought the author had lost his way for a while but as the story neared its climax I realised just how he had set me up! Nothing was wasted, nothing was "filler".
In summary, this was a tremendous book, and I heartily recommend it, although the subject matter is not safe for work.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Peter Everett is a man stained with grief, his life becomes a struggle of decisions as he watches the lives of the people around him dissolve and burn.
Mags Donne is a damaged, bruised young girl, reaching out into the darkness, trying to take control of her life.
Their Scars are what begin to unite them, with the people that surround them.
The Scars is a novel of difficulty, hatred, love, intrigue, kidnap, wrongdoing, abuse, laughter and beauty.
My Review
This is a thriller/soap style book with high drama at its core. To be honest I was not sure I was going to enjoy it and only tried it as a punt in the dark.
I am very glad I did try it. The reader has a delicious voice that is like lovely sweet treacle and it was his voice that kept me downloading the chapters.
The story starts out like a love story, and rapidly turns to tragedy that turns a knife in your gut. Part of this is the story itself, and part the fact that the reader has a way of presenting that pain so that you can almost feel it.
The middle section of book started to feel a bit soap-like while I was listening and I thought the author had lost his way for a while but as the story neared its climax I realised just how he had set me up! Nothing was wasted, nothing was "filler".
In summary, this was a tremendous book, and I heartily recommend it, although the subject matter is not safe for work.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Mr Dead Eyes by Roberto Scarlato
Official Blurb
Strange things happen when the lights go down in the shady setting of the Roseville Hospital. Unexplained sightings of a man resembling that of a doctor is known to walk the hallways in search of patients he has yet to help. His name was Derek R. Schillar, M.D. He was a complicated man with a desire to help people, but felt that he didn't do enough. Now, his friend has betrayed him, his wife thinks he's dead, a mysterious detective is on his trail, and the medical staff is perplexed at the growing number of inexplicable miraculous phenomena occurring within the hospital walls. Is there an answer? Why is a dying boy drawing pictures of this man? And just who is Mr. Dead Eyes?
My Review
Set in a modern hospital, we have some very strange and un-medical things are going on! The official blurb above gives you a pretty good idea of how weird these things get.
When I started listening I really had no idea what to expect. If anything I thought it was going to be a horror piece, but what a I got was part thriller, part speculative fiction, part super hero, and part detective, as real mashup.
In the end this mash up worked for me. I like things a little unusual and this story has it in spades.
I loved the protagonist and his family and learnt to hate the bad guys. The author is reading his own work and did a great job, although I think the intro which seems to suggest a nasty Horror, was overplayed a little.
If you want a dark story which probes the mysterious this is for you.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Strange things happen when the lights go down in the shady setting of the Roseville Hospital. Unexplained sightings of a man resembling that of a doctor is known to walk the hallways in search of patients he has yet to help. His name was Derek R. Schillar, M.D. He was a complicated man with a desire to help people, but felt that he didn't do enough. Now, his friend has betrayed him, his wife thinks he's dead, a mysterious detective is on his trail, and the medical staff is perplexed at the growing number of inexplicable miraculous phenomena occurring within the hospital walls. Is there an answer? Why is a dying boy drawing pictures of this man? And just who is Mr. Dead Eyes?
My Review
Set in a modern hospital, we have some very strange and un-medical things are going on! The official blurb above gives you a pretty good idea of how weird these things get.
When I started listening I really had no idea what to expect. If anything I thought it was going to be a horror piece, but what a I got was part thriller, part speculative fiction, part super hero, and part detective, as real mashup.
In the end this mash up worked for me. I like things a little unusual and this story has it in spades.
I loved the protagonist and his family and learnt to hate the bad guys. The author is reading his own work and did a great job, although I think the intro which seems to suggest a nasty Horror, was overplayed a little.
If you want a dark story which probes the mysterious this is for you.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Monday, 14 November 2011
Guardians by A. S. Frye
Official Blurb
Guardians is set in the near future and follows the life of a young girl, Kathy, who suffers a head injury which gives her some amazing psychic abilities, and then, through various extraordinary circumstances, ends up in a small town near Roswell, New Mexico. Along the way, she joins up with Megan, another psychic who is also being drawn to that same town.
When they arrive, Kathy is abducted by a UFO and after some alien technological wizardry, she gives birth to a hybrid baby. In the meantime, the aliens are surprised at how strong the psychic force is in some humans and fear that this power could destroy them, so they use the hybrid baby in a plot to wipe out the entire human race before anyone discovers they are here. Kathy dares to resist them and fights to save her hybrid child.
But in the end, it is the child, himself—half alien / half human—who will determine which race will live, and which will die.
My Review
If I was afraid of including any spoilers in my review, I need not worry, as the offical blurb has out-spoilered anything I ever included in a review!
I found this a very interesting book. Even when you know the plot up front the characters themselves are very attractive and the twists and turns in the story itself keep everything fresh so that you are always wondering what's coming up.
The plot revolves around a group of people with strange occult powers that come together and fight an alien influence. That summary is honey to this particular Bee! I was hooked after a couple of chapters. It also took me that long to get used to the reader who has his own style of pacing. Once I settled into his pace or reading I found it very graceful.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Guardians is set in the near future and follows the life of a young girl, Kathy, who suffers a head injury which gives her some amazing psychic abilities, and then, through various extraordinary circumstances, ends up in a small town near Roswell, New Mexico. Along the way, she joins up with Megan, another psychic who is also being drawn to that same town.
When they arrive, Kathy is abducted by a UFO and after some alien technological wizardry, she gives birth to a hybrid baby. In the meantime, the aliens are surprised at how strong the psychic force is in some humans and fear that this power could destroy them, so they use the hybrid baby in a plot to wipe out the entire human race before anyone discovers they are here. Kathy dares to resist them and fights to save her hybrid child.
But in the end, it is the child, himself—half alien / half human—who will determine which race will live, and which will die.
My Review
If I was afraid of including any spoilers in my review, I need not worry, as the offical blurb has out-spoilered anything I ever included in a review!
I found this a very interesting book. Even when you know the plot up front the characters themselves are very attractive and the twists and turns in the story itself keep everything fresh so that you are always wondering what's coming up.
The plot revolves around a group of people with strange occult powers that come together and fight an alien influence. That summary is honey to this particular Bee! I was hooked after a couple of chapters. It also took me that long to get used to the reader who has his own style of pacing. Once I settled into his pace or reading I found it very graceful.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Saturday, 12 November 2011
Anon Time by Craig Robertson
Official Blurb
What if you weren't who you thought you were, what others saw you to be? What if the structure of time depended on you to keep it steady. What if unseen forces, both good and evil, surrounded you, effecting your life in way's you could not begin to imagine? Well, if that were the case, you'd be Mark De Martel, unobtrusive advertising agent in Los Angeles. Or would you? Possibly you were a Mark, but possibly you would be a powerful warrior, using skills such as the manipulation of gravity itself to save existence.
The answer can be found by listening to Anon Time. It is a science fiction formatted novel with philosophical and spiritual underpinnings guaranteed to whisk you on an adventure of wondrous scope and amazing clarity. Treat yourself to this fantastic story, trust us, you deserve it.
My Review
This was a pretty good story. A man discovers that he's not who he thought he was, or even WHAT he thought he was. As soon as the discovery is made is he finds himself embroiled in a battle across time and space against the great enemy of humanity.
I've said it's a pretty good story, and it is, I really enjoyed it. Yet, I have "But" to add. After it was over I felt that the big-bad was a bit of whiner, that is he seemed more like a spoiled child rather than a terrible enemy to be feared.
Now that I've written that, I fear I may have overstated it. The book was good. It was a fun sci fi story that kept me thrilled and interested right to the end, and yes there may have even been a tear in my eye.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
What if you weren't who you thought you were, what others saw you to be? What if the structure of time depended on you to keep it steady. What if unseen forces, both good and evil, surrounded you, effecting your life in way's you could not begin to imagine? Well, if that were the case, you'd be Mark De Martel, unobtrusive advertising agent in Los Angeles. Or would you? Possibly you were a Mark, but possibly you would be a powerful warrior, using skills such as the manipulation of gravity itself to save existence.
The answer can be found by listening to Anon Time. It is a science fiction formatted novel with philosophical and spiritual underpinnings guaranteed to whisk you on an adventure of wondrous scope and amazing clarity. Treat yourself to this fantastic story, trust us, you deserve it.
My Review
This was a pretty good story. A man discovers that he's not who he thought he was, or even WHAT he thought he was. As soon as the discovery is made is he finds himself embroiled in a battle across time and space against the great enemy of humanity.
I've said it's a pretty good story, and it is, I really enjoyed it. Yet, I have "But" to add. After it was over I felt that the big-bad was a bit of whiner, that is he seemed more like a spoiled child rather than a terrible enemy to be feared.
Now that I've written that, I fear I may have overstated it. The book was good. It was a fun sci fi story that kept me thrilled and interested right to the end, and yes there may have even been a tear in my eye.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Marco and the Red Granny by Mur Lafferty
Official Blurb
By bringing back the patronage system, a new alien species has transformed the moon into the new artistic center of the universe, and Sally Ride Lunar Base soon gains the nickname “Mollywood.” These aliens can do amazing things with art and the senses, allowing a painting, for example, to stimulate other senses than simply sight. When someone asks a starlet, “Who are you wearing?” she could as easily say “J.K. Rowling” as she could “Gucci.”
Every creative person in the world wishes for a patronage. It’s quite competitive.
Marco wanted one, once. But then his girlfriend got one and shuttled off to Mollywood for fame and fortune, and Marco stayed home, waiting for his own patron. After several years, he gave up entirely. His career faltered. His agent dumped him. And then, one morning, he gets a call. At last he has a patron, at last the aliens want him. But he’s about to find out that an artistic patronage isn’t what it was in the good old days, and that the only friend he’s made, a tiny old woman who’s the star of a blood sports reality series called The Most Dangerous Game, has secrets of her own.
My Review
I had no idea if I was going to enjoy book, it was a punt in the dark! The title kind of put me off, it sounded a bit ... dumb. When you read the blurb it is quite clearly a sci fi story but the last line of the blurb makes it sound like a kids book (remember "Super Gran"?). I just didn't know what to expect.
All that confusion wafted away once I started listening, it was a character driven play in a sci fi story. It's not a high action story, although there are battles to the death in an arena on the moon!
The story is fundamentally a 50's or 60's style one-trick story. In a way it reminded me of [SPOILER AHEAD] "Star Surgeon" where there's a massive plague that in the end is beaten by simply smoking cigarettes. This story has that kind of feel.
I enjoyed the story well enough, but I feel like it's a lost opportunity. If your reading this Mur, I think you need to rename it, and swap out the granny. It seems you were trying to write a satirical piece, but there is no humour in the story, it's a character-play-adventure. Kill the granny and insert an ex-Marine in her stead. (Or tell me to shut-up!)
The production suffers a little, the theme music levels seem at odds with the voice over narration, I had adjust volume every time the theme came up.
Reading 2/3
Production 1/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 5/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
By bringing back the patronage system, a new alien species has transformed the moon into the new artistic center of the universe, and Sally Ride Lunar Base soon gains the nickname “Mollywood.” These aliens can do amazing things with art and the senses, allowing a painting, for example, to stimulate other senses than simply sight. When someone asks a starlet, “Who are you wearing?” she could as easily say “J.K. Rowling” as she could “Gucci.”
Every creative person in the world wishes for a patronage. It’s quite competitive.
Marco wanted one, once. But then his girlfriend got one and shuttled off to Mollywood for fame and fortune, and Marco stayed home, waiting for his own patron. After several years, he gave up entirely. His career faltered. His agent dumped him. And then, one morning, he gets a call. At last he has a patron, at last the aliens want him. But he’s about to find out that an artistic patronage isn’t what it was in the good old days, and that the only friend he’s made, a tiny old woman who’s the star of a blood sports reality series called The Most Dangerous Game, has secrets of her own.
My Review
I had no idea if I was going to enjoy book, it was a punt in the dark! The title kind of put me off, it sounded a bit ... dumb. When you read the blurb it is quite clearly a sci fi story but the last line of the blurb makes it sound like a kids book (remember "Super Gran"?). I just didn't know what to expect.
All that confusion wafted away once I started listening, it was a character driven play in a sci fi story. It's not a high action story, although there are battles to the death in an arena on the moon!
The story is fundamentally a 50's or 60's style one-trick story. In a way it reminded me of [SPOILER AHEAD] "Star Surgeon" where there's a massive plague that in the end is beaten by simply smoking cigarettes. This story has that kind of feel.
I enjoyed the story well enough, but I feel like it's a lost opportunity. If your reading this Mur, I think you need to rename it, and swap out the granny. It seems you were trying to write a satirical piece, but there is no humour in the story, it's a character-play-adventure. Kill the granny and insert an ex-Marine in her stead. (Or tell me to shut-up!)
The production suffers a little, the theme music levels seem at odds with the voice over narration, I had adjust volume every time the theme came up.
Reading 2/3
Production 1/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 5/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Cheating, Death by Teel McClanahan III
Official Blurb
When the walking dead fill the streets, who can cheat death? Who can survive?
Featuring a zombie outbreak that devastates Denver, an indecisive adulterer, and a series of violent, disturbing, and perhaps even heart-rending events of the sort you'd expect when the dead rise up to eat the living, Cheating, Death is a roller-coaster ride through a horror show both of death and of the heart.
My Review
I fancied a bit of horror fiction and this book jumped out at me. Can't go wrong with zombies.
The story mostly follows a family man living in Denver when a sudden outbreak of zombism goes manic. Zombies in this story are the shuffling sort that can infect you with a bite. If you get bitten you catch the virus, and will "turn" within a few hours.
The characters in this story all know about zombies from the movies, but with a twist. They are not just fictional to these characters, they all start knowing zombies exist as a fact, not just the fiction. I loved how within the story people have been misled by the movies into what they should do, just how our minds are misled by various things in the media we watch.
Although I kept listening and wanted to hear how it ended I didn't like the lead character at all. He was a bit of a whiner, and worse he was a bit of a loser. He certainly wasn't the sort of person I would aspire to be and that put me off a bit.
There was no real story arc, but rather a series of events that overwhelmed the characters.
To summarise, the horror of the story kept me listening and the reader (who sounds a little like Tracey Hickman) did a splendid job, but I warn you not to expect high adventure from the story.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 1/3
Total Score 5/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
When the walking dead fill the streets, who can cheat death? Who can survive?
Featuring a zombie outbreak that devastates Denver, an indecisive adulterer, and a series of violent, disturbing, and perhaps even heart-rending events of the sort you'd expect when the dead rise up to eat the living, Cheating, Death is a roller-coaster ride through a horror show both of death and of the heart.
My Review
I fancied a bit of horror fiction and this book jumped out at me. Can't go wrong with zombies.
The story mostly follows a family man living in Denver when a sudden outbreak of zombism goes manic. Zombies in this story are the shuffling sort that can infect you with a bite. If you get bitten you catch the virus, and will "turn" within a few hours.
The characters in this story all know about zombies from the movies, but with a twist. They are not just fictional to these characters, they all start knowing zombies exist as a fact, not just the fiction. I loved how within the story people have been misled by the movies into what they should do, just how our minds are misled by various things in the media we watch.
Although I kept listening and wanted to hear how it ended I didn't like the lead character at all. He was a bit of a whiner, and worse he was a bit of a loser. He certainly wasn't the sort of person I would aspire to be and that put me off a bit.
There was no real story arc, but rather a series of events that overwhelmed the characters.
To summarise, the horror of the story kept me listening and the reader (who sounds a little like Tracey Hickman) did a splendid job, but I warn you not to expect high adventure from the story.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 1/3
Total Score 5/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Friday, 16 September 2011
Spirit Blade by Paeter Frandsen
Official Blurb
In a future where the government mandates the spiritual beliefs of its citizens, only a few rebellious "Seekers of Truth" remain to free the world from deception.
On his quest for meaning, Merikk follows a path that leads him across our world, and into another. Against his will he is thrown into action alongside members of the Underground Liberation, standing face to face against forces human, alien and demonic. Science fiction and the supernatural collide in a genre-bending adventure! Open your mind and then brace for impact as you discover the power of the Spirit Blade!
My Review
This is a high action story with a message.
As the blurb says, it's in the future, but not too far and the major aspect of the future outlined here, is that any religion claiming to the "only way" is outlawed. Bibles, Torah, Quoran are all banned and followers of the old faiths are ostracised and driven underground. The new religion is where "everyone is right".
I found this background highly interesting. As a Christian I can see a movement like that described starting to appear in today's world, and this story may well represent a possible future. The protagonists in this story are an underground movement that is nothing less than a group of Christians.
I opened this by stating that the story is high action, and the previous two paragraphs may have you questioning that, do not be misled. The action includes a lot of cinematic fight scenes, people leaping out of windows, gun fights, sword fights versus demons, and a dramatic pace that had me captivated.
There were a couple of moments that I thought were getting "preachy", but after due consideration I'm willing to admit they were really just advancing the character motivations so I'm not going to let that effect my rating.
The narration was sound, although a few of the "voices" sounded a bit samey. It's full of background music and sound effects that really make this book a stand-out example of how to do a good audio book.
Reading 2/3
Production 3/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
In a future where the government mandates the spiritual beliefs of its citizens, only a few rebellious "Seekers of Truth" remain to free the world from deception.
On his quest for meaning, Merikk follows a path that leads him across our world, and into another. Against his will he is thrown into action alongside members of the Underground Liberation, standing face to face against forces human, alien and demonic. Science fiction and the supernatural collide in a genre-bending adventure! Open your mind and then brace for impact as you discover the power of the Spirit Blade!
My Review
This is a high action story with a message.
As the blurb says, it's in the future, but not too far and the major aspect of the future outlined here, is that any religion claiming to the "only way" is outlawed. Bibles, Torah, Quoran are all banned and followers of the old faiths are ostracised and driven underground. The new religion is where "everyone is right".
I found this background highly interesting. As a Christian I can see a movement like that described starting to appear in today's world, and this story may well represent a possible future. The protagonists in this story are an underground movement that is nothing less than a group of Christians.
I opened this by stating that the story is high action, and the previous two paragraphs may have you questioning that, do not be misled. The action includes a lot of cinematic fight scenes, people leaping out of windows, gun fights, sword fights versus demons, and a dramatic pace that had me captivated.
There were a couple of moments that I thought were getting "preachy", but after due consideration I'm willing to admit they were really just advancing the character motivations so I'm not going to let that effect my rating.
The narration was sound, although a few of the "voices" sounded a bit samey. It's full of background music and sound effects that really make this book a stand-out example of how to do a good audio book.
Reading 2/3
Production 3/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
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