4/5 Dopamine by Mikhail Voloshin

February 18, 2021February 13, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, scifi, thriller Daniel Casper, full cast, Mikhail Voloshin

Narrated by Daniel Casper

Run Time: 10 hrs 16 mins

Genre: Cyberpunk/thriller

*spoilers possible in discussion

Summary:

Danny and his group of Dungeons and Dragons players take on the job of hacking into a medical research facility and get way more than they bargained for.

Additional Comments:

If you don’t like spoilers, don’t read the blurb. It pretty much spells out the first half of the book.
Performance 4/5 Stars: It’s a full-cast audio with about 6-7 names listed at the very end. I know that’s becoming more of a thing, but it was kind of distracting. I don’t read romances and that’s where you’d probably hear the most dual performances. I would have preferred 1 narrator in a story like this. All narrators did fine, and the editing was good enough to keep all transitions smooth. That’s about the best you can hope for with full-cast shows. I would certainly listen to another of their productions.
Story 3.5/5 Stars: There’s a cool premise, hero’s kind of purposefully lame. He’s a tech genius, not an action hero, which is fine. But that means most of the action is carried out by others. There are some neat plot twists near the end. The plot is high action, but at times, the action seems to just move the characters about at will with them having 0 control over what to do next.
Seemed to have more to do with cocaine than dopamine. I guess I missed that connection. Pretty sure it was mentioned. Probably would have had a different audience if that were the title though.
Side Characters 3.5/5 Stars: While realistic even in their stereotypes, not many of the characters are very likable as people. Roger is a sex-addicted nincompoop. Tina’s an underappreciated, brilliant woman wasted on the job of answering phones. Danny’s your average tech genius. Jason’s the greedy corporate guy with a heart of gold in the end. He might actually be the one to show the most character growth. The Russians are mostly mobsters.
I probably would have pegged it for near future scifi/thriller over cyberpunk, but maybe I’m just not familiar enough with the nuances of the genre.
Monologues: There were at least 2 main character monologues that should have been skipped.
Content Warning: Very, very strong language. Hit 4 f-bombs within 15 minutes and kept that general ratio throughout the story. A few adult scenes that could easily have been skipped.

Conclusion:

An interesting tech-heavy thriller.

Audiobook Promotions …

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Many of my 44 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
River’s Edge Ransom – Prequel to Redeemer Chronicles (Amazon) (email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)

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Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian. (Amazon) (free codes)
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Amazon) (Please email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift. (Amazon) (free codes)
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma. (Amazon) (free codes)
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother. (Amazon) (free codes)
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble. (Amazon) (free codes)
More Scifi:
Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there. (Amazon) (free codes)

Guardian Angel Files:

Spirit’s Bane – Allister and Mina are training to be Guardians. Satan’s out to get them. (Amazon) (free codes)
Kindred Spirits – Mina’s exiled to Earth. Allister’s stuck in the Heavens. (Amazon) (free codes)

4/5 Stars Star Wars: Rebels

January 16, 2021December 26, 2020 Julie Gilbert cartoon, scifi, Star Wars, TV reviews cartoon, Rebels, Star Wars

(FerRub, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Summary:

A scrappy band of Rebels try to resist the spread of the Empire’s tyranny further into the Outer Rim.

Additional Comments:

It’s not a must but it is good to watch before The Mandalorian.
Characters 4/5: Kanan Jarrus, Chopper (the droid with much attitude), Sabine Wren, Ahsoka Tano, Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios take on Grand Admiral Thrawn and Maul. Captain Rex shows up too. Agent Kallus probably has the strongest character development.
If you were/are a fan of the old school EU books, then Thrawn will be familiar to you. He’s a tactical genius, an art lover, and a truly scary dude. Ezra has his moments, and I like his overall character arc, but there are entirely too many whiny teenager moments to make him completely likable. Hera’s your typical awesome pilot. Kanan’s the token Jedi. Zeb’s the muscle man of the crew. Ahsoka has some nice cameos in the series. I think Sabine might be my favorite character from the show. The Mandalorian chick has a lot of growing to do. Her mother’s kinda a trip. I enjoyed the few episodes focused on Sabine.
Side Characters 4/5: The show has some interesting side characters, including Bail Organa, Wedge Antilles, Ryder Azadi, Fenn Rau, Saw Gerrera, and Vizago. I do NOT like Hondo Ohnaka. Not sure you’re supposed to like him, but he’s not even a charming scoundrel, just a jerk.
Plot 4/5: As a cartoon, each episode is relatively short. I think they stick to a fairly strict 24 min marker. There’s usually some crisis involving the Empire or a scoundrel of one flavor or another. It typically gets resolved within the 24 minutes, but occasionally, there are part 1 and part 2 to cover slightly larger arcs.

Conclusion:

If you want to understand more of the side characters and reveals in the Mandalorian, then it’s worthwhile to watch Rebels. As a standalone cartoon, it’s decent, but if there wasn’t more to look forward to in other Star Wars shows, I’m not sure how much I’d like the series.

(I haven’t finished The Clone Wars, still slogging through Season 1. Not sure I will finish. Time will tell.)

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 42 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

5/5 Stars The Mandalorian Review

January 7, 2021December 26, 2020 Julie Gilbert scifi, Star Wars Disney Star Wars, Star Wars, The Child, The Mandalorian

Length: 16 Chapters – though those vary from about 34 minutes to 55 minutes.

Available from Disney Plus.

Will attempt to keep spoiler free but read at your own risk. (I did a pretty good job of spoiler-free.)

Summary:

An outer rim bounty hunter gets more than he bargained for when he accepts a lucrative contract from Imperial remnants.

Additional Comments:

Old school Star Wars feel 5/5: The story was made for TV, so it kind of meanders a bit. But it hits a lot of the classic Star Wars vibes: shootouts, desperate straits, hand-to-hand contests, interesting characters, cool creatures, fantastic beasts. Stormtroopers are still kinda rubbish at shooting good guys.
Characters 5/5: Two words for you: The Child. Okay, so I have more to say, but he’s a huge part of the fan appeal. Disney for all their faults has a lot of marketing genius. If you polled the amount of products out there for The Mandalorian and The Child, I’m betting the Child products far outnumber the Mandalorian just cause he’s so darn cute. Mando’s cool too. Cara, Kuill, some good guys, and the bad guy too have their place.
Reveals 5/5: Somebody told me to watch Rebels and The Clone Wars first. I got through Rebels, but I’m still struggling through The Clone Wars. More on that later, but it was worth it to see Rebels to better understand some of the reveals in the latter half of The Mandalorian. End reveal was predictable but still awesome.
Plot 4/5: Because it’s made for TV, there are necessarily some meandering going on.
When going into season 2, I had to rewatch season 1. While I remembered most of it, there’s enough stuff packed in there to enjoy a second look. Perhaps in a few months I’ll watch the whole saga again.

Conclusion:

Star Wars fans old and new should be able to find something to love in The Mandalorian. Not quite saying it’s worth the $74.63 for a year of Disney Plus by its lonesome self, but it comes pretty darn close.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

Narrator Interview: Nicholas Santasier

December 17, 2020November 22, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Interviews, scifi narrator, narrator interview, nicholas santasier, scifi

Let’s get right to it. Today, we have Nicholas Santasier. He’s worked as both an audio engineer and as a narrator.

About your current Work … whatcha workin’ on?

Currently wrapping up a podcast project: Zither

What brought you to working on this project?

Originally it was an audiobook, after a lot of conversations with the producer, we changed it into a dual narration with my partner, Alexandra Cohler, and into a podcast/radio play.

What was the hardest part of bringing this story to life?

Just working around multiple schedules in COVID quarantine.

Do you have a favorite character voice from the project? Why/ why not?

Oh, I have tons with this one.

Do you have a favorite chapter from the project? Why/ why not?

Again, several, it’s so well written and developed.

Is there anything you’d like listeners to know about this work before they hear your performance?

Sit back, relax, and enjoy it when it’s released!

Me: Sounds like a good attitude.

About your other works:

How many other works have you narrated?

Over 50, under 100 as a narrator, over 80, less than 100 as an engineer

What was the most challenging other work you’ve voiced? Easiest? Most fun? What made it hard, easy, fun??

A Thousand Stones – multiple voices and languages, involved the author sending me German recordings and I parroted them out in character voices. Easiest was any of the shorter books I did as they were really one and done sessions. Funnest (not counting Zither) is Arkeepers: lots of fantastical voices and characters. So much fun. Also got to develop a trailer for the 4 books out right now.

Can you recommend any of your other titles for us? What about the work is appealing?

I do a lot of variety, but would recommend the fiction pieces. My non-fiction work is random and I don’t understand listening to non-fiction titles as audiobooks.

Which work are you most proud to have been a part of? Why?

Zither, Arkeepers, The Crimson Knight, The Starlight Chronicles

About you/random ques:

What drew you to voice acting?

Trained in theatre and film acting. Started doing radio plays and OS recorded voices. It opened me up to more roles than I was being cast for in person.

Is this the only acting you do? If you do other forms of acting, which is your favorite and why?

I do theatre and film/tv, also a lot of physical performances. Each has it’s own unique challenges and excitement, but I think VO is my favorite right now.

Do you have a process when you approach a work? Please describe it for us.

Read the script, highlight and color coordinate character voices, look up/research any pronunciations with the author, along with any info they feel I need to know ahead of time. Discuss and pitch voices. Start recording!

What’s one random thing people don’t really know about you?

I sing. Also, I’m an engineer, primarily for audiobooks – I freelance, and have also done a webinar for VO Dojo where I introduce ACX and it’s set up with a few other panelists.

If you could only leave 1 lasting impression on the world, what would it be?

Characters that can be passed down through the ages.

Do you get to read for fun? Do you have a favorite genre to read for fun?

I do read, a lot. I like fantasy (Tolkien, Gaiman), comics (Batman, X-men, etc), and some historical fiction (Ken Follett and Arturo Perez-Reverte).

Do you have other hobbies? What do you do to relax?

I do photography, hike, draw, play piano, currently I am planning a wedding with my brand new fiancee. 🙂

Me: Wow. Congratulations. Best of luck with the wedding planning.

What kind of movies do you enjoy?

Action, sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction – I watch just about everything.

Me: That does sound quite well-rounded.

If somebody wanted to check out more of your works, how would they do that?

Website

Soundcloud

Social Media Links:

nsantasier on Instagram, Twitter, facebook, linkedin and youtube

Thanks for stopping by today. It was very nice to meet you.

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 42 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Dark Side of Science, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest.
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

Author Interview: A. Nation – Multigenre

December 14, 2020November 22, 2020 Julie Gilbert Interviews, scifi, Urban Fantasy A. Nation, author interview, scifi, Urban Fantasy

About you:

Tell me a little about your background.

I’ve always wanted to write stories since I was a child. I loved to read books all through my school years. My younger sister tells me she enjoyed my imaginary stories with our dolls growing up. I attained a Computer Information degree in my college days. Later I ran my own tshirt shop business. Well, after work, life, and no self-publishing available in my younger years during the 80s, I didn’t get the writing bug until 2011. I’m retired now and loving every minute of writing. Finally, I can put my imagination to good use.

What do you do for fun?

We used to get together with friends and have parties. But since that cannot be, we go jeeping into the desert here in Arizona. Jeeping means, we explore with our jeeps.

Who or what inspires you the most?

Our space technology, fictional historical accounts, and mysteries. The creative process fascinates me.

I have read lots of Agatha Christie, Isaac Asimov, and many others before I started writing. My genres cover science fiction, urban fantasy, and travel mysteries. I recently did a non-fiction about a bridge collapse in my home town. The proceeds from that are donated to the local museum.

What other writers/people do you consider inspirational? If they’re authors, what about their work captures your interest?

I believe I have read all of Rita Mae Brown books including the ones about fox hunting. I’m not interested in that but I like her style. She had talking animals that would save the day, so I have added some to my sci-fi books. When I catch an interesting story in the news. I use the theme of the story. I’ve used a few of those in my Desert Shock book.

What got you into writing?

I walked into the library one day to pick up my usual 5-8 books and saw a sign that said, Do you have a story in you? Writing class at 1:00pm on Tuesdays. So I signed up. At that point I really didn’t know much about writing since my college days long, long ago. I took a couple of classes online and aced those. Since I was a snowbird at the time, it took me almost two years to finish my first book and know how writing and publishing operates. Since then, I write three books a year plus a few novellas.

What is your writing process?

After breakfast, I sit down and write the movie in my head. I have found taking a break and walking around the neighborhood creates more scenes to add. I write most of the day until 4:00pm unless there is some shopping or housework to do. After 4:00, it’s my time to do something else.

When do you consider a work complete?

When the story problem has been resolved or if I have to tie up loose ends.

About your book(s):

Are there any deep themes or messages in the book the readers should be aware of?

Good overcomes evil and sometimes after all the work my MC does, evil gets away. My sci-fi is how we might live on Mars in the future, if we do. The detective books focuses on mother nature getting revenge, killers getting their karma, and how people with power can fail.

In my UF series, I explore witches and elves. My fiction mimics life. The same goes for all of my stories. The person next door may not be who you think they are.

What gave you the idea for this book?

For my first sci-fi book, it was becoming the never ending story for my writing class. I had this idea of us interviewing aliens and what would happen if one of them was murdered.

For my UF, I had this story about a woman who lost her husband to a terrible car accident and finds herself in another world. This was my first nanowrimo book. I wrote this in 11 days.

For my Travel stories, I went on these trips and wove a story around my experiences.

How long did the book take to write?

Each book takes about 3-4 months depending how long it is and when my beta readers come back to me. One is a good editor. I started my latest book, The Magic Within, in July and after it was edited, I placed it into preorder until the end of November of this year.

Who designed the cover?

I design my own covers. I ran a screen print shop for 20 years and did all the design work on a Coreldraw program. I use that and send it through my writing group for a yea or a nay.

About your other book(s):

Do you write in other genres?

Science fiction, urban fantasy, travel, and one non-fiction

Tell us about one other book or series and why it’s important to you.

I’ll tell you about my sci-fi called Fatal Error. Parts in the beginning I was a witness. A person died in the hospital due to negligence by a family member. Then my fictional story takes off. In the end, the killer gets her deserved end. A back story to this is when a robot becomes sentient.

Random Questions:

What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Vanilla

Me: Solid, classic choice.

What are you non-writing hobbies or interests?

Writing is my hobby or traveling with my husband

Me: Oh, cool. Now I want to know what’s the best place you’ve been.

Website:

Social Media Links

Author FB Page

Facebook page

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 42 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Dark Side of Science.
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4/5 Stars Moonblood by T.W. Fendley

November 14, 2020October 31, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Fantasy, scifi, Young Adult Amanda Leigh Jerry, Moonblood, T.W. Fendley

Narrated by Amanda Leigh Jerry

Run Time: 10 hrs and 42 mins

Summary:

A “young” woman’s quest for freedom leads to a series of events that sets three societies on their ears.

Another young woman’s quest to find her mother draws her into a dangerous ride.

Additional Comments:

Narration is generally good, but there are a few bizarre pronunciations like cacophony.
Interesting worldbuilding but you have to have some serious suspension of disbelief to believe most of it. And it’s not really explained why Eves can spontaneously have kids, but if they bear Adams (boys) they die. There are also Cains who are I’m guessing the rest of the world, not a part of either secret society.
Book blurb concentrates on Ariade but the book itself spends times on several characters.
It gets more interesting as the book moves on.
The end is perhaps a tad too pat, but satisfying nonetheless.
Contenting warnings: There’s some references to violence and adult themes, but nothing described. There are some curse words.
Kind of not sure what to categorize it as. It’s sort of a fantasy, but has some scifi elements yet the government is at once modern and a dystopia.

Conclusion:

Intriguing young adult book. Probably the start of a series.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

2.5/5 Traveller – Mr. Blue by Zak Standridge

November 5, 2020October 31, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, scifi Chaz Heiber, Zak Standridge

(4-star narration, 1-star story)

Narrated by Chaz Heiber

Run Time: 14 hrs and 11 mins

Summary:

A series of seemingly random adventures through time and space.

Additional Comments:

I’m going to preface with time travel stories are not my favorite.
Chaz Heiber’s performance was strong, even though I didn’t like every voice he employed on the large cast. Voices were distinct for the most part. I would definitely listen to more books narrated by him. The narration style is a hair too earnest for my personal taste.
The book clearly strives to be Dr. Who. My experience with the show is limited to the first season. Then, I just never bothered. So, this book may have more appeal for die-hard fans of Dr. Who.
There’s a flippant feel to the story that makes it difficult to take seriously. However, I can see this appealing to those who liked Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. There’s little sense of real danger because the protagonist is pretty much immortal. He’ll switch forms or something.
It may also have helped to know what happened in book 1 because the beginning feels like being dropped into the middle of the story.
The way it’s written is super annoying. Everything harps back to colors, and I think the perspective shifts mid-scene. (the Cobalt Stranger, Mr. Blue, the Violet Stranger, the Beautiful Time Agent, the Time Lord, etc) Something will be described then there will be a shift and you’ll see the same or similar things from a slightly diff perspective.
There was a LOT of action, which is good, but the plot meandered all over the place with very little connection between random points. (That’s one of my nits with time travel books in general. Something happens, hop in time machine, poof appear somewhere else, something else happens, hop in time machine, etc)
Some characters seemed like their entire existence was to provide dialogue opportunities to explain stuff to the reader. (The Retired Commodore.)
The antagonist’s motives are entirely clear.
It’s about 6 hours too long. If a lot of the superfluous stuff went away, you could pull off a more streamlined, action-packed story. Heck, I think an hour would disappear if you removed half the references to variations on the color blue.

Conclusion:

If you really want something reminiscent of Dr. Who and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, this might fulfill that need. Listen to the sample and decide for yourself.

Audiobook Promotions …

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4.5/5 Stars Legion: Skin Deep by Brandon Sanderson

September 27, 2020August 15, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery, scifi Brandon Sanderson, Legion, Oliver Wyman

Narrated by Oliver Wyman

Run Time: 4 hrs and 23 mins

Genre: futuristic thriller? Maybe (scifi if you wanna be more generic)

Summary:

Stephen Leeds (Legion) has some very real hallucinations. They’re different personalities. He’s tasked with finding a high-tech body.

Additional Comments:

Not entirely in love with the first bit of the blurb being 100% gushy about how amazing Brandon Sanderson is. To be clear, I agree with most of it, but I’d rather the blurb actually focus on telling me what the current story is going to be about.
It’s an interesting take on multiple personalities. The book and the character argue it’s not multiple personalities, but it’s really friggin’ close. Instead of the personalities existing in the guy’s head, they exist outside his head. He can see them, converse with them, etc.
Unique and interesting. The plot’s just so-so, but the characters keep it interesting.
Somehow got this free from audible.
The cover makes a heck of a lot more sense after hearing the story.
Conclusion’s kind of anticlimactic, but it fits the character.
Good humor spread throughout.
I’m a big fan of Brandon Sanderson, but I’m a little baffled as to why both the beginning and the end of the blurb are nothing but begging readers to believe he’s a great writer. (Loved Mistborn. Couldn’t get into the YA anti-superhero series or Stormlight archives, but this series shows promise. I also agree that he’s an amazing author.)

Conclusion:

I never read book 1. This can be experienced as a standalone, though it might be more fun to already know Stephen.

Audiobook Promotions:

33 of my 36 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian.
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift.
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma.
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother.
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble.

2/5 Stars Threshold by David Palmer

September 21, 2020September 1, 2020 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, scifi Daniel Penz, David Palmer, scifi

Narrated by Daniel Penz

Run Time: 14 hrs and 55 min

Performance Notes:

Nicely done. Decent voice variation. A very strong performance. My issues were in not liking the main character’s inner voice (not the actor, the character). The narrator read the character true to form. I just hated the MC.

Story Summary:

Meg—described as the most powerful witch (spelled differently) on her planet—comes to Earth to beg Peter Cory (of the primitive human race who has barely made it to space) to stop the universe from ending in a few thousand years.

Additional Story Comments: (discussion may contain spoilers)

Has some serious pacing problems. At about the 3 ½ mark, you start to get out of the background phase. I think it legitimately took about 50 minutes to describe one crash landing.
I think something that slows things down is the fact that many descriptions have a qualifier. (He took a few minutes to describe a mushroom. I’m pretty sure this level of description would bore even Tolkien who can describe a leaf for legit 3 pgs.)
The perspective is first person, which is typically fine, but the main character, Peter Cory, has an inner voice more consistent with a teenage girl in a paranormal teen romance (trope – clueless MC gets recruited to save the universe by a wise, close to all-powerful mentor figure). There are also long-winded sections of “I’m so great. I never give up.”
The way things are described can be mild amusing at times.
The scientist’s monologues are super annoying. They function only as a consistent “oh, look what Cory did now. Isn’t he great?” refrain. These happen roughly every chapter.
Even for science fiction, the science and magic systems have some serious holes. In general, it’s hard to believe that a society that can genetically cross-breed humans like lab rats would have a need to raise up one of the experiments to be its savior. They can look backwards in time, so shouldn’t they be able to look forwards in time too? They can control minds to a point. They are turning to humanity for an answer because they don’t understand mechanical sciences. Yet, they understand this galactic threat well enough that they get that it’s been ballistically targeting (that’s a physics term) energy systems and destroying them.
The main character’s background isn’t believable, neither is Becky’s. People don’t typically have enough years to accomplish everything (because the training involved in those accomplishments are life-consuming).
Memphis – the cat familiar (spelled differently); pretty much present so they get to talk to something
Meg – is described as being 52-ish, but on Earth, she has the body of a 12-year-old. Even with the very thorough explanation of age differences, etc, that still strikes me as skeevy. She also arrives without a stitch of clothes (again, there’s an attempt at an explanation). The sex scene is described in tasteful enough terms that I’d still be able to categorize it as a “clean” book up to that point. Despite landing on Earth mere hours before, Meg has a complete grasp of the English language, so does Memphis, the cat familiar. She disappears midway through the book once her goal of calling the hero forth has been accomplished.
There are some cool concepts, but then things lapse into a hum-drum conclusion. The only way to succeed at their mission is to combine their minds. And the only way to combine their minds now that Peter’s past puberty is to have sex.
Side note: pretty sure this would annoying me to no end to read because there are great, long discussions about how many words from Meg’s planet and Earth are similar. Explanation: Ooops, that’s a side effect of our mind control and genetic breeding programs going awry.
Closure: There’s a really neat twist that the author turns into a double twist that makes it less cool and more cliché. It also messes with the sense of closure and turns things into a “to be continued” vibe.
The book’s entirely too long. It could have easily been told and told well in about 1/3 of the time if the author didn’t describe everything multiple ways. (Sometime the MC is searching for a word, so he lists 7-8 possibilities. This is a fine tactic for stuffing word count. Done in moderation, it’s fine, but this is NOT in moderation. This is overkill. Entirely over-done. Beaten a dead horse, resurrected it, and killed it again. – Do you see how annoying that can be?)
Understand this is just one person’s opinion. The things that bother me may be things others like. It has several nice reviews on amazon. Check it out for yourself if you like flippant, long-winded scifi.

Conclusion:

I’d definitely listen to Daniel Penz again, but I’m one and done with this author.

Audiobook Promotions:

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Audiobook Reviews: 3.5/5 Stars Revelation by Kevin Hardman

August 1, 2020July 14, 2020 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Audiobooks, scifi, superhero Kevin Hardman, kid sensation series, Mikael Naramore

Narrated by Mikael Naramore

Kid Sensation Series book 4

Run Time: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Summary:

Jim’s father is missing, so his uncle seeks him out to see fi they can solve the mini-mystery. And the world’s about to end.

Additional Comments:

Overall, a solid entry in the Kid Sensation series. It started very strong, kept my interest for about 4-ish hours then lagged for about 3 hours before becoming interesting again
Although a book and series about superheroes, this entry kind of bumps it more into the science fiction realm. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed the switch because I like scifi a lot better than the superhero subgenre.
Fights and whatnot are a tad more tedious when there are no consequences (because everybody’s pretty much invulnerable).
Some of the language Jim uses makes it very apparent that an adult is writing the book, even though it’s first person narration style. The word usage is too sophisticated for a teenager, even a superhero teenager. But that’s a small complaint.
Even for scifi, some of the science is shady (viruses aren’t alive)
Jim’s a pretty awesome character. I like that he has flaws despite being given nearly every superhero power (flight, teleportation, fazing, etc).
Performance was fine. Mikael Naramore is a competent narrator. He’s not my favorite, but he can handle the performance well.
Closure – This episode ended, but as usual, there was a very distinct lead into the next book.

Conclusion:

Very good entry in a great series. Highly recommended for people of all ages. It’s one of those rare series that would entertain a middle grade or teenage boy.

Audiobook Promotions:

33 of my 34 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Never Again (mystery, suspense) and Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there.
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest