A Gamer at Heart

Strong Start, Weaker Finish

Reviewed: 05-12-25

I wanted something that was a different flavor than the normal science fiction and fantasy that I typically read, and this book with its combination of science fiction and espionage seemed like a good deviation.

It starts off slow, but still interesting, but as others have mentioned, I reached a point about midway through the book where I seriously questioned whether there was actually an overarching, coherent plot.

Close to the very end of the book, what I'm guessing is the actual plot finally manifests, and to be honest, I did not care for it.

Obviously I won't spoil what happens there, but the plot development to me is so inconsistent with the overall setting of the book that it kind of threw me for a loop.

I love the narrator, but I won't be continuing on with the series. The writing is just to meandering for my tastes.

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Unique But Meandering

Reviewed: 05-04-25

The narrator's Irish accent made this an interesting listen. The story starts off pretty slow but is engaging once it takes off. I listened to this because I needed a break from Fantasy and Sci-Fi, but at times, this book was no less implausible than those genres. I won't say more because I hate spoilers in reviews but the implausibility only grows in the book's final hours. I would have liked the book more if it stayed grounded.

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Mediocre

Reviewed: 04-27-25

I had a really hard time getting into this book. It's too long on academic intrigue and takes far too long to get where it's trying to go. I found it bloated and verbose. I won't be carrying on with this series.

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Worth a Listen

Reviewed: 04-06-25

Overall, I thought this four box set was pretty good. I generally don't love military sci-fi because it tends to be weak on story and spend far too much time on epic battles. I like epic battles but I find that they don't translate quite as well in an audio format versus a written format.

What I liked about this series was it had a good story despite the setting. I enjoyed the story arc, the characters, and the narration. Once I hit book three and four, however, I started to notice a repetition in thematic elements. The stories were still good but I felt some repetition was setting in and was happy to finish book four.

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Gripping

Reviewed: 03-20-25

I've read or listened to so many books at this point that it's hard for me to really get into a book anymore. I still enjoy listening, but it's been a while since I've had something that I truly felt was hard to put down.

This book started off well, and there's a lot of similarities between it and the Red Rising series, which is also one of my favorites. Both concern authoritarian societies heavily influenced by our own ancient Roman history.

As the plot developed, this book started to make its own way and over time I realized that I was really getting sucked into the story. The story is excellent, as is the narrator.

I normally don't start the first book in a series until the series is completed so I can move quickly to the next book without losing any momentum. I didn't realize that book two in this series was not set for release until late 2025 so I guess I'll have to wait. Regardless, it's a great listen and I recommend it.

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Too Predictable

Reviewed: 12-04-24

I couldn't wait for it to end. It wasn't very original, the story was not very good,, and the characters were mostly unlikeable.

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Not Great, but Decent

Reviewed: 11-20-24

There is a bug invasion. The book has significant sci-fi, horror, and spiritual elements. I liked how much the author leaned into the horror without cop-outs for people you would expect to be somehow exempted from cruel fates, but the sci-fi elements and spiritual elements were just too jarring when they suddenly appeared, and they were never explained. There is some technology that is clearly sci-fi despite the present-day setting, yet the origin of this technology is never explained.

Ms, Fitzgerald does an adequate job as narrator. It took me a while to grow accustomed to her narrating style. At some points, her performance and voice affect was a bit too "smoky," almost as if she was narrating an erotic novel rather than a horror novel. On balance her performance was decent, but not great.

Overall, the book is a decent read. It never really captivated me, It's not a 5 star or 4 star book, more of a 3.5. Kudos for the originality though.

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9 people found this helpful

Decent Trilogy

Reviewed: 11-06-24

First, as always, Tim Gerard Reynolds was amazing. As far as the story goes, the first book took a bit to take off but once it got underway, I thought it was a really good story. The second book was also good.

I thought the third book was the weakest in the trilogy. It felt like the author struggled to find a new antagonist, and the book was filled with so much unnecessary filler that I found my attention wandering. Page after page was dedicated to such minutia that I was left with the distinct impression that the author was just trying to take up space. Unlike truly great books, I just couldn't wait for the third book to end.

Still, I bought the trilogy on sale and certainly cannot complain for the hours of listening for the low price I paid.

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A journey lacking a destination

Reviewed: 08-02-24

Maybe I am just old-fashioned, but even when reading a multibook franchise, I still have the expectation that each book will wrap up significant plot lines while laying the seeds for the next installment.

This book literally lacks an ending. It just stops. I find this technique neither enthralling nor intriguing. I instead find it an irritating cop out.

It treads a lot of familiar tropes in fantasy, but it's still a good book with a decent story. The author is obviously very gifted in painting a vivid mental image of surroundings and characters. While I initially did not fully appreciate the narrator, once his excellent range was fully exposed, I became a convert.

The book was decent enough that I don't regret purchasing it, but that is largely buoyed by the fact that I bought it on sale for $4. If I had purchased this at full price, or had used a full credit, I would not feel that I received value for my purchase.

I purchased this book based on the 100,000 five-star reviews, but had I known it didn't have its own individual ending, I never would have purchased it. Because of this, I will really struggle with whether or not to take a chance on volume two because that was released long ago and volume 3 is not slated for release until early 2029. Maybe GoT conditioned people to enjoy long franchises without an ending. Perhaps I'm just not one of them.

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Good; but becomes less plausible with each book

Reviewed: 07-10-24

Compared to the first few books, this franchise becomes more of an action fantasy genre than a grounded prepper book set in the apocalypse. It's still good, but no longer great. The evolution was inevitable I guess because the author obviously needs new storylines. It reminds me of the arc of the Walking Dead crew. Just as Rick and his gang moved from being shrewd survivors to actively seeking out unnecessary conflict (like attacking the Saviors), Jim and his crew become less risk averse. A few spare redshirts are sacrificed here and there but the semi-grounded realism really gives way for some pretty incredulous encounters and outcomes. The ending of book 6 laid the obvious groundwork for book 7 and sealed the deal for me. I won't be continuing onward but I enjoyed it while it lasted. .

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