Lil Bit

Absolutely has taken the title of my favorite book series

Reviewed: 10-23-24

Next to Red Rising I initially thought this series was not bad. But the more I listened the more I loved it. I felt so immersed in the world and RC Bray is absolutely amazing. Like his Spanish both accented and un accented by gringos was just spot on. Down to his voice of Brae and all of the characters in between. He is AWESOME for this book series. He IS X, and Michael and Mags, Roger, Gran Jefe, Cade, Fore runner and so on. I mean WOW. He really made me feel what Nick wanted me to feel. I have laughed out loud and cried listening. Every single book in this series does not disappoint. When I heard the note to the readers at the end of Heroes, I was so happy to hear that there is a Prequel as well as side stories for Rhino (Yes thank you) and other ppl all over the world Hell Diving so that humanity survives. I literally became a Hell Diver myself reading this, as I dived into each and every book with head first, lol. You Absolutely will not regret reading this series. I just can’t wait to get on to the prequel and Rhinos story now.

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1 person found this helpful

Least Favorite By Bova

Reviewed: 05-14-24

I literally spaced out almost the entirety of the book. The only good things I will say is that I was able to find out what happened to the alien race in the previous book, which was probably my fav if not one of my favorites by Ben Bova. But this book in particular was boring for me and I slept through most of it and had to keep rewinding back to where I left off in hopes that I might’ve missed something that was actually good. Not terrible, just not for me. Real slow drag.

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Excellent

Reviewed: 05-13-24

I always come across a Ben Bova book that I fall in love with. But, this one, where you get to meet actual aliens, is in my top 5. I loved it and I wished that it would have gone further to explain certain... spoilers. Too many unexplored possibilities. I'm looking forward to the next book and wondering if there is any connection to this one. We shall see. Onward!

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Kind of boring for Bova

Reviewed: 05-03-24

Title kind of says it all. I will be honest, I'm only halfway through this book but it's still not exactly engaging. I'm listening straight through without taking any breaks as I usually do. Yet I'm finding it hard to keep my attention whereas in other books I don't want to break in between but have to get other things done. Hopefully it gets better but so far I could've done without this one , or it could've been added into another book as a chapter or two for the info it provides. Not much and I don't really care about losing any of the new characters in this one. If I find that I have a different opinion once I'm done, I'll edit to fit that opinion. But, for now it's just meh.

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Good book but not really a Space opera

Reviewed: 05-01-24

I found this series (Voyager) because I was reading the entire "The Grand Tour" series, and once I got to the Return book I felt like there were some things that didn't make sense and realized there was a back story to Stoner etc. so here I am, almost done with the Voyagers and on my way back to finish "The Return."

tldr; It's a good book. Like the two before it, it keeps you interested. Just do not get your hopes up and expect to be on an actual space Voyage as the titles might suggest. Hasn't really happened. Great narrator although the story does jump around from time to time and can be confusing if you're not paying attention.

I love Ben Bova, I'll say that first. I have enjoyed every book of his that I have read so far, and if you noticed, that's pretty much the entire Grand Tour series. I enjoyed this series, but it is not what I was expecting. Yes, there is an alien, but it's inside of a man, and there is no real "space opera" to this series. Not yet. Let's see what the rest of the next book has in store. I had hoped that by this book, I'd be off in space with Stoner on the ship etc etc. (trying not to give away too much for those who haven't already read or at least started Return). But we aren't in space. We are on the moon at some point, but still.

It does seem the story might have been read a little fast or something because one minute you're in the jungle with an ape and a lady. Next, you're at some compound being tortured. It jumped around sort of awkwardly. The timelines also seem way off. They discuss different hotels and places on the moon, but based on every other book in the Grand Tour series, it seems to not fit. Douglas Stavanger helped to create the city on the moon ywars ahead of now. when his father was up there, it was just a moonbase. The book is apparently taking place in the 1980s or 90s, but the independent moon settlements, etc. are all taking place somewhere in the years 2060 and on. If I had to guess, Doug likely set all of that up, maybe early 2000s, as he's about 60ish even though it doesn't show. So maybe it's just me confusing the timeline, but it definitely can throw you off.

Now that all aside, I love Stefan Rudniki as a narrator and I have enjoyed the series regardless of the fact that I am left disappointed by the fact that I have 40 mins left of the book and still no dice on being OUT in space. It does deal with politics, power hungry back stabbing evil assholes and a little love and peace within. Or the hope of peace within humanity. I'm glad to not have heard about the new mortality for a change, but based on the behavior of these evil, rich, and powerful ppl, I can see why it might have been formulated. It is sad and creepy to know that we are living in a world that Bova saw with clear eyes and even Scarier to see what it can become. We currently truly do have a select few of Billionaires in the US alone, not to mention around the world, and they have created a Monopoly where there shouldn't be one. Greedy selfish politicians have allowed it for their own personal gains and no longer truly serve their constituents because they're no longer held accountable. So when these rich and selfish assholes fund the very extinction of Humankind they all feel they'll be safe as a rainbow in there well protected bunkers or out in space on the moon base that is currently in the works for 2030-35 and the base on Mars which is not far behind. We are also WAY overpopulated now, just imagine in the next 20 + years from now. It would not come as a surprise if it really is true that certain viruses and birth defects were in fact man made and dumped into the Outrageously overly populated cities like some Like some extreme Nutty conspiracy theorists believe. But I digress.

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Great true crime podcast!

Reviewed: 04-18-24

I have only listened to a few episodes so far but, so far I am thoroughly enjoying it. Some really crazy stuff that’ll make your head spin. And then you’ll probably piss your pants because you realize it’s true and not some fantastical book you’re listening to. Really good podcast I am glad I found and the narrator is great as well.

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Insane but a good listen

Reviewed: 04-18-24

So I actually found this podcast from a mention on Instagram under a post that shared a few titles of documentaries that are “scarier than real horror movies “. Someone in the comments mentioned this podcast and this story in particular. So before I even bothered to watch the what happened to Johnny story(I think is the name of the doc) I decided to give this a listen. It’s definitely a good podcast and I anticipate listening to some of these often.

As far as this story goes. First of all the news in the second part in the beginning is sadly funny. I don’t mean to laugh at other people’s problems but man you chose some funny yet outlandish headlines to share lol. As far as the story itself. WOW! I don’t know if I believe it all to be honest but some of it sounds pretty plausible. It is as the speaker (sorry I forgot your name) says in the podcast , the story is like a self replicating onion where once you peel back a layer another forms in its place. I’m not much for spoilers so I won’t say much more , although I will say this much… I do not believe a word that Bennasi guy said. If you have any real experience with investigation, interrogations and interviews you can tell he is fabricating a story based on what he may have heard or seen elsewhere. Was he possibly exposed to the info by someone he knew? Anything is possible. But “incapable of lying “ , impossible! I am only half way through part 2 of this episode so I can’t really share my final opinion. But I’ve listened enough to share that I think it’s worth a listen for those who are into true crime documentaries/ podcasts etc. I hate to say it about Johnny’s mom also, but sometimes we want so much for something to be true that we forget about obvious alternate possibilities. Like her saying she believes this Benassi kid because he had a piece of info that she and her PI had not previously shared with the public. You can’t rule out that the person who actually gave this piece of information hadn’t. Or someone else that they shared it with in confidence etc. Might hurt her feelings but it’s just fact.

I’d be really interested to see a good investigative journalist team pick this story or stories up and see what he can rule out definitively, but with the direction that a great many investigative journalists have taken these days it would be hard to believe a word that they’d say or print. Almost all have jumped on the bandwagon of entertainment journalism, so they rather say what will get them paid rather than whatever the ugly truths are. It’s a shame!

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Absolute top fave

Reviewed: 04-06-24

Titan is one of , if not the one favorite book of my mind written by Bova. It's true what someone else wrote, I wanted to be there. I didn't want it to end, there was so much more to the store but it is not as if it ended on a cliffhanger. it's just that the story was so good and there were so many relationships that you were curious to follow. I LOVE every time the same lady comes back to speak as the Lane sisters. I wouldn't want to listen to Poncho or Holly any other way. I did think Raul was a real bitch at times. But all that aside, this is one of my favorites that you don't wanna skip over or read out of order. Read Saturn first, if nothing else. I hope Mercury is just as good. we shall see.

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One of my favorites if not the favorite

Reviewed: 04-01-24

Aside from the times when the Australian chick was also speaking for the men at times this was a great read/listen. I loved this book so much I wanted more and wished that the next book was about more of this journey. I loved the unexpected relationships that blossomed between the group and all of the characters. I had just the right amount of hate for characters that warranted it and love for those on the other side of the coin. The journey itself is what left me wishing for a follow up. But all in all it was a good book. Not very hard sci fi but a really good story, well written and almost as equally well narrated. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed almost all of the voice actors aside from the chick who had a crush on Max. It just gets annoying when a dialogue is being had by one person when there are voices to fill those gaps but not used. I’d listen to books by any of the voice actors though any day. With the exception of the one very brief part where a different woman is used to speak for the Russian with the crush on Max. I could live without her narrating.

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Excellent

Reviewed: 03-19-24

This has been one of my favorite books in the “Grand Tour/Asteroid “Wars” series so far. There was the right amount of everything to keep me listening. So much so that when it was at the end I was shocked we got there already. I do hope “The Aftermath” picks up nicely from where it left off. My only complaint, and it’s really not a complaint but something I noticed, is that I found some inconsistencies throughout. Not many but for example I could’ve sworn that Poncho was described differently when she was first introduced. There were other instances but I can not recall them now. Nonetheless they were minor and pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Probably not worth mentioning but in case someone else notices, just know you’re not alone there, hahaha. Oh I especially loved the scene when poncho was talking to herself after the warehouse. It seemed so, Poncho. Really great book, wish there was more to it.

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