Allens

A Worthy Addition

Reviewed: 05-14-16

New and old villians, new and old heroes, and still a whole lot of zombies.

We get some glimpses of the early days of the settlement. All in all it is good to be reminded not only of what everyone is trying to do, but also how far they've come.

Most folks probably focus on the superhero aspect of this series, and rightly so. But I'm always struck at how the environment, I.E. the zombies, is the real, constant threat.

I'm noticing some narrative drift. It's minor, but I'm not feeling a sense of progress within the mount yet. They are making progress, but I'm feeling a sense of stagnation within the mount itself. Civilizations usually go through such things, so I don't think it's major. However I'm hoping for a breakthrough by the society itself. I feel like it is a payoff that we've been waiting on the story to deliver. I don't think the author is unaware of it, and I may be getting impatient.

It feels like the characters are still largely reacting to their circumstances. This installment tries to address this with a sense of philanthropy toward other survivors. I'm still left wanting more of...something. Safety? Rebuilding? I'm not sure. Something that feels like they're heading toward a permanent resolution to their circumstances. An Ex-virus vaccine would fit the bill, but that may just be wish fulfillment.

I have faith in Clines to deliver, though. He has every single time so far. :)

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1 person found this helpful

Fun story and Great Series Start

Reviewed: 10-06-15

First: Lauren Ezzo did a fantastic job. Her delivery strong and I felt she added to the overall experience. She has a tendency to pronounce everything exactly which I got used to very quickly.

Nuttall delivers with his novels, which is what originally drew me into his stories with Ark Royal. We've got a far future corporate aristocracy vs. a "theocracy" or religious oligarchy at a high state of tension and ideological conflict.

I liked the main character. She's intelligent, brave, dutiful, and humble. Nuttall didn't fall into the same trap as some other novels where he made here a tactical or strategic genius as well. She's resourceful and interesting to follow.

This is solid and entertaining military sci fi and I think it's worth a read. :)

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5 people found this helpful

Fun story and Good Balance

Reviewed: 09-22-15

First, Tess Irondale nails it again. Fantastic narration.

The first book in this series was very entertaining but I think there were about 3 too many sex scenes. In Natural Consequences things are still plenty steamy, and we have a few key hookups here, but Kay seems to have dialed things back in favor of a more story.

This strange love story pushes forward and it's the core triad is really sweet in this novel. More exploration of the relationship between Rachel and Lorelei is quite welcome and I think the main love story this time is between them.

The overarching story here is cohesive and compelling. There's more of a sense that we're "going somewhere" then there was in the first book. And I'll tell you it's a hell of a ride. Really fun stuff and Rachel is particularly awesome this time around. There's some great moral ambiguity in the villains, we get to see hints of a changing world, and some revelations about exactly how his magic system works.

If you liked the first book I think this one is better and certainly worth your time.

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4 people found this helpful

Couldn't Finish It

Reviewed: 09-22-15

Grant Cartwright and Hannah Norris are fantastic narrators. I thoroughly enjoyed their performance. I think I hung on longer to this story because these two are so compelling.

This book has two heroes.

The first is a kickass sorcerer/artificer/archaeologist who finds a truly fantastic artifact, survives and suffers great hardships which he overcomes with his wit and bravery.

The second is a girl who can paint, but not as good as the men in her life, who's wealthy, but not as wealthy as the other people in her life, who could learn sorcery, but won't as she's in a repressed society, and her superpower is she can't get pregnant...oh wait now she can...but she's not...and I just kind of lost interest in her.

I gave Rielle a chance. I really, really did. Even after I'd completely lost interest in her story I gave her two more PoV sections just to give her the chance to become more interesting and she never did. I feel like the author might have been trying to make a statement with her, maybe something about how in the medieval period, the primary power a woman had was centered around her virginity and womb. I felt like the character was intelligent and she was trying to use her only resource to gain the life she wanted. I think I see where Canavan was trying to go, but it just fell apart.

Anyway, in my mind this one was a dud. Fell flat and I'll probably avoid Canavan's work in the future.

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Worlds okayest Sci Fi

Reviewed: 09-22-15

First, I want to say I enjoyed David Stifel's performance. I'd listen to him again and I felt he added to the overall experience.

So this book is sci fi adventure novel ala Star Trek the original series. It has a strong 1950's sci fi feel, and the characters could have easily fit within that universe.

In 1950's television we were okay if the characters weren't exactly lifelike, and if they were a bit more likely to act before thinking. If Kirk was less Hornblower and more Greek hero it was okay because it was sci fi and, by nature, a little silly.

Now, the characters grow and develop, the plot is interesting, the science is pretty good, and the politics are deadly. It has all the elements of a good sci fi story and they are more or less strung together cohesively.

So if you are into that kind of thing then you'll love this book. Personally, I'm not buying any more in the series.

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4 people found this helpful

Great, steamy Fantasy story

Reviewed: 09-22-15

First, I wanna say that Tess Irondale, who seems to have emerged solely for Kay's books, or has adopted a new moniker, has given a fantastic delivery. Easily one of my favorite narrators now. If she did adopt a moniker for these books, I wish I knew what other name she goes by to track down more titles. I hope to see more of her here.

This is really fun urban fantasy. I had a great time reading this and I purchased the remaining Kay novels in this universe. It is a story of urban sorcerers, vampires, werewolves, witches, demons, angels, and their relationship to each other and the world at large. He has some great villains, and they take on many forms. There is some great juxtaposition between Lorelei and another succubus to show how she is different from the others, and how much she has changed through here experiences.

It is certainly a guilty pleasure. The main characters become magically "bonded" which is common in fantasy stories these days, but this one has a sexual element. It is a polyamorous love story between 3 people and the ubiquitous love scenes described in explicit detail are very much meant to be part of the fun. These relationships are well handled by Kay, but they are extremely complicated by their very nature, so be prepared read through many discussions about how the characters feel about sex and shared experience.

I saw someone compare it to "Weird Science," the 80's movie where two guys create a sexy woman ala Frankenstein in their bedroom. It certainly has some of that feel to it, and it felt very much like a well executed, male fantasy. But I don't want you to think it's a shallow, puerile story. He takes it on seriously and that takes some effort to explain. It's about as close to a real "Weird Science" scenario as we could get.

For me, that part of the story sort of washed over me. Soon you'll find yourself entangled in the really fantastic plot, the characters' growth and discovery, and the complicated nature of their relationships. In most stories the sex is used as a narrative tool to convey plot and character development...that is not always the case here. Some of it is most definitely gratuitous, but, again, it's a guilty pleasure.

That said it was the plot and characters that drove me to the 2nd book in the series. :)

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4 people found this helpful

Very fun read.

Reviewed: 09-22-15

First, I wanna say that Tess Irondale, who seems to have emerged solely for Kay's books, or has adopted a new moniker, has given a fantastic delivery. Easily one of my favorite narrators now. If she did adopt a moniker for these books, I wish I knew what other name she goes by to track down more titles. I hope to see more of her here.

This is a really fun story. It has much of the whole "transported into fantasy world" trope, but the characters are good and the story fun and interesting.

Others have said the story is too short, and I think that's because we like the characters at the end. They're fun and interesting, they grow and become more powerful, they make friends and lovers, and, generally, make us eager to spend more time with them.

I disagree that it's too short because it's a complete story, and it's satisfying when you're done. Kay could have pushed longer but he'd have had to introduce a handful of subplots and I think the whole thing would have gotten convoluted fast.

As it stands, you'll have a really fun 4 hours, and those in the DnD know will catch a few references.

Every DM on the planet wants to do something like this, but I think Kay nailed it here. :)

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5 people found this helpful

Don't expect a satisfying ending

Reviewed: 08-23-15

This is a great 2/3 of a story. I recommend waiting until the next novel comes out to buy this one because things aren't exactly "resolved" in the end.

It is a great book that doesn't stand alone, unless you're looking to read a tragedy.

I'm trying to think about the story and....yup, not one thing resolved unless you're one of the opponents ( not really bad guys.) Moral ambiguity is fine, but the people I was rooting for...well they're not happy. Which is great going into act 3 of a book, where the good guys are in trouble and act 3 is where they overcome adversity. Ending in act 2 where the good guys are stuck up a tree until you shell out the price of the next installment...well if nuttall was't so damn entertaining I'd be much more upset.

Buy it, and the sequel...in 2016.

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liked

Reviewed: 05-25-15

great sci fi. the women get a bit wonky at times but nothing too weird. the premise and execution are fantastic. really fun ride.

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Fun story but left me irritated

Reviewed: 12-01-14

Performance. Mark Boyett did a fantastic job and I enjoyed his narration.

Story: This is an extension of the series, which I have enjoyed so far. Throughout the series McGill has done some crazy stuff. He is a troublemaker, a virtual slave to his passions, and a generally heart-of-gold type guy.

This installment was just as good as the previous two, and the first 2/3 of the book was great.

The last 1/3 really illustrates how much a slave to his passions McGill is. He follows his personal code and emotional state without looking back.

Without spoilers I'll just say that, in the previous books, he puts his own welfare on the line to help others, and convinces his friends to help when needed. In this installment he begins putting the lives and welfare of others on the line without their consent. It turned me off to his character. I don't know that it's inconsistent with the previous McGill, but I think it's certainly illustrative of a protagonist I'm no longer interested in.

I doubt I'll be buying the next installment.

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18 people found this helpful