The Plague Forge
The Dire Earth Cycle: Three
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Narrated by:
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Simon Vance
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By:
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Jason M. Hough
About this listen
The Plague Forge delivers an unbeatable combination of knockout action and kick-ass characters as the secrets to the ultimate alien mystery from The Darwin Elevator and The Exodus Towers are about to be unraveled.
The hunt is on for the mysterious keys left by the alien Builders. While Skyler’s team of immune scavengers scatters around the disease-ravaged globe in search of the artifacts, Skyler himself finds much more than he expected in the African desert, where he stumbles upon surprising Builder relics—and thousands of bloodthirsty subhumans. From the slums and fortresses of Darwin to the jungles of Brazil and beyond, Skyler and company are in for a wild ride, jam-packed with daunting challenges, run-and-gun adventure, and unexpected betrayals—all in a race against time to finally answer the great questions that have plagued humanity for decades: Who are the Builders, and what do they want with Earth?
Praise for The Darwin Elevator
“A hell of a fun book.”—James S. A. Corey, New York Times bestselling author of Abaddon’s Gate
“[Jason M.] Hough’s first novel combines the rapid-fire action and memorable characters associated with Joss Whedon’s short-lived Firefly TV series with the accessibility and scientific acumen of [James S. A.] Corey’s ‘Expanse’ series.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“The best part about alien stories is their mystery, and Jason Hough understands that like no other. Full of compelling characters and thick with tension, The Darwin Elevator delivers both despair and hope along with a gigantic dose of wonder. It’s a brilliant debut, and Hough can take my money whenever he writes anything from now on.”—Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles
“Newcomer Hough displays a talent for imaginative plotting and realistic dialogue, and the brisk pacing and cliffhanger ending will keep readers enthralled and eagerly awaiting the next installment.”—Publishers Weekly
“Jason M. Hough does a great job with this huge story. The world of Darwin and the Elevator is deliciously complex and satisfying. Skyler, Tania, and all the other characters are delightfully drawn and fun to spend time with. . . . The story unfolds with just the right balance of high adventure, espionage, humor, and emotional truth. . . . As soon as you finish, you’ll want more.”—Analog
“A debut novel unlike any other . . . This is something special. Something iconic. The Darwin Elevator is full of majesty and wonder, mystery and mayhem, colorful characters and insidious schemes.”—SF Signal
“Fun, action-packed and entertaining . . . a sure contender for science fiction debut of the year!”—Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
“Claustrophobic, intense, and satisfying . . . I couldn’t put this book down. The Darwin Elevator depicts a terrifying world, suspends it from a delicate thread, and forces you to read with held breath as you anticipate the inevitable fall.”—Hugh Howey, New York Times bestselling author of Wool
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"Newcomer Hough displays a talent for imaginative plotting and realistic dialogue, and the brisk pacing and cliffhanger ending will keep readers enthralled and eagerly awaiting the next installment." (Publishers Weekly on The Darwin Elevator)
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Rogue hackers Petal and Gabriel are low on food and water. Their reputation precedes them and they are no longer able to hustle the crime community for supplies. With survival becoming harder, they’re left with no other choice but to accept a risky job from a dangerous individual. The two will have to negotiate with the Tinker - a woman whose reputation for psychotic behaviour is known across the nuclear-blasted Abandoned Lands; infiltrate a town overrun with killers; and recover a cache of exceptionally rare information.
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Good action and plot - terrible world building
- By J. S. Bowers on 12-08-18
By: Colin F. Barnes
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The Razor
- By: J. Barton Mitchell
- Narrated by: Travis Baldree
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Brilliant engineer Marcus Flynn has been sentenced to 11-H37 - a hard labor prison planet better known as the Razor, where life expectancy is short and all roads are dead ends - alongside the galaxy's most dangerous criminals. At least until the Lost Prophet goes active. In a few hours, prison guards and staff are evacuated, the prisoners are left to die, and dark mysteries begin to surface. Only Flynn has the skills and knowledge to unravel them, but he will have to rely on the most unlikely of allies.
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If you draw ... you pull
- By Spooky Mike on 12-25-18
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Arcadian Genesis
- By: Greig Beck
- Narrated by: Sean Mangan
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Alex Hunter - in the mission that turned him from a normal man into the weapon known as the Arcadian - and the elite team of soldiers known as the Hotzone All-Forces Warfare Commandos must enter a hostile country to rescue a defected Chechen researcher from the centre of a country at war. But the HAWCs are not the only ones looking for the rogue scientist and the mysterious package he carries with him. A brutal and relentless killer and his death squad are on the trail, too - and they bring a savagery with them that Hunter and his team have never witnessed before in modern warfare.
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Not bad, but not great
- By Michael on 02-27-22
By: Greig Beck
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Damoren
- Valducan, Book 1
- By: Seth Skorkowsky
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Matt Hollis is the current wielder of the holy weapon, DÄMOREN. With it, he stalks and destroys demons. A secret society called the VALDUCANS has taken an interest in Matt's activities. They see him as a reckless rogue - little more than a "cowboy" corrupted by a monster - and a potential threat to their ancient order. As knights and their sentient weapons begin dying, Matt teams up with other hunters of his kind such as LUIZA, a woman with a conquistador blade; ALLAN, an Englishman with an Egyptian khopesh; MALCOLM, a voodoo priest with a sanctified machete; and TAKAIRA, a naginata-swinging Samurai.
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The Expendables meets Monster Squad
- By Adam on 01-06-15
By: Seth Skorkowsky
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The Event
- By: Nathan Hystad
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Cities all around the world reported strange alien vessels descending. Some saw them as the heralds of a new age; others fired everything they had at them. All were taken as the beams lashed down and drew them into the sky. Dean was left behind, seemingly the last man on Earth. A trail of clues left by his dead wife guides Dean on a perilous journey across America and beyond to learn the truth behind the mysterious ships and save humanity from its doom.
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Did not inspire me to get the next book.
- By MD on 12-13-18
By: Nathan Hystad
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Three
- Legends of the Duskwalker, Book 1
- By: Jay Posey
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The world has collapsed, and there are no heroes any more.His name is Three, a travelling gun for hire in a dying world. He has no allegiances, no family, no ties.Against his better judgment, he accepts the mantle of protector to a sick woman on the run, and her young son. Together they set out across the plains in search of a mythic oasis, attempting to survive the forces that pursue them, and the creatures of the dark.In these dark times, a hero may yet arise.
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Post apocalyptic lone wolf takes woman & child
- By JPaladin on 12-21-13
By: Jay Posey
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Subterranean
- By: James Rollins
- Narrated by: John Meagher
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
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Travel to the bottom of the earth...to a place you never dreamed existed. Beneath the ice...a hand-picked team of specialists makes its way toward the center of the world. They are not the first to venture into this magnificient subterranean labyrinth. Those they follow did not return....
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Great story, funny Ausrtalian accent
- By David on 03-18-10
By: James Rollins
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The Disasters
- By: M. K. England
- Narrated by: James Fouhey
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Hotshot pilot Nax Hall has a history of making poor life choices. So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than 24 hours. But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape - barely - but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats. On the run, Nax and his fellow failures plan to pull off a dangerous heist to spread the truth.
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Fabulous!
- By Maria W on 07-01-19
By: M. K. England
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Frozen Earth
- Rogue Star, Book 1
- By: Jasper T. Scott
- Narrated by: Flynn Earl Jones
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Logan Willis’s life is falling apart: he lost his job and found out that his wife is cheating on him all in the same day. Thinking that his world has ended, Logan checks into a hotel and turns on the TV to see that he's not far wrong - radio telescopes have detected mysterious signals coming from inside our solar system, and the source is moving toward us at over 500 miles per second. The media concludes that these signals must be of an alien origin. Still reeling from the news, Logan gets a phone call from his brother-in-law.
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Not that good
- By Roni on 12-27-18
By: Jasper T. Scott
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Altered Carbon
- By: Richard K. Morgan
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 25th century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person's consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or "sleeve") making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen.
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Altered Carbon
- By Jake Williams on 09-22-07
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Invasion
- Book One of the Secret World Chronicle
- By: Mercedes Lackey, Steve Libbey, Cody Martin, and others
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The world had become used to the metahumans - people sometimes perfectly ordinary, but sometimes quite extraordinary in appearance - who mostly worked with their governments as high-powered peace officers, fighting crime, and sometimes fighting rogue metahumans who had become super-criminals. Then that comfortable world ended in just one terrifying day.
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It's ...okay.
- By C Yohe on 10-16-12
By: Mercedes Lackey, and others
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900 Minutes
- By: S. Johnathan Davis
- Narrated by: Jamison Jones
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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John is a father, but that wasn't his day job before the Zombie Apocalypse. Seven months after the events in 900 Miles, we pick up with John and Kyle who are bunkered down with their newfound community back at Avalon. Unexpectedly thrust outside the protection of Avalon's walls, they're forced back into the world of the dead on a scavenging run that should be routine. However, they quickly learn that there are forces at play making this journey anything but...
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started off oddly like the game Undead Rising 2
- By Midwestbonsai on 03-10-16
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Crucible: A Max Ahlgren Story
- Crucible, Book 0
- By: Ryan W. Aslesen
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Captain Max Ahlgren is proud to be one of the first team commanders in the Marine Corps’ nascent MARSOC detachment. Finally, the Corps’ elite warriors are working alongside those of other branches, battling insurgents, not on the front lines but behind them. After his first mission, however, Max learns he will be replaced as team commander.
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Revenge is said best served cold It best high volt
- By Dennis on 03-25-21
By: Ryan W. Aslesen
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Deep Fathom
- By: James Rollins
- Narrated by: John Meagher
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Ex-Navy SEAL Jack Kirkland surfaces from an aborted underwater salvage mission to find the Earth burning. Solar flares have triggered a series of gargantuan natural disasters. Earthquakes and hellfire rock the globe. Air Force One has vanished from the skies with America’s president on board. Now, with the US on the narrow brink of a nuclear apocalypse, Kirkland must pilot his oceangoing exploration ship, Deep Fathom, on a desperate mission miles below the ocean’s surface.
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My Favorite author of all time!
- By Katja Hennessey on 06-25-10
By: James Rollins
What listeners say about The Plague Forge
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-02-17
I love this series!
So glad I stumbled upon the first book. Great read. My second favorite series I've read. constantly kept me interested and took me too the half way point of this book to actually put the picture together. it wasn't obvious nor to convoluted or too far out. Thank you James m. Hough and thank you Simon Vance.
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- Lance
- 01-30-17
Great ending to a wonderful series
this is the book you have been waiting for since you first started the series brings the whole thing to a close very fulfilling and yet a let down but just because you want it to be for so much more why it all happened but then you understand it and it is a good reason and series can continue and I hope it does will be cool if so I loved the whole series and am looking forward to more books by Jason Hough
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- John
- 11-30-14
Well done "man vs man" and "man vs other" story
The Dire Earth Cycle overall is a fairly well done version of the "man versus man" motif, using the setting of a post-apocalyptic Earth for exploring humanity's inhumanity to itself, human greed, and shortsightedness. Early on, the series has the feel of a zombie story, which it really isn't. Action sequences are well done.
This isn't a series you can pick up in the middle, and the time spent on the preceding novel is well worth the time. Character development takes time, but does not feel overly drawn out.
Simon's British accent is notable, but not distracting, which I consider a good thing. However, his ability to perform alternative accents is weak.
His reading pace is excellent. Pauses are presented perfectly for dramatic effect without being overdone. His overall speed of performance is just right.
Along with the weakness in accents, individual character voices are not often memorable. There is sufficient differentiation that you can tell when one character's dialog runs into another character's.
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-03-13
Griping Story - Great Action
Where does The Plague Forge rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This trilogy ranks near the top of my favorites list.
What did you like best about this story?
Griping story with great action sequences.
Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?
Prumball (sp?).
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, but was too long to be listened to in one session.
Any additional comments?
My only disappointment was the ending, if indeed it was the ending, but don't let that dissuade you from listening - its still a great story.
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- KaLee Douglas
- 07-14-17
I was mad you killed my characters & then I wasn't
So many parts working in unison and I love it. I love how many people in this book are allowed to be more than just part of the scene. Everyone seems so whole and the women characters aren't just something to be rescued.
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- Michael G Kurilla
- 06-11-15
Slow draw followed by rapid closure
The Plague Forge is the final installment in Jason M Hough's Dire Earth Cycle trilogy. By the end of book two, the builders' plan was coming into focus just a bit with a few additional alien artifacts needed. Skylar and his band divide up to scour the globe for the remaining items with one team heading into North America, while Skylar heads to Africa and the Darwin crew attempting outsmart Grillo for the last piece. Nothing seems to go right for any of them, although Skylar does find the source of the plague virus.
There's little new sci-fi elements, save for the denouement with the aliens that is handled largely as just a final explanation and potential setup for a new series ala the film Cocoon. Subs abound, especially when the artifacts are handled to the extent that the tale has a zombie feel. At the same time, there's a near overload of all the characters experiencing multiple near and presumed death events only to always miraculously escape. Also, the builders themselves turn out to be less than perfect and don't actually save the day, quite the reverse actually.
The narration is quite well done given the large cast of characters, although the pace does drag a bit in the early going. Hopefully further adventures with Skylar and crew are in the works.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Timothy J. Stevens
- 09-08-16
One of the most captivating stories ever.
A great ending to a wonderful story.
Please do start with the first book, of the Dire Earth Series and listen to them as audio. Simon Vance brings Jason Hough's glorious imaginings to life in a way that IMHO is an order of magnitude greater than what the printed word can accomplish.
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- G.Monie
- 09-27-13
Humans = Resilient as Hell + 1st Contact = :)
I'm reviewing the entire trilogy because I have been able to read the 2nd book 'The Exodus Towers' along with this book all within a 2 month period of time. At the end of the 1st book it leaves the reader quite confused about what ET's have to do with the book as opposed to just laying down the major players within the series. The 2nd & 3rd book I read in close succession & I believe that is what made this book so much more enjoyable for me than if I had to wait any extended period of time. Its a theory I'll never be able to test out but it was a major thought & concern that can't be answered because the author released all 3 books quickly in literary terms.
This book started out as a relatively average book in the 1st but the last 2 ended as a tour-de-force by touching on not only the most important part of the sci-fi portion of this series, First Contact, but it also brought out the basic rules of the primal laws of nature. Now apply human laws that apply when there is a complete breakdown of a prior civilization & those who are intelligent, resourceful, & ruthless enough to lead or show how the strong survive & the meek DO NOT inherit the earth.
A great twist on the 'human nature' side of this book is a problem our country still has not understood nor mastered how to handle a leader in power who is found to contain traits making them persona non grata to those that see their 'true colors'. If u remove this person who is to say the next person to step up is not even worse than the original once the façade is ripped away?? I think our CIA can still attest to making huge mistakes in deciding short-term decisions without thinking about long-term effects. In the beginning of this book a plague breaks out that kills off 9 billion humans & leaves a group of survivors to figure out how to try & live again while having these strange alien artifacts that point to a larger event happening in the near future.
The 'First Contact' portion of this book I cannot say is completely original but I can def. say that if a reader likes puzzles, the use of a people willing to sacrifice for the whole, & how that would play into the background of first contact with another alien race, this is a book for u. Not only do our established protagonists go thru the 'normal' problems facing a population reduced to mere shambles of its prior form, the characters are also thrust into figuring out apparent puzzles the aliens have made for them that aren't the kind u would like to play willingly, think Indiana Jones & not Monopoly lol. All the while u have the most traditional set of principles to explain the unexplainable humans seem to love using... RELIGION. Now don't get me wrong, this book is in no way a theologian story, but for a person who see's organized religion as not the best thing that happened to humanity it was bound to grab a large population of survivors due to one of the purest of human traits, Faith.
These books brought a successfully equal amount of action, drama, metaphysical, & plenty of trials requiring human nature related thinking to SURVIVE. The ending was also above average considering when u get thru book 2 most readers are probably thinking 'how is the author going to wrap this clusterfu*! up in a bow?' & not make the reader cringe or say 'COME ON!! WTF, I READ ALL THIS JUST TO END INTELLECUALLY IMPAIRED?!'.
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- Silvia
- 08-17-17
outstanding
Excellent! I could hear all three books and not get bored! It was well ready, exciting,and intertaining! Please listen and enjoy the ride!!!
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- Andee Franklin
- 11-29-16
Love it!
The culmination of this trilogy was a roller coaster of emotions to read. I was tense, I laughed, I cried, I was excited, and filled with wonder. Great story, and Simon Vance does an EXCELLENT job brings the story and the characters to life.
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