A bit childish

The alien voices were a bit childish. all high pitched except for the mechanical gods. was a put off.

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My first audiobook ever and I’m hooked on the series.

I’m new to audiobooks and books in general. I’ve never been much of a reader but I thought I’d give an audiobook a try. I received book one and two for free and I found the story pulled me in which is rare for someone like me.
Before I could even finish I had already bought the third book in preparation for book two to end.
I’m without a doubt going to read(listen) to the entire series.
The writing as great, the narrator did a fantastic job and I especially loved the different voices for each character.
Well done, I’m hooked!

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2 people found this helpful

Interesting, but limited progression

and as always Luke brings life and entertainment to the story, but the story drives and lingers on elements that should pass by in much less time and in fewer chapters.

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3 people found this helpful

Overall, a very entertaining listen.

I enjoyed this, it very much feels like listening to a summer blockbuster sci fi.

The bad: The writing is not amazing. Many things are just handwaved, the setup is a typical squad of “unique” soldiers that you’ve seen before, aliens are mostly humanoid ala Trek or Wars, the author reuses the same words too often, so many lines feel like current pop culture references which was odd. Also the performer pronounces a lot of words either wrong or just strangely.

The good: it’s entertaining! You’ve seen the formula but it’s popular because it works. The characters are (mostly) enjoyable, the performer’s voices are (again mostly) pretty well done and fun to listen to.

Overall worth a listen however after realizing that this is just one part of a larger series, I will probably NOT continue with the Ember Verse. It’s just too generic feeling to stand out.

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1 person found this helpful

Creditable 'Space Marine' Epic

You don't *need* to be familiar with Richard Fox's 'Ember Wars' story arc to enjoy this "spin-off" series.. but it helps. Familiar elements like 'The Xaros' and the 'Ibarra Corporation' are mentioned - but neither emphasized nor integral to the plot. Those who are unfamiliar with that universe can still enjoy this Josh Hayes riff on a well-loved imaginative reality.
The writing is strikingly immature (don't expect "hard" Science Fiction if you give the books a try), but enjoyably action-driven, adequately well-paced, and only infrequently groanworthy.

• Book One ('Terra Nova') starts with a relatively uninspired carbon-copy of the movie 'Aliens' - complete with the wisecracking goof-off corporal Hudson character ('Nunez' in this one); the serious competent corporal Hicks-type soldier ('Katherine "Kit" Carson'); the quiet muscle-bound pseudo-Drake ('Birch'); the grumpy professional master sergeant Apone clone ('West' here); etc.. The noticeably unoriginal mission - to discover what happened to the missing first-wave colonists at humanity's new home - is accompanied by a rollercoaster-ride combat deployment with a nervous newbie ("..first drop?"..), the recovery of surviving abandoned children ("..borderline malnourished but fine.."), and mysterious hostile xenomorphs.
It develops into a mission for 'The Pathfinder Corps' to free colonists from a Prison Planet, while - back in orbit over the colony world - expedition commander/colony governor 'Ken Hale' and his crew confront the 'Triumvirate' (a biomechanical cyborg faction of a long-warring race), who are trying to steal a 'Crucible' (Wormhole-opening) Gate - so that they can hasten invading distant galaxies.

• Book Two ('Bloodlines'- starting at Chapter 20) follows the faraway human colonists trapped in the middle of the civil war among the 'Triumvirate', the 'Ultari Empire', and the 'Sacred Intelligence/Regulos'. The humans adapt to Ultari technology (developing FTL propulsion for the first time in human history) and strive to consolidate their colony and obtain allies. Legendary war-hero Governor Hale's precocious teenaged children play a role (thus "bloodlines").

Reader Luke Daniels does a very capable job with the stereotyped dialogue that he's given - but doesn't demonstrate anything that another narrator couldn't have delivered. Podium Audio provide exemplary technical support to a performer with excellent diction, timbre, cadence, and tone - but a tendency to cartoonish and over-the-top voice-acting. The performance is commendable but unspectacular.

Altogether, the books rate a pedestrian 7 stars out of 10. If you really enjoyed James Cameron's take on the 'Alien' franchise, these episodes should be an enjoyable part of a "brain-candy" SciFi Action-Adventure that is a great distraction for a cross-country drive or a couple of boring night shifts.. but when it leaves the 'Plus' catalogue - consider other options for your Credit.

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1 person found this helpful

standard space marine fare

not terrible, but not my style. standard space marine sci fi. too much description of the battles for my liking, but I didn't turn it off

standard cast of caricatures, nothing thrilling or innovative about the story

there are strong female characters, which is nice.
would have been nice if the voice actor had a wider range of voices, but I know that's hard.

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Could not finish

This was not for me. Weak characters, unoriginal story could not keep me minimally engaged enough to pay attention

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1 person found this helpful

Nice attempt but turns ridiculous

Good narration for the characters but the authors quickly devolve into convenient plot lines that allow the characters to easily solve their problems. Made it through the first book but bailed out a few chapters into the second book. Just ridiculous lazy writing.

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1 person found this helpful