"Adequate" SyFy-flavored Silliness

'LK3' is an off-the-books Black-Ops initiative fighting injustice in every corner of the Earth ('The Nameless' - in Adrian J. Smith's vision - is a specialized recon/extraction unit within that ill-defined umbrella organization). After an engineered worldwide apocalypse is unleashed, the surviving members fight for what's right while battling horrifying monsters.

• In Book One ('Whispers Of Ash'), we meet Kiwi 'Ryan Connors' - one-time squad leader for the Nameless - brought back into the fold in a bid to rescue a former colleague's missing daughter. While living through near civilization-ending conditions, Ryan & his Nameless comrades uncover a "depopulate-the-planet" conspiracy (spearheaded by an Illuminati-like cabal of four global elite families known as 'OPIS') that had released an engineered nanotech-based "virus" on the world: turning ⅔ of the human population into dessicated husks (Pompeii-like human-shaped piles of dust), but others into "Siphons"/"Rabids".. mutated bloodthirsty monsters that attack on sight to feed on Cerebrospinal Fluid. Action ensues.
• 'Shadows Of Ash' (Book Two) finds Ryan reluctantly teaming up with former foes in the Yakuza to fight an arm of OPIS in Japan. Meanwhile, his Scientist daughter 'Zanzi Connors' fights a mercenary force known as "Black Skulls" in the United States. Nanite-enhanced supersoldiers on all sides join in battles between factions (Good & Bad) vying for supremacy.
• In 'Masks Of Ash', Nameless operatives in the Aleutian Islands battle to find & destroy OPIS satellites before they can trigger more mass death. Meanwhile, on the American Mainland, Zanzi teams up with one-time LK3 director 'Lisa Olmstead' & others - crossing a nightmarish urban hellscape overrun with Black Skulls and Biker Gangs - and hunting a key OPIS scientist (who could potentially develop a cure). At the climax they all team up to take the fight to Enemy Headquarters at "The Eyrie" in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
• 'Silence Of Ash' has the decimated remnants of The Nameless reforming as "Arclight" - taking the fight to Hong Kong.. while Ryan struggles to escape capture by one of the four families in an adrenaline-fuelled tale.
[Sadly, Ryan engages in the torture of captives for information for some reason (something so out of character that it immediately took me out of the illusion of reality. Given the overall "Good versus Evil" utilitarian debates throughout the story, this one had me wondering what AJS was even doing).
Consider not even reading this installment..]

Bottom Line: HUUUUGE holes in logic (continued Internet service after the collapse, for example), headshakingly convenient "Hey-guys-look-I-found-this-secret-passage!" escapes, and amateurish dialogue abound.. sentencing these books to "Strikingly Sophomoric" status.
Significant suspension of disbelief is required just to keep your eyes from rolling out of your head. If you can manage it, however, the non-stop action is well-scripted and described with mind's-eye vivid detail.

As to presentation: Raphael Corkhill treats the books too seriously. To be certain, his diction, timbre, cadence, and voice-acting are creditable - and Blackstone Audio sound engineers provide exemplary technical support - but reading as though his children will die if the bad guys aren't stopped converts Corkhill's otherwise excellent performance into something disappointingly melodramatic.

Altogether, the 'Nameless' series combines SciFi, Post-Apocalyptic Drama, Zombie-ish Horror, and Military/Technothriller elements to generate a rollercoaster-ride bit of brain candy. They only collectively rate 6 stars out of 10 - and reading this kind of stuff too frequently would drop your IQ by ten points - but if you can get these books as a 'Plus' selection, they're a fun campy romp suitable for occupying a few quiet afternoons. If Audible asks for a Credit, however, spend it elsewhere.

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