Meh, just meh.

This audiobook was okay. I think I can sum it up best by saying it’s meh.
After listening to so many RC Bray, Mark Boyette and other amazingly talented narrators of audiobooks, I’m not sure if it was the story that was just meh, the one liners from what would have been hundreds of years old earth movies or if Jeff Kafer just isn’t on the same playing field as narrators like I’ve mentioned above, but it took me a long time to get through this one.

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I FORGOT HOW STUPID MR FORBES WRITING IS!!

Ignorant plot, foolish characters; Kafer only speaks in overly dramatized fashion and very close to being monotone in non action scenes. Its incredibly annoying! Waste of money!

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Inconsistencies compiled

Parts of this story had inconsistencies from earlier story & their were a number of things that didn't make sense.

One character, David - his history, personality & relationship with the Dr. (geneticist) aka Riley, had major glitches & changes that were "out of character" & didn't match with events previously described. They were w/o valid explanations, other than perhaps changed for convenience of storyline at that point? Was almost like the author forgot events he'd said occurred with David & he made up new ones to suit?

Of course having David & the Dr. subsequently telling vastly different tales of what had happened & what their interactions with each other had been, only serve to make matters more confusing, especially when it's already been established that they both lie as a matter of course.

I first got annoyed when the author had David change from a smart, but weak survivalist to a genetically enhanced superhuman who, while described as undergoing changes that would increase his intelligence, starts acting extremely stupidly. He (& this isn't a spoiler because it happened a previous installment) professes his all consuming love for the Dr. & insists she take the same experimental injection he got so they can be together forever, like a simpleton.

This is the same Dr. he moments before had hated for imprisoning & experimenting on him & been plotting revenge on. I do not see how the injection curing his physical ailments would cause him to have that reaction, especially when it was explained she was too old to safely take it & it'd kill her. The dialogue was stilted & childish & totally out of character, even taking into consideration that the character was likely also experiencing some mania as a side effect, it was still just so badly written it was indigestible.

The voice actor played it as it was written, which made it even less palatable. It just seemed overly simplistic & moronic.

In this installment a completely different history of the events that occurred shortly after his capture was put forth, which of course, made no sense. Then David tells a history of his time with Riley & their personal relationship which is completely out of character for Riley. Even using him, it still didn't seem like anything she'd lower herself to.

Then there's Riley's description of same events as told to our hero. Of course, we know she lies, so there's that, but there's no buying, for me at least, of what happened to some of his Marines during his time in cryosleep & especially who had caused it & the manner in which they supposedly did it. It's just too implausible.

All of those things combined to turned me off on this story, which hitherto, while full of holes in many other ways with regards to the Trife, I'd been able to look past & still enjoy enough to continue listening. It was free, after all, but those glaring inconsistencies were just so much I almost stopped listening.

The only thing that kept me going was the action & the MC, Caleb, our hero. And maybe the possibility that somewhere, somehow, everything might wind up being pulled together & make a little more sense. What can I say, I'm a dreamer & an optimist!

The ending definitely had a lot of changes, some harrowing times & last minute save the day against impossible odds kinda of stuff. There were some surprises about life in Metro & the ending left me wondering what will happen next, how will Caleb get himself out of his current situation & what will his next obstacles be, etc.?

For me the entire series started off as an OK action adventure losing a battle against aliens on Earth to a harrowing events on millennia ship with nefarious genetic experiments, that left me confused & wanting, to what's next, landing & life on a new planet. What'll be the next cross to bear, it can't be smooth sailing - that wouldn't continue the story!

The ending brought back a little of my desire to see where this will go next, but what new holes will turn up in the plot & what other glaring inconsistencies will be compiled & expanded?

Don't know if it's more about the story now or the holes in the story that have me wondering? I don't have a lot of time or energy to devote to finding a new series, so if the next one's included, I'll probably listen. If I have to buy, It'd have to be under $5. Over that, I'll pull up my library of haven't read yet because I wasn't super interested in them books & give one a go. You never know, I might get pleasantly surprised or I might not. No one ever promised me a rose garden.

Narration Note: I normally have an extremely hard time listening to Jeffrey Kafer, but I must admit in this series he seems to have improved because I wasn't grinding my teeth - until David's love profession scene, at least, but in that case, it's more the author's fault than his. I'd still prefer other narrators, but I was very pleased that his monotone has been modulated to have some variations, which really helped. This is the first time I've ever rated his performance greater than a story's!

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2 people found this helpful

Like Aliens meets Starship Troopers

Fantastic addition to the already outstanding Forgotten universe, seriously can not wait to read book 3!

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BAD writing BAD narrator

author asks 18 stupid pointless questions in the first 10 minutes or in the 1st chapter. I couldn't take it any longer. sometimes he would ask 3-pointers questions back to back

narrator is intolerably boring and his Cadence is horrible impossible to listen to, as the back of every sentence or phrase his voice just falls off. it is extremely annoying.

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Plot twists are the only reason to keep listening.

The cliff hanger at the every end of book one made me get this one. I got BOTH for free and I will not listen to the 3rd book. Im glad they were free.. Character development is poor. They start to blend together. A hint of a love story that just literally dies! 3 jokes in the whole book you may laugh at. And the action gets repetitive, fight, start to win, then start to lose, then someone dies and then they over come and win the fight. Read the book. That is the formula for EVERY FIGHT. They have to add nex characters bc they kill off the others. Voice actor was great and easy to listen to.

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Old story, well done

The characters are interesting. The story moves quickly and doesn’t disappoint. Plot points that seem contrived are fleshed out every time so far; keep reading if you feel explanations are too simple.
I could write more, but I’ve got to get to the next book!

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Love it!

I really like this series. It's difficult to find a new scifi or fantasy set that doesnt have a ton of course language or sexual content. This one has pretty much none of that garbage and has a story that drew me in pretty quick. Love it

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Meh

Started out ok but half way through it falters and that ending was hot garbage.

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Twists and More Twists

Second in this series and the web gets even more tangled.
Subplots and characters are predictable with the main story being the pivoting point within the books. The voicing is very good and understandable with the actor performing their role well.
WillI go to book three? Yes, but only because it is part of my freebie in Audible’s “free to me” aspect of my monthly service.

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