Listen free for 30 days
-
Fear the Future
- The Fear Saga, Book 3
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Series: The Fear Saga, Book 3
- Length: 20 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Audible Membership
$14.95 a month
Buy Now for $53.75
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Fear the Survivors
- The Fear Saga, Book 2
- Written by: Stephen Moss
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Earth lies shaken in the aftermath of a conspiracy. Some of the smartest minds on the planet have striven for and died in an effort to scour the skies of four vast alien satellites, but their success has brought a terrible vengeance down upon us. While alien agents stalk the Earth, a team of exhausted scientists and military outcasts struggle to fight them among a planet on the brink - the brink of plague, the brink of war, and the brink of an invasion larger than they can possibly imagine. But they have allies.
-
-
Amazing story, amazing reader.
- By Chukle on 2018-12-26
Written by: Stephen Moss
-
Fear the Sky
- The Fear Saga, Book 1
- Written by: Stephen Moss
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the Audie-nominated narrator of The Martian. In eleven years' time, a million members of an alien race will arrive at Earth. Years before they enter orbit, their approach will be announced by the flare of a thousand flames in the sky, their ships' huge engines burning hard to slow them from the vast speeds needed to cross interstellar space. These foreboding lights will shine in our night sky like new stars, getting ever brighter until they outshine even the sun, casting ominous shadows and banishing the night until they suddenly blink out.
-
-
But of a mix
- By C. Obonsawin on 2020-02-03
Written by: Stephen Moss
-
Commune: Book Two
- Commune Series 2
- Written by: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The survivors have come to settle in the mountains of Wyoming, fighting day in and day out to establish a home for themselves in a near-empty world. Things are good at first; scavenging is a workable, short-term solution that seems to be providing all they need. But they know that it’s only a matter of time before the food runs out. They need to scramble to find a sustainable solution before the clock stops, and for a little handful of people up in the mountains, the odds don’t seem very favorable.
-
-
Exactly what i wanted!
- By Hayley on 2020-01-13
Written by: Joshua Gayou
-
Commune: Book Four
- Commune Series, Book 4
- Written by: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 22 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The philosopher asks: "Faced with the mutually exclusive choice between moral principle and the survival of your family, which is the correct path?" Philosophers love to pose such questions, and in the day-to-day struggle, such thinkers rarely attain to a level of relevance rivaling that of the simple hunger pang. Their careful considerations dissipate under the leveled gun. We do not feel their disapproving gaze when The Others draw near. When the world sends doom, the survivors do not hesitate. The survivors do what is necessary.
-
-
Amazing
- By Johnnydingo on 2019-05-29
Written by: Joshua Gayou
-
Commune: Book Three
- Written by: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having been bolstered with the supplies sufficient to carry them through the winter, the survivors of the Jackson commune must now hunker down and endure the bitter Wyoming snows, while to the south, factions are beginning to form, coalescing from the ashes of the dead world.
-
-
Too slow for my liking
- By Jacques Choquette on 2019-01-07
Written by: Joshua Gayou
-
Commune
- Commune, Book 1
- Written by: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For dinosaurs, it was a big rock. For humans: Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). When the Earth is hit by the greatest CME in recorded history (several times larger than the Carrington Event of 1859), the combined societies of the planet's most developed nations struggle to adapt to a life thrust back into the Dark Ages. In the United States, the military scrambles to speed the nation's recovery on multiple fronts including putting down riots, establishing relief camps, delivering medical aid, and bringing communication and travel back on line. Just as a real foothold is established in retaking the skies (utilizing existing commercial aircraft supplemented by military resources and ground control systems), a mysterious virus takes hold of the population, spreading globally over the very flight routes that the survivors fought so hard to rebuild.
-
-
Fantastic debut!
- By Karen on 2017-12-11
Written by: Joshua Gayou
-
Fear the Survivors
- The Fear Saga, Book 2
- Written by: Stephen Moss
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Earth lies shaken in the aftermath of a conspiracy. Some of the smartest minds on the planet have striven for and died in an effort to scour the skies of four vast alien satellites, but their success has brought a terrible vengeance down upon us. While alien agents stalk the Earth, a team of exhausted scientists and military outcasts struggle to fight them among a planet on the brink - the brink of plague, the brink of war, and the brink of an invasion larger than they can possibly imagine. But they have allies.
-
-
Amazing story, amazing reader.
- By Chukle on 2018-12-26
Written by: Stephen Moss
-
Fear the Sky
- The Fear Saga, Book 1
- Written by: Stephen Moss
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the Audie-nominated narrator of The Martian. In eleven years' time, a million members of an alien race will arrive at Earth. Years before they enter orbit, their approach will be announced by the flare of a thousand flames in the sky, their ships' huge engines burning hard to slow them from the vast speeds needed to cross interstellar space. These foreboding lights will shine in our night sky like new stars, getting ever brighter until they outshine even the sun, casting ominous shadows and banishing the night until they suddenly blink out.
-
-
But of a mix
- By C. Obonsawin on 2020-02-03
Written by: Stephen Moss
-
Commune: Book Two
- Commune Series 2
- Written by: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The survivors have come to settle in the mountains of Wyoming, fighting day in and day out to establish a home for themselves in a near-empty world. Things are good at first; scavenging is a workable, short-term solution that seems to be providing all they need. But they know that it’s only a matter of time before the food runs out. They need to scramble to find a sustainable solution before the clock stops, and for a little handful of people up in the mountains, the odds don’t seem very favorable.
-
-
Exactly what i wanted!
- By Hayley on 2020-01-13
Written by: Joshua Gayou
-
Commune: Book Four
- Commune Series, Book 4
- Written by: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 22 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The philosopher asks: "Faced with the mutually exclusive choice between moral principle and the survival of your family, which is the correct path?" Philosophers love to pose such questions, and in the day-to-day struggle, such thinkers rarely attain to a level of relevance rivaling that of the simple hunger pang. Their careful considerations dissipate under the leveled gun. We do not feel their disapproving gaze when The Others draw near. When the world sends doom, the survivors do not hesitate. The survivors do what is necessary.
-
-
Amazing
- By Johnnydingo on 2019-05-29
Written by: Joshua Gayou
-
Commune: Book Three
- Written by: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Having been bolstered with the supplies sufficient to carry them through the winter, the survivors of the Jackson commune must now hunker down and endure the bitter Wyoming snows, while to the south, factions are beginning to form, coalescing from the ashes of the dead world.
-
-
Too slow for my liking
- By Jacques Choquette on 2019-01-07
Written by: Joshua Gayou
-
Commune
- Commune, Book 1
- Written by: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For dinosaurs, it was a big rock. For humans: Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). When the Earth is hit by the greatest CME in recorded history (several times larger than the Carrington Event of 1859), the combined societies of the planet's most developed nations struggle to adapt to a life thrust back into the Dark Ages. In the United States, the military scrambles to speed the nation's recovery on multiple fronts including putting down riots, establishing relief camps, delivering medical aid, and bringing communication and travel back on line. Just as a real foothold is established in retaking the skies (utilizing existing commercial aircraft supplemented by military resources and ground control systems), a mysterious virus takes hold of the population, spreading globally over the very flight routes that the survivors fought so hard to rebuild.
-
-
Fantastic debut!
- By Karen on 2017-12-11
Written by: Joshua Gayou
-
Infinite 2
- Written by: Jeremy Robinson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Chanokh is immortal...and he’s trapped on the Galahad, an interstellar starship on a never-ending journey through open space. His only companions are Capria - mortal and in cryo-sleep - and Gal, an artificial intelligence, and the love of his life, with whom he spends every waking moment in the "Great Escape". After untold years living countless lives, Gal begins acting strange. Betrayed by his digital love, his long-term memory overwritten, and enduring violent manipulation, Will painfully peels back layers of simulation, fighting to reach reality 1.0...
-
-
Different but wild and weird
- By TrendlySolar on 2021-06-09
Written by: Jeremy Robinson
-
Earth Fleet
- Rebel Fleet, Book 4
- Written by: B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At long last, Earth has a handful of starships. Surrounded by Rebel Kher, Imperials, and the mysterious Nomads, humanity dares to assert our right to independence. The interstellar community reacts harshly. In the eyes of our neighbors, we’re upstarts, dangerous beings who don’t know our place. For the Kher, freedom can only be won through battle. War fleets arrive to instruct us, and Captain Leo Blake is again sent out to voyage among hostile stars.
-
-
Better than the previous
- By J. P. on 2021-04-06
Written by: B. V. Larson
-
Alpha Fleet
- Rebel Fleet, Book 3
- Written by: B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Imperials have devised a cunning new method of destroying Rebel worlds. Captain Leo Blake is largely responsible for both our survival and our current predicament. He and his crew are infamous among the stars. As a result, when ships of an unknown configuration begin flowing out of swirling rifts above Earth, Blake is called upon again to deal with the problem. But the approaching fleet isn't what it seems. They're employing an entirely new way to exterminate Rebels.
-
-
disappointing and generic
- By J. P. on 2021-04-05
Written by: B. V. Larson
-
Orion Fleet
- Rebel Fleet, Book 2
- Written by: B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A year ago the Kher Empire was forced to retreat, but they were not beaten. In Orion Fleet, they return with a new weapon. A huge ship driven by AI begins methodically grinding inhabited worlds to dust. This unstoppable enemy is without fear or remorse, and the Rebels begin a desperate battle just to slow its advance. Leo Blake takes Earth's first warship into space to find a counter to this deadly new attack. The Imperial Fleets take notice of Earth's interference, and they're intent upon revenge. Even if he wins, Blake might have doomed our homeworld.
-
-
Glad I decided to give it a try
- By Amazon Customer on 2022-04-15
Written by: B. V. Larson
-
Infinite
- Written by: Jeremy Robinson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Galahad, a faster-than-light spacecraft, carries 50 scientists and engineers on a mission to prepare Kepler 452b, Earth's nearest habitable neighbor at 1400 light years away. With Earth no longer habitable and the Mars colony slowly failing, they are humanity's best hope. After 10 years in a failed cryogenic bed - body asleep, mind awake - William Chanokh's torture comes to an end as the fog clears, the hatch opens, and his friend and fellow hacker, Tom, greets him...by stabbing a screwdriver into his heart. This is the first time William dies.
-
-
Excellent Excellent Excellent
- By daniel on 2018-05-14
Written by: Jeremy Robinson
-
Freefall
- Expeditionary Force Mavericks, Book 2
- Written by: Craig Alanson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 19 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Alien Legion has a new mission, and this time, they are working for the enemy. Also against the enemy. Like every operation that Emily Perkins plans, it’s complicated. But plans require good intel, and when the plan falls apart, the Mavericks are in freefall....
-
-
Wish I could give 9 stars!
- By Christopher on 2021-04-10
Written by: Craig Alanson
-
Match Game
- Expeditionary Force, Book 14
- Written by: Craig Alanson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 20 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For years, the ancient alien AI known as Skippy (the Magnificent, don’t forget that part) has been able to do one impossible thing after another. What is his secret? It’s simple: 100 percent Grade-A extreme awesomeness. And also because he had never been faced with an opponent of equal power. Until now. This time, he might need a little help from a band of filthy monkeys.
-
-
A true cliffhanger!
- By Daniel Wong on 2022-06-27
Written by: Craig Alanson
-
Obliteration
- Unbound Deathlord, Book 2
- Written by: Edward Castle
- Narrated by: Jeff Hays
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jack is out for blood. After being manipulated by his family most of his life, and believing an even worse lie for the past few years, he has finally learned the truth. Now that he knows what V-Soft has taken from him, he’s going to take everything from them, even if the country is destroyed in the process. The plan is to strike from all sides, so that those who still live can watch their lives, and their life’s work be reduced to ashes. But in digging their grave, will Jack wind up buried alongside them?
-
-
Super!
- By Antoine Bussières on 2019-01-29
Written by: Edward Castle
-
Deathtrap
- Expeditionary Force Mavericks, Book 1
- Written by: Craig Alanson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The human soldiers stranded on the planet Paradise have been recruited into an alien legion to do the dirty jobs that the high-tech species won't do. Their first mission is to kick the enemy off a backwater planet no one cares about. It's a simple assignment, except everyone has a hidden agenda, and the planet could become a deathtrap.
-
-
Simply great.
- By Bill on 2019-05-12
Written by: Craig Alanson
-
Bone Silence
- Written by: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ness sisters ran away from home to become the most fearsome pirates in the 20,000 worlds of the Congregation. They've plundered treasures untold, taken command of their own ship, and made plenty of enemies. But now they're being hunted for crimes they didn't commit by a fleet whose crimes are worse than their own. To stay one step ahead of their pursuers and answer the questions that have plagued them, they'll have to employ every dirty, piratical trick in the book....
-
-
excellent story. well read
- By Allen on 2020-04-25
Written by: Alastair Reynolds
-
Tech World
- Undying Mercenaries, Book 3
- Written by: B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Galactics arrived with their Battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spanned the Milky Way. Our only worthwhile trade goods are our infamous mercenary legions, elite troops we sell to the highest alien bidder. In the third book in the series, James McGill is deployed on another alien world. His third interstellar tour is different in every way. Rather than meeting up with a primitive society, this time he’s headed to an advanced world.
-
-
I'm amazed
- By King Chicken on 2019-07-25
Written by: B. V. Larson
-
Star Runner
- Written by: B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two centuries after humanity colonized the stars, new dangers emerge. The peaceful inhabitants of the Conclave are threatened by expanding alien powers. Invaders threaten the star cluster, attacking our fringe settlements. Captain Bill Gorman has mysteriously disappeared. His clone, set aside for a dark day like this, awakens and begins to put together the pieces. What’s gone wrong out on the frontier? Why are our colonies being attacked by aliens while the Conclave worlds dream of better days? And what happened to the original Captain Gorman?
-
-
Very entertaining.
- By Meredith on 2021-05-14
Written by: B. V. Larson
Publisher's Summary
A predator hunts the skies over Earth. Its intent is peaceful, and its mission is essential, but it is the deadliest machine humanity has ever created.
Piloted by a six-year-old girl, the godlike Skalm guards the Districts of TASC. Her family is long dead. Her adopted father is a synthetic copy of an alien, her nanny an artificial mind connected via subspace to every part of the globe, feeding the young girl information, finding prey to satiate her growing thirst.
But the young girl is an innocent, a victim, one of millions the war has already claimed. Her innocence has been sacrificed by a man with singular purpose: a man who will stop at nothing in order to prepare Earth for the coming conflict.
The armada is approaching, its far-off engines now bright as stars in the night sky. They mean to kill us. They have the power to do so. And as oblivion's maw opens up to engulf us, we brace ourselves for battle.
We will fight to the last. Live or die, we will leave a scar upon our attackers that will last an age, even if we ourselves do not.
More from the same
Author:
What listeners say about Fear the Future
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Haymaker
- 2017-11-06
disappointed
1st 2 books in series were good but this one not so much. I struggled to finish too bad as the story line started out good.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dan G
- 2018-01-17
Good read
it was the weakest of the three but still good overall. great reading and little annoyed at lack of proper conclusion for novel.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael Sanderson
- 2021-04-10
not the greatest
even though I love RC bray and every narration he does I just found something in this book what is lacking and it wasn't on his part
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John Collicott
- 2020-08-27
Excellent series, a little disappointed how it end
I think there were a few items which happened and I wasn't happy (not creating any spoiler alerts) but some of them I thought took away from the overall experience. Some focus was placed in some areas and they just went away, no follow up. I still loved the series, but i felt the ending was weak.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joe R.
- 2019-08-01
Amazing but a bit too spread out
This book is amazing and even better because Mr.Bray is reading it. the only issue I have is these three books could have easily been made into six books with more detail. Too many details were left out that it felt a bit rushed.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- JOANNE FISHER
- 2022-03-12
great series
All three books are so good. enjoyed every minute of them! looking forward to more from Stephen Moss
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- André-Pierre Rossignol
- 2022-02-07
Really bad...
Really bad book. Even worse than the 2nd one. Wasted potential. RCBray good as usual.
-
Overall
- Michael
- 2021-10-22
awesome
great story, narrator, RC bray? what more can you say?
enjoy the entire series now.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MLD
- 2021-10-22
Enjoyable series
Like the overall series, will likely listen to it again. Characters are interesting but short... after all it’s a pretty big group and so many lines to follow.
The technical takes over and gets pretty heavy so it becomes . . . Well you know. The narrator is great but with all that dry technical . .. well kudos to him for keeping me going.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-09-30
Sad its over!
Great Finish to this Series. Possible spin off story? I Wish! GREAT JOB and I hope many more people gives this series a chance!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Okkin
- 2016-06-08
An OK end to an otherwise great trilogy.
Any additional comments?
One book has to be the worst of the 3. This one's it. Be warned, its painfully slow & hard to get through. The book can be edited from 20 hours to about 5 and still tell the same story - a lot of nothing happens. Also the author did not make me dislike the people who (I think) you are suppose to dislike by the end of the story. Their end seemed unfitting and I was actually still on their side... If you already read the first 2 than, of course, you have to read this... I found it a little disappointing; hopefully you like it better than I did.
58 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Roger
- 2017-04-03
Not much of an ending
The set up for the great battle was ok, but when it came, nothing much happened. The book set up the characters but they did not get to interact before, during or after in the battle. There was no great conflict, either in the battle or between the characters. No tension at the end at all.
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2016-06-17
This makes me question Audible
I really can't add much that the other detailed reviews has already covered. This installment was a jumbled mess that read more like a first draft outline than a finished work. The first two books were great and it made the third book that much more disappointing. But this book is getting a 4.5 star average review while most of the active reviewers are mostly negative. That makes me question Audibles star review system. Most of the people that read this book and were into this series would have acknowledged this poor offering by Moss. It makes me think that Audible is infested by bots that give good reviews to keep poor books viable to potential readers. Nobody new to the series is going to start the first book if they see that the series drops off at the end. So to sell the series they prop up a bad book.
181 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matt E Rhea
- 2016-04-20
Is this the same series?
Would you try another book from Stephen Moss and/or R. C. Bray?
Yes
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
I would have stuck with the main characters, and on that note, I wouldn't have written them as completely different people with minor story lines. The focus of this just got terrible.
What about R. C. Bray’s performance did you like?
That voice... He ranks up there with Roy Dotrice for me.
Did Fear the Future inspire you to do anything?
Be upset
Any additional comments?
Books 1 & 2 are really great, I'm hopeful that book 4 will recover some of that lost focus.
31 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chawit
- 2017-08-30
Had it's potentials, but fell way short of it.
Bad character design and growth; a hard to follow timeline; and a disappointing, anti-climactic ending are among the reasons that makes this story slightly less than mediocre.
All of the characters seem to be filled with hatred and the hunger to kill. Even the children were apparently fine with all the killing, absurdly enough. Making the cast dull, feeling like nothing more than another paper cut-out. Constantly adding and removing casts didn't help much either.
We do experience some character development and growth, but only in the minimal. Characters seem to shape shift into whatever the plot demands of them. Leading to little to no affection to the characters, whatsoever.
The timing of the plot also jumps alot. being very hard to follow, especially on Audible. Listener will quickly lose the meaning of time in this story. 1 week, 5 month, 7 years, 2 decades; lost track of exactly how long the entire story took, or how long each sequence lasts.
The ending was mediocre at best. The story had now become, nothing if not predictable. Om the brinks of losing all hope when a character unleashes it's almighty-awesome power to end the plot. A rather cheap way to end things to be honest.
On the positive side, the build up and the action sequences were ok. Fight sequence that kept you listening, the plotting and conspiracy also makes the story thrilling. But that is about it.
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steve & Mary
- 2016-02-23
What a colossal waste of time Mr Moss!
Disclaimer: I loved the first two books. LOVED THEM! At some point between book two and three Stephen Moss lost his mind.
Spoilers ahead, you've been warned.
1. Protagonist Rules - Stephen, you had an excellent protagonist. You took an everyman and threw him into extraordinary circumstances. He excelled and became the hero in book two. You placed him on a pedestal for everyone to worship as the protagonist we needed to carry the story forward. Then you started slowly chipping away at his armor in book two. But that's ok, we need our protagonist to have flaws and we need to see him fall and earn redemption. But instead of allowing the audience to revel in his fall and triumph you decided to make him into a modern day Josef Mengele. What the heck? How can you destroy your protagonist like that and expect anyone to feel fulfilled by this story? You had an excellent scapegoat in Ayala and a character that I imagine most readers would not have minded losing. Why was she not written to be the mastermind behind the vivisection of the Korean children? Why did you destroy Neal? It's one thing to kill a protagonist, but you destroyed him. This is unforgivable.
Furthermore, you toyed with your readers by bringing Neal back into the story when he was asked to give his opinion on the deep space images from his prison. Then you just left him there...you left him there with no conclusion except for two sentences in the end of the book. How can you take such a strong character and reduce him to nothingness? I found myself cursing you at the conclusion....not good for your future readership.
2. Mobiliei Exposition
I don't care about the Mobiliei. You spent two books building up human characters. In the last book you decide to introduce us to the opposition. But instead of giving us a few chapters of character development you go on ad nauseam about their sexual preferences and meaningless interpersonal quirks. Nobody cares about their personal lives unless they serve to link us to the main story. You could have spent a third of the time developing their characters (or no time at all) and the story would be no worse for it.
3. Character Overload
In the first two books you had a sum total of about 15 main characters (it's a rough estimate as I don't have time to go back and count.) You spent a lot of time developing these characters and suddenly in book two you introduce an entirely new lot of people, many of which are not even given proper introductions. We're just supposed to accept these people at face value without any knowledge of their motivations or morality. You bounce back and forth between these characters as as a reader I completely lose focus and start to drift away from the story. Much of this fault lies with the Mobiliei chapters which are, as I already mentioned, a complete waste of time.
4. Deus Ex Machina
Stephen, I really really really loved your first two books. It cannot be overstated how much your story enthralled me and kept me coming back for more every day. But the last few chapters of book three felt as if you took those books and slapped me in the face. What were you thinking? Until now I was able to suspend disbelief. Body transplants, check. Brains in a jar, check. Creating an inter-dimensional god-like Birgit? What the heck man? This is the worst kind of Deus Ex Machina I have ever seen. I kept hoping that Birgit was attempting to access the core of the IST to enable some doomsday weapon that would empower our fleets to become invincible or some such nonsense. But instead we're left with something that makes me think Stephen was late for a dinner party and had to turn in the book that evening. Why oh why could you not sacrifice some of the ridiculous amount of Mobiliei exposition and give us a somewhat plausible finale instead? I want to give you the benefit of the doubt here. Did you have a personal struggle while writing this book? Did you lose someone close to you? Were you kidnapped and forced to finish the book under threat of death? Are the Mobiliei real and did they force you to substitute this fake finale for the real one? Maybe they were afraid you would give away their weaknesses in your real final chapters? I hope that's it because I would rather think you were under duress when writing those chapters than to think that you just gave up.
205 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- I. Rudan
- 2016-03-29
Not as good as the books before it
If you could sum up Fear the Future in three words, what would they be?
Okayish. But.
What about R. C. Bray’s performance did you like?
I always enjoy R C Bray's performances, and he didn't disappoint.
Any additional comments?
Sadly the last book wasn't as good as the first two. The ending and the process towards it isn't as well developed as the other books. In fact the ending was disappointing. For 2/3rds of the book you are wondering whether you are ever getting to the point, and then the actual reason you are there is rushed through in the last 1/3rd. Sad.
18 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stefanie
- 2019-09-01
More than a mere letdown...(Spoilers)
Besides maybe Lord of the Flies in junior high, I don't think I've hated a book more! I truly wish I would have heeded other reviews. If I would have know how the series would end, I never would read even the first one. I have never before returned a book (or even contemplated doing so). I did just return this one.
**Spoilers to Follow**
-->I hate what the author did to our main protagonist in this book. Neal's personality and actions take a complete 180° in this book, as he becomes essentially dictator of the planet. Casting aside his own humanity.
-->I hate how Neal was overthrown by those he most trusted. And, how they all waited years to do so, until Neal's plan was carried out. The conspirators had no trouble following Neal's plan, as they knew it was the only way for the planet to survive. Yet, they then condemn him for it. As if to say now that Neal has done everything, he is no longer needed and the conspirators can reap the benefits without any blood on their hands.
-->I hate the daux ex machina ending.
-->I hate that most of the book was needless filler that distracted from the main story rather than adding to it.
**Spoilers Completed**
The above are just a handful of things that ruined the series. The one and ONLY good thing about the book is the narration by the amazing R.C. Bray.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mike
- 2016-02-25
Huge letdown
The first book was good, the second book was average and the last book a huge letdown. Story goes off on weird tangents that never go anywhere. Main characters built up in the first two books become minor sidelines in the third. All the tension built up over all three books comes to a fizzling, anti-climatic ending.
61 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Richard
- 2016-05-02
Very. technical and hard ro follow.
Too technical and hard to follow. 1st 2 books were great but I was lost in third.
15 people found this helpful