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Flicker
Publisher's Summary
Getting sold to the empire was never part of the plan.
Ember lives two very different lives. By day, she's a mysterious Roma future-teller, and by night, she struggles to care for her sick father. All she wants is the power to control her own life - no arranged marriage, no more poverty. Her future-reading talent is what will get her there. But when the Empire discovers her gift, Ember's life changes forever.
Ember soon finds her innocent talent is far more dangerous than she believed. The Empire wants to turn her into a deadly weapon. But Ember has plans of her own, and they don't include living under the Empire's control.
Because even the best weapons can backfire.
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What listeners say about Flicker
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kaz
- 2018-09-29
Great beginning and middle ending kind of fell off a bit
So if you like hunger game book series you should like this book. I enjoyed it till about the last hour then it came back did a lot better for the last 20 minutes. Otherwise great book overall and I look forward to listening to the sequel. I did receive a free copy of this book on exchange for an unbiased review.
6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- G.W.
- 2017-12-13
A space fantasy with potential...
I have mixed feelings about this book. In some ways, I’d like to read the sequel before making a judgment. I think some it’s weaknesses could be part of a longer character/plot development that’s yet to come. And I will likely read the second book. In the meantime though, let’s look at the elements of this novel and what troubled me.
The easiest point is the narration – which is excellent. Characters have enough vocal or linguistic variation to make them easy to distinguish without ever becoming irritating or distracting. Well done without being overdone.
Overall, the book reminds me more of “fantasy in space” – focusing on elements like mystical powers, visions, prophecy, destiny, etc. – than “classic sci fi”. (There’s also a definite hint of the “romance” genre in there too.) None of that’s criticism, of course – one could make a similar observation about Star Wars. Just set your expectations right. (I realized after that I had been in the mood for something less in the realm of fantasy.)
The setting works well: a future time when the earth has been largely abandoned and vast areas of space controlled by two powerful groups. The main character’s ignorance of this larger world makes it very easy for us to discover it slowly without piles of exposition being dumped on us in a sloppy manner. There are a lot of hints of this larger world, but you don’t feel there’s a phone book of alphabet soup names for planets and races that you need to keep track of from the start.
Things start to fall a bit at the characters. In this novel, at least, we don’t get to see a great deal of complexity develop – though there are lots of hints. Ember, our heroine, spends a great deal of time worrying about whatever her latest predicament happens to be. In some ways it’s very natural, but at the same time it gets rather tedious. “Yes, dear, I know you’re worried about it – but you’ve had that same thought a dozen times now. It doesn’t make me feel any more compassion for you, it just makes me impatient with your implied self-pity.” I can see the intent – a caring, reluctant heroine who didn’t want any of these big events – but... other protagonists have gone through the same without being quite as exasperating. Her personality is also extremely fluid. Is she a rebellious, strong-headed woman or a meek, traditional girl? Neither she nor the reader are sure. Ember is relatively young and naïve. Her self-absorption and inconsistency aren’t necessarily unrealistic for her age. That said, reading about it wasn’t terribly interesting and certainly didn’t establish any better feelings for the character. It often looks more like her personality flexes however is convenient for the plot – not because she’s struggling with who she is.
Our chief villain for the novel has similar shortcomings – his negative attributes (and actions) being repeatedly driven home until you’re not sure if you’re accidentally listening to the same part a second time.
The repetition is unfortunate. There is development and strong hints at more to come – but it gets lost in the repetition of the “key points”. That repetition makes the characters appear dumb and the reader feel as if they’re being treated the same way. We got the point quickly – and we wish the characters would figure things out a lot sooner too.
Upon reflection – the Star Wars reference may be appropriate overall. Luke begins as a much more immature and whiny character than Ember ever is – it’s fortunate we’re not party to his thoughts the way we are hers. Had we left him too soon in the story, we might not be too sure about his potential – or likeability.
I feel much the same about Ember. I want to know where she – and this world – go. I’m intrigued and see great potential… but I’m really not convinced yet that I want to follow her on all of her journey.
I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review (via Audiobook Boom).
5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Myztikal
- 2017-11-24
Flicker is more of a Flare of a good book
Stacey does a fabulous job narrating this book.
This was mostly fast paced and interesting. The flaws are with the main character, Ember. Like how can she be so ignorant about the war between Empire and the Union?
(The deathbed confession from her dad about Earth being in the outer reaches don't hold water because she's scared of the visiting, important soldiers.) I'm also confused how she's geld captive for so long and doesn't ask questions or flicker everyone to find the answers. Lack of world building doesn't even offer explanations if or how news or communication are delivered.
Ember has a fluid personality. Or multi personality. One minute, she wants to be strong and defiant; the next she's a crumpled mess. One moment, she wants to walk behind a man, as she was brought up; the next she wants to be a mouthy, back talking, I'll-tell-you--you-don't-tell-me-what-to-do - only she's clueless and has no plan nor support. One minute, I have to have my dad; the next, she'd rather sacrifice him than kill a stranger. One moment, she defies a plan to escape (yeah, I know, right?) cuz she thinks she can come up with a better plan within the next several hours (she has never planned ANYTHING) and falls asleep (without hatching a plausible plan nor enlisting help) only to wake up beyond the time limit and the Union is caught in the cross hairs (really, they relied on a girl who has not proven her worth? How are they even fighting a war without contingency plans if X doesn't happen by YZ time?)
I liked the story. The delivery was less than mediocre.
As most trilogies, it's a continuation of the war and where did everyone she knew from the ship go?
Three stars for the book - it held promise, no character development, flimsy romance (oh you beyrayed me and lied to me but let me sulk and not confront you until you keep chasing me around, trying to explain) where he loves her (instalove on his part. Wtf? He told her she needed to shield herself but never teaches her how) and morons fighting a war ...
It's baffling. As much as I enjoy Stacey's narration, I'll be skipping the rest of this series.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- NC
- 2018-06-26
Deep dystopian space adventure
This book was an impulse purchase for me—I’d never read anything by this author before, but really loved the premise. I was totally blown away by the story, the characters, and the world built here, all very nuanced and complex. This was deeper and darker than I expected, a similar flavor to Red Rising. I hope the other books in the series make it to Audible soon. I really can’t wait to read more!
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Chopsticks11
- 2019-12-26
Great Story
I really enjoyed this story more than I thought I would. I typically steer clear of anything mentioning ‘space,’ but as a huge fan of Ms. Glemboski I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out this series. As other reviewers have mentioned there is some repetitiveness to the story at points, but I feel that its often to be expected with new worlds, characters and environments. That said, I do feel there are a few plot points that may not have lined up exactly as a reader would have liked, but not enough to throw me off the series. I feel that Ms. Rode did a great job keeping the reader entertained, providing multiple plot points and tensions, and drawing the reader back for more. Ms. Glemboski once again did a great job with the narration and even provided a new (to me) accent for Ember. I love that she can manipulate her voice sufficiently that a reader knows who is speaking prior to being told from the author. I can’t wait to listen to more of the series to see where it goes and how Ms. Rode develops the characters and the worlds she has created. I was provided with a free copy of this audio book for my honest review. The views expressed here are entirely my own.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jess
- 2017-12-12
Loved it!
Hooked from beginning to end! Can't wait for more! Fantastic narration and thrilling plot. Bring on book two! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Claire
- 2017-12-06
What a way to start a series
Ember is everything you could want in a lead female character. She's determined, resourceful, caring and willing to fight for what she believes in. It's just as well, because the odds are stacked against her and everyone seems to want something from her.
The plot is unique and never went where I was expecting it to and it left me desperate to know what is going to happen next because there are so many possibilities.
The future setting involving races from multiple planets who have all intermarried and interbreed creates lots of room for creativity as far as characters are concerned and that's definitely taken advantage of.
The narration is first class, Stacey amazes me every time I listen to her with the quality of her character voices, I think she's one of the best in the business. the pace and tone of her delivery also helped to build the tension in the story.
I received a free copy of this book from the author and/or narrator and/or publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Christine Newton
- 2017-12-04
wonderful narration, good start to series
In my opinion, the real strength from this audiobook lies in the narration. Ms. Glemboski did an excellent job with this story and I wouldn't hesitate to listen to her in the future.
As for the story itself, we have to remember that it's the first part of a series so the author will be able to develop worlds, characters, relationships, and plots as the series proceeds. Therefore, I'm not going to deduct stars for any of that. My reason for giving the story four stars rather than five is that the first book in the series was depressing for me to read/listen to. The heroine is abused, humiliated, almost kidnapped, definitely kidnapped, discriminated against, disrespected because of her ethnicity, betrayed, tortured, rejected by people she trusts and loves, and coerced into committing murder. She's a young lady, very innocent and trusting, and it was tough to see her being used and abused so much (ironic, since she had the power to prevent pretty much/most of it from happening in the first place). I'm hoping that subsequent books in the series shows us a much stronger and more capable heroine. I think that my 4-star rating here reflects my subjective preference for a story where the heroine is a different kind of person than Ember. By the end of the book, she's still got more bravado than backbone, she's still too fragile and nice. In my opinion, she needs to have much more grit if she's going to survive this series!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cycletrash56
- 2017-12-01
SCORE once again for Team Rode/Glemboski!
I was provided this free review copy audiobook by the author or narrator." This review is for the audio copy of Flicker: Ember in Space, Book 1 by Rebecca Rode and narrated by Stacey Glemboski. These two have done it once again. I listened almost every waking moment until I finished the book. Rebecca’s manner and style of writing a story just gets me hooked within the first chapter and continues to intrigue me throughout the story. What I like most is the character development and human interaction. She does a really fine job with that. And Stacey makes the story come alive in my mind. At this juncture I can’t imagine listening to a Rebecca Rode story without Stacey doing the narration. This book is hopefully an obvious start to a series. After all, the title does say, “Book 1”. With that said, this book does have an ending that is satisfying so you don’t have to continue reading…But what fun is there in that. I want to know more about the story lines for the different characters, what transpires with the “conflict”, and so on and so on. Bottom line, I highly recommend this book, the author and the narrator.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- L Harkcom
- 2017-11-27
Flicker
Great book! What a good start to a series! Full of action, and yet still able to achieve great character development. The narration was fantastic as well! Loved this! I can't wait for the next installment!
1 person found this helpful