Hell's Rejects

Solid start to a new a series.

Any additional comments?

Hell's Rejects is the first volume in a new series by the prolific M.R. Forbes. This is a fast paced space adventure, with a ragtag group brought together to help save the galaxy. While many of the characters might feel a bit formulaic, I like them and the how they play off of each other. There is a ton going on, plenty of secrets and Forbes knows just how to dole out enough info to keep you guessing. Definitely a series I will continue.

This is the second book narrated by Jeff Hays and he delivers another excellent performance. Like the last book I listened to that was narrated by Jeff, this book has a large cast and Jeff is able to bring all of them to life, each with their own unique voice. It really is amazing, even if there were dialogue tags you'd be able to identify which characters are talking. No clue how he keeps all the voices straight in his head, but it is truly impressive. Definitely one of the top narrators out there.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Good start to a new series.

An promising start of what hopefully will be another epic series on the eternal battle between the forces of evil and good. Captain Olus 'Kill Shot' Mann, head of the Office of Strategic Intelligence is tasked with assembling a stealth crew and assets needed to discover the enemy who stole two seemingly invincible starships and used them to kill thousands of people; along with recovering those ships for the Republic. He chooses the crew from a damnable penal planet named Hell that is used for the worst of the worst criminals within the Republic, a crew that no one would miss should they fail in their mission.

What follows is a highly intriguing series of adventures for the crew and the readers as they blindly pursue their mission from planet to planet. Forbes saves a major revelation about the nature of the enemy until near the end of the book, piquing my interest in the next book even further.

Jeff Hayes has one of the best voices for mimicking both genders and continues to use that talent fully in this audiobook.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Rag tag crew kicks butt

This is an entertaining space adventure. The leading character is a kick-ass woman. She is likable and sympathetic. Her crew is a mismatched group of rogues. They add interest and humor as they struggle to save the universe. Jeff Hays does a good job with the narration. This is the first time I have listened to his work. I would be happy to listen to him again.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Really great listen!

A space opera series with a strong female protagonist? Sign me up for that! That was the first thing that caught my attention when I read the blurb for this one. So, with the knowledge that Jeff Hays narrates this as well (like many of Forbes’ other audiobooks) and that it would therefore be well narrated and likely full of cool special effects and stuff, I jumped right in head first.

Well, ears first. LOLOLOLokay I’ll stop. >.>

You know, it took me a long while (and admittedly a lot of experimentation) to learn that not only are a great many self published books good, but their audio versions, if given proper love and attention are awesome as well. This one is no exception. Special effects like… communication over a radio sounding like communication over a radio, characters sounding muffled when the text indicates they would be, and things like that give the book an immersive quality that really makes it hard to stop listening. A great narration can help me cheer for characters I might not actually care so much about in print, or hate villains that I’m supposed to hate but can’t visualize hating and so don’t. I’m way more likely to listen to books that I likely wouldn’t read but want to experience. Space operas usually fall into this category for me, for while I love-love-love the idea of them, I sometimes find them a chore to actually get through in print.

If someone reads them to me though, well… I could (and can… and have…) handle that all day long.

This one was a fun, spacey-but-not-overdoing-the-spacey ride, which occasionally brought to mind some of my favorite sci-fi titles. Battlestar Galactica, various Star Trek iterations, The Hyperion Cantos, etc, etc, etc. This is not a bad thing. It made the story more relatable to me, which made it more immersive. Not that I’m not a fan of military/war based sci-fi (Old Man’s War is in my top 10 sci-fi books ever; Mass Effect is among my favorite video games of all time; I can probably quote entire episodes of TNG from memory…), but more that I have no frame of reference, having never been in nor all that interested in the inner workings of the various branches of the military. I suppose it could be said that I don’t really take an active interest in war stories….. unless it’s space war. That’s totally different (because space). You know… war… in the stars… eeeheheheokay I’ll really stop now. >.>

Anyway, like a few other reviewers have said, this one felt like a spacey Suicide Squad. Take a bunch of convicts, place kill switches in their bodies, then send them on a dangerous AF mission for the greater good. In space. With spaceships and laser blasters. Pew pew! It worked for me, similarities or no.

I liked Abbey as a character, though I felt at times that she was almost overly good at everything she did. Part of that was admittedly the point, but even before she was… gifted… Abbey was just the best at everything she did. Even despite that though, she still seemed human to me, what with the struggle of not being able to see her daughter, and the emotional stress that causes. That was all believable. Gant, who I imagined as something along the lines of an Ewok mixed with a sloth, was another awesome character that was well used as… not exactly a comic relief, but something that kept the book from getting too dark. Awesome character.

Anyway, I thought this was a great use of 9 or so hours of my time, and I’ll definitely try and continue the series.

(I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fantastic

Jeff Hays brings this book to life with his voice from Abby being wronged to kicking butt....just fantastic. Book 2 here I come.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Epic!!

M.R. Forbes hit a home run with this one, I couldn't stop listening. I can't wait to start the next book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great book!

Was riveted to my seat throughout the entire book. Great story and one of the best narrators Ive heard. Cant wait for book two.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

2 hours in and no story has developed

I'm not looking for every story to be as good as Heinlein or Asimov but if you can't even pull up BV Larson. you need to get out of the Syfy business.

Awesome SciFi

This is the kind of story that grips you from the beginning. It's Dirty Dozen meets Freespace. I have already bought the next 3 books on Audible.

Starts slowly but picks up nicely.

This book is well narrated by Jeff Hayes. He does another very good job of bringing the characters to life. Since this is the first book in the series, it takes a while to build the characters and create the setting. Still worth it, book really heats up in the last third. Characters are perhaps a little shallow, but may be the result of the writers wanting to hold something back for later.