Gave up half way through

I found this series when Homeworld was the latest book, and couldn't wait for Out of the Black. With this book, however, I'm about half way through and I think I'll call it quits here.

Story-wise, I just never got into it. It may be that in the interim since OotB I discovered the Frontiers Saga, which bundles many of the same concepts into a much more polished storyline that combined with much quicker releases of new installations makes it a hard series to compete with. Even so, the previous four books never bored me to the point of quitting, rather far from it. I guess the new storyline simply doesn't have the same appeal to me as the previous one, for whatever that's worth.

One thing is certain: the narrator didn't help here. His various voices are so odd at times that several of the characters ended up sounding like variations of Cartman from South Park, while others sounded like they just hit puberty - or a combination. The story has to be exceptional for it to survive its characters sounding like cartoon characters.

However that dwarfs the issue of a narrator (or producer, whoever's fault it is) caring so little that he can't be bothered checking the established pronunciation norms for a given literary universe. How that even happens in a profit-driven business run by supposedly intelligent human beings is just beyond me. Or Bayand My as Mr. Haberkorn would probably have pronounced it.

9 people found this helpful

A whole new adventure in the Odyssey One universe

While set in the same universe as Odyssey One (a 4 installment series), Currie diverges with a new crew that is a fresh start. Westin (from the original series) provides the marching orders which include putting a new ship class through its paces as well as exploring distant star systems that present anomalies that may suggest alien Dyson constructs in production. What the crew stumbles upon instead is even stranger alien technology that hints at an intelligent race related to, but far beyond anything they have previously encountered with the Priminae. Just getting out alive is not certain.

Th sci-fi elements draw heavily from Odyssey One, but add some quite nifty physics / cosmology with powerful gravitational lensing and distortion as well as unusual alien creatures.The action is well paced with excellent interpersonal relationships complicated by quirky peccadilloes. As an opening act, this cast promises new adventures that build on and rival their older siblings from earlier installments.

The narration is superbly rendered with a solid range of voices even for both genders. The tone and mood match the haunted house impression for most of the tale.

8 people found this helpful

Don't even care how it ends

Any additional comments?

The reader is outstanding. But the book is a big disappointment. I have listened to all but the last hour and frankly don't care how it ends. the Author has written some good books but this is not one of them. It seems to be a set up for a new series in the universe he created in an earlier series. The book is so caught up in developing ground-breaking sci-fi concepts that there is no real plot or character development.

9 people found this helpful

Set up novel

it was a good enough entry into the series. though I would have preferred the further chronicles of Eric Weston. That said, it dies last the groundwork for an offshoot into done interesting directions. It's worth a listen if only for continuity.

As an aside, for the new narrator, PLEASE listen to the previous books and pronounce the name of the main antagonist the same way as the rest of the series. I can't stress enough how annoying it is to listen to you mispronounce the name. It is almost as annoying as the way M. Knight Shamalyn butchered Aang's name in the last airbender, which is a VERY low bar indeed.

4 people found this helpful

Not what I was hoping for

Did Evan Currie actually write this book? The story takes place in the same universe as the other titles, but this story feels like it was written by someone else.

4 people found this helpful

King of Thieves Excellent!

An excellent addition to the In To The Black universe. New and well thought out characters with out copying characters from the original series. I can't wait to see them grow in the coming books. The hardest part of Evan's books is waiting for the next!

5 people found this helpful

ageee with the other Reviews

not part of the odyssey it's a spin off book new ship new crew

Awesome book!

This book is classic Evan Currie! Lots of action, lots of suspense, alien beasties trying to eat everyone! It doesn’t involve the characters from the odyssey books, but that is clearly stated in the summary. These are characters that you do see in the odyssey books, but they are on a different mission. As a standalone book, or even as part of the odyssey series this is an amazing read. I would highly recommend it!

Struggled to finish

Way too much technical time explaining which tends to lose the listener in the background. I wanted more action by things being done and not wandering down some rabbit hole of infinite dissertation. I am not a physicist but some of the author's style of writing this novel has me wondering if he was a college professor. If he was he put his experience to good use. The narrator was alright but I have heard better. As for the story, it did not move along with the speed of the narrative.

Great sci-fi entertainment!

Evan Currie’s books are becoming an addiction for us. Like Pokémon, “ you gotta catch ‘em all”! We’re reading through all of his series and we were delighted to find this stand-alone story which ties into the Odyssey One series. Currie brings in new people and some great alien creatures/monsters. What a marvelous imagination this writer has! I won’t give any spoilers, but I will say that this was an intensely exciting read. If your a fan, you will enjoy adding this one to your Currie collection. Great fun!