Try free for 2 months

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
AUD $16.45/mo after 2 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime.
The Accidental War cover art

The Accidental War

By: Walter Jon Williams
Narrated by: David Drummond
Try for $0.00

AUD $16.45/mo after 2 months. Renews automatically. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Blending fast-paced military science fiction and space opera, the first volume in a dynamic trilogy from the New York Times best-selling author of The Praxis, set in the universe of his popular and critically acclaimed Dread Empire’s Fall series - a tale of blood, courage, adventure, and battle in which the fate of an empire rests in the hands of a cadre of desperate exiles.

It’s been seven years since the end of the Naxid War. Sidelined for their unorthodox tactics by a rigid, tradition-bound military establishment, Captain Gareth Martinez and Captain Lady Sula are stewing in exile, frustrated and impatient to exercise the effective and lethal skills they were born to use in fighting the enemy.

Yet after the ramshackle empire left by the Shaa conquerors is shaken by a series of hammer blows that threaten the foundations of the commonwealth, the result is a war no one planned, no one expected, and no one knows how to end.

Now, Martinez, Sula, and their confederate Nikki Severin must escape the clutches of their enemies, rally the disorganized elements of the fleet, and somehow restore the fragile peace - or face annihilation at the hands of a vastly superior force.

©2018 Walter Jon Williams (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Accidental War

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    21
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • DMC
  • 11-03-2022

changing narrator has ruined it.

changing narrator in the middle of a series has just ruined the immersion and characters of the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good continuation

Story is another great listen. The narration was a change that didn't agree with me at first, but I found that playing at 90% speed made it sound less like a computer generated train station announcer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Spoiled by mediocre narration. Why new narrator and not a good one at that

A reasonable continuation of a great story spoiled by mediocre narration by a new narrator. Why change narrator in the middle of a series and why not get a really good narrator to add to the story, this narrator sounded bored and the next narrator in the series is even worse l, wake up audio books depend on good narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story but spoiled by narrator

Great story although honestly no offense to the narrator the series started with one narrator and I was used to the voice and recognize the character by the way he was speaking and with the new narrator it’s just terrible. The rythme is like google translate voice.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Walter Jon Williams should complain about narrator

I think they used some sort of Stephen Hawking style text to voice for the narration. Except for the parts containing speech, that was done by some over the top performing arts students. Very strange. Ruined it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Poor reading

Not a patch on the previous 3 novels. Narration/reading terrible makes it difficult to feel the story and get into the rhythm of the previous books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Couldn’t stand the narrator!

This is the worst narration I’ve ever tried to listen to. It is so wooden it completely removes you from the narrative. Story only gets three stars as I had to give up lest I pull my own ears off or die of boredom from the narrator’s voice. A shame as I was enjoying the novel on my kindle but this has just ruined it for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

worst in the series so far.

The frustrating inactivity of the story makes this entire book come off as a total stall tactic. There is no evidence of of continuity in this entire instalment barring the fact the characters have the same names. not only does the narrator compete depict a different atmosphere the writing itself feels like the author was either completely lazy, forgetful or edited into the ground.

My major issue is the lack of urgency, stakes, and mainly satisfaction. Almost every opportunity for a character to move a story line forward they would conveniently forget their character traits of competence.

At best this book was lazy but I think it was more of an attempt to pad the book count up for a longer series.

I mean they can't even read the chapter numbers accurately.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

New Narrator, disapointing

Tone is very boaring, also sounds like a robot, I found the tone best at 70% speed. Hard to enjoy story as a result. Loved earlier talking books in series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome new narrator, Great follow on

New Narrator is much better than the last by far! Brings more depth to the characters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.