This book is a rewrite of the classic Riverworld

After the first hour, I thought the general premise was oddly familiar. Basically, it is Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld, with new names and minor changes. Another reviewer noted this online, calling it Riverworld for the new generation. The performance was quite good, but the fact that it was so closely scripted like Riverworld, that it stuck in my throat. I have returned the book uncompleted. Humans transplanted to another world by aliens, they interact with other humans in a struggle between good and evil, with the inclusion of various historical characters. In Riverworld the good guy was Mark Twain, here Wild Bill Hickock. I am sorry to rank on this book. I was waiting for the bad guys to appear, assembled around some historical Baddie, and lo and behold, the SS shows up. I could not go any further.

9 people found this helpful

Wow, this book is a lot of fun to listen to!

Normally, I listen to audiobooks with one ear (usually as more of a distraction as I work). But this book tore my attention away from my PC and held it firm. I wasn’t too sure about the narrators voice as Meredith as I listened to the first 5 minutes of the book. Their tone felt a little too droll. But as I kept listening (and the Meredith character became fleshed out), I actually now think the tone fits her personality perfectly. I have only listened to the first 3.5 hours so far (all in one sitting) of this mega-eleven plus hours long book. But I just had to leave a review right away! If you want to read a sci-fi book that takes you down a crazy rabbit hole of twists and turns, Get This Book!

5 people found this helpful

Incredibly fast-paced & filled with suspense

I’m incredibly impressed with how the plot of this book is developed. Excellent writing, with very good descriptions of the setting/world, really clever dialog, and observations about humanity that remind me of the wit of the really great authors and entertainers. I love books that make me reflect on morality/ethics and this does that. I also found the characters engaging and well developed. The pace is great and maintains throughout the book. I loved the idea on reading the synopsis of the book which is that different people from different times in history are thrown together. That’s a cool idea and makes for a great story! It evoked excitement and sadness in me and I think that in itself shows it was a great book. It wraps up nicely in that I didn’t feel that I had to wait for the next book but it also made we want to read the story in what I hope to see as the next book. Which is also important to me as I hate it when books only seem to set themselves up for the next without giving me an ending. I enjoyed it from start to finish. The narration is great for the style of the book and the characters are brought to life by the narrator. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review

2 people found this helpful

Lord-of-ring-esque time travel sci-fi story

I feel the author is particularly good at writing certain scenarios and less than great while describing others. Slow and somewhat unconvincing start but the story picks up significantly from chapter 4. This is like Man In High Castle meets Lord of the Rings. The narrator sounds like she is in her 50s. The protagonist is in her 20s. I feel someone with similar age would portray more convincily her character. I will pick up second book when it comes out.

1 person found this helpful

Interesting if a little frustrating

I appreciate the commercial drivers behind an author wishing to create a series that readers/listeners buy into for multiple titles but this title ended in such an abrupt manner that I found myself checking to see if I'd failed to download the last part, which I appreciate is silly as things don't work like that. For me, it took a challengingly long time for this story to get going, but I persisted, and then the pace accelerated and it became more interesting, and then it suddenly stopped. I found the first few chapters a bit of a grind through the very long struggle to survive, before some more interesting elements started to be added to improve matters. This is Sci-Fi, so we're not necessarily looking for plot logic but some of the character introductions and stereotypes and aspects such as, for example, the translational voodoo and the quick availability of, shall we say, water-borne transport, push plot credibility/acceptance to the limit, but that's sort of OK in this context. So will I buy into part 2 when it appears? Maybe, but the test will be whether the story has stuck in my mind when I come to consider the new download in a few months or whenever it becomes available.

1 person found this helpful

An average listen ..

I couldn't seem to visualise the characters as the descriptions were somewhat lacking. One dimensional characters in my opinion. Story started good but didn't reach a satisfactory conclusion. I hope the second book offers far more descriptive characterisation and maybe a plot twist and reaches some important high points along the way The premise of this book is good however it underwhelmed me.

1 person found this helpful

Really enjoyable, great story and narrated well

Really enjoyable, great story and narrated well, i am about to jump into book 2 !

great idea, poor writing

I liked the idea but found the writing a bit boring at times and the characters one dimensional. It was ok though until the Nazis entered the stage. That was just a bit too much. Won't buy the second book.

It WAS going good until.....

All was going good and I was just getting ready for the end and then bam. Over. Finito. Not cool at all 3 stars purely because of that lame cliffhanger.

Boring. Goes nowhere.

Basically a carbon copy of Riverworld. Except for a river its an island and they find a boat to get to the next land instead of going down the river. Otherwise pretty much the same. People get transported just before they die and wake up elsewhere and don't know where they are. Even people coming from different times is the same. Then the typical stereotype characters regurgitate the same info again and again. The plot moves so slowly you could tell the whole contents of the book in the first three chapters. There is no conclusion. No answers. Not even a decent cliffhanger. This book is pure frustration. I listened to the end because narrator is great. She does a wonderful job and I'll be seeking her out in future. The author I'll avoid. I'm suprised this doesn't violate copyright law.