I enjoy many types of books and am always looking for new authors to read and listen too. I enjoy reading the reviews and adding my own from time to time.
"Jumpstarts from chapter one and never stops"
I am a fan of Sci-Fi movies but in general do not read or listen to them but this one caught my attention so decided to give it a try. I was blown away by the whole thing. The story is so good and characters are well formed with lots of depth to them. The hero Kyle Riggs is a college professor of computer science that ends up saving the world. The save however does come with strings attached. Great sadness when he suffers loss of his children not once but twice. Mark Boyette does and absolutely wonderful job. Kyle sounds like a hero. He does not make him sound macho but like a normal guy caught up in extraordinary events which he must learn to deal with or die. The test the ship puts him through to see if he can be a commander are great. I felt every bit of his turmoil in dealing with what was being thrown at him. Other characters in the book are also very well done vocally by Mark as well as written by the author. I will definitely listen to this again and at some point will go on the the others in this Starforce series. Thank goodness they keep Mark Boyette for the whole series. I was truly impressed with this listen.
"Could not put it down!"
The book started off a little slow but you have to stick with it. The slow start actually adds to the story by leaving the reader slightly confused as the main characters but this does not last for long. Once the story developed I was not able to put the book down. B.V. Larson did a wonderful job of bringing in a realistic interpretation of how we as humans would have to deal with beings that are AI (artificial intelligence) based. I could see this story developing in the world of today.
I also read Jack Campbell's "Lost Fleet" series and I would say they are similar. "Swarm" is not as hard core military sci-fi as "Lost Fleet" since it seems to be a little lighter in military/battle detail but B. V. Larson's series is a wonderful addition to the genre.
At first this was not a book that I would have wanted to listen to in one sitting but once I was past the introductory chapters I did find myself finding time and ways to increase my listening time dramatically. I could not put it down.
I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
"Good Book"
I'm considering listening to the next in the series, but I didn't find it so good that I need to do it right now. I'll wait until I finish my latest audible purchases.
I would not have made any changes. The story line is unique.
This is the only book by this author that I have listened to.
Doug
"Good story, great narration."
The narrator! I still am not convinced there was not more than one.
A well done sci-fi novel that takes one back to earlier times of the genre. Fast paced and riveting enough to make some very implausible situations forgivable.
"Got Anoying"
The main character constantly embellished himself as a Hero. Good thing he has a super human arm to pat himself on the back.
doubt it
The General
The story is good, 'fun', Sy-Fi and has lots of potential
If I get board I'll try book two. But book one is not very good.
I am a 40 year old physical therapist. I can remember when I was 12 I thought Stephen King was the only author in the world and I read any of his books...... Now my love for reading has grown...I love to listen and now... To about anything.....
"Very boring sci-fi adventure"
The story did not give you much background on the characters. The story never took off and just the overall idea was just corny!
No real excitement. I expected a lot more .... It is supposed to be sci-fi
I guess but it was just bland
Does not matter
"Great start to a very promising series"
Great book!! Plenty of action and lots of creative concepts to make you smile. I really enjoyed this book.
big jakers
"Great Start to a Sci-fi Series"
I've had this book in my queue for a couple of months, I bought during a special deal from audible and didn't know if I'd like. After listening to a few other books this was one of the last books I hadn't listened to so I gave it a try. This book was very fun and I'm glad I gave it a chance. I came to audible today only to add the rest of this series to my wishlist.
"Decent Sci-Fi"
Different approach to the "First Contact" genre. A little less detailed than I like with a number of gaps but still a solid story. Obviously written with the idea of at least one sequel. The ending seemed a bit contrived and rushed but I did enjoy the listen. I felt like the story should of continued rather than have another book but we got to make a living. If you like military sci-fi and have an extra credit then go for it.
His reading probably made the book better than it was written