Black Run

Ringer, Book 2

By: Karen Traviss

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

Length: 24 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

The past doesn't forgive. The past doesn't forget. And it knows where to find you.

Rob Rennie's life hasn't gotten any quieter since he left the Royal Marines and teamed up with an American vet, Mike Brayne. Mike - eccentric, idealistic, and enormously wealthy - can't resist righting wrongs. He's rescued a genetically engineered teenager on the run from an experimental defense program and brought down the head of the biotech corporation hunting the boy, and now he's waiting for the company to make another move, if it dares. He'll kill to protect the kid if need be.

But Rob lives by the maxim that there's no such thing as over. And something's certainly not over for him. An unknown, unseen enemy is stalking him, with tragic consequences for his son and ex-wife. As Rob and Mike close ranks to protect their families, they find themselves up against industrial espionage, two warring scientists, and a blood feud that won't end until somebody pays with their life.

The buried past has been biding its time to explode beneath them. Now, their best hope of putting it to rest forever could lie in the unique genetic skills of a runaway teenager.

©2017 Karen Traviss (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Great follow up with the first book

Is anyone really who they say they are...

A very strong read flirting with the grey area of what science fiction tends to always begin as before a scientist makes it reality.

I am unsure wether we have heard the last of Rob and Mike ...they did leave some hints...but I am happy with how things went here the author didn't drag their feet.

It certainly made it hard for me to hit the pause button when my commute was over.

Black Run will have you on the edge of your seat!

Karen knocked another one out of the park. I was skeptical about Steve Pacey replacing Euan Morton, but he brought the British characters to life. cannot wait for book 3.

Great characters with a dash of humor

This series started slow for me, but I am glad I stuck with it. Not crazy about the narration, but warmed up to it after a while. Really like the characters, the story and the sense of humor sprinkled throughout. Wish the third in the series was already out

Amazing

This is a great book amazing from start to finish a must read series from an amazing author

Phrases

I have really enjoyed Going Gray and Black Run, Although I was disappointed that they replace the narrator's. The biggest problem I have is the mis use of certain phrases time and time again throughout the books. One of the words that is most over used is the word buddies. It's almost annoying to the point of distraction that everybody who is a friend or relative or acquaintance called a buddy. The 2nd phrase is and the penny dropped. It's OK to use once or twice but not consistently throughout the books

Don’t let the new narrator deter you!

Even though it’s a disappointment that Euan Morton isn’t narrating this one, don’t let that deter you! The story is fantastic! And the new narrator, though not as riveting as Morton, is still good.

Good follow up to the first, and in the same style

The story really was good. But I have been waiting for a super hero. But got corporate secrets instead. Still waiting on the super worrier story.

Narrator turns an A+ book into a C.

I don't know why they would have changed the narrator. It's actually hard for me to review the true content of the book because I can't get over what it's missing. It's not a bad book. I'm just so disappointed I see it in terms of what's wrong with it. Since most people who get it will have listened to the first and thought the second was worth listening to, I'll explain.

The guy that did the voices in the first book was amazing. Every POV was done in the unique voice of the character. You could tell who was who even without being told. If I selected a place to listen from at random, after a few seconds I could have told you whose POV it was in. It made the characters real, complex, and fascinating. I was invested. I smiled, I laughed out loud, I cried some times. I cared about almost all of them.

Now, the ability of the author to write entire sections in a characters "voice" is completely lost. Unlike the first narrator, everything is the same.
Oh, and it's BRITISH!?

Only *1* of the POV's is British. ALL the others are American. Why would you narrate the ENTIRE BOOK with an english accent? WTF?
He manages to do american accents when they are actually speaking. But their POV sections that are not conversation are all with the accent.
I'm constantly forgetting what POV I'm in, and it always takes me awhile to figure it out.

The dialogue voices he does are wildly inconsistent. Even if you could memorize what each character sounded like individually when speaking, the next time it would be different. There was no character voice. There is "british" (rob) "not british", and Leo (who sounds like a smoking Mr. Burns from the Simpsons-basically the opposite of the regal, powerful man he's supposed to be)
That's it. There's not even "male" vs "female".
The author does not put in a lot identifiers like "Ian said" or "Rob replied"
So good luck with trying to follow who is saying what.
Or with remembering that the entire book is NOT Rob's POV.

A lot of the emotion is also lost. The text used to be loaded with angst and doubt, or joy, or anger, or sadness. Now it's all gone. The only sort of "emotional" type narration is when he goes in to "ghost story" mode. I can't think of another way to describe it.

The first book was very… rich. The narrator was able to bring the book and all the characters to life. This was just flat. One dimensional. The series went from technicolor to black and white. Basically, everything that made the first book exceptional is lost.
I binged listened to the first book in just a couple of days - I moved on to the second book, thinking "even after 22 hours, I'm not even halfway done with the story! Yay!"
And immediately, I just didn't care as much anymore. It was no longer fascinating to listen to. It was just a story, told in a strangely chosen accent. I want to know what happens, but the characters aren't real to me anymore. It's a shame.

The first several hours of the book there is a LOT of rehashing of the first book. I suppose I can't blame the author for that, but if you did listen to the first book recently, it gets old.
This book also has more people behaving stupidly, which always annoys me after awhile.
I interpret more of their inner struggles as whining instead of insightful and interesting-I'm not sure why.
On that note, a lot of it is villains who got exactly what they deserved but spend the whole book whining about how they were wronged and will get revenge. It rankles. I roll my eyes a lot. Get over it A-hole. You played dirty, you went too far and you lost. You thought you were clever and you got outplayed by someone better. Get over it. Take your tens of billions and F-off.
Some of the themes seem overdone.
It seems more boring. I don't know that it is actually written any differently than the first one, but now we already know everyone. World is built. Life minutiae isn't as interesting this time around.
Since the characters are extremely flat now, as well, the book being about them and their relationships is not enough. The first kept my interest and focus and I couldn't do anything else at the same time. Now I HAVE to do something else at the same time. If I spaced out or got distracted (a lot more frequent) I didn't bother going back. I just don't care anymore. It was hard to get through, and I actually kept getting mad bc I felt like I was cheated out of 24 hours of great listening.
THe only reason I do listen is because of residual memories and attachment to the characters of the first book.

Anticlimactic

Unfortunately this sequel does not have the novelty or excitement of the first book. The genre has so much potential, but it was wasted here. The entire story was almost boring. The ending could easily have been a cliffhanger, but the author chose to make everything safe and tidy. That makes no sense at all for an action sci-fi story. Very disappointing.

Fantastic series.

I have always enjoyed Karen Traviss books, this series is excellent, exciting, worth while. I have listened to her series multiple times over and over again. You won't be disappointed.