What Happens in Vegas, Dies in Vegas

Files of the BSI, Book 2

By: Mark Everett Stone

Narrated by: Damon Abdallah

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

After faking his own death, Kal Hakala is free of the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation and can finally focus his energy on destroying the monster that murdered his sister. With the help of trusted former teammates, he embarks on a quest to find an artifact to activate a magical Tesla Coil, the only device powerful enough to kill a legend. But wherever Kal goes, trouble isn't far behind. It's not easy to locate an artifact without alerting the BSI. Kal narrows his search to Las Vegas, where he and his friends encounter the greatest peril ever to threaten our world - a threat found only in Sin City but rooted in World War II Germany, site of the past's most heinous crimes.

Can Kal overcome an enemy so diabolical, so evil, that annihilating millions is merely one phase of its master plan? The task seems impossible, but for Kal Hakala, the best agent in the BSI's history, the impossible only requires patience and careful planning. Patience is not Kal's strong suit.

©2013 Books in Motion (P)2013 Books in Motion

A great new series

Sorry, I can't write a review for the first book in the series. I listened to it on my daughters account and it won't let me review. Obviously I liked it or we wouldn't have this review.

This is the second book in the BSI series. This is a really fun book with lots of action, a well-definied world and interesting likeable characters. Some folks said this wasn't as good as the first book, but I actually liked this one better myself. Basically this is a story about an agent in what is the equivalent of the monster control bureau in the Monster Hunter International series. It's the supernatural equivalent of the FBI.

The characters are all dialed up to 11, but they still have their own flaws. I also, like that the author has no qualms about killing off major characters. The job these folks do is very dangerous and the high mortality rate is reflected in the stories.

If like action packed urban fantasy this is a good series to follow. MHI fans will love this one.

Cool Book!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kal Hakala......but there are some other pretty cool characters

What does Damon Abdallah bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I think he does an outstanding job. Perfect voice for the main character, very passable for the others. Most authors have difficulty switching characters without using the same phrases and semantics of the main characters. This does happen in, but can't blame the reader.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Do you feel lucky, punk? Too damn bad!

Any additional comments?

This is fast becoming a favorite series for me. The main character is flawed like a good character should be, he battles internally as well as externally. This book took on new perspectives without losing the main character and most importantly, without straying away from the heart of the story. Kudos to Stone, he's creating a MHI type series with a Dresden persona main character.

Not as good as first but worth a listen.

Where does What Happens in Vegas, Dies in Vegas rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'd say it ranks somewhere in the,"middle of the road". It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. It was good!

What other book might you compare What Happens in Vegas, Dies in Vegas to and why?

As I've said in my review of book 1 of,"files from the BSI" I would classify this series as a poor man's, "Monster Hunter International". That is not meant to be an insult to this series, I like this series and I plan on hearing book 3 as soon as it's released, it's just I just feel "Monster Hunter International" is in a whole-nother league.

Have you listened to any of Damon Abdallah’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I have not but I feel he's competent enough. I have no complaints with his performance.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, this book did not make me laugh or cry and I'll tell ya what, if any book I read ever makes me cry, I will walk a mile up my street and jump off the Golden Gate Bridge! No offense to any guys out there that did cry....ya. Anyway, as far as this book making me laugh, I might have snickered once or twice but I don't think I laughed out loud or anything.

Any additional comments?

As I wrote in my headline I do feel this book is worth a credit(or cash) and I will definitely listen to book 3, "I Left My Haunt In San Francisco" when it comes out, if it comes out? I want to see how the series ends.

Here's how come-

I love these books, I love the reader. But: unplaceable is not pronounced correctly as are several others. Was it a bad thing? Well, a little distracting.