Balance

The Divine Book One

By: M.R. Forbes

Narrated by: Jeff Hays

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

My name is Landon Hamilton. Once upon a time I was a twenty-three year old security guard, trying to regain my life after spending a year in prison for stealing people's credit card numbers.

Now, I'm dead.

Okay, I was supposed to be dead. I got killed after all; but a funny thing happened after I had turned the mortal coil...

I met Dante Alighieri - yeah, that Dante. He told me I was special, a diuscrucis. That's what they call a perfect balance of human, demon, and angel. Apparently, I'm the only one of my kind.

I also learned that there was a war raging on Earth between Heaven and Hell, and that I was the only one who could save the human race from annihilation. He asked me to help, and I was naive enough to agree.

Sounds crazy, I know, but he wished me luck and sent me back to the mortal world. Oh yeah, he also gave me instructions on how to use my Divine 'magic' to bend the universe to my will. The problem is, a sexy vampire crushed them while I was crushing on her.

Now I have to somehow find my own way to stay alive in a world of angels, vampires, werewolves, and an assortment of other enemies that all want to kill me before I can mess up their plans for humanity's future. If that isn't enough, I also have to find the queen of all demons and recover the Holy Grail.

It's not like it's the end of the world if I fail.

Wait. It is.

©2013 Michael Forbes (P)2014 Michael Forbes

Enjoyed this Balance between Good and Evil

I received this audiobook free for an honest review. I enjoyed this book. The author did a great job of weaving a story that kept my interest. I really enjoyed the narrator as well. The story is a typical good vs. evil. However, there are a number of characters thrown in that should be evil but are maybe good. I'm sure as the story continues, the character's reason for being, including Landon's will come to light. The author did a great job of developing the story and the personalities of the characters. The story has substance and depth. Looking forward to the next one, Book Two.

Great performance of an okay story

It wasn't easy to get into Balance. At 4 hours in I was still not captivated, but the performance is really entertaining, at least. I found the characters to be superficial and somewhat cliched. I understand that this is the first of a series, but nonetheless, it is still unidimensional and predictable. There is some action, but the fight scenes are rather stale and not all that riveting.

I did listen to the end, but only because of the spectacular performance! I enjoyed listening to the passionate narrator, the various voices and accents, and the sprinkling of sound effects here and there. The narration is very well done, the story, however, is just okay; it is by no means bad, but it's not particularly good, either.

This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Nothing glaring - just... why do we care?

It's not poorly written. The characters are not just stereotypes. The premise is different enough from urban fantasies...

So, why was it so darn uninteresting?

There is no glaring annoyance that ruins this story, it just is too... "I don't really care what happens to any of them". There is no real sense of angst or pressure and, while it's technically a story about good versus evil, we aren't really led to care one way or the other about which side prevails.

It might just be that the main character rode a middle ground (sat on the fence) so we couldn't root for him to "win" - especially since "winning" required, really, that he not win at all (a.k.a. his goal was to keep the balance, not to defeat one side or the other). And, if you can't root for the protagonist to "win" against obstacles, why read it?

I won't be reading any more in the series - I need to root for someone in order to enjoy a story. I need there to be a winner and a loser and some tension that makes me care one way or the other.

The narration is very good. There is nothing gory or graphic. No sex, and I don't recall any swearing.

A well written, hard to wrap your head around book

If you are very much, good is the only way of thinking and all others must die, stay clear of this book. If you're like me, and you've got an open mind but you still lean towards good, you'll kind of enjoy this book. If you have no opinion at all, this book is for you.

Killing demons - I'm on board with that. Killing bad humans - I'm okay with that. But the idea of someday killing angles and other creatures widely considered good and that idea being a good idea...I struggled there. I'll grant you that Balance is a strange and original idea of Religion and the battle between good and evil, it's just not one I want or choose to like.

Let me continue by praising what I should. The characters are fantastic. I'll give Forbes credit, he truly made you see the world and especially the character and who they were on both a spiritual and physical reality.

The idea of this book is fantastic. A new idea in a new system. If it wasn't for the idea of some day killing angels and thinking that it is somehow the right thing to do, I'd love this book.

In the end, there's a reason Forbes is getting praised for this series. I just can't deal with the idea that Angels are no better than demons.

Stuck in the middle...

What did you love best about Balance?

The best part of this book is that it takes the mythology of our current spiritual ethos and turns archetypes into relatable characters. In the story it's effortless for me to suspend disbelief about concepts like heaven, hell and purgatory. I feel like the story might be plausible even though I particularly don't really view those concepts as a part of reality, just by the frankness and cadence of the book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Balance?

I found the scene of Rebecca's birthday party was the most memorable, with that world of the well-dressed vampire class. The whole book has that charm of "Interview with a Vampire" or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", and the action is just as riveting.

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

I have listened to several of Jeff's books now and I find this to be one of his most technically precise performances. I realize this is one of the more challenging pieces for him to read, partially due to all of the different female characters and strange beings and the amount of time he has to focus on portraying them. I like the female character Josette's portrayal the most.

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

Every day the battle between Good and Evil wages on, but when you look closer you see the real battle is the one fought by those who know it can never stop.

Well Now

Good vs Evil now where have we run across that concept before. Never knowing who is on your side. Not sure what and why you are and encountering all sorts of strange creatures in your journey to discover true facts. Betrayal then saving by the same people. Sent out into a world that is ultimately really strange and then discovering your powers only when you really need them and then successfully using them the next time. This book was filled with these types of twists and turns. the narration was excellent and the fight scenes and especially jumping from 50 stories up and only breaking your back and then healing almost immediately. Wow.
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review via audiobook boom. Wonder what the author's have up their sleeves next. I kind of got the impression that no matter who wins good or evil that humanity loses. But then again this is coming from the authors imagination. I know who really wins in the end.

Greatly done!

The storyline was great, and the narration was superb. I bought all the other books, and this book was what led me to it. I can't wait for the next chapter!

Great book!

Interesting concept. Worth the credit.


This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Funny, for Angels vs Demons

What made the experience of listening to Balance the most enjoyable?

Essentially the flow of the story was about the main characters learning about his powers and keeping the balance of good and evil.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Landon was by far my favorite character. He was very witty and made the story flow very quickly. His constant battle with himself over dark and light was easy to relate to.

Which scene was your favorite?

The best part was when he was starting to form his team and when his human hacker friend became a "touched one".

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

Good and Evil is not as clear as night and day.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com

Nobody likes me.. Everybody hates me.

This describes the main character. He goes from being a part-time security guard to being one of 3-4 people who basically have the entire universe against them He has to help maintain the balance between good and evil because if either side wins humanity ultimately loses. Combine this with a scenario similar to Greatest American hero, where the good guy loses the instruction book for his powers and you have an interesting ride ahead.

This is a well written book. The story is action packed and the author knows how to write a good fight scene. The world is interesting and takes a worn out old trope and breathes some new life into it. The main character has to fight both heaven and hell, so you get a perspective most books never cover.

The narrarator did an excellent job. He had a great range of voices and each was a distinct character. My only complaint would be that the character development was pretty thin. Hopefully this will improve as the series develops. There is a lot of potential for conflict. Right now the bad guys are winning so it is easy for the protagonist to justify what he does. it will be really interesting if the good guys get the upper hand and he has to start thinning that herd.

Overall, a fun and entertaining book. Balance is definitely worth a credit if you are looking for a new series to follow.