Boundary

Boundary Series, Book 1

By: Eric Flint, Ryk E. Spoor

Narrated by: Jonathan Walker

Paradigms Shift, Worlds Collide!

A daring and resourceful paleontologist uncovers something at the infamous K-T boundary marking the end of dinosaurs in the fossil record - something big, dangerous, and absolutely, categorically impossible. It's a find that will catapult her to the Martian moon Phobos, then down to the crater-pocked desert of the Red Planet itself. For this mild-mannered fossil hunter may just have become Earth's first practicing xenobiologist!

A new hard SF thriller from best-selling alternate history master Eric Flint and ace game designer Ryk E. Spoor.

©2006 Eric Flint and Ryk Spoor (P)2014 Audible Inc.

A Very Good Story

I bought this book and audiobook combo because I heard an interview with the authors about book 6 in the series and it sounded like my kind of story. Eric Flint always delivers but this was my first introduction to his co-author Ryk Spoor. The pair make an excellent novel filled with interesting characters doing interesting things with a subtle complexity I often find lacking.

A little more swearing than I would have liked...

A little more swearing than I would have liked... But the plot was engaging.

Great story, awful narration.

The narrator read the entire book like a politician reading a speech.. he paused, at all, of, the, wron, g, places. it was, disappointing, and, diffi, cult, to listen to.

Improbable but entertaining.

This book is about the trials and tribulations of space travel to Mars, with aliens thrown in to motivate and mystify. The evidence of alien presence, a fossil, is 65 million years old so none are alive at the time of the book. There is a mystery about how/why the aliens happened to be on Earth at exactly the time of the K-T boundary (when the asteroid impact killed the dinosaurs).

So, sorry, the book does not send the reader back to directly witness an alien/dinosaur battle, even though the cover implies it. No time travel here.

The book does follow the uncovering of the alien fossil. Coincidentally, an unmanned probe sent to a moon of Mars discovers the remains of an alien base. So an expedition is put together to see what can be learned about them.

The plot evolves from the circumstances and challenges of space travel. The book is rather similar to "The Martian" by Andy Weir, where science provides the method and natural forces provide the drama, with less time pressure. People are motivated by mundane needs and desires; there are no monstrous villains or super heroes, no nefarious foreign governments. However, everybody is superlative at their professions. The science used for travel and remote sensing is current, with a minimum of stretching to make it sound futuristic. I take it back, the remote sensing guy is a bit too geniusy.

The main characters are more than cardboard cutouts but only about as fleshed out as you expect from a tv mini-series where everybody is above average. Couples are paired off. Birth control isn't mentioned but maybe it should be considered.

I compared it to "The Martian" to give you an idea of the genre this book falls into. "Boundary" is not as well written but it does survive the comparison. The dialog in "The Martian" sounds more authentic then The "Boundary" dialog. "Boundary" has a subplot provided by the security officer (a la "Hunt for Red October") that is contrived. If you have worked with security people you will be squirming.

About the recording, it seems slowed down. I listened at 1.5 speed because it just plods at regular speed. The reader does a serviceable job.

Good Story - OK Narration

When a funny looking fossil 65 million years old is saddled with a scientific name which is tongue in cheek based on the initials B.E.M. for Bug Eyed Monster, everyone thinks the lady who found it and named it is a little wacko. Until...

Suddenly, there's evidence there's actually been others of it's kind here in our solar system, based on Mars, and the race to get to the base where the blasted things were is on. There is danger, romance, and adventure aplenty along with politics and international relations just to spice things up in this space opera. It's a fun romp through the solar system with some unusual characters and John Ringo's inimitable style. It's fun.

Jonathan Walker, unfortunately has some pronunciation problems and puts emphasis habitually on certain phrases that does detract a bit. It's not fatal, and he does keep the characters separated with distinct voices. It's only a bit annoying at times, so four stars instead of five... sorry Jonathan.

All in all, I recommend it to those who like John Ringo and sci-fi.

Too much tech

Too much endless talk about tech and not enough plot. The next book sounds like a constant argument over money.

Great read

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

It grabs you right at the beginning

What was one of the most memorable moments of Boundary?

The characters development from the start

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

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Buying book two now

I enjoyed this book and I am sure others will too!

I liked the book and I have purchased the second book of the series. It kept me interested for hours.

Okay story ruined by the voiceactor's performance

First off the tempo of this reader's speech is TERRIBLE. He literaly makes a pause EVERY THREE WORDS no matter if there is a reason for that or no. What makes it worse is the fact that the pauses are as long as pauses between sentences and SHORTER than pauses between chapter sections. There has been multiplr times when a time skip happened in a chapter but I did not notice because he continued reading the sentence after the time skip imidiatelly after the previous one.

The story itself is not that bad, but it doee feel like the writers are more interested in writing a space opera with superhuman protagonist than a hard SF which this is supposed to be. The parts discussing alien possible sociology and physiology and the exploration of the alien station are interesting and are written in a convincing manner, but than pretty much anything related with the political background of the mission or the technology is often ridiculous. For some reason, this is an NASA only mission , with other powers seemingly blind to benefits of exploring an alien space station. The tech related to the sensors of the protagonist AJ might as well be magic.

Good listen

Slightly cardboard and archetypical in character development but a very good sci fi story without Star Wars technology. Highly recommend