Maelstrom

Destroyermen, Book 3

By: Taylor Anderson

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, along with the men and women of the U.S.S. Walker, are once again at war. Having sided with the peaceful Lemurians against the savage, reptilian Grik, they now find themselves scrambling to prepare for the attack that is sure to come, searching for resources to support their forces - even as they look for allies to join their struggle.

Meanwhile, the Japanese juggernaut Amagi, also trapped in this strange world, is under Grik control---with her fanatical commander approaching madness. And soon they will have amassed a force that no amount of firepower and technology will be able to stop.As the raging conflict approaches, Reddy, his crew, his allies, and his loved ones face annihilation. But if there is one thing they have learned about their new world, it is that hope - and help - may be just over the horizon.

Battle stations! Listen to more in the Destroyermen series.

©2008 Taylor Anderson (P)2009 Tantor

Excellent!!! Couldn't stop listening!!!

The story draws you in. Mr. Dufris' narration is perfect for this series. In this book I really started to connect with some of the different characters. This series is fiction at its best!!!

Takes a while to get going but worth the effort

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

I am now up to Book 3 in the series and the start it tends to recap a lot of the previous story line so if you have read the previous books it tends to be a bit flat. It took a while to get into the new story but once there it was a very good listen, you can see how the writer is adding new elements that will give life to the future books. I have enjoyed each book and this one was no exception. Looking toward how the story will continue just hope that we don't spend to much time recapping in the next book.

Would you be willing to try another book from Taylor Anderson? Why or why not?

Yes I am enjoying how the story is unfolding.

What three words best describe William Dufris’s voice?

Fantastic diverse voices

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

No

great entertainment and narration

I love this whole series . I have not actually read any of the books--just listened to them. The narrator does a great job with the voices and accents. I couldn't wait for the next book each time.
I recommend it to anyone

emotional roller coaster

I'm not one to be easily emotionally affected, specifically from a story, but this is one hell of a ride. It forced a couple tears out on some parts, and made you cheer in others, and made me just can't wait for more on Captain Reddy's adventures

The tension builds and confrontation looms

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

The whole alternate Earth landscape adds to the mystery and beauty of this series, always injecting itself into the strife and battles that occur, a menacing factor that seems to be just below the surface, ready to gobble up any hapless victim or straggler that falls behind. This book accounts for both sides of this other worldly struggle, as a defeated Grik force, amasses its forces for a confrontation with the formerly peaceful Lemurians

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dennis Silva, a slapstick naval officer with charismatic charm to heighten your sense of patriotism and loyalty to ones fellow crew mates. His character immerses you into his shoes as you are living the role.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

Dufris is spot on in maintaining a distinct voice for nearly all characters, even the somewhat mindless Grik are differentiated in their speeches.

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

Definitely eager to never stop listening, this makes my daily commute to work so enjoyable and time just whisks by as the story progresses.

Too much regurgitated material from previous books

At least half of this book is rehashed from the previous books. I enjoyed those books but feel ripped off by a lazy author "churning" old stuff. Why do authors do this? Maybe pressure from publishers, maybe disregard for their readers. It is not uncommon.

great entertainment and narration

I love this whole series . I have not actually read any of the books--just listened to them. The narrator does a great job with the voices and accents. I couldn't wait for the next book each time.
I recommend it to anyone

Don't get dissuaded by the slow start!

Don’t let the slow start in this episode dissuade you - it just builds a basis for getting to know the characters and made me feel like part of the crew!

The first half of this book fills in the backgrounds of the characters and events to bring a new reader up to date in the series. There is a lot of behind the scenes details, building characters, setting the locations, revealing society positioning and strategy for the upcoming battles. Though it’s not exciting, still I found it very interesting. I liked even the geographical descriptions as a comparison between the alternate world and the world that the Americans came from. This story also introduces a few new characters, including some pre-American Revolution British officers who choose to remain outside of the alliance.

I had already like Captain Matthew Reddy and many of the crew members from the prior books. By the time the battle begins in the second half of this book I felt like I knew the American crew personally. When this book jumps into the battle action there is excitement, fear, horror, loss and sorrow. A couple times I actually found myself holding my hands over my face as I dealt with the emotions during the battle.

Audio Notes: William Dufris does a grand job of narrating that captures the nuances of the characters– good guys and bad guys– and the excitement of the battle. I get wrapped into the narration which to me signifies both a good story and a delivery that keeps the reader focused on the characters and action with no negative distractions from the reading.

Saga Continues

At first I thought this series was going to be tedious as it seems to be a simple story, but very long. I am beginning to appreciate the detail with which the author spins the tale. He obviously has some engineering background and he goes to great lengths to give the reader insight on how certain things are manufactured in the alternate earth. By the same token, he develops his characters well and even focuses attention on what could be considered minor characters. I reviewed the previous volumes and noted that Audible should allow "listener/readers" access to the maps and other illustrations that are in the printed versions of the books. There should be some way that a purchaser of an audio book can receive the ancillary devices the author deemed necessary in the printed version. This is the only weak link in any audio book - not just this series. The narrator is extremely talented. It is amazing how he provides for all the different voices of the characters whether male or female, human or non-human, Australian, etc. I am now committed to every book coming in this series. It is a superior epic type of tale.

Destroyermen is a don't miss series.

Epic success, Taylor Anderson has done a superb job with this story line, each book in the series expertly moves various individual aspects along while at the same time keeping things fresh and exciting. The character development and dynamic stories emerges you into this wonderfully exciting world and the complexity that has been put into each part of these books set the stage for a wide rage additional stories. Well worth adding to your Audible collection no matter what your genre preference is.