Marines: Crimson Worlds

By: Jay Allan

Narrated by: Jeff Bower

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Erik Cain joined the marines to get off death row. The deal was simple; enlist to fight in space and he would be pardoned for all his crimes.

In the 23rd Century, assault troops go to war wearing AI-assisted, nuclear-powered armor, but it is still men and blood that win battles. From one brutal campaign to the next, Erik and his comrades fight an increasingly desperate war over the resource rich colony worlds that have become vital to the economies of Earth's exhausted and despotic Superpowers.

As Erik rises through the ranks he finally finds a home, first with the marines who fight at his side and later among the colonists - men and women who have dared to leave everything behind to build a new society on the frontier, one where the freedoms and rights lost long ago on Earth are preserved.

Amidst the blood and death and sacrifice, Erik begins to wonder. Is he fighting the right war? Who is the real enemy?

Now Included: A sneak peak at Crimson Worlds II: The Cost of Victory. Read the first three chapters, immediately following the end of Marines in this Kindle edition.

Crimson Worlds II: The Cost of Victory - Available Now!

Crimson Worlds III: A Little Rebellion - December 2012

©2012 Jay Allan Books (P)2012 Jay Allan Books

Novel or science fiction history book?

This was a good and interesting book even though the author didn't seem to know wether or not he wanted this to be a novel. Interesting premise and some great characters. Not gripping though.

The series story line is better than the books

These books are inconsistent. The overall story line of the series is wonderful and has kept me coming back through a couple prequels and this volume.

However, there are serious problems in the writing. Although I loved Darius Jax in Tombstone (#.25), I didn't even recognize the name here in this book, and how he and Erik Cain became friends is never mentioned or developed. That is the first writing flaw--even the main characters are thin and forgettable. Other people are mentioned, many die, and who cares since we never knew them anyway.

Another flaw in the writing is that there are all these tremendous battles full of courage and danger, and yet you cannot hear, see, or feel any of it. Stuff gets done but you don't care. You can yawn through it all.

This particular book is confusing in that the publisher's description says it includes a peek into number 2, but you have to guess when the current story ended. There are 20 chapters, the first and last are Audible intro and Thanks for Listening, so 18. You will think that the story ends after chapter 11 when it says "I would return to Earth, but she would never set foot on Earth again." But there's another sleepy chapter that ends on the cliff-hanger, "We are coming for you now." Then the next chapter is About Super Powers, so you don't know if the story is over or not. You figure it has but there are still 6 more chapters listed! After the dry as dust Notes on Military Formations which includes a materials and capabilities list of the armored suits (seriously?), and The Western Alliance, we come to a chapter featuring Admiral Augustus Garrett whom we met and totally forgot in Bitter Glory (# .5). Then, with no clue that the book is now over and you are getting the sneak peek into #2, we get to listen to chapters 1, 2, and 3. You have to figure that out on your own. It's a sad commentary that these last 3 chapters were actually the most interesting part of the book (because they aren't part of this book.)

Then there's the narration. The Audible reviewers here disagree on this one-- some really like Jeff Bowers, others don't. I don't. His voice is a great one when you have insomnia, which he probably couldn't pronounce. I am being harsh here, but narrators must be professional these days. Mr. Bowers can't seem to pronounce words over 3 syllables, and then he even adds syllables. Specifics: He pronounced "repatriation" as "REPpa- try-ation", "circuitous" as "SIR-kit-us", "intravenous" as "intra-veen-ee-us", and "mineralogical" as the astounding "minnie-airy-o-logical". Inexcusable.

Mr. Bowers' reading voice and his voicing for Erik Cain are horrendous, he's even boring himself. His falsetto voices for the very few females in the story would better suit Smurfs or 3-year-olds. However, I did like his character voices for all the other people in the story, but there is so little interaction, you don't get enough of a break from his regular voice. I even checked twice to see if there wasn't a second reader providing those different characterizations.

So, all in all, if you can stand the narration, and the many undifferentiated battles, and long descriptive readings, you should enjoy the story for the universe it is setting up. The premises are good, there're just too many disappointments in the delivery.

Got halfway through had to stop.

What would have made Marines: Crimson Worlds better?

The narrator needs work. I'm not going to say hes bad but its really hard to explain. Even when the narrator tries to put inflection in his voice everything comes across in a monotone sound. There are weird pauses to the point that it was driving me nuts and I couldn't get into the story.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jeff Bower?

Mark Boyett would have been good.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger, Disappointment

Any additional comments?

I didn't finish the book so I cant comment on the story. I just couldn't get past the narrator style/sound.

Not great

Terrible voices by the narrator.
Boring story.
Parts read like a history text.
I think the series might improve. At least there is potential.

Story lack something and reader was something else

The reader just did that read like an news anchorman.. With the same tone of voice he read an action scene to back ground details. He doesn't take you into the story. Where you can see the action or imagine the scene in your minds eye. Plus 1/4 of the book was pausing pausing pausing. On the story, you don't know who is who on the powers players. Neatless to say this is my last time on this author and narrator.

Bland and monotonous

An entirely uninteresting story. In fact, it was so uninteresting that the narrator wasn't able to generate much enthusiasm in reciting it himself.

Terrible

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Narration was poor and the story undeveloped. Not worth a credit.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jay Allan again?

No, I think I'm done

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jeff Bower?

No comment

Really not worth it

Here's the basics. The story is OK, formulaic and nothing that really holds interest. The story itself is short, the length they show includes almost an hour at the end of descriptions of the factions, something that could have been put in the beginning or better portrayed through the story. It also includes another two plus hours of the first three chapters of the second book. At no point do you feel anything for any character, and the author struggles with foreshadowing, relying on the ever so subtle "later I would find out..." multiple times. The battle scenes are vague and don't draw you in at all. It sounds more like a monologue description of events hitting only on the key points.

The narrator: Honestly Jeff Bower should do ANYTHING but narrate these books. If you want to be put to sleep, these might be your answer. Monotonous doesn't even describe the voices he uses and the use of electronic synthesis for the first half of the book is arguably one of the most infuriating things to listen to ever. Females sound like some sort of deranged minnie mouse noise, while the males all sound like a bored knockoff of Mr. Rogers.

I think the only reason I finished this book was to make sure it didn't somehow improve, but it might have been sheer stubborn mindedness. If the narrator wasn't horrible and the story was a bit better written I might have though of giving the rest of the series a chance, as it is though I'm going to do my first ever return with Audible.

Instead of this try something by B.V. Larson, his books aren't perfect by any means but they are 3-4 times better than this and essentially cover the same genre without being overly irritating (and without Bower as narrator). Alternately try Lost Fleet for a bit more fleet action and a bit less ground troops.

Dull, bland, derivative, nondescript

Written in the first person, Marines is the story of one marine’s journey from youthful gang member to respected marine officer.

The book should be called “Marine” singular as he’s virtually the only notable character. He tells us, in the most bland prosaic manner, about battles, tactics, and marine life. It’s all so colorless. Nothing as vivid as The Forever War, Starship Troopers, Armour, or Old Man’s War.

The narrator was no help. He spoke clearly and enunciated well - like an educated fellow reading us a tech manual. Problem was he never sounded like a man participating in a battle, like a street-hardened gang member forced into the marines, or a weary combat vet. Of course, he wasn’t helped by the dry as dust writing. It was all “this happened” and “that happened” and very undramatic.

I barely finished the book. I won’t continue the series. The author should avoid first person narratives and try to show, not tell.

Narration is super annoying

This is my first Jeff Bower narrated title. And my last. Narrator seems annoyed to be reading this. Pacing and tone don’t make the listener excited to pay attention.