Mech 1: The Parent

By: B. V. Larson

Narrated by: Mirron Willis

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Bio-tech aliens battle Mechs built by humans! After centuries in stasis, a lost task force returns home. Arriving from the infinite void, the surviving ships discover that the Imperium lies in ruin. The Homeworld itself is destroyed, and nothing lives in the Ancestral System except an infestation of unknown bipedal beings - creatures soft, red of blood and warm of flesh.... When you colonize a planet, make sure the owners aren't coming back.

MECH is the story of a new Earth colony built upon the ancient Homeworld of a civilization presumed (incorrectly) to be long dead. MECH is a full novel, 90,000 words in length, by best-selling author B. V. Larson.

©2010 B.V. Larson (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Slow start but great finish.

The book is like an odd adaption of the movie Aliens. however I found it very enjoyable and fun to listen to.

Oh, my aching ears.

What would have made Mech 1: The Parent better?

Fewer characters which really was confusing.

Would you ever listen to anything by B. V. Larson again?

Definitely. This is just not one of his better endeavors.

Any additional comments?

I usually don't write a review, however, this book was a real chore to follow. I lost interest about half way through, but kept plodding on hoping it would somehow get better. It didn't. For me anyway it was too complex in its structure and I found myself constantly trying to figure out who all the different characters were and what they were really doing. Additionally the plot goes on and on and on and then just finishes up in a quick finish which left me asking, Is this it? Better luck next time B. V..

I think it's the Narrator.... maybe

What would have made Mech 1: The Parent better?

I can't say. I have hundreds and hundreds of audio books, and there are only a few I cannot get into. This is one of those few. It just comes across disjointed with his speach and the story...

What do you think your next listen will be?

City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin. Well, after I listen to the previous two books again to remember whats going on.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He just wasn't right.

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

Irritation. And I love B.V. Larson, i cannot get enough of his other two series

Any additional comments?

I'm sad, I ran out of his other books, and hoped this would bring some solace to my sadness. It only exacerbated it....

Young Adult Sci-fi.

The title says it all. This characters are cartoonish and the story lacks effort. If you like Saturday morning cartoon, then you'll enjoy this book.

one of the dumbest books I have ever read

I am a big fan of one of BV Larson's series but this one was definitely disappointing. It was a fantasy world that was so imaginary that it was hard to follow. The author attempted to introduce so many made up ideas in this first book that it was almost like trying to make sense of nonsense as he introduce characters in places and tried to twist them together.

The rhythm and the gait of the speaker was also difficult to get used to.

I finished the book in its entirety out of pure stubbornness but I would definitely not follow up with this series.

Thought I was purchasing a continuation of Mech 0

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

This story was below the level I've come to expect from B.V. Larson.

What was most disappointing about B. V. Larson’s story?

The constant switching between the many different characters; I was not able to make a connection with any of them.

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

nothing

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Mech 1: The Parent?

focus on a smaller number of characters.

Really Have to Concentrate

This is NOT a book you can pay half attention to. There is a lot of stuff about the far future societies and aliens that the author had to introduce. The narrator and/or the producer pretty much ignored giving any kind of cue that the focus was switching between the multiple simultaneous threads of the story. That was INCREDIBLY frustrating.

I found myself not caring about anything in the story. As the book went to n and on I started just checking to see how much time was left and slowly beginning to realize that I would not find anything to draw me in. At the end I could not have given a summary of anything important about the book - I just felt relieved it was over!

frustrating/waste of money

pros: consultant narrative.

cons: poor sound quality. reads like a collection of short stories with its lack of a dominant centralized story line and mixed character development styles.

sample the narrator and decide ???

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A different narrator such as Mark Boyett or E. Ballerini

Would you ever listen to anything by B. V. Larson again?

yes with a different narrator

How could the performance have been better?

Look maybe it's just me but trying to get thru this reading (narrator) was akin to having dental work. I tried several times to deal with the reading but in the end I could not do it. Narrator sounds like an Asian speaking person reading in English and at times he would sound like he may of been hearing impaired. I'm sorry to be so critical of someones craft and maybe it's just me and you may find his reading fine. I would suggest listening to the sample and decide if you could listen to 12 hours of it.All the characters sounded the same and i became lost not knowing or caring what was going on in this story. Loved B.V. Larsons other books

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

disappointment not in the story but in the telling!

Early BV Larson

BV Larson is by far one of the best authors for this genre.

this book is an early learning experience for him.

get it for nostalgia but not for entertainment.