Swarm

Star Force, Book 1

By: B. V. Larson

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 10 hrs

Publisher's summary

Earth arms marines with alien technology and builds its first battle fleet! Kyle Riggs is snatched by an alien spacecraft sometime after midnight. The ship is testing everyone it catches and murdering the weak. The good news is that Kyle keeps passing tests and staying alive. The bad news is the aliens who sent this ship are the nicest ones out there.

A novel of military science fiction by best-selling author B. V. Larson, Swarm is the story of Earth's annexation by an alien empire. Long considered a primitive people on a backwater planet, humanity finds itself in the middle of a war - and faced with extinction.

Battle stations! Listen to another Star Force novel.

©2010 B.V. Larson (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Great

If you could sum up Swarm in three words, what would they be?

Great summer reading!

What did you like best about this story?

The bad guys at the beginning turn out to be the good guys!

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

Carries the excitement very well.

Any additional comments?

I really liked it. It could of had a little more with the love interest as that is the human factor that makes Kyle so appealing indeed.

A very god listen

I thought it was good listen, the reader make is interesting were it was needed

Epic stellar Story

Extreamly well writen and performed story. I've listened to the first three books and really enjoyed each . Could not waight to listen to the next installment. Looking forward to book 4.
Star Force series is a major hit for me.

Easy listening, action-packed military sci fi.

Kyle Riggs is a college professor and farmer – until aliens reach into his yard and capture his son. As Kyle scrambles to grab a shotgun and get his daughter into the car for safety, his son’s body is dropped from the sky. Then the alien snake-like arm breaks through the car window to snatch his daughter. A few minutes later his daughter is dropped on his roof. Then they grab him, and Kyle is more than happy to be dragged to the ship so he can shoot the enemy who took his children. Soon Kyle is facing obstacles and passing levels before he realizes he is being tested. Before his anger subsides, and he gets to cope with his grief and guilt, Kyle is caught up in a battle for his life… then a war for his planet. Kyle and other successful fighter/survivors have been recruited by smaller alien ships to be commanders and to help fight against larger ships who plan to strip resources from earth.

Kyle manages to rescue one of the other capture ‘candidates’ so he ends up with a young, curvaceous sidekick which is different than most of the other ships. He hesitates to join the ‘team’ of fighters which makes him one of the rogues. Kyle’s computer science background helps him come up with solutions and tactics which make it clear the other ships need his help as much as he needs them. The Star Force, and especially Kyle and his ship, end up teaming with special earth forces to face the enemy.

Kyle’s character is a little awkward as he goes from a rather normal professor/farmer to a fighter, a strategist and finally a super warrior. He continues being a rogue as he leads by his own initiative despite orders. I liked that he uses his computer thought processes to relate to the ship but his taking over leadership of military forces is a stretch. The female character is a feisty, buxom caricature and it was sort of icky (awkward again) that Kyle was lusting after her shortly after losing his kids. Still, this wasn’t a huge issue and I didn’t let it bother me. The story is fun listening with lots of action. It moves quickly and made me think of a comic super hero scenario (perhaps like Iron Man). I’d be willing to listen to more in the series when I want a fast, fun, military sci fi fix. I recommend this to listeners/readers who are okay with fast-paced, easy action entertainment and are not looking for serious military politics.

Audio Notes: Mark Boyett does a nice job with the voices and energy in the presentation. The story is primary told in first person by Kyle but there are other characters with accents that are done well by Boyett. The narration added to my enjoyment of the story.

(From my Audible TBR shelf.)

Very exciting & enjoyable

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it blends my two favourite genres, scifi and military memoirs. Unlike another author in this genre, Jack Campbell, this author writes good stories (although the dialogue is stilted and unrealistic). I've put the rest of the series in my wishlist!

Good but sometimes forced

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It's easy reading but not very deep.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Riggs - the other characters are merely background

Great introduction to audiobooks

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

I started this series because of the free book "Army of One". I got hooked up in the story and listened to all of the books. Just spectacular.

Any additional comments?

The narrator, Mark Boyett, turned out to be the best in the business. None of the characters in the entire series have a similar voice, which means that the author wouldn't even need to write "- said Riggs" after a dialogue.

GOOD SCI-FI TALE

Narrator was great. The whole "kids dying, so I'm gonna screw a coed" was a bit weird but overall a good story.

You have got to be kidding me

There's a whole lot of unbelievable here, and a great many unlikeable characters. Brain candy is all you can say for it. After readin reviews of the rest of the series, I'm done with this one.

Unbelievable, but entertaining

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I read the mixed reviews and thought I would give this book a shot. In the end, I didn't believe the premise of the book.

The "artificial intelligence" ship was really stupid, and whoever came up with the "command personnel" tests was also really stupid. For such an advanced civilization, I just didn't believe that they would design or program a ship so poorly.

The characters were kind of shallow, but the story moved along and I actually enjoyed the book in the end. It was an interesting take on an old concept.