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.

Unfortunate

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The story is good if you consider the elements. The narrator Mark Boyett did a nice job. I like a story to contain plausible reactions from the characters. I would have liked some humility in the main character.

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

The characters in this book are weak as other reviewers have commented. I felt as though I was audience to someone's fantasy. Tough guy name, check, endless affirmations of self worth from other characters (hot young coed, hardend soldiers, a General, scientists, etc) and the main character himself, check. Congressional Medal of Honor, check. I felt a little insulted after this one.

Could you see Swarm being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No, well, maybe as a Saturday night movie on that science fiction network with the wrestling and ghost shows.

just started series

was OK just started series there are so many books hard to know which is first in series otherwise liked the story

Decent Sci-Fi

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

Different approach to the "First Contact" genre. A little less detailed than I like with a number of gaps but still a solid story. Obviously written with the idea of at least one sequel. The ending seemed a bit contrived and rushed but I did enjoy the listen. I felt like the story should of continued rather than have another book but we got to make a living. If you like military sci-fi and have an extra credit then go for it.

What about Mark Boyett’s performance did you like?

His reading probably made the book better than it was written

Strange but enjoyable story

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

Different, Intriguing, Thoughtful

Any additional comments?

Its a good book, the narrator is great. It will make u want to read/listen more into the series to see how it plays out.

New story, old concept, well told

Great story, familiar formula for the genre. Nearly identical to other books therein but the telling of the story and characterization is good. Well worth the reading

Very enjoyable except for the twist at the end and

The twist at the end, the foreshadowing, and the dust cover blurbs for the next two books in the series bother me. I will not tell what the twist is -- but I can tell the next two books will not appeal to me. Audio books are expensive - my goodness printed books are expensive unless you buy them in Kindle or other electronic format or do as my wife does and make very good use of the library.

I do not mind twists, or unusual plots. But I do not like mistakes by the main character that ends up being one of three antagonists to the story. While the "Swarm" I thought was excellent and I love a good series, right now I do not think I will read the rest of the series.

Some may have a different opinion after reading the series. If they do, I hope they post their review.

Smart book, could have been better.

Smart plot, interesting ideas. Coud have been a great book, if the main character is not a know it all, self rightous jerk.

If author put at least one more real character in the story and give the main character a little more depth, this book could have been the best.

Man vs. Machine

Any additional comments?

This is a great Man vs. Alien technology story. Our hero Kyle Riggs is a computer science professor and farmer who is abducted by a alien space craft that puts Kyle through a series of tests that could end his life if he fails. This is a great story that kept me entertained throughout the entire book.

Sci-Fi that I probably could have skipped.

Would you try another book from B. V. Larson and/or Mark Boyett?

Hesitant to try any other book in this series.

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

I don't think that one book should ruin a writing career because we learn from our mistakes.

What aspect of Mark Boyett’s performance would you have changed?

He did the best he could with the way the book was written.

Do you think Swarm needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not really, I didn't get the feeling at the end of this one that "I can't wait to see what happens next!"

Any additional comments?

I loved Battlestar Galactica and some Star Wars. Although this is original, it is not put together well in my opinion. The author never explains how the first two aliens he encounters are at the same location(Sentaurs). Redundant use of I said, He spouted, I roared, etc., I felt as if this book was a rushed title and although it had the potential to be great, it wasn't thought out very well.

Jumpstarts from chapter one and never stops

I am a fan of Sci-Fi movies but in general do not read or listen to them but this one caught my attention so decided to give it a try. I was blown away by the whole thing. The story is so good and characters are well formed with lots of depth to them. The hero Kyle Riggs is a college professor of computer science that ends up saving the world. The save however does come with strings attached. Great sadness when he suffers loss of his children not once but twice. Mark Boyette does and absolutely wonderful job. Kyle sounds like a hero. He does not make him sound macho but like a normal guy caught up in extraordinary events which he must learn to deal with or die. The test the ship puts him through to see if he can be a commander are great. I felt every bit of his turmoil in dealing with what was being thrown at him. Other characters in the book are also very well done vocally by Mark as well as written by the author. I will definitely listen to this again and at some point will go on the the others in this Starforce series. Thank goodness they keep Mark Boyette for the whole series. I was truly impressed with this listen.