The Disappeared

A Retrieval Artist Novel

By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Retrieval Artists help the lost find their way back home, whether they like it or not. Specialized private detectives, they investigate the most unusual crimes in the galaxy. But Miles Flint isn't a Retrieval Artist. He's just a cop, trying to do his job.

In a stolen space yacht, three people have been found eviscerated, the grisly signature of an alien vengeance killing. Moments later, the border patrol halts another ship launched out of the moon's orbit. Its passengers are two human children, kidnapped by the most ruthless aliens in the universe. Both ships are linked to a woman on the run: a Disappeared relocated to the inhospitable landscape of Mars. A reluctant outlaw with a bounty on her head and a detective on her case, she's about to teach all of them a lesson: it's dangerous to gamble with your life in a universe that rigs the game.

Listen to more in the Retrieval Artist series.

©2002 White Mist Mountain, Inc. (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A masterful writer is at work." (Orson Scott Card)

"Top 10 Greatest Science Fiction Detective Novels of all Time." (io9.com)

"If you love puzzle mysteries, crime novels, well-invented sci-fi worlds or stories about characters you can believe in and care about, you owe it to yourself to give Rusch's Retrieval Artist novels a try." (Orson Scott Card)

Fast paced space detective novel

This is a fast, interesting and well-developed novel with interesting aliens and a suspenseful plot.

There are some gaps where the story seems to jump and a major story thread gets concluded "behind the scenes" (i.e. we last see one character on the run from the police then at the end of the book we find out she's been relocated to Earth, but there is no indication of how or when this happened).

The narration is very good; the characters are distinctly voiced and I will certainly be reading more in the series.

Very interesting first novel of a new series

Kristine Rusch has developed a great hook with this series, and she's joined with Jay Snyder as narrator to come out with a great new story arc--at last-a NEW SiFi story line.

Rusch writes tight dialog, both human and alien and Snyder does a wonderful job of inventing the aliens speech patterns and voices. Together they have a intriguing new idea that caught my attention in the first hour.

Other reviews have covered the story line so I won't-I just have encourage those who love good tight SiFi thats not based in uber tech but reads like it's just the normal day except hundreds of years in the future, to check this first novel out. As for me, I'm on to # 2

I really look forward to hearing Book 2

STORY (sci-fi) - The Retrieval Artist series is set in a time where intergalactic commerce is in its infancy. Laws from other worlds are often broken by humans who didn't even know of the existence of the law. Alien enforcers come to collect human "criminals" and subject them to the punishment their world expects for those crimes. Thus, many humans decide to become "Disappeareds," seeking the help of agencies who give them new identities and new lives where they can evade alien law enforcement. Thus, the evolution of "Retrieval Artists," whose job is to find Disappeareds at the request of family members in emergencies or other special circumstances.

The main character, Miles Flint, is a police officer who has recently been promoted to detective. He is faced with alien enforcers from two different worlds who have come to collect their criminals. The only problem is, Flint and his partner aren't convinced that they've committed any sort of crime, at least according to earth standards, and decide to investigate for themselves. Everything about this book is unusual and interesting -- the aliens, the "crimes," the disappearances, the city on the moon under Armstrong Dome where the story takes place. It's all just a fresh new concept that's very well done. I look forward to hearing future books in this series.

PERFORMANCE - Good job. Reminds me a little of Scott Brick (another Audible narrator).

OVERALL (actual overall rating 4.5) - There's no sex, and I don't recall any profanity. There's not much violence and only one fairly grisly crime scene description. I'd recommend this book for adults, male or female, who enjoy sci-fi and detective work. It is Book 1 in the series, and you should definitely start at the beginning. The story can stand on its own, but there's lots of character development that will certainly carry into future books. (SLIGHT SPOILER: In the end Flint quits his detective job to become a Retrieval Artist, so I suspect Book 2 will begin his training in that profession).

The first of many

I chose this book based upon the reviews at Audible and they were right, it is a very good listen. Jay Snyder turns in a very good performance bringing the characters to life and giving each one a uniqueness that makes them come alive.

This is the first book in a series that is currently up to 9 books, there is a lot of good reading here and it is a nice step away from the John Scalzi books I have been listening to.

What I like most about this book is how clear the main characters motives are, they are driven by things that make sense to me, their emotions feel real and easy to understand. They are very human.

In this universe Human’s have agreed to respect and uphold the laws of many different alien cultures. This has created a lot of problems for the police and the court systems because many of the alien laws, punishable in amazingly horrible ways, are not obvious to the humans who regularly break those laws accidentally by doing things that are not considered illegal by the humans.

Those that find themselves in trouble disappear; they change their identities and their lives to escape the alien punishments that await them. They spend the rest of their lives on the run from both the human and alien courts.

There are bounty hunters known as "Trackers" who hunt down the disappeared to bring them back to the courts while "Retrieval Artists" who search for the disappeared to help them in different ways.

I took a chance.....was not dissapointed

It took a bit of effort in the beginning, but the story just kept expanding until the threads all came together......I thought the narrator did a fine job with all the different voices and the story line kept me listening... found myself almost late for work by sitting in my car for just a few more minutes....

solid story

Would you listen to The Disappeared again? Why?

perhaps not again

What did you like best about this story?

thevery novel take on alien legal interactions

What about Jay Snyder’s performance did you like?

he did well. As a narrator he disappeared which is what we want

Any additional comments?

It was an excellent premise to begin with - we meet the aliens, live side by side - and how is it we arrange legal matters between us, exactly?- this alone kept me entertaned. I was interested in the characters and the plot, too, however. I will be reading at least the next book in theseries.

Wonderful

This was my first KK Rusch book. It was very engaging and well paced. I looked forward to my listening time and found myself with many "driveway" moments not wanting to leave the story. I enjoyed the descriptions of aliens and their worlds and cultures. Very thoughtfully put together. The narration was perfect.

Enjoyed this book

A surprisingly good novel, The Retrieval Artist is a fairly well written meditation on law v custom extrapolated to truly alien cultures (and that the aliens are truly "alien" is something I appreciate).

What happens when Humanity has to co-exist with creatures whose laws are alien who insist that while humanity is on their territory they obey them? And of course to "human" eyes most of the laws (a first born child to be surrendered to the Aliens is the judgement of choice for one species, a kind of execution by torture another's) aew extreme overreactions. How do human law enforcement officials follow these directives, what if any options do the "criminals" have? To disappear is one.

The book is well written and plotted and I enjoyed it overall. The one thing I could have wished would be a little more from the aliens perspective, trying to deal with people who (pretty much universally of the cases presented in the book) seem to think that ignorance of the law should be a valid excuse.

Great premise

This is a terrific combination of SF and Mystery. Very well read and a real page-tuner (if you can use that term with audio).

You will disappear into this book

The characters and settings are awesome! This is one of my favorite Sci-fi books and the reader does a great job.