The Trafalgar Gambit

Ark Royal, Book 3

By: Christopher G. Nuttall

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Humanity is losing the war. The once-mighty space navies have been crippled, officers and crew have been stretched to the limit, and Earth herself has come under heavy attack. The end cannot be long delayed. For Admiral Smith and the crew of HMS Ark Royal, the stakes have never been so high. The one hope is to make contact with alien factions that might oppose the war. But, as Ark Royal sets off on a desperate diplomatic mission, it rapidly becomes clear that there are both human and alien factions that wish to fight the war to the bitter end - and that her previous missions have sown the seeds of success...or total failure.

©2014 Christopher G. Nuttall (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Mr. Nuttall we get it...really...we do

What did you love best about The Trafalgar Gambit?

It is a good basic storyline, with a lot of room to expand in. The problem is the author tends to dwell on things over and over again. The Ark Royal is old, and armored and the only ship that can stand up to the aliens. OK. The Crown Prince is out there too. OK. There is some problems with the Royal succession. OK. Please stop repeating it aud naseum. The story is worth the listen, as long as you are prepared for the repeats. You do get involved in the storyline of what will happen, and will there be a breakthrough, and how will it happen. Stick with it and hope the author gets the message and the next book is cleaner and smoother.

If you’ve listened to books by Christopher G. Nuttall before, how does this one compare?

Mr. Nuttall seems to make the same mistakes in all three books, maybe he rammed them out at once. His editors let him down by not cleaning it up and asking for a rewrite.

Have you listened to any of Ralph Lister’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not sure, he does a good job. Characters are distinct and clear.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Don't hold the repeats against me, please.....

Any additional comments?

A good, original way to treat first contact, and possibly a realistic one. The tramline idea is good and explains FTL transits well. The characters are good, if we just got one dose of them we would all be better off. But still a good listen.

Fantastic end to a great story

This entire series was probably one of my favorites in a long time.

And this book ends the storyline very well.

I don't think I will move on to the next book because I know it fallows a completely different set of characters it goes in a different direction, and I know it sounds cheesy but I just don't think I can give up the emotional attachment I add to this story line.

Great 3rd entry to a series that I truly enjoy.

A very enjoyable entry to the series. I plan on listening again, and look forward to more from the author.

A must have book!

Great story and a fantastic climax! The performance was excellent, and really adds to the story. Was totally worth the time to listen too.

Good story

I'm really enjoying this series, it's believable, scientifically possible with good character development. Looking forward to #4. Reader does tend to overdue the voices somewhat. 30 something sounds like a 70 year old and he can't do an American accent to save his life.

Odd reading

Strangely, the narrator for this book tended to lower his voice at the end of some sends is making it seem like there were words that were truncated. Otherwise, he was a great reader. The story was fluid and consistently interesting.

Cliched ending perhaps..

The series reminded me a wee bit of Battlestar Galactica's story line. Battlestar's story line was more rich I thought.

Much Better!

Book 3 The Trafalgar Gambit is by far much better then the first 2 books. That said it still has too much of who's sleeping with who in it. Way too Much. But it does have some very good action battles in it. It is well written and well narrated. The wole trilogy could have been so much better if it didn't spend some much time on whot everyone is sleeping with and other draw out things that no one cares about.

Poor job by the voice over actor

The American and other accents were executed badly. He couldn't change his own thick British accent. The story was hackneyed and predictable. Although it was enjoyable due to very good character development.

Great Story!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Trafalgar Gambit to be better than the print version?

I don't know. I can't read on the train or walking so audio is my best option.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked Sir Theodore Smith. Great character!! All of them really.

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

I liked his voices.

Any additional comments?

Lots of repetitiveness. It was a long time between reading book 2 and now 3. So some repetitiveness is acceptable, however, this book threatening to making me irritated. It could have been really bad if I listened to them one after another. This repetitiveness is a problem all over though I find.