The Signal

The Stolen Future, Book 1

By: Joshua T. Calvert

Narrated by: Phil Thron

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

A mysterious signal, A start-up that wants to change the world, A future that no longer belongs to us.

When a stranger with a high-tech implant is found in the remote Finnish wilderness, neurosurgeon Bill and his computer scientist friend Steve see an opportunity. But they don't know what powers they're up against. They soon must ask themselves what moral boundaries they're willing to cross in order to succeed.

Ten years later, the world has changed. Airships roam the skies, strange plants grow in the forests, and entire swaths of land are deserted.

In the midst of this alien world, a father and daughter struggle to survive in the mountains of Montana and avoid being discovered by "The Others." One thing is clear: humanity’s future depends upon deciphering the mysterious signal.

©2022 Joshua T. Calvert (P)2022 Podium Audio

Veracity in Science Fiction

Too many science fiction books/stories are either based solely in space, far from our earth, thousands of years from now or in galaxy similar but not having any basis in our existence. I am a science fiction believer - but not of the type above. SciFi ought to have its roots on earth and or with human influence or involvement in order for people to connect and enjoy the story. If not then it’s science fantasy, not fiction, for those that do not want to have a connection to our reality - they want to be far from it, and that’s fine, but that’s not science fiction. That is Fantasy, more recently VR is now making the same distinction. Do the masses want to escape it all and go to Mos Eisley Cantina or maybe use the veracity of our reality but make it better, broader and expansive - this is What the The Signal is…. Our present, with potential alien influence using, AI and VR but rooted in the human struggle or existence. It is a unique story that once it starts unraveling …we’ll, it was a lightbulb moment for me. I look forward to more of the story….
Thron is a good solid narrator and I hate critiquing performers as it’s so subjective rather than a book itself - it needs a more prolific performer. I say this because after 400+ audio books when I am picturing Phil Thron rather than the character that becomes a problem. We never want to see The great Oz, or even the director of a movie in the scene, it just doesn’t work. I had trouble knowing who was who, was that Bill or Steve or was it the sister?…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Scott Brick should do every book…it would be nice to here Wayne June; He seems to have disappeared. Porter or Bray yes, but also Berman,Hempel, Skelley, etc.

just ok

⭐️⭐️⭐️ for effort 😐

The concept is interesting but the story needs a bit of work to make it good. Some of the sentences are almost obligatory for the subject but they don't really add to the story's interest. it is almost as if the author added them because it was expected for the genre, but they didn't add materially to the story. The story could have been shorter and more to the point and would probably have been more interesting.

There were a couple interesting points but they were overshadowed by the confusing narration. There was not enough differentiation between character voices, so half my confusion was trying to figure out which character was speaking..even the female characters were indecipherable from the male characters, and I had to rewind a couple times to figure out which character was speaking.

Honestly the narrator was not terrible, but his style would lend it characteristics better to single voice narration, like manuals or documentaries or non-fiction were voice characters are not needed.