Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue

The Bern Saga, Book 1

By: Hugh Howey

Narrated by: Jennette Selig

It wasn't easy for Molly being the only girl in Flight Academy, but getting expelled was even worse. Abandoned by her family when she was young and now tossed from the only home she's ever known, her future looks bleak.

But then Molly hears that her father's old starship has turned up halfway across the galaxy. Setting off to retrieve the old craft, she hopes it will hold clues to his disappearance. Accompanying her as a chaperone is Cole, her old flight partner from the Academy.

Molly can't believe it. She's now the proud owner of her own starship. Her spring break is going to be spent traveling across the galaxy with a cute boy. Could things possibly get any better?

Little does Molly know, they are about to get much, much worse....

©2009 Hugh Howey (P)2013 Hugh Howey

I guess it is nice to build a universe

The book was good although a bit to pat just running one direction and uncovering a whole new planet, picking up stray kids along the trail. but on the other hand I am buying the next book right now, so that must tell you Huge Howey is always Huge Howey and he just pulls you I with every writing

Horrible audio quality

Scratchy, fuzzy fidelity, uneven volume. It’s very annoying. The beginning of a sentence will be soft and hard to understand, and the volume will fluctuate until it gets so loud it startles you. I deleted it and reloaded it just to make sure…

No Wool, but not bad

If I remember correctly, this is Hugh Howey's first book, and it shows. The writing lacks the finesse and style of his later work, yet he still somehow manages to hook me with a compelling story. It reads like a young adult novel, but is not saturated with unrequited teen love angst. Molly is mature, yet naive about the real world, as you would expect a former Naval Academy student to be. He drops in just enough reminders that she's just a teenager without making her seem like a typical teenager. By the end, I was hooked and I have already added the second book to my library.

The narrator leaves much to be desired. As others have mentioned, her voice is breathy and there are awkward pauses and pacing. Her intonation in places makes you question the characters motives. She doesn't create enough of a difference in voices, so it's hard in certain parts to know who is speaking. She pronounces "chaff" incorrectly, which drove me up a wall. I'd forgive one or two occurrences, but the use of chaff and the aftermath comes up throughout the book, and in a battle scene it was distracting enough to ruin the tension for me. Most people probably won't even notice, but it bugged me. I hope the new narrator in the next book is better.

Derivative YA Space Opera

Like others who reviewed this book, I came to Molly Fyde after having read and/or listened to the Wool series and the Sand series. If you’re like me you might end up dissatisfied - it is clear that this was written earlier in Howey’s career.

The core concepts and characters feel largely derivative of other well-known works or use worn tropes. It makes the entire piece come off as a YA novel. This isn’t necessarily bad - my kids might enjoy it - but if you’re already well read then you might find the story disappointing when compared with Hugh Howey’s other works.

If you want something original, exciting and thought provoking, look elsewhere.

Definitely juvenile

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I am used to the quality of David Weber and Clive Cussler. This book is a waste of time. The story is very repetitive.

What was most disappointing about Hugh Howey’s story?

Slow moving and repetitive

What about Jennette Selig’s performance did you like?

Very good reader. Makes the story as interesting as possivle.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Not a chance.