Hunted

League of Peoples, Book 4

By: James Alan Gardner

Narrated by: Adam Henderson

For the children of Admiral Alexader York, perfection wasn't just expected, it was guaranteed - written into their DNA before they were born.

But while Samantha grew into the physical and mental marvel their father had bought and paid for, her twin brother Edward proved a disappointment. Genetic tinkering had raised Sam above the common herd, but Edward's faultless body housed a faulty brain.

It took all the Admiral's influence to get Edward commissioned in the Outward Fleet Explorer Corps - a fiercely independent band of misfits who referred to themselves proudly as Expendables. Accompanying Sam on a mission to the troubled planet of Troyen, home to the alien Mandasar, Edward found himself in the midst of a civil war. There, in an instant of horrifying insanity, Sam was killed, along with the alien hive-queen.

For the next 20 years, Edward was exiled to a lonely outpost on one of Troyen's moons, blamed by the Admiral for Sam's death - and blaming himself as well. But when escalating violence forces the evacuation of the system, Edward embarks on a perilous journey home that will lead hin into a forgotten past - and, with the assistance of another ex-Expendable, the greatest Explorere of them all, the legendary Admiral Festina Ramos, into a future thick with conspiracy and betrayal. For there lurks a dark secret powerful enough to bury the hopes of human and Mandasar alike...or give them a new and brighter beginning.

©2000 James Alan Gardner (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Worthy of a good review!

I shied away from this Audible book because there were no reviews posted and I regret waiting so long to listen. I was in need of a book for a weekend of travel and figured I’d try the next book in the League of People series. I can honestly say that I enjoyed Hunted, so much so that spent several hours Monday morning finishing the book.

I must say up front, I did not initially like the narrator. He reminded me too much of a radio announcer reading news he found uninteresting. After a couple of other characters were introduced I understood Edward was telling his story as a simplified report of the incidents of his life on Troyen from his ‘faulty brain’ and a lifetime of low self-esteem. My opinion of the narrator changed 180 degrees as I focused on the exquisite, imaginative, plausible worlds created by James Allen Gardner and his description of the Mandasar (natives of Troyen) race. While the story is sometimes predictable but there are still plenty of twists and turns including the Explorers and their Admiral Festina Ramos in all their outcast glory keeping humans in-line with the League of Peoples.

If you enjoyed the previous books of the Leagues of Peoples series I’m sure you will enjoy Hunted (just give the story ((and the narrator)) long enough to grow on you - like moss). You may note that I gave the performance four stars because I believe the initial dislike of the narrator's performance was a producer decision and not a reflection of the otherwise stellar job.)

Riveting!

Slower start with lots of character and world building but soooo worth it. Return of old faces that drew me in to the series was very welcomed.

Have always loved the book, narrator was Eh

I've been a fan of this book ever since I first read it. It's still a great story but the narrator detracts from it. I always envisioned Edward as being a sweet man and I also imagined his voice like Ray Porter's (from Project Hail Mary). Adam's voice was a little too rattle-y, a little too 'old' (and yes, I realize Edward was supposed to be middle aged but still)... I dunno it bothered me. I also didn't imagine the warrior Mandasar sounding like... Yoda. Also? Why is it that women do better men's voices than vice versa?