Machinations

Last Resistance, Book 1

De: Hayley Stone

Narrado por: Kate Reading

Waking up as a clone with a broken memory? Not great when you're leading the resistance.

Rhona has battled the malevolent AI intent on wiping out humanity since the first Machinations began - until she’s killed during a rescue mission gone wrong. Now, Rhona awakens to find herself transported to a new body, complete with her DNA and her personality.

She's a clone...of herself. Except for her missing memories. Some of which could potentially turn the tide of the war.

Trapped in the shadow of the life she knew and rejected by the man who once loved her, the reincarnated Rhona must fight to secure her place among old friends and newfound enemies - and quickly. For the machines are inching closer to exterminating humanity for good. And only Rhona, whoever she is now, can save them.

Experience the unforgettable start of the Last Resistance series, a sci-fi thriller filled with heart, soul, and plenty of twists. Perfect for fans of Orphan Black, Westworld, Robopocalypse, and Terminator.

©2020 Aethon Books (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

Good listen

Kate reading is a very good narrator. Story is captivating. I had a hard time turning it off to go to bed

Fun Robopocalypse story

This was a fun book. Rhona was an interesting character and seeing the struggles that she faced as a clone was an pretty cool concept, but hearing rhona said over and over in the book in 2020 has a different meaning. Overall fun book. Felt very terminator like, but that is expected in this type of book. I liked the pop culture references that kept popping up. They made me laugh. The narration was wonderful as always from Kate Reading!

Kate Reading nails it!

This Post-Apocalyptic book really captured me from the very start! I was immediately sucked into Rhona Long's POV from the very get go! From the last moments of her death (and her very poignant memories with her comrade in arms/lover), to her abrupt awakening in a lab, where she finds out that she's now a clone... Rhona Long 2.0 as it were, and the base is under attack!!! She's just awoken, and she's struggling to comprehend just what the Heck is happening !
There's plenty of action and lots of political intrigue, as Rona struggles with "memory loss" since her awakening, having received only a partial mind linkage/transference... she's also having her own existential crisis. What/Who is Rona Long 2.0? Is she the same woman? Is she just a stranger with some of another person's memories? Is she even human? All this soul searching angsty stuff would normally be a big turn off, but surprisingly it wasn't. I believe that it's Hayley Stone's tight plotting that keeps the story afloat as she navigates through the scenes!
I adored Kate Reading's marvelous performance, as she relates the story of Rona, and the last remaining resistance fighters!
So grab this audio book especially if you like post-apocalyptic adventure. Or are fans of the Terminator movies. I even think that fans of The Bobiverse trilogy would enjoy the book, I felt that Rona kinda reminded me of Bob and his wry wit and all the pop-culture references.

The sci-fi is just window dressing for the romance

“Burn the lines!”
“Hours later …”
The overall feel of the series was barely YA, fit for teens. There’s no sex or foul language, and the violence was comic level. Much of the story was told in info-dumps or happened off-screen.
For example the above quote, where Rhona yelled out the attack plan and then the story skipped the battle, jumping to the aftermath.

“Pigeons. We should go back to pigeons. Pigeons never tried to raise an army
or destroy the human race- that’s two reasons right there.”
Rhona was more quippy than snarky, like the Saturday morning cartoon version of The Terminator. Especially in this first book, it’s all about the romance between Camus and the cloned Rhona.
As tends to be the case with teenage dystopian trilogies, there’s also a not very convincing love triangle. There were interesting clone-related, philosophical questions presented, but instead of noodling those questions to death inside Rhona’s head, I could have done with a lot more sci-fi, action, or characters.

While this was fine, I’m not sure I’d have continued on if I hadn’t already bought all three at once. Thankfully, the middle book eases up on the romance and goes deeper into the sci-fi and clone angles.
It was still a slow burn, but I enjoyed the second and third books.

Where is John Connor

The narrator is fantastic as I usually hate the ear-piercing S's from so many female narrators. Kate is awesome. The story starts strong with little relational drama, and the author does a good job painting a picture of the future. Somewhere along the way, I got lost when the story shifted from kick-butt sifi to General Hospital. I listened to the entire book hoping the drama would leave, and the action would lead. Unfortunately, that didn't happen; this book wasn't for me, and the "historical" cultural references lost their appeal after the second one. I was waiting for a John Connor reference way before it squeezed its way into the story.
I was given this book free to enjoy, and I did when there wasn't so much self-loathing internal dialog.
It's not a terrible book; it's just not my first choice of listens.