Absolution

By: Rachel Ford

Narrated by: Megan Green

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

New wars and old conflicts. An empire reborn from blood and ash.

Nikia Idan led an uprising that liberated the Tribari people. Brek Trigan saved his colony from starvation. Captain Drake Elgin protected the citizens of Central from loyalist forces. The worst was supposed to be behind them.

When a loyalist fleet appears in Tribari airspace, the tenuous alliance between the military and parliament is strained to the point of breaking. Meanwhile, a rogue governor's quest for independence will put the empire's promise of freedom to the test. 

The decisions of these few will change the fate of many.

©2019 Rachel Ford (P)2019 Rachel Ford

It's not over yet...

After finishing liberation I was surprised that this was a full length novel,
surely there wasn't that much to do to wrap up the series - boy was I wrong.
This story answers a slew of questions I didn't even know I had:
What will Trappers Colony do with their new found freedom?
What about all of the consortium that ran off and hid?
Who will be the next Supreme Leader?

All of these questions and more are answered in this final conclusion to the
series. This story is one part military strategy, one part political satyr, one
part romance and two parts intrigue as the tensions boil over. If you have read
the story this far you can't go wrong with this conclusion.

Getting better

Not a fan of the Narrator voice Megan Green for this story. I feel it just does not suit it.

Tribari Freedom Chronicles Conclusion has done the series well. I feel that the author has grown.

Although I would love to hear more to this series, I just cannot stand to hear the dead dead dead again.

I received a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for this honest review.

Good conclusion to the series

I’m really glad I had all four books in this series lined up in my Audible app so I could roll from one right into the other. I was doing some household chores when I finished Liberation and cued Absolution right up. Rachel Ford picked up nearly right where she left off and I feel like these last two books were the stronger ones within the series. The challenges that each character had to face were compelling and it kept the action moving so that I was no longer as annoyed by the narrator as I was in the first and, especially, the second book.

I like how Rachel Ford combined the story lines of Nikia Idan and Brek Trigan: Nikia being forced to serve and act as a face of the successful revolution because of Grel and the baby; Brek learning how to be a minister in a world that he feels uncomfortable in. There was so much potential, both political and personal, here that I couldn't wait to see where it went.

Again, I loved the story line for Captain Elgin. There was a bunch of action and intrigue with his parts, and I loved his interactions with his fellow Captain Mercer. I would have been happy to see more of him.

One of the issues that I had with this series is that I felt many of the bigger story arcs were glossed over or too brief. I know the first three books were fairly short and Absolution was double the length of those, but I really wish Ford would have delved deeper into all the major areas of the series: the bad guys, the fights, etc. Just when I would really settle into the story it would jump into something else. The big scenes didn't have enough meat to sustain me. I wanted more!

I will say that there was plenty going on in this final book of the series. Maybe a little too much? It just seemed like Ford kept tossing plot after plot into the story when it would have been stronger to break each new conflict into a different book and expand the series, or just cut some of the fluff altogether.

Now that I've finished the series, I would rate the audiobook narrator at a solid C. I disliked Megan Green through the first two books. By the third I adjusted to her quirks and I mostly cruised along with her in the fourth book. I still believe this series would have been better served by having a male narrator or someone who is excellent at doing a range of male voices, considering the number of main male characters there are in this book.

One note on the production of the audiobook. Green's transitions between scenes were so quick that sometimes I was bewildered on what was going on. It sounded more like a continuation of a sentence rather than a changing of perspective. It's a small matter, but would make it easier to listen to and understand if there were slight pauses in those parts.

I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Great convergence of storylines to the end

This is the seventh book I’ve read/listened to by this author, and fourth in this series. What an awesome conclusion!! I’m sorry it’s over.
I previously listened to book 1, 2 and 3 of this series. Book 1 and book 2 parallel each other in time and cross at one point. Book 3 introduces a few new characters and eventually the paths of the main characters (from these previous books) cross and they each have their part to do in the reform. Some of them do it purposefully, others by chance.
In this, the final book, it starts with Brek going to Central to represent everyone on Theta. The provisional parliament, lead by Nikia, is muddling through the remains of the Tribari Emprire. They’re trying to unite everyone under a fair, elected government. A loyalist fleet is threatening the peace. Captain Elgin and his crew are trying their best to protect the Tribari people. Tal, Tig and Govenors Nees all have important roles to play. Despite all, there are those trying to undermine their efforts.


This is the fourth book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Megan Green ) and I would listen to another. She does better job performing than just reading the story. Her character voices are mostly distinct and she imparts personalities.
There is some static in the background of the audio recording that is a bit disruptive.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing (that I recall).

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

A good conclusion

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Absolution concludes the Tribari Freedom Chronicles. I originally thought book 4 would not have much to add to the series as book 3 seemed to be a conclusion of the Tribari uprising, however I was wrong. Book 4 definitely adds to the series and if you’ve invested in the story up to book 3 you should definitely read book 4. This book ties up a bunch of storylines and leaves us with some hope for the Tribari future. The author does a decent job of writing, and I’m sure if she keeps at it the quality will go from decent to great in the future. The narration continues to be on par with the other books. Overall I would give this 3.5 stars.

👍🏻

I did enjoy this series. It’s a bit to political for me to really get into it. Maybe because it felt a bit to real. Rachel Ford’s artistic world building makes it easy to get sucked into the story. Pretty dark and gritty compared to her other series I’ve read. I did like that.

Not fond of the narrator. I’d prefer to read the book over listening to this narrator. She has a lisp and it’s just too distracting to enjoy the book.

-I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.-

A Positive Conclusion

Absolution, the final installment of the Tribari Freedom Chronicles, brings each of the storylines to a positive conclusion. Overall, the Tribari Freedom Chronicles are a combination of science fiction, romance, and social commentary.This is a very good story with more depth than most sci-fi series. I recommend it.
This is a voluntary review of a free copy.

AWESOME SERIES!

I really enjoyed this series! This series is action packed throughout and gives you plenty of drama, suspense and romance. The narration is excellent, It will keep you entertained! The author did an amazing job with the character builds and plot. I look forward to reading more books from this author! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Finally, this is what I wanted from this series

I have now finished the entire series, and I am glad I did. The books have gotten progressively better. In the earlier books, I had the feeling something was missing. The good guys were too good, the bad guys were too bad, the revolution was entirely justified, everything was just too simple, and the revolution was overly simple as a result. But this book finally got it right. There was tension, important characters died. This is what I had been waiting for.

Things were not perfect, though. Throughout the book there were mentions of the characters having blue blood. But there was no real reason for it...it just seemed like it was blue to enhance the message that these were different beings, yet we were still asked to assume that their bodies acted the same as ours. We were supposed to understand that high blood pressure, pregnancy, and injuries affected the characters as they would any of us, the only difference is the color of the blood. But if that is the only difference, why have it? Another issue was a pet peeve of mine...getting the science wrong in a science fiction story. In this case, there was a case where two people a heavy man and a light woman jumped from something (trying to avoid spoilers, here), Then came the statement that gravity alone meant that he would hit first. No, no, no. Two bodies fall at the same rate regardless of mass...the only difference is caused by wind resistance, not gravity. Check out this video of a bowling ball and a feather being dropped in a vacuum chamber (so that the difference in wind resistance is negligible). Search for Brian Cox Vacuum Chamber. Spoiler alert...They land at the same time.

Outside of this, I really enjoyed this series. The final payoff in this book is worth it.

I was given a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for an unbiased evaluation, and have voluntarily left this review.

good read

This series was absolutely fantastic, quite mind blowing. Enjoyed it very much. Would recommend this book to others.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Final book of Tribari Freedom Chronicles

The concluding book showed the struggle to live up to the ideals fought for and the temptation of power. Everything let to a conclusion and a glimps into the future of the characters. Maybe there will be more adventures of the Tribari coming up?
Narration had either improved or I got used to it after listening for 30+ hours during the previous books.

Emotional

This final book involves multiple threads of various groups as the New Empire struggles to conclude the war and create a workable government from the remains of the old Empire. There are many emotional moments as people realize how vulnerable they are and how fragile the situation is. Some of the characters at times seem immature; but this is a science fiction novel not a political thriller. The listen is enjoyable and the characters have been built up across the books until they reach the point desired.
The narrator has a British accent and it took me a couple books before I was able to follow her without having to listen very carefully. But it did happen.
This book was provided free of charge and this review was voluntarily given.

Absolution

The characters were interesting, including the character development and relationships that each of these characters had formed over the series. I also really enjoyed the political buildup.