Ark Royal

By: Christopher G. Nuttall

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

"If you wish for peace, prepare for war." (Royal Navy Motto)

Seventy years ago, the interstellar supercarrier Ark Royal was the pride of the Royal Navy. But now, her weapons are outdated and her solid-state armour nothing more than a burden on her colossal hull. She floats in permanent orbit near Earth, a dumping ground for the officers and crew the Royal Navy wishes to keep out of the public eye. But when a deadly alien threat appears, the modern starships built by humanity are no match for the powerful alien weapons. Ark Royal and her mismatched crew must go on the offensive, buying time with their lives And yet, with a drunkard for a Captain, an over-ambitious first officer and a crew composed of reservists and the dregs of the service, do they have even the faintest hope of surviving....

And returning to an Earth which may no longer be there?

©2014 Christopher G. Nuttall (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Fun--but only fun like a cut-rate Weber or Bujold

I did enjoy this book, and the second in the series, but I've decided not to blow a credit on the third. The headline of my review pretty much sums it up. The essential space-operatic premises on which these stories operate were worked out by David Weber and Lois McMaster Bujold years ago, and Nuttall contributes nothing new. The technology and its constraints are exactly the same, and in a few instances the weapons systems, drives, etc, even bear the same names. Of course Bujold and Weber can only write so much, and if you're desperate (as I was) you could do much worse. The pacing is good, the narrator is solid, and the characters, if a bit stereotyped, are still believable.

I Loved this book!!!

I think was a wonderful book and just wish I could find more like it!

A nice take on space battles

The idea of an old ship being the best weapon against a superior enemy is nothing new, but I feel the character development makes up for it.

Narration ruined it for me

This was an adequate space military adventure, underdog saves everyone. Nothing special or new, but worth the time.

I was bothered by the narration all the way through. At first I thought it might be cultural, but after I listened I realized that I was only bothered by how the dialog was spoken. Listening to thoughts or descriptions of the action did not bother me. The delivery of spoken words was so curt, chewed and ground that it wrung every bit of humanity out of every character. I like simple novels, military manners of speaking. I hated how these characters were flattened paper thin by what I feel was a terrible delivery. So many other narrators I’ve listened to would have added to the story, while this one took all my enjoyment away.

outstanding.

great book. the narrator was spot on, and the story was enjoyable from beginning to end, even if it was a bit cliched.

Action

Would you consider the audio edition of Ark Royal to be better than the print version?

Very much enjoyed this book.....never a dull moment!

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the action and the human elements.

Which scene was your favorite?

The raid on New Russia

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Never a dull moment.

A good Sci-Fi tale in a British accent

I truly enjoyed this book and a science fiction fan I think most people work the characters can be identified with and a good solid story rounded out by a good narrator wraps it up in a tidy little package. I will be getting the next in the series.

Pretty Good!

I was looking for something like this, however the performer spoke as though going for a full sentence when he wasn't as if he wasn't prepared. Maybe a little more editing? Other than that, great!

Interesting book, but some cliches

I quite enjoyed this book, but didn't find the interactions always believable. At first, some of the characters seemed stereotypical, but I enjoyed them once I got to know them.

I found their logic odd at times (what to attack, what not) and at times it seemed like they couldn't be bothered to think about other ships and such.

Overall, the narrator was pretty good, but he didn't distinguish voices at all and the production had no transition between scenes. So, I'd often be listening to one character talking and then hit something that didn't make sense, only to realize that it had switched to another scene/character with no warning. They should either have used an additional narrator for some characters, had this guy separate voices to some degree, or had some kind of transition (silence, sound, etc) when it switched between scenes.

Good entertainment - better than Weber

Any additional comments?

Good fun mitlitary sci-fi. The aliens are alien and a nice match against humanity, which is better much sci-fi that is all human personality in either a human or inhuman body. This would be a good juvenile but a little heavy on the soft core porn, The extra marital affair probably appeals to the older listener than the younger, but handled well enough. The action starts pretty early and stays though to the end rather than the tired Weber formula of saving all the action to the end. This is nothing revolutionary but is certainly good solid entertainment.