Bad Luck Charlie

The Dragon Mage, Book 1

By: Scott Baron

Narrated by: Gary Bennett

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Charlie Gault had all the luck. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the good kind.

It was looking like Lady Luck had quite a grudge against him. In fact, at this point merely crashing the multi-billion-dollar ship he had helped design would have felt like winning the lottery compared to his current dilemma. If only he were so lucky. Things had started off all right - that is, until a freak wormhole unexpectedly swallowed his ship, leaving him stranded on an unknown planet far, far from home.

With the crew’s lives at stake, Charlie had no choice but to stop his whining, put on his big boy pants, and step up to save them all, and much to his surprise, it actually looked like he might succeed. Of course, that was when things really went sideways in ways that made merely crashing on an uncharted planet seem like a walk in the park.

Suddenly, faced with alien space pirates, talking dragons, and something that seemed very much like magic, Charlie found himself adrift, feeling like a space age Robinson Crusoe - only his man Friday was a blue-skinned alien, and this wasn't just a desert island. It was a whole new galaxy.

©2019 Scott Baron (P)2019 Scott Baron

Favorite sci-fi/magic book this year!

Holy cow, what a fun book! This is a perfect mix of sci-fi & magic (for me) that is literal non-stop from start to finish. I had a hard time finding a place to pause because there were hardly any points where you are like "ok, I'm cool to just stop here for a bit." NO, it's not ok and you must keep listening.

I laughed out loud tons of times, cringed with Charlie about the state of his surroundings, listened in suspense as he gets himself into mortal danger in what felt like about 4x a chapter. POOOOR CHARLIE! While he may be pretty smart, he's probably got the worst luck in the world...no, the universe. First everything goes explicitly wrong at his job right off the bat and he's (literally) flung into a completely different solar system. From here on out, Charlie is fighting/submitting constantly trying not to be killed for being a human, trying not to be killed as a slave, trying not to be killed as a pirate, trying not to be killed as a fugitive, trying not to be killed by dragons, trying not to be killed by gladiators AND dragons, and finally trying not to be killed or kill himself whilst riding on a dragon! Seriously, it's non-stop because Charlie's life seems to be ruled and shaped by Murphy's Law. Also somewhere in there he gets completely covered in raw sewage too, so he's also got that going for him. I will emphasis again: poor Charlie.

Gary Bennett’s narration is fantastic! His accents, character voices, & emotions have true individuality. He reads them so seamlessly that they seem natural - no problems knowing who is doing the talking. Gary brought Bad Luck Charlie to life for me; definitely a narrator that helps make a book series enjoyable. I actually went straight to audible to immediately buy the next book in The Dragon Mage series but it wasn't out yet - but it is now! Bought it straight away.

I'm so glad I received this book, because it's been one of my favorites all year.

I received this audiobook from the author, narrator, or publisher in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Great read

This book kept me wondering what would happen to Charlie next . lmao looking forward to the next one

fun beginning to a new series

This is a fun and interesting new series that I am looking forward to following. The protagonist is fun and believable, the action fast enough to keep you interested but he takes some time to think. Moral questions are inter-spaced but don't get in the way.

playing the long game huh.

there were parts that could have used less introspection and internal explanation but I believe it was for the story. over all it was a very enjoyable book especially when there was forward movement in the story.

Well done, and great story

I enjoy the style and the feel of the book and story. Getting the next one now

A very fun book, similar in feel to the Bobiverse

Narrator does a terrific job making each character distinctive.

The story seems like it would be weird because of all the genre mashed together, but it works well with the way the story is told.

The story keeps you guessing what's going to happen, and you quickly give up trying to even figure out what you think will happen and just go along with the flow.

You see an obvious plot hook that you think for sure will be used quickly to resolve a current situation only for something completely unexpected to happen and a near genre change happens and you suddenly go from one setting to an utterly unexpected one

Can't wait to read the next one!

The book was fantastic. I feel that the narrator was spot on for Charlie, and the story keeps you interested all the way through.

Starts off slower, but boy what a ride

What might you expect from a story about an engineer who is afraid of space travel assigned to a maiden voyage of a starship and some new technology? Well, let me say, this is only the first of many things that can and does go wrong for Charlie as his luck goes from bad to worse. “Bad Luck Charlie” is the first book in “The Dragon Maze” series and appears to be the premiere work published on Audible by author Scott Baron. The audiobook edition is delightfully narrated by Gary Bennett. Even though the audiobook has a slower and bumpy start getting going, it does not take much time to wonderfully blossoms in to a very deep and compelling science fiction adventure. The listener is taken from one wonderfully awful place to the next, but each experience is like a gem for the listener. If you are a person who likes exploration, adventure, life and humor, let me say that this first in a series has started off very well and I look forward to the future audiobooks to come.

Although the story is action packed from the start to the finish. In some ways it was like a pressure cooker that takes a little while to reach its full potential. Once the momentum is achieved, the audiobook is like a rollercoaster cresting its first drop, and what a fun and exciting trip it takes the listener on when it happens. In many ways the story feels like a tragic survival tale, but the many twists and turns have you always wondering what comes next. How much bad luck can Charlie have? A lot. Don’t get me wrong, at first, I thought the book was going to be more slap-stick or satirical, but the author weaves a tale including emotions of love, loss, and life while keeping it light-hearted and fun along the way. The main character felt complex, likeable, and you begin to truly care for his well-being and next steps. At times you want to reach out and just give him a hug; he needs them. The use of flashbacks and other backstory details helped fill in Charlie’s life and how he became a great engineer who really does not enjoy what he does, yet he uses all his experiences to keep himself alive.

I very much enjoyed that we are able to observe and follow Charlie as he experiences and discovers the many different and unique things during his adventures. The various lands, people, relationships, etc. Much like with a role-playing game (RPG), the listener is able to see the main character grow and increase from his experiences. Later, he would use these new lessons to his own advantage, or to the benefit of his close friends. The worlds Charlie experiences felt vastly different and unique from our own. There is a blending of both technology and “magic” making things operate in these strange places. At times it had a feeling of Steampunk, Underworld and Starship Troopers blended with bits of humor to lighten the tension. The author did a wonderful job of showing us the tight bonds and friendship he makes along the way. Often these overshadow all his bad luck because apart from his situations, he always has his friends at his side.

All of this is made even better with the mystery, suspense, and adventure Charlie faces along his journey. Much like the famous trek to the land of Mordor to dispatch the magical ring, Charlie as well has a journey that is fraught with pain and loss along the way. He learns, grows, and experiences life in what many would consider the worst of the worst conditions. Yes, his luck was bad, but his pain is what made him grow into the loving and carrying person he becomes. I do like that the author as well admits to his love of off-kilter humor as the book has many one liners and snarky comments that had me laughing out loud a few times. One character stated that both bravery and stupidity are the same thing, it only depends on the outcome and one’s perspective; insightful. We also see that this man is not afraid of failure as this is what he uses to grow and mature into who he becomes.

At the end of the story, I did not feel cheated, but I can say that I wanted more. I want to know about this magic, some of the alien weapons, the various people (alien) groups, etc. I want to see Charlie grow and experience more. This is a sign of a well-written and narrated audiobook. In some ways the story reminded me of the movie “The Truman” show where we are given a front row seat to observe the many thoughts, deeds and actions of Charlie. I enjoyed it very much and the audiobook really was more than I first thought it would be. The chapters are short and easily consumable, but the writing is descriptive and easy to picture.

The audiobook’s narrator did a wonderful job of setting the tone and pace of the story. There was an overarching sense of dread or weightiness which the narrator was able to maintain throughout the book. But, also a true sense of relief when the author uses humor, we can hear it in the narration. The narrator did a good job of expressing and brings the main character, and all the others, to life for the listener. For a relative newcomer to the Audible narration scene, with seventeen total books at the time of this review, the audio was clean, crisp, and free of any noticeable audio artifacts.

For parents and younger readers, be aware that the author uses vulgar language which seems to become more frequent as the book progresses or in times of heated action. There is some use of mature content involving innuendoes along with references to specific body parts. There are also some light aspects of anti-religious overtones by the main character, but these are rarely portrayed. Because of the nature of the more mature material covered in the book along with some violence, I would not recommend the book to younger readers.

In summary, the book has a veneer of being only a humorous tale of Charlie and his many episodes of bad luck. It is much more than that and well worth a credit for the listen. The author gives us a glimpse into what may be future elements to come, but we are also left waiting for the next in the series to be released. Charlie, we are sorry that you had to experience all the bad luck you did, but we are glad you brought us along for the ride.

This book was provided by the author, narrator, and/or publisher free of charge in exchange for an honest review

The cover had me hooked

Seeing the dragon next to a starship immediately piqued my interest, and I'm happy to say it didn't disappoint. The clear delineation between science and magic is a good change of pace, its not just 'other science we don't understand' but is actually its own discrete thing. The performance was good, too. the characters were easily distinguished by their voices and the pace and articulation was pretty good.

Original and great world building.

Although this started off slowly it really set the scene for what is to become a great series. l really recommended this and the following books in the series. l am up to book 4 and hooked.
Recommended