Battle on the Marathon

By: John Thornton

Narrated by: Chuck DiMaria

Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Colony ship Marathon left a dying Earth on a generation's long voyage to another planet. Inside its giant biomes were people who would spend their entire lives during that flight. They knew that their descendants would be the people who would arrive at the destination world. 

Life in those biomes was as close to life on Earth as possible, including ecologies, plants, animals, and families. In its own way, those biomes were idyllic. Additionally, tens of thousands of people would make the journey in suspended animation to be awakened on the destination planet.

During the long journey, something went wrong. Something else was on the Marathon. This adventure chronicles the life of one habitat dweller named Kalju, as he becomes aware of his role in what is taking place.

How will the battle on the Marathon end?

This is one audiobook in the John Thornton's Colony Ship Universe series.

©2017 John Thornton (P)2017 Automacube Enterprises

Battle on the Marathon

Any additional comments?

This book kept me in attention throughout the entire audiobook. A good narrator added to the enjoyment of this audiobook.
I receive a free copy compliment of AudioBookBoom

Loved it!

I really liked it. I was a little worried because of other reviews but I found the narrator really fit the MC character. He had a casual way of reading that suited the story. It had lots of action and heart. When it started I was also worried that it would be like Harry Potter in space, But it quickly turned a corner and surprised me. I won't give away anything here. The story felt epic as it spanned many "worlds" -"Biomes" and as it followed the life of a soldier from boyhood to battle-hardened. It was a true space opera and I could not put it down. Well Done!!!!!

wonderful story and outstanding narration.

This is one of those listens you van pit down. Do not be put off by the first 10 minutes as it will quickly evolve into a great story. Language is a bit stilted and formal but it does not make anything away from the very enjoyable listen

"Die, gas breathers!"

This first person narrative is in the form of a journalistic letter to the hero's younger brother Ryan, and traces Kalju's "coming of age" from career testing at age 13 through training and out into the "real" world of a multi-compartmented/habitated colony spaceship. And it is massive! (Both book and spaceship.) Rather than stringing the subject matter into a series of novellas, we are treated to an entire saga which is enhanced by Chuck DiMaria's expert narration, bringing Kalju from boy to man as he learns his past and his world and how to cope with injustice, incompetence and aliens. On the positive side there is learning and trust and camaraderie and hope for the future. And aliens. Very scary aliens. ("Die, gas breathers!") Although the narrative stands completely on its own it is actually part of a larger series of stories dealing with post-apocalyptic human existence, the Colony Ship universe.

Hero's journey

This is the epic story of a life lived bravely, a true heros tale! It begins with a young man living a quiet life in a biome named Kansas and tells the tale of a battle for the survival of a colony ship and all it's inhabitants. This story made me laugh out loud and cry along with our hero.

Very enjoyable!

I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this one as much as I did! The description says it all! I listen to all books at x2 so this may be a bit long for some!

18 hours of non stop adventure !

I really liked this book and Chuck DiMaria's Narration. The world that John Thornton summoned up left my imagination on overdrive for days after this book was done. The malevolence of the books antagonist collectively made me so mad. That is what a good audio book is supposed to do. Move you and make you think on many levels. Battle on the Marathon did just that and I for one am anxious for the sequel. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

good, immersive story of war with aliens

Any additional comments?

This audiobook clocks in at roughly 18 hours but the time goes by quickly. It's the story of a young man whose colony spaceship has come under attack by aliens. I liked that the author started the tale early, when a teenaged boy was placed in militia training to fight an undisclosed enemy. When we're introduced to the enemy aliens, the ongoing battle to save the colony ship begins.

This was an enjoyable story. It could have been shorter, but the ongoing engagements underline the magnitude of the fight and the experience of the hero. I was a bit more ambivalent about the ending of the story; I liked the idea of the epilogue, but was confused about people and places mentioned. It seems that the author might be setting us up for a sequel to the story that would fit between this main story and the setting of the epilogue. Also, I always seem to get distracted when an author doesn't use contractions in narratives; it seems very formal and stilted. It's a minor point, but it was a bit jarring since this story is a diary account.

3.75* for narration - The narrator certainly was enthusiastic, perhaps a little too emotive for my preference. Lots of pause breaks in the middle of sentences for effect, which seemed exaggerated to me since these pauses became quite frequent as the story progressed.

In terms of tone/volume, given the context of the story I can understand times when the hero would be hysterical as events in his life start to get crazy and post-traumatic stress sets in. It seemed that there was a lot of yelling and vocalized emotion as the story progressed, which would be appropriate if the story was taking place in real-time. However, the narrative was an after-the-fact accounting of events while the hero was having some downtime - a more reflective tone with spots of emotion would have been more powerful for me. So I'd give the narrator a 5 star rating for the first few chapters of the book (because the narration was absolutely excellent for the first part of the book), but I reduced the rating gradually as the chapters progressed and the hero started to sound more and more unhinged. He seemed to do a lot of screaming at people, that's all, which prompted me to increase the playback speed towards the end of the story.

These were the reasons why I didn't give this audiobook a full 5-star rating, but I don't want it to seem like I didn't enjoy the story. If John Thornton wrote a sequel and Chuck DiMaria narrates, I'd definitely read/listen to it. Also, I'd certainly recommend it to fans of this genre who are interested in following the events and perspectives of a soldier whose leaders are sometimes less than exemplary and whose comrades are cogs in a war machine.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A journey, a struggle, and the right to colonize.

Would you consider the audio edition of Battle on the Marathon to be better than the print version?

I did not read a print version, but I find a good story teller always adds to the tale. Chuck DiMaria is a good reader who helped the story.

What did you like best about this story?

John Thornton has given us a work of almost non-stop action. He drove the story forward with conflict and struggle against each other and alien invaders. I enjoyed the concept of aliens impeding human efforts to colonize other worlds and having to battle to retain control of their ship to complete their journey.

Which scene was your favorite?

The struggle to seize and control the alien technology was exciting and stays in my memory.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I really did have trouble stopping long enough to get through my other life routines. Listening on my phone was a new a pleasurable experience also.

Any additional comments?

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

👍🏻

Non stop sci-fi action, what's not to love. I enjoyed the characters and the well told story. Very enjoyable.

The narrator wasn't my favorite. I definitely would have enjoyed the book more with a different narrator.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

The narrator really made the story!

Really liked this, I know it's a good one when I stop doing other things to listen! It was a bit bloodthirsty at the end but I loved the lead into the next in the series. I

Enjoyed the story

An interesting story with well drawn characters. Narrator was good when using normal speaking voice, interesting change for each character, except for frequently raising his voice as if giving a stage performance.

Powerfully written and engaging Sci-Fi

Being a journal with bits and pieces of what is going on at the time the character is recording it and the more historical events they are writing about gives the reader a developing sense of the character and their past as the story moves on. You can very much believe this was being narrated by the character, the language and attitude fit them perfectly. John Thornton has expertly crafted a story with touches of Ender's Game and Starship Troopers to it with an interesting setting of a sunlight colony ship midway on its epic journey.

Good, clear narration that is easy to listen to, fits this book and is well suited to Kalju the main character. Chuck DiMaria does a wonderful job of adding tension, keeping the action fast paced and pulling you into the events Kalju is recording. You can really feel for Kalju though the highs and the low of his story.

The audio recording is good and I noticed no errors.

This was a new and fresh take on some standard themes bound together by great writing and narration, I very much liked this audio book, this is one I am going to remember.

I can highly recommend it is a very interesting book that is well worth the listen.


I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

"Remember, we will win this together."

Any additional comments?

On his twelth birthday, a boy, with several of his peers, sits the exam which will help determine his education for his future career. He hopes to become an engineer. At home, his mother has baked him a chocolate birthday cake. But he never gets to eat it, or to return to his parents and siblings. Because he was special, according to the test, and so began his training with eleven other boys and girls in the previously unheard of Marathon Militia.

Kalju's story is told in the form of a first person journal, one which is being recorded for younger brother Ryan, left behind at home when he was recruited. Now a man now looking back over several years of his life, Kalju's tells of the early years of training - very different from that of most military inductions - over an almost three year period and then, later, battles in which he was involved. It is very visual and imaginative, with excellent description and characterisation. And always, behind everything, is that little question - what has happened to Ryan, the brother?

At over eighteen hours, this is a long audiobook, but it holds the reader's attention throughout. It is exciting, thoughtful and sometimes very poignant as all of this part of Kalju's life is relived with him as his memories tumble out in between breaks waiting for some unspecified military push to occur. And with these memories, he is once again caught in the emotions of the time. The whole presentation is masterfully done, including the final ending. Lots of action but also speculation on the part of Kalju about what is happening to him, and why, the battles themselves, their adversaries, and about friends and family left behind. Just like a fully rounded journal might be written.

As the man recounting his story, narrator Chuck DiMaria is superb. His individual voicings of all of the other characters is distinctive, individual and appropriate. But it is as the storyteller himself that he really excels. Sometimes the pace is gentle,, fully imbued with wonder, joy or questioning, at other times it is fast, loud, excited or even near hysterical as the battles roll over him, with sentences almost gasped out. His pace of narration so closely matches the text, it is easy to believe not only in the man but in the situations in which he finds himself. Even the final epilogue, written differently from the rest of the novel, receives a completely altered voicing. Amazing.

This is a standalone book entirely, but does link into the post apocalyptic world created by the author in other stories. This, however, is far more intense and wide ranging than any of the others so far, and it is quite unecessary to have any knowledge of them to fully enjoy this book. I received my copy of Battle on the Marathon as a freely given gift from the rights holder, via Audiobook Boom. Thank you so much. I loved this book and was fully immersed in it throughout the eighteen hours. There are hints at the end that more stories from this world will be forthcoming: I sincerely hope so. I, for one, will be looking out for them. Highly recommended.