Beacon 23: The Complete Novel

By: Hugh Howey

Narrated by: Ryan McCarthy

Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

This work contains the five Beacon 23 stories, originally released in serialized form.

For centuries, men and women have manned lighthouses to ensure the safe passage of ships. It's a lonely job, and a thankless one for the most part - until something goes wrong, until a ship is in distress.

In the 23rd century, this job has moved into outer space. A network of beacons allows ships to travel across the Milky Way at many times the speed of light. These beacons are built to be robust. They never break down. They never fail.

At least, they aren't supposed to.

©2015 Hugh Howey (P)2015 Hugh Howey

Howey Rocks!!

It was just last summer I got turned onto "Wool" by Hugh Howey & it was stellar. Loved it and it's subsequent tomes enough to search out every last word I could find by the guy & so far it's all been fantastic. These stories have such interesting and unique plots, very fresh in a genre with a lot of stale ideas. Also while this is being presented as a novel it, like his "Silo Saga" stories, was originally released in serial form in digital & paper publications and I feel as though that lends something to the final product as a whole. Have to test that theory out. Anyways a great book thats well read and will surely entertain you!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination

Much like light houses in our current world, in the vase sea of space there are beacons to guide ships along safe passages. Digger is the man who monitors beacon 23; it is a lonely job with minimal contact with others. The problem is, spending that much time with only your dark thoughts as company can break a man, or make him crazy.

First, this is 5 stand alone stories compiled, therefore after listening to the first story all subsequent stories will re-introduce you to information you've already learned, making them a little redundant.

At the beginning I had to rewind a few times because the narrator was so intense that I almost felt overwhelmed and confused, and I was worried I was missing things. I grew to appreciate the intensity and commitment of Ryan McCarthy's interpretation of Digger; the narration was the thing that I enjoyed most about this book.

Since each story should stand alone I would expect it to be more eventful, but I found this omnibus to be anti-climactic. I'd never read a book by Hugh Howey before but I've heard a lot of great things and I was very excited for this book, but at the end I felt unimpressed and underwhelmed.

Conclusion: Very strong narration. Good character development through the first two stories, and some of the third but takes a turn after that. I don't think all of the stories are worth listening to, but I don't think it's a lost cause.

6 of 8 people found this review helpful

It’s dark and it is tragic

This was originally released in eBook as episodes, this is a collection of these episodes to form the full book about Digger and his inner journey on the outskirts of space.

Lighthouses have kept boats safe from crashing into rocks or shore for centuries. Now that we are exploring the outer reaches of space we needed something to keep us safe. The Beacons have become our new lighthouses. Just like the lighthouses of before, each Beacon needs a keeper. Out on the edge of Sector 8 (so close it should be Sector 9) sits Beacon 23. This story is about Beacon 23’s keeper and his struggle with both his inner and some outer demons. This is where we first meet Digger. The keeper of Beacon 23. He is alone at the edge of space with just his thoughts and memories.

Ryan McCarthy did the narration for this collection. Ryan was one of the narrators that an author dreams of. He became Digger. Now if I hear another book read by McCarthy I’m going to have to take a few moments to realize the story isn’t about Digger again. He gave this character a voice and made this book a breeze to listen to. The benefit that McCarthy had was that there really weren’t any other characters to narrate. Only a few people interact with Digger through the whole story – so he really got to dive in head first. Quality was perfect and will be enjoyed by a lot of listeners.

I’ll be the first to admit, I bought this book because it was written by Hugh Howey. I’ll also be the first to admit that I read the summary and thought it sounded a bit like The Martian and I’m still in a Martian induced hangover waiting for another book that I’ll enjoy as much as I did that. Now, while you’re thinking that this does sound like The Martian – there are some differences. Digger has chosen to be where he is. He was not left here, there will be no rescuing.

This single difference allows for some incredible science fiction to be written. Howey explains the premise of the Beacon and he is able to get really into the head of this loner in space. There were a lot of moments where I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to Digger, not as much from space, but from himself.

The story weaves in and out of present and some “history” about Digger. The more and more you find out about his past, the more his present (and his future) makes sense.

The humor in this book was really great. There were parts that had me laughing late into the night while listening to this. To me, the humor was really needed, because there were a lot of dark mental material throughout (PTSD and anxiety to name a few). The book mixed these two so well that I would go from laughing one minute to almost in tears the next.

Don’t get me wrong, the story isn’t upbeat. It’s dark and it is tragic. But I am glad that I read this. Getting to know Digger wasn’t something I knew I wanted to do, but by the end I’m glad that I got to.

Audiobook purchased for review by ABR.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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16 of 26 people found this review helpful

Conflicted Unknown Soldier

Better than average story w/ so many layers and intriguing literary vehicles... Joys, sadness,depression, humor, love,and selflessness ar all on display, many simultaniously... The idea of self isolation/exile and introspective internal dialogues are fascinating and thoughtful... The main character is tragic and relatable... The nameless soldier vehicle is masterfully administered, and sneakily proposed... Empathy and going along w/ the needs of the many as to a few is weaved throughout... Even though unnamed the operator is known to us as he touches on common feelings and frailties... Although a little irritating when Navy ppl keep referring to themselves and others as soldiers, the Army guy in me kept saying "you mean sailor". The secondary characters are entertaining and complimentary, especially Rocky and Cricket... The climax left me conflicted. I understood the idea, but the reality of it's execution left me uncomfortable, still not sure how I feel about it... I suspect that's precisely the point... Not a book for the casual reader wanting to not think about what they read... You'll find yourself contemplating this story quite a while after you've finished... The depth of thought and humanity's humanity vs. inhumanity are tropes I've come to expect from Howey, and enjoy the way it works the gray matter... Narrator fit the novel's voice, andd changed along w/ the mood of the operator... Not the best Howey, but in the top 3-4...

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Very good stories, excellent performance

As has been noted in another review, these are five short stories, originally released as serials, so each of the five parts starts with a short recap of a few of the previous events and setup. I didn't find this to be too distracting. Overall I thought the stories themselves were captivating and well written, and perfect for the long road-trip I had yesterday.

I also thought the performance of this audiobook was fantastic. I was never distracted by voices. Emotions came through in the reading, and not only at times of dialogue. Extremely well done.

[Minimal Spoilers Ahead]

The five stories are set in a beacon, a type of lonely space outpost that serves as a guidance signal to trips traveling at faster-than-light speeds. If the beacon goes out, ships crash. Even with redundancy after redundancy, each beacon needs a human to ensure that if the unthinkable happens and a beacon fails, a person can take whatever steps might be necessary to bring it back online.

To me, the most interesting part of this book was the progression of the stories. It starts with a single person, trying to cope with the madness of living alone in deep space for long stretches with minimal contact with others. As the stories progress, there is more and more intrusion on the insular world of the protagonist, and the scope of impact of his decisions goes from protecting his tiny beacon to making a choice that could have galaxy-wide impact.

I really don't want to give away any more. Highly recommended. At six and a half hours, this was a perfect "long drive" listen.

Between Molly Fyde and Wool

I keep hoping that Hugh Howey will put out another book with the engagement and impact of Wool, but this isn't it. The character starts of interesting and a decent backstory is revealed in flashbacks throughout the book. Unfortunately, the story then jumps the shark into a too big to be believable story line which wraps up quickly and far too cleanly.

Overall, I found Beacon 23 to be more compelling than the Molly Fyde series, but still nowhere near as good as Wool and the Silo series.

Not My Favorite Howey

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I can't say I would recommend this book to anyone.

What could Hugh Howey have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I love Hugh Howey's work- I am a big fan... but Beacon 23... not so much. His characters were likable and relatable, but the story as a whole just didn't appeal to me too much.

Have you listened to any of Ryan McCarthy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to McCarthy before, but he did a great job on the book.

Do you think Beacon 23: The Complete Novel needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I don't think this story line requires a follow-up, especially since there were essentially 5 different mini-stories in this one novel (which is true to Howey's style).

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend the author and the narrator... just not this particular book.

Just when we got some action, it was over.

it was interesting, but not what I wanted and it seemed more like a soap opera than anything else for a while.

Another great isolation SciFi book from Hugh Howey

Hugh Howey is starting to become one of my favorite SciFi writers. I loved Wool, and Beacon 23 will not disappoint fans of his works. It's well read and presented.

I usually like Hugh Howey

It's a pretty good story to pass the time. If you're new to Hugh Howey I would suggest starting with some of his other work and then maybe delving into Beacon.

Brilliant again...and again.

Listening to this again for the umpteenth time. Never grow tired of the story, the characters, the humour as well as the pathos or the message. Whenever I can't decide on my next book, I return to Beacon 23 and relax back into the familiarity and the contentment of reading this unbeatable novel. Never known a book have such an effect on me. Would definitely be my Desert Island book choice

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

So so gloomy.

Depressing, melancholy, dull. Things don't even pick up at the end. My least favourite purchase.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful