Bodyguard

By: William C. Dietz

Narrated by: J P Linton

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Max Maxon is an ex-marine who makes his living with a gun. Sasha Casad is a rich teenager trying to catch the next spaceship home. Max's job is to get her there alive. Somebody's trying to stop them - somebody with plenty of money and firepower. That doesn't bother Max. A contract is a contract. Against all odds, he's going to fulfill this one. and then he's going to make somebody pay.

©1994 William C. Dietz (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Big, Dumb and Deadly in Dystopia

The #1 rule of action plots where the characters and/or plot are a little thin is 'keep moving' and the titular Bodyguard is never far from the next gunfight, the next escape or the next rocket flight across the solar system. That, done with very well matched narration, makes this a fun, summer reading type of a book.

The solar system of the Bodyguard is harsh and dystopian and earth itself is worse. A series of surprises awaits our hero, not least because massive head trauma has reduced his ability to think ahead, or behind. This is an interesting device, since it means the reader is constantly trying to figure out plot points that it is quite legitimate to expect our hero to miss. It also papers over some plot issues quite nicely.

In fact, the one thing about the book that actually bothered me was the way too frequent reminders that "I didn't see it at the time, but hey, that's because I don't have a whole brain" which got on my nerves a little.

If you like the whole 'film noir detective in outer space' sub genre, with maybe some extra violence and social commentary thrown in, you'll have fun with this one. If your manias are for technical details of the future, sweeping space battles, intricate plotting or deep characterization, there are other books that do those things much better.

Should have been good

Could not make it through the first hour. This should have been my type of book but...try it at your own risk. Very disappointing! Maybe If I had lasted longer...?

I wanted him dead also

The idea of the story was interesting, the execution was so painful. I don't have patients or time for someone that always knocks them selves down. If you keep making the same mistake over and over then maybe you should be out of the gene pool. The main character does all the above as if it was his mission in life. After all that the end was very week. The best part of the story was Linton he told a bad story very well. Normally I would not have listened all the way through, it was the superb narration that keep me involved, however a bad story is always a bad story. What would be kool is to be able to pick the story and then pick who narrates the story, JP Linton will be right there with Allyson Johnson.