Call to Arms

By: Joshua Dalzelle

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

From Joshua Dalzelle comes the follow-up to the number-one best seller Warship. Captain Jackson Wolfe survived the initial incursion of a vicious alien species into human space...barely. He had assumed the juggernaut that had devastated three Terran systems was the herald for a full invasion, but for the last few years it has been eerily quiet along the Frontier. Jackson now struggles to convince the Confederate leadership the threat is still imminent and needs to be taken seriously. While powerful factions make backroom deals, he is desperate to find irrefutable proof that the invaders are coming, and if humanity expects to survive they must marshal their forces and make a stand before it's too late.

©2015 Joshua Dalzelle (P)2016 Podium Publishing

Really enjoyed both books thus far.

Mark is one of the best performers out there. I am looking forward to book three!

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Great

Great book , great narrator enjoyed very much. Would recommend this trilogy. Can't wait for the third book.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

FABULOUS!

This is probably one of the best stories I've listened to thus far. The storyline of this trilogy is original and very well written. I especially like that the author does not build the story on technical, military, and strategical detail as many space military sci-fi authors do. Instead he provides the reader with just enough tenichnical information to make the story understandable. He relies on the strength of the plot & characters to build this story. There is a great twist at the end making the wait for book 3 almost impossible. One more thing, The narration is above exceptional!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

As good if not better than book 1

After finishing this second book of the trilogy and contemplating my rating, I feel a bit like Olympic Game judges who rated the earlier performances so high that they left little room to rated later better performances.

Still, I don't regret the 5 star rating of the first book since I thoroughly enjoyed it and still believe it was worthy of the rating; so my rating for this book will be a 5+ stars via my comments.

As I've come to expect, Mark Boyett's performance of the novel is superb.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great continuation of the story and performance

I could not wait for the second book to come out. I was not disappointed. The story and the performance were excellent. Great sci-fi listen. Highly recommended. With a cliffhanger at the end, I may just have to order a regular book to read the finale.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Mark.Boyett masterfully delivers slow-ish story

Uneven story tempo & some dialog contrived. Masterful performance by Mark Boyett dramatically resurrects what would be average 3 star book to.4+.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

seemed boring but then it turned around!

Wolf goes off to fight the Phage who keep destroying planets and space ships. There is some political back-stabbing and intrigue going on so Wolf has to go rogue to do the right thing.

Lots of losing battles, then, THEN just wait! Made me sit up and get excited! And then BAM! something else happens and you have to get on to the next book to find out how things turn out. It had been bogged down, but the excitement is back up there. Great series so far!

There is only good to be said about Mark Boyett. He can do no wrong in my book!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Fast, fun a exciting

The narration by Mark Boyett is top notch as always. The story moves quickly with plenty of twists and surprises. The enemy is implacable and deadly. I hope we learn much more about them in book three.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great story, great writings.

This story is excellently written. it intelligent, while being very attainable. I found myself, very frequently, lost in this story. The character development is awesome. Mr. Dalzelle does a great job bringing his characters to life. well done sir.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

The action continues.....I want more!

Where does Call to Arms rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's one of my top faves. The narration is very dynamic, and gives the books a gritty feel that I really enjoy.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I kinda like the always popping in at odd times character called Pike. Pike-out!

Which character – as performed by Mark Boyett – was your favorite?

The captain, of course

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It's not the kind of book that makes you cry (thank goodness)

Any additional comments?

I like this series, because it has an airtight plot, progresses at a steadily increasing clip of suspense, and doesn't get distracted. This and the preceding book 'Warship', are always moving the plot forward, relentlessly. Never gets bogged down, which is what I like in a story. And it's not overly long, so I never had to wait for the book to get back on plot, unlike some other competing series. Compelling and well written - I really am looking forward to the next installment. Way to go, leaving us wanting more. What more can you ask for!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Brilliant Listen

The second book in the Black Fleet trilogy was every bit as good, if not more so, than Book 1. The action kept you on the edge of your seat, which meant I really had a hard job putting it down, so I didn’t. I completed it in a day.

I am really glad that Mark Boyett was kept as narrator as he really brings the action to life.

My only disappointment is that I will have to wait for Book 3. Withdrawal symptoms are already setting in!

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Warping Along Nicely

Same military style, same fast pace, same clever action, same high quality narration. Dalzelle and Boyett deliver a second cracking instalment in the Black Fleet series. It’s a very simple equation in that if you liked the first one and are up for more of the same then you’ll be happy enough with this one too.

There are a couple of rough edges here that could have been finished off a little more tidily such as the eventual fate of the team of Novas that support one of Wolfe’s missions but the setup for an exciting conclusion looks very promising.

Thoroughly recommended for anyone who likes fast, low-touch sci-fi with a military edge.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

All Ahead Flank!

I've just finished reading the second book in the Black Fleet trilogy, Call To Arms, which has left me wanting to get this review written as quickly as possible as I'm still in awe at just how great this second act to the trilogy was. Sometimes the middle act can be a somewhat of a filler before reaching the climax of the trilogy but in the case of this superb book that is not the situation at all. Call to Arms builds upon the first part, Warship, and continues to build nicely until leaving the reader at yet another vital juncture that makes those like me crave to have the final part. I actually feel sorry for those coming to this series early and having to wait. I am lucky to have the last book in the trilogy ready and waiting.

Joshua Dalzelle has done an absolutely superb job of not letting up in his story so far. The pace of the book as with the first, is just about perfect. There is a section where some political dealings are gone into which did slightly break the flow but once that was done with the momentum picks right up again and we are once more in full flow. I hasten to add that the aforementioned political interlude is something that in the scope of the plot had to be included in order to complete the narrative in a meaningful way. I don't like stories that are broken or slowed right down by lengthy digressions into the political wrangling that are always part of the bigger picture and some authors allow too much of the narrative to get bogged down by such distractions but Dalzelle has just about given what we needed to keep the overall story plausible and done it in a very skilful way.

Having now read two of Dalzelle's books I can see that he is a master of realistic dialogue and the book is written in many sections where we are moving through the story in real time as it were. For example, the reader is brought right onto the bridge of Jackson Wolf's ship in the thick of battle as the exchanges between him and his officers pull us right into the tension of any given situation and maintaining a furious pace that enthralled me completely. The sense of coming along for the ride was almost palpable at times which is no mean feat for a book and I think the well executed audio version of this has to be the definitive format when so ably narrated by Mark Boyett. Boyett brings life and emotion to each of the characters he renders and makes listening to this story a pleasure. As noted in my review of the first book in this trilogy, I get the feeling that Dalzelle either has a deep understanding of naval procedures and technologies or has previously had direct experience of this either in surface ships or perhaps even more likely in submarines. If he has not been a navy man in the past and thus be able to draw on personal experience then his portrayal of naval tactics and systems as used in his stories is all the more remarkable.

The chances are that if you're reading this review that you' ve likely not read the first book in this trilogy and so I urge you to get that book entitled Warship. If you have read the first then you need not fear, Call to Arms is every bit as good and better in some ways and so what are you waiting for? - Get it!

Call to Arms is superbly written and voiced by one of the top narrators on Audible and I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very exciting

Couldn't stop listening to it even more thrilling than the first book. Highly recommended. Mark really gets into the story

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Easy, enjoyable listen, excellent narration

I've enjoyed this series so far with a mix of reading and listening via audible. The narrator is excellent, good pace and great mix of characters - very believable.

It is a bit ten ten American! 😂

A bit ten ten American 🧀 but I'm into it now. Can't wait for the 3rd book.

Black Fleet Amazing

Fantastically narrated. Superb story. One more book from this trilogy to go. I'm loving it. 😊

Excellent Space Adventure!!!

As a born and bred Trekkie, I quickly fell in love with the many parallels and similarities the author creates in this series to what I have been accustomed to all these years. The ships and the space sailors that ride them across the Galaxy, the battles, the intrigue, the twists and the pace of the stories are all perfect. The story is deeper and more detailed than one can ever get from 40 minute TV series episodes, building up slowly into great endings amd cliffhangers.

I finished the first story in a couple of days and quickly bought the other 2 stories.
having just finished Book 2 now, I'm stuck with that sweet dilemma of whether to start the final book now, or go to bed, do some work, speak to my family...

Anything that will bring me back to Earth and the here and now just for a little while.

As expected

Sci fi pulp fiction. I enjoyed it. Not much new here but for the Buck Rodgers twist

As good as watching a movie

Where does Call to Arms rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 3 - I have only listened to 3!

Any additional comments?

This audible was similar to watching a movie. When I have read books that read like a movie I am normally quite critical. But, I walk my dogs for hours every week and I normally listen to music or a podcast. I tried this trilogy of books and it was very entertaining.
If these were adapted for TV or film I'd watch them. The main character reminds me of Captain Kirk! The story line is fun and compelling. Good book!