Checkmate Charlie

The Dragon Mage, Book 9

By: Scott Baron

Narrated by: Gary Bennett

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

In an intergalactic pool of tech and magic, Charlie found himself in the warm spot. Whether or not that was a good thing only time would tell. 

Friends and comrades had put their lives on the line, defending not only their homes and loved ones, but their galaxy as well. Both galaxies, to be exact. And more than a few had paid the ultimate price. 

Now the threat of a massive war spilling over between both realms had gone from a vague threat to a deadly reality, and facing Visla Dominus’s incredible power, Charlie and his friends were forced to call in every favor they were owed. 

Even so, there was no guarantee of success. Underdogs to the last, Charlie and his friends prepared themselves for the battle to end all battles, one that would result in either victory or death. 

The final book in the Dragon Mage series.

©2019 Scott Baron (P)2020 Scott Baron

WOW. JUST WOW.

This was an incredible 9 book journey! I laughed, teared up, gasped and cheered throughout the whole series! full of action and adventure, with just the right amount of romance and a healthy dose of buddy comedy thrown in! highly recommend!!!!! Scott Baron is my new favorite author OF ALL TIME. And Gary Bennet's performance was phenomenal!

great ending to the story

From start to finish this was a great series. if you're on this book you should already know that by now.

oh my god!

I just feel like I need 9 more dragon mage books! this was such an amazing story! oh my god I need more!

Man what a ride

The Charlie and Daisy series were totally fire. Fun and enjoyable start to finish. Never a full moment and many characters and story lines you get attached to. Another victory for Scott Baron.

An awesome series..loved every ♥ moment of it.

fantastic series..kept me on the edge of my seat and gave me characters to root for aswell as characters to hate..a wonderful adventure..

Wonderful ending to a wonderful series

How does one bring to a close a long-running series of nine audiobooks which follow the humble beginnings of a brilliant, unconfident, and immature spaceship engineer? Yet, in this series we get the honor of seeing him grow and become even something he could never imagine. From takeoff to level flight, the Dragon Mage series of books have entertained the listener with vast and distant worlds, unique creatures, and an expertly blending of both technology and magic. We have seen tight friendships formed, the morning of lost comrades and even the growth of a great adversary. Here in the final, landing phase, installment of the series, we are given the final title called “Checkmate Charlie”. If you have been following Charlie for any period of time, picking up this audiobook is not even a question. If you have not yet started the series, I would ask why not? The time spent and the effort given to a new series such as this is well worth it. Both in Audible credits and entertainment value. Both Scott Baron and Garry Bennett have made the entire journey a pleasure, and I can honestly say that I’m sad to see it end. If you are one who like science fiction with a blending of fantasy, you cannot go wrong with this series. My only complaint is that this is the last we will see many of the wonderful characters in some time - if at all. Charlie (and Scott/Gary) thank you for the journey you took me on.

What a great conclusion to the series and it was wonderful to see most of the team here in the end pulling to overcome their foe. Along with way, Charlie and his team intersect with another crew, from another series of Mr. Baron’s, consisting of Daisy and her rag-tag band of AI and alien counterparts. Both of these groups, along with many others, band together in a final stand and crescendo against one of the most powerful and misleading opponents Charlie has ever faced. Even with his growing magical abilities and his knowledge of technology, this fight will require everyone’s focus and abilities. Yet, as fate would have it, one or more of the required characters seems to have gone off the rails and may be more a detriment then help to their cause. Include the discovery of a new and unique civilization of aliens along the way and this adds the cherry on top of the sundae.

I found the author’s use of technology to penetrate the worlds which are mainly focused on magic interesting while this seems to work in reverse as well. I also like that there were a few flashbacks to items and characters from some of the earliest books in the series. After spending this much time with the group, it was almost like having a reunion. It brought back many memories which was a great experience. The team would focus their attention on the special waters. However, like with Newton’s law, this special water had both a negative and positive effect based on who it landed upon. One may hope they would injure their opponent yet using it may do just the opposite. To complicate things even more, one would not know for sure until placed in the situation where the waters needed to be used. So, for me, the tension and way in which Charlie would succeed was most of the journey. There never was a question if he would, but more on how he would accomplish it.

Both sides of the battle are at their peak performance and as with the Olympics, one slight misstep and all will be lost. As things come to a head, winning requires a blending of technology and magic if the team even hopes to have a chance. The fight also requires both parties to pull out the art of war manual as they are required to also include deception, diversions, and disinformation. We even see the power and tight bonds of Charlie’s side as many have to sacrifice their own desires for the greater good of the whole. For a few of the characters, this was not easy. I also wanted to say that I liked the author’s use of metaphors and similes as this helps the listener to better paint the picture as they go through the audiobook. It was a great book and a fine conclusion in the series.

The Audiobook’s narration by Gary Bennett is spot on and was solid all the way thought the series. Sure, there were a few audio plugs here or there, but overall the series narration was exceptionally well done. The recordings were professionally produced, and the characters wonderfully brought to life in his voice. It was a pleasure having Gary Bennett as the narrator from start to finish. I can only imagine what these two have planned to come up in a future series; maybe?

For parents and younger readers, this book (like the others) contains a fair amount of vulgar language. There is some crude and mature humor used by a few of the characters as well. If you have made it thought the previous eight books without issues, this one is no different.

In summary, this book and series is a great piece of science fiction that will remain with you afterwards. The places and characters are memorable, the characters complex, and the situation filled with tension. The wonderful blending of technology and fantasy was always something I found enjoyable as the series progressed. The narration was strong and consistent across the many audiobooks in the series. I will say it again, I do not think you can go wrong picking up this series. I enjoyed it very much.

Disclaimer: This audiobook was provided at no charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias review.

::Standing Ovation::

I didn’t want to write this review – because writing the review admits that this series is over. I don’t want to say goodbye to Charlie and the magical characters that have been in the nine different books. I don’t want to, but Baron did a darn good job writing a story that I’ll remember.

Saying goodbye is hard, but saying goodbye after 9 books with these characters was going to take a lot of delicate and intricate writing. Fortunately, Scott Baron was able to do both. He didn’t write a slow book or even a one-major scene book. He was able to wrap up a lot of different story-lines while also keeping the action and adventure up like the other stories.

I went into Checkmate Charlie worried that he was going to forget someone or leave some story unfinished or some rock unturned – leaving me feeling incomplete. He did not. I am so satisfied with the ending and this entire book. Bravo Baron, Bravo.

The entire series was brought to wonderful life by Gary Bennett who has lent his voice to Charlie and his crew of (among MANY other things,) space pirates throughout the entire series and has done a magnificent job. He IS Charlie, but he was so much more. He allowed these stories to come alive even more than Baron wrote them. He really gave the dragon wings (sorry, I had to add a pun in) and I’m glad that I was able to listen to all nine of these stories on audio in such a short time. Recording, editing, and proofing audiobooks isn’t an easy job. Doing a bunch of them in the same universe in the time that these have come out deserves a standing ovation.

Overall, I’m sad it’s over, but I’m happy I was along for the ride. This is the 2nd time I’ve had to say goodbye to some characters and the first for Charlie and the others. I’ll miss them, but I’ll also remember the stories well.

Epic conclusion to the Charlie series

Here we are. After nine books, and Daisy’s spin-off series, we reach Charlie’s epic conclusion. This book wraps up the series nicely and is probably my favorite book in the series. There were actual laugh out loud moments and some awesome scenes that will leave you feeling great. Overall, I’m thrilled with the conclusion and I’m glad the author was able to wrap up the series so nicely. I had my criticisms for the early books, mainly with the main characters making dumb decisions, but overall, this book and the series as a whole is worth a listen. Especially if you enjoy sci-fi mixed with fantasy. The narrator does a good job with this book as well.

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

What a book

I can't ever get over how much I love these books. Checkmate Charlie was suck an awesome book. I hope there is a new series after this that will take epic adventures like the Dragon mage series and Clockwork Chimera series did. I loved this book.

Great series!!

Loved it! Could wait to the next book with every read. I highly recommend this series!!

wow

wow what a ride, I thought earth was done for 😲
roll on book 10

A series that kept me hooked till the very end

I love books with a closure. This book did deliver and what a ending it was. This is a ending that many series should get but don’t get it. I can’t recommend this series enough. 5/5

Great books.

This whole series has kept me enthralled from start to finish with each book getting better than the prior. Would highly recommend these series if youre in to fantasy/sci-fi genres.

Enjoyable series

This is the type of SF books I used to read in the 80s, Not overly taxing but enjoyable and light.

I would say they a would be better aimed at the young adult market.

I liked the narrator and the books get better through the series.

One negative is that the scenes can jump around a little, and feel that they have been edited down from larger text, e.g. some fights start and instantly end as if a dozen paragraphs have been cut out to shorten the book.

EPIC!!!

loved this series .. sad to have it end every though it was such a great ending... OK MR. Baron when can we expect to start the next adventure??!?!?