Contractor

The Contractors, Book 1

By: Andrew Ball

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Earth is under siege - and no one knows about it because the invaders erase those whom they consume. A handful of men and women stand on the border between the mundane and the magical. They have a special spark of soul - not quite enough to be naturally gifted in spellcraft but greater than the average person, a tiny flame that can ignite incredible potential. They possess the ability to fight back against the Vorid: the ability to become a Contractor.

Daniel Fitzgerald is one of those people, but when duty comes calling he promptly slams the door in its face. He has no illusions of grandeur. He is not someone special. He wants to go to school and study law. And frankly, he doesn't really like people, and he doesn't want anything to do with magic. He just wants to be left alone. But when the entire planet is a battlefield, there is no place to run.

©2014 Andrew S. Ball (P)2016 Podium Publishing

Where. Is. The. Sequel!!!!

I loved this book. I took the long way home just to be able to listen to it 30 minutes more per day. I even drive the speed limit.

Now it's over. I've been furiously combing the Internet and any Andrew S. Ball site I can find to figure out then it will be released. I've come up with nothing definitive and I want to scream.

I hate the idea of Black Friday. However, I like this book so much that if it were a Black Friday item, I'd drop a WWE elbow on a petite soccer mom just to get the last copy.

And Luke Daniels as the narrator just made this even more fabulous. That man can narrate IKEA instructions and make them bearable.

I honestly only gave this book s glance because I was trying to fill in my time until the next Iron Druid book (another Luke Daniels narration that you MUST read if you have not) was released. I thought I'd hate it because the reviews kept calling it "young adult". I'm so friggin' glad I gave this book a shot.

Five stars all around.

Greatful only for the moment

Luke Daniels did a great jod with this book. The book is well worth the credit, Andrew Ball did a great job of not exposing too much of the story too soon. He also turned in a science fiction adventure that has an actual story line. Some events of the story wreak of incidents in other stories, but Mr. Bell injects enough original ideas that the other distractinns are not objectionable
Worth the credit, and I am ready for the great escape that's coming!

Unexpectedly awesome

It's really hard not to spoil stuff so I will say this: It's a well written young adult story and if you like good, kinda dark fantasy in modern times (urban fantasy it's caleld I think?) mixed with sci-fi, great characters and well written fight scenes, this is definetly book for you!

I bought this audiobook kinda on a whim. I wanted to try random fantasy so I bought something Luke Daniels narrated and I was seriously surprised. How to explain the book without spoiling a lot of stuff. What I will say is, movie of this book would be absolutely spectacular. Magic gives author incredible range of how fight scenes can look and those were definetly one of best parts of this book.

Main character especially is really fun to imagine when he fights and I couldnt get enough of those scenes. It is fun to watch him get better and better.
When it comes to characters. Main character felt bit unsympathetic to me after the start and felt like he had a lot of "a perfect guy" momnets, but if you realise what kind of person he is, you start to like him. At least I did.
Side characters were pretty much all interesting to me or at least well written when they had just short few lines. You could understand their character instantly, but I am not saying there were not complex characters. There are and character development is pretty good in this book.
Book's lore is rich and interesting, it has so many stuff that even when you think like you've seen everything, you will find out something new.

I am looking forward for next book in a series and I will definetly buy it as soon as its available. Hopefully Luke Daniels will continue narrating this series, because his performance was amazing as always and I am starting to believe he just cant narate badly anything fantasy related. I havent heard his other genres, but fantasy is something he definetly nailed.

Loved the Sci-fi and Fantasy blend

The main character was very relatable, he never seemed "too good to be true" in his attitude or behavior. There were some parts I just started laughing and others reminded me of my college years. All in all I can't wait for the next installment.

Excellent Book!!!

This is an amazing mix of comic book action, aliens and drama. A witty story underlined by right, wrong and sacrifice. I can't wait for the next book! This book falls into many genres but it's story and narration lift it above the commonality of the rest. This is book is a must for any avid enthusiast.

Wasn't looking for young adult story

Interesting premise but characters way too juvenile for real enjoyment. The performance was masterful however, and the only thing that kept me with it.

A true gem of a book.

I’ve just re-listened to this book for the 4th time since its release 5 years ago. After finishing it, I again went looking for book 2 which has always ended up being a disappointment in the past. However, this time I was excited to find that the sequel is finally complete and close to release (at least in text format).

This is an excellent story, and now that there’s finally a sequel coming out, I feel more confident in making a recommendation. I gave this book five stars in spite of the fact that it does have a little bit of a YA slant. Normally, the overstated melodrama, the unrealistic portrayal of the characters, and the other hallmarks of most YA books will be enough for me to return an audiobook book before I get past the first few chapters.

However, Andrew Ball has managed to create such a compelling and immersive universe/multiverse that I found myself rooting right along with the characters. The writing is well crafted and Luke Daniels has given the kind of performance I have come to expect from him... which is to say that it’s great, with the small exceptions of his kids’ voices and anytime he tries to portray a person who is intoxicated. Sadly, I fear that he performs those two character types just as over the top and cartoonish as he always does. But after having listened to many of his audiobooks these flaws have become almost endearing.

So yes, there is a little bit of melodrama and the boys “locker room” conversations are a bit painful in their misogyny and homophobia. However, upon successive listens I’ve come to realize that both of these things are actually very true to life as I remember my own experiences of freshman year in college 20 years ago. In fact, I think it was my embarrassment in subconsciously recognizing a bit of my younger (and considerably less sophisticated) self in both the dialog and the emotional intensity that made me dislike these aspects of the book the first time around.

Regardless, I highly recommend that you spend the credit on this audiobook. Even if you find some flaws along the way, just keep listening. I guarantee that by the end of the book you will not only be satisfied with the story so far, you will be counting the days until you can get your hands on the next book. I know I am.

Excellent book

I cannot wait for the second book. The narration and the story are awesome. There are several times where the author avoids the obvious plot development and takes a different path, which is something I appreciate.

This is an author to keep an eye on for sure.

Awesome

THIS book is very good. Fresh take on magic and aliens. I can't wait for the next book in the series. Cant recommend.enough.

Surprisingly good

I was more than pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought it would be campy, or juvenile. It was instead thoughtful with well developed characters showing good growth, an interesting and quite unique story and plenty of suspense. I was sad that it came to an end and I'm now looking forward to the sequel. I recommend it it's a well spent credit

Children's book

Really think that Audible needs to start categorising books. Adult/Young Adult/Children etc because this is the second book I have bought thinking the plot sounded good, only to find the book was marketed as teenage fiction.
The blurb in this makes it sound like a gritty post apocalyptic read when in actual fact it was a dude going to school and seeing an alien creature attached to his friends back.

Fantastic start to a series!

First class performance combined with an unique and gripping story. Keep it up please!!

Can't wait for the next book.

Disappointed by the description

Expected apocalyptic Sci fi but got a teen fantasy! This was disappointing. However I listened all the way through as I had nothing else! The narrator gave it his all and was good but I'm afraid the plot was infantile and although the end was inconclusive...in readiness for book 2. I will not be buying again.

true surprise, original page turning story.

loved it from start to finish, great concept and well rounded characters. Also another great narrator performance!

Cliffhanger ending makes me want the next book now

This starts out looking like a young adult novel with the main character just leaving high school and about to start attending University but it is a bit older than that with adult dialog and situations. The overall story of a hidden magical society is nothing new but the fact that its existence is revealed because of an attack by an alien culture is an interesting twist.

The basic premise and plot is logical and proceeds in a manner that makes sense and doesn't depend too much on all the right things just happening at the right time and place. There is some real sadness and real humour in the story and it moves along at a reasonable clip being neither too slow nor too fast.

The ending is certainly not predictable though again it fits well in the story and leaves you wanting to know what is going to happen next.

I highly recommend this either as a book or an audio though you will end up waiting like the rest of us for the next book in the series.

TOP 5 of my best books. Brilliant stuff!

Well this book I got just because of the narrator Luke Daniels. I'm so glad I did. This is one fantastic listen and sucked me right in.
The next book needs to be done. 2016 was a while ago now.

Simply, superb.

I've hit a rare vein recently with my Audible choices. For those amongst you that enjoy Fantasy, it's a must listen.

I was a little unsure about the introduction of Hades but by the end it made the book all the better.

I loathe spoilers. I'm not one to spoil, so I shan't go on anymore. Suffice to say, I can't wait for book 2.

Unusual story, hoping there's a sequel.

really enjoyed this story and narration, in fact it was a totally unusual idea which I really enjoyed. I really hope there is at least one sequel to this original story.

Memorable!

Enjoyed it! Can't wait for the next one! You will enjoy every word of it

Very entertaining!

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

This is a great book to listen to and I would rank it highly among all I have listened to. But not at the top.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Daniel comes across as a fun guy but I really enjoyed all of them.

Have you listened to any of Luke Daniels’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Some, Luke have really managed to enhance the story by his brilliant narration. He is my favourite narrator along with Stephen Fry. This book was actually only on my shoppinglist to begin with because he is the narrator.

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

No but it was a book I wanted to make time for.