Daisy's Run

The Clockwork Chimera, Book 1

By: Scott Baron

Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's Summary

Rudely yanked from cryo-sleep to find herself among a crew of modded humans in deep space, and on a burning spaceship, no less, Daisy's world just got a whole lot more complicated. And it was only going to get worse. 

As if the creepy cyborg and the mechanically-enhanced human crew weren't bad enough, what was supposed to be a simple flight home to Earth was going horribly wrong. A deadly plot was unfolding. One that could jeopardize the entire human race. And Daisy found herself stuck in the middle.

It wasn't her job, saving the world, and she sure as hell didn't want it. But the snarky young woman didn't have a choice. But with Daisy reluctantly coming to the rescue, would humanity even stand a chance?

©2018 Scott Baron (P)2020 Scott Baron

Know your Genre first.

This appears to be a good book, however I could not go past chapter 5. This book is more romance/light-erotica/scifi and that's not really my genre. I'm not a prude, but the sexuality didn't progress in a smooth or natural way. For example, the protagonist is walking around and whamo, she's in the sack. Easy-peasy! That did nothing but throw me out of the story and force me to always wear earbuds.

As for SciFi... it was a frame for the story. This is a good thing, as the story should stand on it's own with 'tech' being the props that connect all the fiddly bits. The author did a good job.

As I said, this appears to be a good book, but I had a hard time listening to Vivienne Leheny's narration. Her voice sounds similar to my kindle's auto-read and Vivienne's inflections, humor, and emotions felt monotone and forced. It really sounded like the humor &jokes were being read for the first time.. not acted out... so any humor fell flat. All of these reasons kept throwing me out of the story. All in all, I wasn't laughing like other reviewers said they were.

A pseudo blend of investigation and sci-fi

A came across this because I listen to one of the author's other series. This book also suffers the same flaw as the first book of the other series, and that is the main character can’t get out of her own way. Most of the trouble in this book is caused by the main character's own prejudice towards cyborgs and humans with artificial enhancements. Ultimately, it’s a decent story that’s a pseudo blend of investigation and sci-fi. The characters show good growth and development, but I couldn’t ever identify with the main character because cyborgs are awesome. The narrator did a good job voicing all of the characters, and she had the perfect voice for the main character and her best friend. Overall, I’ll be listening to book two, but I hope the main character will start making better decisions and thinking things through before acting.

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

A new Space Opera Series

“Daisy’s Run” is the first book in the recently released “Clockwork Chimera” series written by Scott Baron. If you like science fiction with twist upon twist, you are in for a treat with this new series that has a strong lead female character. Additionally, Scott Baron is the author of the wonderfully written “Dragon Mage” series of audiobooks which I highly recommend if you are looking for a bit of fantasy mixed with science fiction. Daisy’s Run appears to be purely in the Sci-Fi genre being it is classified as a Space Opera. I found the audiobook skillfully narrated by a female narrator which I had the pleasure of listening to for the first time. Vivienne Leheny has narrated some 63 other audiobooks, at the time of this review, and I can say she is the right voice for our main character Daisy along with the many others. If you are one who enjoys a compelling story which weaves in complex situations, I think you will be quite entertained with this series. For me, when I was finished with the first book, I jumped right into the second. At the time of this review, only two audiobooks are available on Audible, but I expect more still to come.

What better way to start a new series than with a ship and crew, which has been in stasis for some time, is jolted into action due to an incident and fire onboard. The crew needs to shake off their time in slumber and rapidly take control of the situation before it gets out of hand and they all burn or suffocate in the vacuum of space. One quickly realizes how dangerous a fire is in an oxygen rich craft and just how unforgiving space can be. I liked that our main character is a technical wizard (geek) as her skill is necessary in bringing events under control. As things begin to get back to normal and the ship cruises toward the moon base over a six-month period, unusual things begin to happen. The AI starts to malfunction, and people are acting odd at times. Many of the crew members begin questioning the other’s actions and motives. It made me feel like the movie “The Thing” but occurring in space. I do not want to give away the plot, so let me say that things rapidly spiral out of control and much of what is known is only the tip of a rather large iceberg. The rest of the book is about discovery, conspiracies, and double-crossing. All the things that make for a great story.

Compared to the other books written by Mr. Baron, this series is more serious and overall a bit darker. Although there are some light-hearted moments, in this audiobook they are farther and fewer between. The story and plot are also more complex and focused on more adult topics or situations. Some of the scenes are a bit graphic in nature as well. I’m not saying the book is explicit or horror but compared to his other works, this one is definitely heaver or weightier than others I have listened to. Mr. Baron also does a good job with his research. The book felt realistic, the situations being faced seemed true, and the technology was not over the top powerful. There was good interaction between both man and machine. I liked the inclusion of the stasis learning center, much like that found in “the Matrix” movie. If we could only invent one of these so I could learn a new language or skill while I slept. As the story begins to unravel, you are not sure who is right and who is wrong. It makes for a quite interesting space mystery. So much so, it will span a series of upcoming audiobooks.

Turning to the audiobook’s narration, I can say I rather enjoyed the voice of Vivienne Leheny. Her voice and inflection seemed to fit the role of Daisy rather well. She also did an exceptional job voicing the many other characters as well. Each character felt and sounded distinct and alive with a good use of inflection. The audio itself was clear of any noticeable artifacts such as swallows, page turns or other background noises. Volume was consistent throughout and I did not notice any audio plugs or corrections that appeared to be added postproduction. I look forward to hearing her in future audiobooks in this newer series.

For parents or younger readers, you may want to note that the book contains a fair amount of vulgar language. There are also some more mature situations with light romance and sexual references earlier in the book. Some of the characters leverage stim packs which could be considered a form of drug use. The themes in this book are a bit darker and weighty containing less humor than Scott Baron’s Dragon Mage series for example. I believe the author leverages this to allow the listener to better understand the reality and situations faced by the characters.

In summary, the book was what one can expect from a great science fiction story. There is danger, adventure, excitement, and love rolled into a compelling story that has earth-shattering consequences. Daisy goes from being an impressive tech geek to one that may be required to save the world from complete annihilation. The narration was professional, and the narrator’s voice was pleasant to listen too. If you are looking for a new space opera to get started with, I highly recommend you pick up Daisy’s Run.

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

Poor Writing, worse main character

I've struggled thru 40% of this book. I won't be continuing. The writing is muddy and prone to info dumps that are so vague i still feel lost and have no idea about the larger world or context of the ship or crew. The narrator does her best but the base material seems to be crap. This is made worse with a main character who is stymied by paranoia, prejudice and a lack of empathy for others that has me whishing she would do the crew and the reader a favor and take a long walk out a short airlock.

The best kind of light-hearted Sci-Fi

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

TLDR: AIs, aliens, cyborgs, and the end of the world. Daisy's run has everything you want in a great Sci-Fi series

This is one of those books that starts amazing and stays there. You get to start with a conspiracy on a spaceship, where everyone has been in cryo-stasis, hooked up to machines that can plant knowledge directly into your brain. The best part is the story only gets better from there. This book feels like parts of the Alien series, where people are hiding on the ship, using ducts to secret themselves around, and a background mystery to solve, things don't add up. It's a really solid listen.

Overall, grab this and don't look back, you won't regret it.

Horrible

Horrible book. What a waste of a credit. No explanation of how things happened in the book and the main character is an idiot

Solidly entertaining

Starts off a little slow, but give it time, it picks up considerably and you get really into the story once a big reveal that's been building a while gets going. There's a lot of creative ideas and some solid sci-fi fan service here, so a little something for everyone. The only criticism I'd say is the dialog seems a bit forced rather than a natural flow of real interaction, but I don't think it's a big issue, as the other aspects of the book were entertaining and the author does have a knack for storytelling.

Really enjoyed this one!

The main character was relatable and interesting. the performance was good, and did not distract me from the story. and it left me really wanting to know what happens next! starting book 2 right now!

That was unexpected

So many twists and turns in this book
I was so invested in Daisy and I was just as confused as she was. What an emotional roller coaster.

bad, then good, then mediocre

probably be fine if it was marketed for young adults or teens (or if it was, I didn't notice).

we start off being told repeatedly how smart the MC is, but the only times we ever witness it, it is for feats she very explicitly doesn't actually know how to do.
The MC is a bigot, and for most of the book the author can't seem to decide if it's justified or not. also annoyingly alternates between impossibly stubborn, and understanding.
and for a book involving space fight, the author makes some pretty elementary errors, and introduces unnecessary technobabble.

the narrator lays on the ham a little too thick, not much subtlety... although sometimes it's hard to tell if it's the fault of the narrator or the author's dialogue.

but after all that... I'm still a little curious about the sequel. I might sleep on it and see if I'm still interested in a day.

A series that keeps on giving

I recieved a review copy of this book and wasn't sure what to expect. The book starts as a mystery thriller, as Daisy wakes disorientated in deep space. The story feels slow to start as the first half focuses on the developing relationships and the building suspense, but switches into fast paced action with unexpected twists. The narration of the book is also excellent, with the various characters clearly differentiated.

The series itself is excellent and the story continues to build with further twists are added as it continues to surprise.

A good start!

This is a good start to the series. it had plenty of twists and turns and the pace of the story was great.
the sci fi elements worked well, not too handwavey or hard science. the characters are pretty good, although I didn't like Vince very much, but I thought Daisy was written well and I look forward to reading more of her adventures soon.

Good surprises

I enjoyed the book it keeps you guessing and doesn't fall into predictability, a little maybe. Daisy is odd but interesting.
I was expecting something a bit more military but it is not. Firefights are descriped in a very hollywoodish style, space combat likewise falls into the stars wars ww2 style where spaceships larger than football fields fight at point blank range with cannons.

It is the people in this story that drives it for me,

hmmmmm

Great start, weird mystery in the middle, kinda opens up by the end. It's as if it's tried to be too cute, I can't put my finger on it, but I really didn't rate it. Story also told from 1 perspective throughout which I'm not used to.

Excellent

Such a brilliantly detailed story, really enjoyed the whole series. A must have for Sci fi lovers.

Interesting

Nothing ground breaking but entertaining enough. Will continue with the series. I thought the narration was excellent.

Couldn't get into this.

The narrator sounds like Alexa which is annoying and made for very difficult listening. I soon started to feel like I was listening to a trashy sex novel set in space and it became an unwelcome distraction. I will stick to the Expeditionary Force series.

Great narration. but poor story execution.

This just really wasnt for me. The vast majority of the book was too contrived and an excersise in procrastination. I found the main character very irritating and illogical to the point of wishing a darwinian demise for her. I only finished the book out of morbid curiosity and the vague hope it might get better. It did indeed pick up toward the end but just not enough to interest me in the rest of the series. This felt like a short story that had been over stretched to fill a book. But Viviennes narration was first class, and the premis is a very good one. If you have more patience than me, it may well be worth the effort.

I really don't like daisy

excellent book managers to be tents humorous horrifying and joyful highly recommend I've just bought the next parts for this and I'm looking forward to starting them

another great dive into the Charlie universe

wish I would have listened to all of this series after book 4 of the Charlie books... this book was great but the whole time I kept knowing what would happen because I've already listened to book 5 and 6 of the Charlies in which you learn about Daisy. thus giving away spoilers for this book ... was an amazingly well written book though