Dark Sector

Reclaimer, Book 2

By: Waldo Rodriguez

Narrated by: BJ Harrison

Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Surviving Phase One was the first step in Gabriel's journey.

And it came with consequences.

Gabriel is cast out into the wastes by his rival. Deadly desert, merciless raiders, and strange visions stand between him and The Crucible. Quitting isn't in Gabriel's character, but death seems to be his destiny.

Hope glimmers from an unlikely source: You can trust a Deadman right?

When the anomalous events around Gabriel prove to be more than the hallucinations of a sunbaked mind, his whole world flips. These powers are dangerous, and he isn't the only one who thinks so.

High casualties lead to a jagged alliance. Tensions rise as dark secrets rise to the surface. Can Gabriel cultivate his new powers or will they consume him.

Locked in a battle for survival, the body count climbs, and Gabriel's running out of options . . .

©2022 Waldo Rodriguez-Santiago (P)2023 Tantor

Okay if predictable

Honestly a bit disappointed about the MC outright ignoring things right in his face about his powers and others. Like it's not even being stupid but intentionally rejecting the obvious.

Also the whole book is about who will betray who and I was saddened that the route taken wasnt deeper. I could have taught a real lesson and used subtle hints from a characters phrasing and set ups. Yet it didnt. Especially when they mention who background was what they were.

Narration is a bit quiet.

Other than that I really enjoy the story even though some parts are predictable. I still think the overall story is great.

a decent follow up, but predictable and rushed killing off of named characters.

Overall this series is a mystery for me thus far. I want to like the series however there's still some really wasted opportunities, and somewhat amateurish writing devices the author uses in every book in the series thus far.
The writing quality seems decent for the most part, however the author seems to rush his own story at the end, and seems intent on rushing in a kill of someone the main character deems a friend toward the end of every book. every when doing so serves no real purpose... The killing of a character should serve a purpose, but in this book, it's lazy, and lacks any real sense of purpose or actual weight befitting what is a member of the main cast(named characters). (there's a couple of deaths I'm talking about here that felt lazy, though I'm trying to remain spoiler free).
The voice, pacing and tones of the V.A.(Voice actor) are amazing, as always. he does an amazing job with this series in particular, and if I continue listening it'll almost certainly be because of the vocal talents performance.
all of that said;
I can't in good conscience recommend buying this book at its normal price of $20+ dollars, however if you've got a free credit, or find it on sale(black friday/cyber Monday it was $3.43) its worth the listen due to its relatively decent writing, and amazing voice work.