Days of Future Past

Part 1: Past Tense

By: John Van Stry

Narrated by: Doug Tisdale Jr.

Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

Paul's been having a bad day, perhaps one of the worst days he's ever had. And now into the middle of all this, his instructor just got drafted by some mystical goddess to help save a world.

As for Paul? Well, he's really not supposed to be there, and if he thought he was having a bad day before all of this, it just got worse - a lot worse. He's now on a one-way trip, forced to help a man who despises him, while at the mercy of the world's biggest trickster.

©2016 John Van Stry (P)2016 John Van Stry

The Futures so bright you've got to wear armor!

I am a massive time travel fan, as well as fantasy, and mythology. So, when I saw this, I actually misinterpreted what it was. I saw this as a time is convergenging and various timelines are overlapping. Well, the actual book is much better than that. Yes, there is time travel, there are elves and dragons, and we even have native American gods.

A pilot about to get booted from the Air Force is sucked into the future because his jerk of a major is the "chosen one", and he happens to be unfortunate enough to be with the chosen one when the gods decide to bring him to their rescue. The major is an intensely unlikable and untrustworthy lout who is out to get the protagonist. The Main character is sold into Slavery, by the Major, and only escapes with the help of the god, Coyote.

This is one of the things I liked best about the book. The "hero" is a dastardly SOB who doesn't have an actual ounce of heroism in his body. The MC, however, actually cares about what happens is is forced to do what he can to save the people he cares about. The story flows effortlessly, there is literally no slow place that bogs the flow of the tale down. It is full of action, with wolf riders, giant mole rats, lions, and dragons. The blending of fantasy with the mundane has a very Terry Brooks feel to it. We get to see the remenants of the past overlayed with half elves and other magic folks. Spells fly as well as rockets, and the clock is ticking to save the world.

There is a slight Harem element to this, as the Lt. gets a few gals, so if that bothers you suck it up, because this book is fantastic. The cover art for the Audible book is fantastic and tells you all about what the book is like in just one scene. I could put that on my wall. Tisdale nails the narration! His voices play out well, even for the ladies, and he does know when to add emotion. My only regret is that I wish he had tried Coyote's laugh. That would have made my day. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.


If this review helped, please press the YES below. Thank you immensely!!!

Well done to both the author and the narrator

Lively fun entertaining with the mark of a comedian's hand. The main caricature is colorful and easy to like.

This book will also show what bad leadership looks like as a former military members this dose really happen.

To the author hope to see more of you work best of luck NO. B. S. Seigel

Magic, Technology, and Dragons....

If you could sum up Days of Future Past in three words, what would they be?

Three words? Magic, Technology & Dragons.

Put simply it mashes all of these together in a post apocalyptic future. it's a good romp and describes an interesting view of what's left of society.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Coyote was by far my favorite character. He runs herd on the Main Character and gives boons and punishments in good fashion. That said I wish we saw more of his trickster side in the first book... oh well maybe in book 2...

What about Doug Tisdale, Jr.’s performance did you like?

Doug Tisdale's performance was great. I had listened to his performances in the "Metal boxes" trilogy as well as "Larry goes to space". I enjoyed that he gave enough nuance to the characters that I could "roughly" different each characters by their "voices". he really does bring a book to life.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Lost in a strange world, a pawn to the gods, how would you survive.

Any additional comments?

This book was really just "setup" to the series. The author does a great job of character introduction and setup and leaves a good segway into book 2. The main character is likeable, the antagonist is a douche, and that gives you good "reason" to cheer the MC on. It doesn't really go into the details of a full on "battle" yet, but there is a lot of setup for a big one.

Overall I really liked it. The story was good, as was the narrator.

Paul the Stud

Paul Young’s life is going nowhere fast. He tries to do well, but something always happens to drag him down. When we meet him, he is about to be washed out of Air Force pilot training. Things quickly go downhill when Paul and his flight instructor Riggs turns out to be the Chosen One of the Navajo tribe and pulled into the future to save the tribe from a catastrophe that’s about to happen.

The tribe doesn’t expect Paul and at first wants to kill him but Riggs convinces them to keep him as a slave instead. The only problem is that Riggs is a complete idiot and doesn’t know what he’s doing while Paul is a good fighter and slowly earns the trust of the tribal warriors, mostly by kicking their butts, and they end up asking him to train them. This doesn’t sit well with Riggs who tries to kill Paul rather than just ask the tribe if Paul can help him train the warriors.

Paul was brought to the future for a reason, though, and soon learns to accept his fate and the guidance of the tribal god Coyote. Escaping the fire Riggs sets to kill him is just the beginning of Paul’s journey. He makes his way through this somewhat bleak future while gathering a few friends around him. He learns that there are worse things waiting for him in the future than Riggs. Things like fae, elves, orcs, and dragons. Once he commits to helping Coyote, though, he is determined and resourceful in accomplishing the first mission set for him.

Doug Tisdale does an excellent narration and captures the fun of the book along with the serious parts. I will not hesitate to listen to other stories he does after listening to him here.

Truthfully, this book sets a fast pace and there is enough fighting, sex, and gambling to keep any listener happy and, for some reason, the author has a penchant for making his young hero fight in the nude. No matter, I will be looking for the 2nd installment in this series. I hope it comes soon.

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! In exchange for an honest review.

Secret poker Tutorial

What would have made Days of Future Past better?

A better editor

Which character – as performed by Doug Tisdale, Jr. – was your favorite?

Doug Tisdale does an ok job..but the some of the female accents just rubbed me the wrong way.

What character would you cut from Days of Future Past?

The Repeats and the Poker guide

Any additional comments?

I always find it hard to write a review because I feel like someone in a restaurant who didn't like the meal..well if you didn't like it why did you eat the whole thing? But with books you have to hunker down and muddle through (if possible) and get to the end.

Days Future past is one of those books where you after a few chapters realize this isn't going to be a joyride but more work of labour to get to the end. My problem isn't with the world that the author has created but more with well the plot..While I was reading the term light rump kept running through my head because this read like a Romance novel for guys...Easy women who throw themselves at our hero...really bad guys who are bad for no reason what so ever..several chapters dedicated to the brilliance of playing Texas hold em...more light sex with the obligatory twinkle in the eye...Oh Look a dragon... More kisses then a bad guy... I think you get the picture.

Why do I find this book bad? .It repeats a lot of the things that you first time think "Hey that's not so bad" or "Ok I get that" to the point where you start yelling at the book "common ENOUGH!!!" after the tenth time it's mentioned.

I think the Author has great potential because there were brief moments where I was really captivated but sadly few and to far apart to make up for the rest.

Part 1

What was one of the most memorable moments of Days of Future Past?

Very good story but not what I ecpected Can't wait to read more and I hope this becomes a regular series. All in all, it's a very good story and narration

Days of Future Past

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

For the most part, I thought the narrator did a good job. He does need to work on his female voices.

Was Days of Future Past worth the listening time?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I like the snarky humor in the story. I look forward to Part II. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

More Please!

Any additional comments?

This book was a perfect book one! It introduced a seriously likable main character with enough snark and charm that you could not help but root for him. The bad guy was sufficiently bad and you welcome his comeuppance.

The futuristic world, the people, and the travels therein, were incredibly interesting. (I could not help but break a smile when the expedition came upon my home town of Barstow.)

The narrator was really good. There is a lightness to this listen and he was able to deliver. You could just hear the smile in his voice!

This book ending whets your appetite for book two but it's still a complete story (you don't feel cheated.) I'm loving where this story is going and can't wait for the next installment.

Solid Action Fantasy

Solid plot with good characterization and competent world building. Enjoyed the book, but thought it far too short to be worth a credit only to be asked to spend another credit for part two. I do look forward to reading more books by this author. Narration was well done.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com."

read a little faster but story made up for it

I received this book free of charge for an honest review, story was rather entertaining, read a little fast for my taste and slowing it down sounded drunk but come on anything with dragons and rockets is worth a shot and the story itself wasn't disappointing, looking forward to the next one

worth listen

really enjoyed this! have the rest already. good easy listening

I hope he gets him

"And then I saw it - a Pizza Hut."

What did you like most about Days of Future Past?

The last day of his pilot's training assessment - and Paul Young was going to fail. Not because he was a bad pilot but because his assessor really didn't like him. Then, literally out of the blue, a woman appeared in the sky by the plane. She said she was a goddess enlisting the aid of Paul's unpleasant companion, Briggs, and sent them, somewhere, on their way to save the Navajo. Somewhere turned out to be about four hundred years in the future and Briggs, appointed saviour of his people, was just as unpleasant as before, handing Paul over to the greeting Indians as a slave.

So begins Paul's long discovery of the very different world in which he finds himself, unable ever to return home, which is also home to fairies, fae, goblins, elves, wolves, gun toting lovely ladies, card sharps and dragons, "It's a meat eater, Paul. And people are meat." With the occasional assistance of another minor god, the often fickle Koyote,, and two beautiful female companions, Paul's task is to secure weapons and fulfill the job which Briggs is probably incompetent to do.

The book is fun and thrilling, written in the first person as if by Paul himself. He has a wry, sardonic way of looking at life, given that most everything has gone wrong for him before. And things just don't seem to be changing much. Narrator Doug Tisdale jr. does an excellent voicing of the main protagonist, becoming Paul with his quirks, schemes and occasional grumbles, and the dialogue of other characters is also well defined (although the females do sound somewhat mechanical). But overall, a good representation of what the author must have intended.

I was gifted this book by the rights holder, via Audiobook Boom. My thanks for that. It was an enjoyable listen, intriguing and strangely compulsive as the reader is shown a future possible world very different from those usually portrayed. Paul is a personable character and attractive to the new world ladies, so there is frequent reference to sex without it ever becoming graphic. And there is plenty of other action to keep the story full of interest. I believe there is to be a sequel: I, for one, will be looking out for it.
A definite recommendation to all who are fans of portal fantasy - or any fantasy world.

Gods and guns and dragons! Oh my!

Lively, entertaining and has a infuriatingly despicable bad guy. The world-building is an interesting take on melding magic and technology, and thankfully the author doesn't make the mistake of over-explaining things; there's enough mystery left to give the world depth.

There is some wonderful detail to the flying scenes, which must have come from the author's previous career as a pilot. I particularly enjoyed the main character stopping to read the (short) instruction manual of a anti-air missile in the middle of a battle with a dragon. No, I'm not being facetious - although action movies have trained me to think that a hero/ine can wield any weapon without hesitation, I loved the realism of having to work out how to use a unfamiliar futuristic rocket launcher.

The narration is good. Doug Tisdale, Jr. has a pleasant voice, and I really warmed to his characterisation of Coyote.

The story doesn't exactly end on a cliffhanger - the main quest of this book is achieved - but it is very definitely the first part of a series, as many of the main questions remain unanswered, and the book closes with our hero setting off on another quest. I liked the characters enough that I want to find out what happens to them, and I'm looking forward to the next book.