Driving the Deep

The Finder Chronicles, Book 2

By: Suzanne Palmer

Narrated by: Paul Woodson

Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's Summary

From a Hugo Award-winning author comes the second book in this action-packed sci-fi caper, starring Fergus Ferguson, interstellar repo man and professional finder.

As a professional finder, Fergus Ferguson is hired to locate missing objects and steal them back. But it is rarely so simple, especially after his latest job in Cernee. He’s been recovering from that experience in the company of friends, the Shipmakers of Pluto, experts at crafting top-of-the-line AI spaceships.

The Shipmakers have convinced Fergus to finally deal with unfinished business he’s been avoiding for half his life: Earth. Fergus hasn’t been back to his homeworld since he was 15, when he stole his cousin’s motorcycle and ran away. It was his first theft, and nothing he’s stolen since has been anywhere near so easy, or weighed so heavily on his conscience. Many years and many jobs later, Fergus reluctantly agrees that now is the time to return the motorcycle and face his family.

Unfortunately, someone has gotten to the motorcycle before him. And before he can figure out where it went and why the storage unit that held it is now filled with priceless, stolen art, the Shipyard is attacked. His friends are missing, presumably kidnapped.

Accompanied by an untrustworthy detective who suspects Fergus is the art thief and the sole friend who escaped the attack, Fergus must follow the tenuous clues to locate and save his friends. The trail leads them to Enceladus, where Fergus plans to go undercover to the research stations that lie beneath the moon’s thick ice sheet deep in a dark, oppressive ocean.

But all movement and personnel are watched, and the limited ways through the thick ice of the moon’s surface are dangerous and highly monitored. Even if Fergus can manage to find proof that his friends are there and alive, getting out again is going to be a lot more complicated than he bargained for.

©2020 Suzanne Palmer (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Fergus never Farts

This hits all the right points - drama, suspense, comedy, and unlike other science fiction manages to steer clear of the less desireable topics that are included to attract readers and add nothing.

Dear Suzanne - Fergus does not need a love interest, don't let steamy romance ruin book three!

Great Space Opera

I listened to the first book a few months ago and was happy to hear that Fergus Ferguson was coming back. Driving the Deep was even better than Finder. A solid 4 stars. Suzanne Palmer’s repo-spaceman Fergus is a fun character, who seems to always be getting himself in jams as he tries to help those around him.

A truly nice person, Fergus brings a great mix of humility and compassion blended into an unlikely hero. Suzanne Palmer blends humor and action into her writing to make for a fun experience. Paul Woodson did a great job with the narration. This is a new SCI-FI series worth telling your friends about. I look forward too many more encounters with Fergus.

Great and unexpected follow up

Not like the original but a ton of fun and interesting still in its own right. Normally you expect a sequel to be average at best but I loved it. only criticism is the performance was jarring as I listened to the two back to back and the narrator changes and has a slightly different intonation that imo changes the feel of the character. Once I got over that and adjusted it was just as fun as the first.

Overall I love the characters although I can't help notice that almost all women in these stories are somewhat... over aggressive? Like they can't be portrayed as confident, competent and powerful without also somehow being super aggressive at the same time? Actually it's a pretty common theme for the series across many characters but it just feels like if the female is a main character she must be almost too tough and definitely tougher than Fergus which I find a bit weird. Maybe I'm reading too much into it though either way great series and hoping for many more books to come found a new author to dive into thanks to these two books.

Hopefully not the end

I will start by mirroring the sentiments of others; Joe Hempel did an outstanding job narrating Finder, the first book in The Finder Chronicles. The quality of his performance is sadly not replicated by Paul Woodson.
I do not envy anyone the task of following in the footsteps of someone who performs any job so well. It sets the bar of expectations very high.
Mr. Woodson's performance is by no means bad. He just doesn't rise to the same level of performance as some narrators who can and do perform in different vocal tones to differentiate and accentuate different characters .
Once I got past my disappointment in the change of narrators, I enjoyed Mr Woodson's performance well enough
His voice is pleasant enough to listen to and he speaks quite well.
With that out of the way, on to the book itself.
Driving the Deep is a fantastic addition to this series.
Though I could say much more than that, I won't.
If you enjoyed the first book, you will also enjoy this one.
I would think that if you found the first book entertaining and enjoyable, continuing the series is simply a given. How could you not?
I am looking forward to further adventures with Fergus Ferguson.

Very Good

Maybe not quite as funny as the first one, but still clever. A nice sequel.

A fantastic combo of space and sea sci-if

This second novel of the Finder series picks up soon after the first novel with the protagonist deciding to take care of a long avoided task. His plans immediately take a sharp left turn and accelerate out of his control. With new friends in tow and old friends to rescue the action doesn’t let up in this fast-paced adventure. Check this one out!

worth it ... going for book 3... talented writer!

so many fully drawn characters. very likable and very hatable. plot pulled me forward. unpredictable

Awesome book!

The narration was spot on. With a story that keeps you hooked till the end. I'm really looking forward to the next book this fall

Loved it. Love this narrator so much more.

I love the story and characters. This narrator is is so much better. brings the characters to life. makes them fun and enjoyable. I really hope you continue with this narrator on the future books.

Thoroughly enjoyable

Picked up the precursor work since it was free with Audible membership, and enjoyed it enough to buy this sequel.

In both works I found the main character's penchant for crippling self-doubt to be overdone; it's a fine device, but when it happens four or five times in a row--completely debilitating episodes, over and over--it gets tiresome.

But that is the entirety of my complaints: everything else about these books is delightful. Great characters, great world building, fun plot twists, some healthy snark, good action sequences, and creative problem solving. Would definitely pick up another in the series.

Humorous and heartwarming

Great stories, these. Picked up the first at random, and am very glad that I did. Good mix of humour, sci-fi, and feelgood. Characters are well written and well performed, even if the Irish accent is a bit stereotypical. All in all, a good choice.

Fantastic

This book really was fabulous.Iwhat an unusual concept. It was a brilliant sequel to the Finder.

Sci-fi adventure, likeable characters, good fun

The sequel to Finder, this is another fun sci-fi adventure story of the sort I loved as a teenager. Not too deep, a rugged hero with a likeable supporting cast, plenty of action, and a fascinating setting under the ice of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The narrator did his best but was a strange choice for this book - the main character is Scottish, another is Irish, and his American accent frequently jarred with the text.