• Emissary

  • By: Chris Rogers
  • Narrated by: Jeff Hays
  • Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (17 ratings)

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Emissary  By  cover art

Emissary

By: Chris Rogers
Narrated by: Jeff Hays
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Publisher's summary

On a desperate mission to save his entire race from extinction, Emissary Ruell travels to Earth equipped with his two most powerful bargaining currencies - health and longevity - hoping to convince the most powerful leader in the free world that collaboration can save both of their civilizations. Having no way to communicate directly with humans, Ruell must inhabit President Addison Hale's body to carry out his mission.

He quickly discovers, however, that humans are more complex and volatile than anticipated. Only after admitting defeat does he encounter Kirk Longshadow, a cop with nothing left to lose - and who might be Ruell's last chance.

©2014 Chris Rogers (P)2015 Chris Rogers

What listeners say about Emissary

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating read, from big to little

Would you consider the audio edition of Emissary to be better than the print version?

Only listened to it, so don't really know.

What did you like best about this story?

The overall concept is compelling, to say the least. Certainly the concept has been visited in the past, but not to this level of nuance and complexity.

Have you listened to any of Jeff Hays’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, and he does a fine job here. Lot's of characters to explore, and he does so with a flourish.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not extreme, but it was compelling at times. Esp. the conclusion.

Any additional comments?

This book spans a wide range of concepts, which at first glance seem unrelated. Yet somehow it is pulled together with style and aplomb. I liked it a lot, and so will you! Recommended.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Beware of Unseen Aliens

Would you listen to Emissary again? Why?

Yes, it is worth reading/listening to over and over.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the clever way the alien entered Mrs. President.

Which scene was your favorite?

I think some of the emotions and sex scenes as experienced by the alien were really great.

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

No not really, it is way to long to listen to in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

A really fun and intense take on an alien take over.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

More a police proceedural than sci-fi

Actually 3.5 stars, not 3.

This book is listed as a sci-fi, and it technically is as it has aliens and stuff in it, but the sci-fi elements are small and the book is more of a political thriller or police proceedural than a sci-fi. It's not a bad hting, it's just not what I was expecting going into the book.

The book starts a a political thriller, dealing with President Hale (a 3rd Party moderate, who is hinted at being Obama's successor) and her dealing with the kidnapping of her VP by an African dictator. As a B-story we get told about a recently widowed, turned drunk cop, Longshadow, dealing with his grief. This story seems extremely removed from the Hale story and I wasnt sure why we were getting the story at first but it does eventually dovetail with the Hale storyline and eventually overtakes it, relegating Hale to the B-story. At this point the book becomes less political thriller and more police proceedural as Longshadow collects and follows evidence.

At all times the emissary Ruell is alongside, nudging the characters in the right direction.

I enjoyed the police proceedural part more than the policial thriller, but both were interesting. Overall the Hale and Longbottom stories got tied up nicely, albeit a little quick in the end, while Ruell's story is still left unfinished.

Part of Ruell's story (why he went with Longshadow) doesn't make that much sense to me in terms of this grand objective, as Longshadow isnt really in a spot to help Ruell with it. He's just a beat cop. Going with Hale, or someone of her position, made more sense. It served the story to have Ruell go with Longshadow but Im not sure it actually made sense.

I've listened to many books by Hays (he's probably one of top 5 narrators in terms of number of books narrated by someone I have) and I always enjoy his work. I'm not sure this was his best work, but it was still good. Great inflection. Great pace. Different characters and voices. Accents.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The beginning of an interesting series

Any additional comments?

Emissary by Chris Rogers took a long while to pick up, but ended up being a good book. Ignoring the generic RPG name for the protagonist, "Longshadow", he definitely is a character that is difficult to like at first. All he does is whine, drink, and complain. I really struggled through the first part because it kept switching between uninteresting politics and characters, to Longshadows depressing thoughts and behavior. I think Chris Rogers could have spent less time on the introduction and focused more on Longshadow and Ruell. Honestly at least half of the first part could have been cut out completely. After a while the plot becomes really interesting, and Longshadow develops into a badass that you'll cheer for. I think this will be an interesting series, it's no Enders game/shadow, but it does have the whole human politics/alien race survival theme going for it.

The performance by Jeff Hays was really good. I doubt I would have finished this book if it hadn't been for his narration. The characters each have their own distinct sound and feel to them, the female voices are shockingly good, and he uses neat sound effects to enhance the listening experience. The only reason I'm not his giving performance 5/5 is because some of the sound effects he used are extremely sharp with high treble and volume (trying to simulate a radio or walkie talkie), which made it very uncomfortable since I use an earplug, oddly enough these sound effects soften up during the course of the book. I'm not sure if it's because I got used to it, or if he tweaked the sound.

To sum up, if you stick with Emissary through the first part it does end up being an interesting listen with an excellent narration by Jeff Hays.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great work by the reader!

Would you listen to Emissary again? Why?

I'm not sure if I would listen to it again but I will definitely follow the series as the story continues.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I didn't really have a favorite character. There were times I liked some more than others however as the story progresses this seems to changed.

What about Jeff Hays’s performance did you like?

His ability to adapt his voice to the character is amazing.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

Jeff Hays is an amazing reader. Super keen to see what he does next.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Worth the Credit, I'm glad I Listened

The is a fun and pretty upbeat* book, with a strong female lead (the President of the U.S. no less!), a Texas cop, and an alien. The alien intelligence can jump from mind to mind of its human hosts, influence their behavior and health, or take them over completely. He jumps around various people in the Oval Office, over to a leader abroad, and after a drama of unfolding events surrounding the President, into the mind of a Texas cop. It is both sci-fi and political mystery-thriller.

*(Upbeat? Okay, yes, there is The Torture Scene, but the reader knows the alien is going to jump in and save the day, so we can just look forward to the bad guy getting his just desserts as the scene unfolds).

It put me in mind of "A Warm Place to Call Home: A Demon's Story" by Michael Siemsen, which I also enjoyed.

The book ends cleanly, no cliff hangers, but leaves the door open for further exploration. If there is ever a book two, I'll buy it on the day it comes out.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable story, excellent performance

The emissary concept is integrated into a well integrated and enjoyable plot. Another great performance by the very talented Jeff Hayes.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow I never saw this coming

Would you listen to Emissary again? Why?

I might if time permitted. It was a good plot and developed well.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the way the main character was developed and how they went from a nobody at the start to the most important factor in the story line.

Have you listened to any of Jeff Hays’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not; this is the first

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Kirk was able to forgive those who had left him and understand it was not his fault.

Any additional comments?

This book had multiple plots running in parallel. At the beginning contact was at the top of the political pyramid but all the real action ended up at a much lower level. The end result was never clear until the end so it kept you wondering who the good guys and bad guys were. Almost an action/thriller as much as science fiction. There were enough strings left at the end of the book for a sequel and if so I look forward to listening to it.

It also was great that a flawed man was able to overcome their handicap and resolve the issues of their life an complete their quest whereas a much larger force had not been able to come to the same point in the time available.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Just not my kind of book

I felt the story was slow and unoriginal. I did not like the narrator's performance and may have preferred to read this rather than listen to it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great and plausible story with a touch of sci-fi

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

I don't listen to a lot of sci-fi so I was quite surprised to realize this was a mostly mystery/crime driven plot with a layer of science fiction interwoven very well. I listen to quite a lot of crime related books and this was definitely as enjoyable as most.

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoyed how the various plot threads were interwoven together. The political side of the plot didn't dominate and the greater part of character development rested with the main protagonist.

Have you listened to any of Jeff Hays’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this was my first listen of Jeff's work but I found him to be very much on par with other great narrators I've listened to. He did the various voices very well and I really enjoyed his accents.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not really, it was overall enjoyable and not quite what I expected based on the short description I read before listening.

Any additional comments?

Looking forward to listening to the next installment!

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