Escape Velocity

De: Anah Crow, Dianne Fox

Narrado por: Charles Carr

Linguist Elios Campbell is thrilled to be granted flight time in a Colonial Guard fighter jet, until he catches sight of his pilot. Spending time with Sender Kinnison holds even more appeal than the flight itself.

Sender's desire for other men is forbidden by his faith and his family. He tries to resist his attraction to Elios, who is unlike anyone he's ever known. When he fails, the incredible sex quickly leads to something deeper, forcing Sender to question his long-held beliefs.

Then, duty calls Sender home to the repressed colony of Themis. Will he be forced to give up a future with Elios to honor the ghosts of his past?

First published as Runaway Star, newly revised by the authors.

©2012 Anah Crow (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Worth it in the End

I struggled a little bit in the beginning to get into this audiobook. Once distracted from it I had a hard time coming back to it. In the end I enjoyed it and the rocky parts of their relationship.

Good book

Good story great narrative, some parts were a bit overdone like the mortuary part, but over all great story

this is a love story

I've enjoyed stories by both of these authors and this was engaging as well.

The one thing I took away is that it's a love story. It has undertones of space and and the great beyond. But we are not given any of those aspects in the story, besides being treated to some words of a ship and everyone wanting to be on it.

What this is, is a story of a man struggling with is faith, his upbringing and who he is. And finding another man that has been hurt by a past relationship that is shy about being hurt again.

SciFi gay romance, what more could you ask for.

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

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. Very intellectually and emotionally satisfying. I even gifted this book to a friend who claimed he didn't like science fiction.

Sqarely in the "decent" category

"Decent" as is a satisfying read but nothing to write home about.

The narrator did a great job of reading as if acting when it came to dialogue - when someone was speaking from pain, joy, etc., you heard it in the narrator's voice. On the other hand, the narrator used an overly effeminate voice inflected with the tones of expression one might hear among men in a hair salon, but the characters were in the military and might or might not have wanted or needed to be inclined that way. Not for all the voices, really just one and spattered throughout others. It doesn't ruin the reading by any means, but was a distraction for me.

The story is quite predictable, but the details within what you know is going to happen are satisfyingly individual to this story and these characters. You KNOW how it's going to turn out, but it's still an interesting journey. I thought the author's ability to observe people in real life and translate those personalities to writing was above average. A main part of the story included preachiness about views on whether it's ok for men to like men and about how church doctrine (highly similar to Christianity) ruins people and families by telling them what's right and wrong vs. letting them be themselves. It doesn't bother me, but it might be too much for some readers (but then, why would they be reading this book at all?).

The physical scenes between the main characters (there were none between other characters) fit in well with the story, they were not merely put in gratuitously. They all involved caring and relationship between consenting adults. They were fairly brief and not nermerous, but you definitely wouldn't want anyone but a consenting, interested partner of your own to hear them by mistake.

I probably should give the book 4 stars instead of just 3, but athough I enjoyed it quite a bit Its just one of many I enjoy quite a bit, so nothing really stands out. On the other hand, it is definitely decent writing and performance all the way around. I guess I'm picky!

Excellent narration of a so-so story

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this story very much until the last hour or so. The resolution felt rushed, it seemed like the problems were just suddenly gone, they all went on the space mission even though one of the characters was so badly injured that he could not go from a prone position to sitting without help and a lot of pain.

That said, the story seems to be lingering in my brain so I will probably listen to it again at some point.

Good Performance, Average Story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I felt there wasn't enough conflict to make the story more interesting. The characters were at odds, yes, with one another occasionally, but not enough to make me worry about them. Not really. Also, the sex was almost 'cut-and-paste' in it's similarity.I also would have kept this as a novella, since that's what it originally was apparently, the story didn't stretch well.

What other book might you compare Escape Velocity to and why?

I can honestly say I haven't read anything like it to date.

Which character – as performed by Charles Carr – was your favorite?

Definately Sender, most similar to Charles Carr.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

Definately more conflict and better sex scenes.

Any additional comments?

Carr has to be commended for his attempt at a 4 year old girl. It was fairly decent, considering how low his natural reading voice was.

3.5 grudgingly rounded up

This was a sweet love story. Plenty of angst and a HEA. However, if you want to see a plot come to fruition, don't get your hopes up. I thought this had a good potential to be an interesting sci-fi listen. And the plot points along the way kind of lead me to believe there might actually be a climax at some point involving the actual sci-fi plot. Unfortunately, I was left feeling dissatisfied and disappointed because what I had been thinking was going to happen was just completely ignored at the end.

So, if you are looking for a love story with some sci-fi qualities, this should be fine. If you want something with an actual sci-fi plot besides the romance, I can't recommend this one.

I do have to say that I was very happy with Charles Carr's narration. I thought he did a fantastic job.

Worth the Time to Listen

If you could sum up Escape Velocity in three words, what would they be?

Futuristic; Compelling; Thought-provoking

What was one of the most memorable moments of Escape Velocity?

When the main male characters finally realized they needed each other to make their lives completed.

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

No

This could be the first of a great series!

I find that I’m partial to gay romance books that transcend the human reality of our experience either through science fiction or fantasy. As long as the characters are human or close enough to identify with. The added dimension of other worldliness makes it easier for me to look past my own sense of the impossible and experience the excitement of living a different life.
The two central characters of the book embody the qualities of the men I’ve always longed for not only as physical specimens but with all of the qualities and flaws that make them loveable.
The characters that surround them are also believable avoiding the exteme stereotypes of perfection, super-human abilities or ridiculous embodiments of good or evil.
While the story is left at a satisfying place in the end, the implied adventures underlying all of the book’s events are barely begun. I have to hope the story can continue in subsequent sequels!
The production of the audio book is also worth mentioning. As I’ve experienced more and more audiobooks, I’ve become more aware of the difficulties of pulling off a narration using only one narrator. Male readers often lose me when they have to shift to voices of women or children, leaving me to roll my eyes at their inability to pull this off. Charles Carr does an excellent job of this. His timing and pacing are also goodwhich not only makes it easy to keep up with and understand, but helps it get closer to the experience of reading it for yourself.