The First Bird, Episode 1

By: Greig Beck

Narrated by: Sean Mangan

Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Matt Kearns, linguist, archaeologist and reluctant explorer from Beneath the Dark Ice and Black Mountain returns in his first full-time adventure. And this time he doesn't have Alex Hunter to save him when the stuff hits the fan.

When a fame-hungry scientist brings an impossible, living specimen of a creature long thought extinct back from the wild jungles of South America he unwittingly brings along a passenger. Something with the potential to destroy every living thing on our planet.

The infestation begins, rapidly overtaking medical resources and resisting all treatment. One woman knows the danger: Carla Nero, chief scientist of the Center for Disease Control. She makes Matt an offer he can't refuse and together they join a team heading to the deep jungle in a desperate race to locate the hidden place where the specimen was taken.

Only by finding the location of the specimen can the team - and the world - hope to uncover the secret of how to survive the ancient, horrifying parasite that has been released.

©2013 Greig Beck (P)2013 Bolinda

Fun adventure

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Sure. I enjoyed the adventure of it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The native guide. He was so calm and so sure of himself, despite the chaos that the visitors brought with them. He also added a kind of wise rationality with no hidden agendas.

What does Sean Mangan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Well, for me, any audiobook is preferable over reading them myself ,because a good narrator can bring the characters alive. I liked Sean Mangan's narration and will look for more books narrated by him.

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

Yes, and I look forward to the next two episodes.

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed this first episode, though I could have done without the somewhat adolescent interaction between the main character and his annoying girlfriend. She is a character that could have easily been left out without much of a change to the story Otherwise, this was very "Indiana Jones" which is the kind of book I enjoy. No terrorists, not politics, how refreshing!

Excellent book didn't know with so short

It was an excellent book but I did not know it was so short. It leaves you on a cliffhanger that you want to hear the rest of the story and buy the next book which I am going to do now because it was worth it again a little too short for my liking

I purchased episode II...

The story was good enough that I purchased to second episode as soon as I finished to first. If your just looking for an entertaining story this is not a bad choice. The only complaint I have is that I have to buy the story in 3 different installments. Guess that's probably the part the author really likes!

Intregued as to where this story is going now!

Anthropology, Amazon forest site, paleo-bird link as well as the hook of an ancient disease getting a new foothold in the modern world! The ,author has hit four of my six most interesting subjects just with this one story!

Where is part 2!?

The narration of the story made me feel I was along during the trek through the forest and I want to get back to it. Please!

marginal

Predictable and easy to follow. I listened to the book while mowing the yard. Easy entertainment, but no resolution at the end. Be ready to committ to the series or be left hanging in a not so sure you want to continue way.

Not a complete story - too bad, it was promising..

The title indicates that it is Episode One - which I took to mean that it was the first part of a series... i.e. book one of, say, a 3 book series. This was not the case: this is more like an Episode 1 in terms of a storyline arc in a TV series... i.e. as if you were watching part one of a 3 part TV show where episode one sets up the problem, episode two explores how it can be resolved, and episode three resolves it.

In the latter example, you do expect a cliff-hanger at the end of each show, and you will tune in next time to find out what happens. This novella is exactly like that... the characters get to a certain point, in the middle of the plot, and the story just stops. It does not resolve any single component first, it just ends at the end of a scene.

This is why I have only given the novella 3 stars (yes, the word novella is accurate - it is too short for a novel, and if it were a short story, it would have had a resolution). The story is decent and suspenseful but... a written story ending in the middle of a plot point is just jarring. You are absolutely required to get the next book in the series if you want to know anything about how this story is resolved (and my guess is that you will need to buy the 3rd one as well).

If novella 2 of a series is MANDATORY in order to have any sense of resolution to a story, and each part is too short to be a proper novel in the first place, it should be packaged and sold along with novella one.

Oh, and the price of it does not reflect the fact that it isn't even a complete story. You will buy it thinking you got a proper book on the cheaper end of the scale, not 1/3 of a complete story which will end up costing more than many other 20 hour audiobooks

I did buy the next one because the story was engaging; I am just a bit annoyed at the marketing ploy. There is no graphic violence or sex, and not much in the way of foul language either. The narration is quite good.

Great listen

I really enjoyed this book, it's the first of three and I cannot wait to listen to the next episode. The writing is done really well, you can tell lots of research went into it and it is very entertaining. Sean Mangan does a great job with the narration,

Nice Read

This was a good read. It left me on the edge of my seat for Book 2. The narrator was great and the storyline was interesting.

Just as I was really getting into it

It ended. Talk about a cliff hanger! At only 5.5 hours in length, I find that pretty annoying. I would like to know the solution, but don't think I will buy the next two episodes. I guess that calling them episodes rather than volumes or books should have been a clue.

Don't let the title fool you.

Any additional comments?

Not a five star as some say. I'm already listening to the 2nd book. There is more to it then just "birds". Other "creatures in the forest lurk. Price is good so got for it.