Fire with Fire

Caine Riordan, Book 1

De: Charles E. Gannon

Narrado por: Kevin Pariseau

2105, September: Intelligence Analyst Caine Riordan uncovers a conspiracy on Earth's Moon - a history-making clandestine project - and ends up involuntarily cryocelled for his troubles. Twelve years later, Riordan awakens to a changed world. Humanity has achieved faster-than-light travel and is pioneering nearby star systems. And now, Riordan is compelled to become an inadvertent agent of conspiracy himself. Riordan's mission: travel to a newly settled world and investigate whether a primitive local species was once sentient - enough so to have built a lost civilization.

However, arriving on site in the Delta Pavonis system, Caine discovers that the job he's been given is anything but secret or safe. With assassins and saboteurs dogging his every step, it's clear that someone doesn't want his mission to succeed. In the end, it takes the keen insights of an intelligence analyst and a matching instinct for intrigue to ferret out the truth: that humanity is neither alone in the cosmos nor safe. Earth is revealed to be the lynchpin planet in an impending struggle for interstellar dominance, a struggle into which it is being irresistibly dragged. Discovering new dangers at every turn, Riordan must now convince the powers-that-be that the only way for humanity to survive as a free species is to face the perils directly - and to fight fire with fire.

©2013 Charles E. Gannon (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Confusing

While listening to this audiobook it was very easy to get confused and lost. I had to start over and re-listen to the whole book.

Throwback sci-fi with alien intrigue

Charles E Gannon's Fire with Fire is the first installment in his Caine Riordan series.Caine is an investigative reporter who is 'frozen' for 14 years while working a story. After he is thawed, he has lost the last 4 days. He gets suborned for secret agent work to investigate odd behaviors on a colony world with ancient ruins. He discovers a coverup by a corporate entity attempting to exterminate native intelligent life. This leads to a world government on Earth as indications suggests other intelligent life out there. Of course, there are, and he leads a delegation to negotiate. It's all a setup and the story ends with preparations for the next installment. Mysteriously, someone is trying to kill him, all the time.

Gannon sets up a real throwback adventure tale with a polymath whizkid (Caine) who manages to figure everything out, no matter how convoluted. There are very few players who call all the shots with mystery assassins who kills by consuming olives. Caine convinces world leaders to create new world order based exclusively on his hypothetical conclusions without the need for confirmation. And of course, the same small group goes off to negotiate the fate of the world with unknown aliens. Most of the characters are stereotypes and Caine always figures everything out. The aliens are anthropomorphized caricatures.

The narration is good with decent character distinction and smooth pacing. The story has the feel of 40's or 50's era sci-fi.

Misleading Cover

So the cover of this book is really misleading. It is not a military scifi with lots of action where Caine Riordan rains fire down upon his enemies from his combat drop ship. It is a thriller and a spy novel more than anything else. Think journalist Jack Ryan in space. It is a bit slow at times and Caine is almost always the smartest person in whatever room he happens to step into, but I liked it regardless.

The characters, even the ones I happened to strongly dislike, were believable, with real motivation and the story was intriguing enough that by the end of book two I found myself quickly searching for when book three would come out.

Epic doesn’t begin to describe it.

Gannon delivers an epic performance. It is the Game of Thrones on a galactic scale.

Fun story EXCELLENT Narration

Enjoyed the story. Has several unpredictable twists.

But the narration was one of the best I've heard for a science fiction novel. Really made the story come alive.