For Every Action

The Quantum Mechanic, Book 1

By: Jason Faris

Narrated by: Judy Rounda

Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Desperate to prove that he has found the unified field theory in the Bible, young mathematics prodigy Jacob Saylor runs away to the Middle East. But when he and his brother venture into the desert they disappear, only to return years later with no memory of where they have been. Jacob's fragmented mind descends into madness and nearly a decade passes before he can find a way to hold onto his sanity. Daily life becomes a struggle and he makes ends meet by working and sleeping in his father's old garage.

Then a group of cybernetic terrorists calling themselves The Embodied attack. Having discarded their humanity for bodies of living technology they serve their masters by secretly manipulating world events, eliminating enemies, and toppling nations. Explosions claim thousands of lives across the country and Jacob watches in horror as his family is lost. But then he sees that his 11-year-old niece has survived - and something inside of him snaps. She's trying to crawl from the wreckage on broken limbs, and he knows that he's the only one who can save her.

What he does next changes the world as he manipulates the very fabric of reality.

Now The Embodied are seeking him and he will have to overcome the horrors of his past if he is to fight for our survival. But the most terrifying demons he must face are his own, and redemption will mean returning to the source of his torment. Time is running out and the only way forward is for him to face the consequences of tampering in God's domain.

Now the world needs this shattered soul to find a way through his pain to fight for humanity. Can he become what we so desperately need...one last and final hero?

©2014 Jason Faris (P)2017 Jason Faris

Loved it!

I really loved this book. It was a little confusing at the beginning because characters you don't know yet are being mentioned and time is skipping around, but I plan to go back and listen to those parts again. I am excited to read the other books in the series now! Some things will make a little more sense if you know something about computers and coding, but you absolutely don't have to.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

An amazing story but. . .

But I'm not sure the average reader will get past the first half of the book. The beginning flips back and forth with numerous side stories and no hint as to how to connect them all. I listened thirty minutes and started over but I was still lost.

I stuck with it because I am a Christian and love technology and science fiction in general and they were all here and more but so much of the content should be removed. The reader needs to immerse their self in the story, visualize the occurrences and make connections with the characters on an emotional basis, or that's what I want but didn't have a chance to do. Many of the sections were wordy and drawn out.

The publisher's summary did not convey what this book was about but I'm glad I stuck with it until the end. The story is incredible so that's why I gave it four stars but it was challenging to get through. I would like to read more from this author's fabulous mind if he gets another editor.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audio book by the author, narrator, or publisher.

My reaction...

Any additional comments?

This is a highly imaginative and {in my extensive experience with science fiction} a unique story. Jason Faris has wrapped several plot threads together to present scientific and philosophical ideas in a manner you’ve not seen before. These include applications of artificial intelligence, cybernetics, nano machines, quantum effects, religion, and even a little space travel. The advertizing blurb discusses only one of these threads. This is a rather long book and the reader/listener must exercise some patients through the first third of the story as the various plots and characters are developed. While section breaks and other visual clues might help a reader of the physical book sort these out, the audio listener will find the beginning of the book a bit confusing. However, have faith, the threads come together and eventually all make sense.

This is a SciFi story and we must suspend some degree of belief as we allow the writer to create his world. However, in my humble opinion, Mr. Faris took this a bit too far and lapsed from the realm of science fiction to science fantasy. Additionally, several unnecessarily wordy sections present distractions. Some of these are in the middle of high energy action scenes, and thus, really break up the mood for the reader.

The book reader/narrator, Judy Rounda, began the story with an energy all her own. I was very pleased with her use of voice inflections and effects as she helped the listener through the disjointed beginning of the book. However, she lost this zeal as the book progressed and did little more than simply read the story toward the ending.

Bottom line: a rewarding reading experience, but you must put forth some of your own effort to follow the {audio} storyline.

A very interesting book

As a whole, I did enjoy this book. There were parts that I felt a little lost him. Also, there were some aspects of it, specifically the military portions, that I thought were excessively detailed in a manner that made it hard to follow and seemed almost like a technical "word dump". That is most likely because of my personal background in the military. I'm not sure if the author had a military consultant when writing these books. I definitely plan to listen to/read the other books of the series. A friend that listen to this book while driving with me stated "I could see them turning this into a TV show".

Surprisingly good!

Not run of the mill. Very original story. Well written and well performed. Loved it!

Amazing!

Loved this book & going to start the next one in a few days!
Love my foul mouthed 11 year old Jessica!
I feel smarter having listened to this book. So much science & science fiction blended together that I wonder how long before some of the things listed in this book are our reality!
I’m an atheist but I actually live the religious aspects explored here. I still live by the golden rule. I can appreciate all ideas.
Great job with this narrator too.
Thank you for a truly original read!

I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator.

Very interesting story

Very interesting story. A little gruesome at times but overall very good. Judy Rounda did s fine job with the characters and different voices.

I was provided this copy free of charge in exchange for an honest review

Wow

This was an incredibly inventive and well written book. I have to admit I had to force myself to push on initially, but once engaged I was very much invested in this book. I believe the narrator was not a good match for it and that this made it hard to connect with.

Mr. Faris did the incredible by making an AI entity feel human. There is a point near the end of the story where a sacrifice made by this AI actually brought tears to my eyes.


"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

A very intelligent story

What made the experience of listening to For Every Action the most enjoyable?

The voice acting is great, the effects are perfect. :)

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jacob, he's very diverse, handles situations pretty interestingly.

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

Different ways to express the characters.

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

The scene on the bridge near the beginning. I actually stopped jogging and nearly got hit by the guy behind me!

Any additional comments?

Great book overall, stands out in my mind. Would like to read more by Jason Faris.

A combo superhero/spy thriller

This book has an interesting premise. Two brothers discovered something they shouldnt have in the middle east, and after an ordeal, they return to the US. Years later, a Chinese cyborg terrorist team blows up a bunch of bridges in terrorist attacks, and One brother and his wife are killed, and their daughter is seriously injured, but rescued by a mysterious man with superpowers who jumps across the collapsing bridge to save her, then teleports away. So starts a crazy good story with Chinese mega cyborgs, secret government research programs, Super powered God warrior and possibly the next step in human evolution.

The story has an interesting arc, cool super science, and some characters you can really get in to. A really ejoyable listen, with Judy Rounda really bringing the characters to life, keeping the narration moving along. Definitely waiting for the next book in the series.

I voluntarily received a copy fo the book from the publisher, narrator or author through Audiobookboom.

.Sheer, pure brilliance to nourish your mind

Cybernetics,religion,Unbelievable tech,Physics and so so much more this was like a concerto with the music unheard ut acted out by the characters in this book.I could liken a lot of aspects of this book for example Avatar and Battlestar Galactica and Dr Strange but none really sum it up and its hard to capture its essence but it was masterful,intricate,imaginative beyond belief.A complex piece of literature that knows no bounds and I am eagerly awaiting book two in this trilogy!Brilliance. Sheer, pure brilliance. This is what this book is. Everything I wanted and everything I didn't know I wanted. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.I received this title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.As always this is my honest opinion .Judy Rouda was excellent and breathed life i to this outstanding body of work.

Groundbreaking Story

OK found an amazing new author for a gritty precise and compelling hard sci fi story.
In a world gone mad with runaway cybernetic and biotech monsters the human spirit has given up on old religion's with these new horrors present.
Faris creates such a masterful weave of realism i was frankly quite taken with the levels of detail. With so many authors out there with varying degrees of skill i was amazed i hadn't heard of him ,but was gratefully surprised with this story.
My biggest complaint is how long the story is and how the level of details creates a small amount of confusion which means a fair bit of concentration required with it being audio and hard to flick back for further enlightenment and clarification like you would with a book.
The narrator is female and I usually prefer a male narrator but Judy did a great job with the characters and again i was very pleased.
In stars 5/5 across the board but i would give easily 95/100.
As a owner of a vast library of books and an increasing audio collections it's hard for particular stories to stick out but i believe this one will always stick out.
Better yet there isn't a wait for more in the series, so im away to buy the series as this gushing of praise is very rare and making me self conscious lol.
This audio was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review and as such is my own honest opinion of which im glad i did as i struck gold.

"When did the world turn into a ... comic book?"

Any additional comments?

Whilst the introductory blurb about the book is, strictly, accurate it does not properly represent the full body of this book. Jason, an extremely talented Biblical scholar, linguist of ancient languages, mathematician and archaeologist, disappears without trace whilst in the Middle East, suddenly and dramatically reappearing some two years later, near death, very badly damaged and without memory of what had happened. Not until a terrorist destruction of a bridge and his miraculous rescue of his eleven years old niece from it, does he truly begin to realise both who and what he has become. Thereafter, most of the story follows Jessica, the rescued girl, as doctors try desperately to restore her to some semblance of a normal child, first saving her life then repairing the horrendous injuries she has sustained, and this includes an almost untried futuristic proceedure.and the aftermath of this intervention

Beautifully written, and with a biblical quotation prefacing each new chapter, For Every Action is a story about God and the power of prayer, of evil, love and hate, of quantum mechanics and what it is to be human, of comic book heroes and bioengineering - and never to underestimate an eleven years old girl. It is also a very visual book both in the comic heroes style fight scenes, superbly envisaged, and in the detailed, fascinating descriptions of the unseeable worlds of the subatomic and of computer code: in the hands of a talented director this would surely make an outstanding film it is a story of cosmic proportion.So why only four stars? Well, a rather petty personal preference. I was both intrigued and captivated by Jason's charismatic story and wanted more. Instead, there was mostly Jessica and, although hers was a fabulous tale, full of action and determination, stretching the imagination into cosmic dimensions, I still felt cheated. Plus, I became irritated by the frequent references to her bravery and selflessness by members of the team who watched. Petty? Yes, of course, but that's how it was.

This cannot have been an easy book to narrate and Judy Rounda had the unenviable task of bringing to life not just the protagonists of the story but making the unseeable tangible. Overall, she does a good job, with a very pleasant to hear voice reading at a steady, brisk pace. However, there are times especially in the latter part of the book when she seems to falter, tiny pauses where this listener thought inappropriate and without any tonal emotion to give greater understanding to the content of the text. Her rendering of the dialogue of the characters, also, shows little distinctive definition other than for Jessica, herself, and the AI who 'adopts' her, not that this matters as it is always clear who is speaking. But with only a small proportion being dialogue, a performance rather than a reading would have enhanced this lengthy, sometimes difficult book. Nevertheless, a good presentation by Ms.Rounda.

Despite my various complaints, above, I am very glad to have read this book and send my deep thanks to the rights holder who freely gifted me a copy of For Every Action, via Audiobook Boom. It is a book I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys having their imaginations stretched, especially if superhero comic book characters are also to their liking. The vision of the world for our possible future is a truly terrifying one and, if it should come to pass, I can only hope that there will, indeed, be not one but several Jessica's to assist us. I note that this is the first of a trilogy of books based in and around this time. The second, Rise of the Embodied, should make fascinating reading. I have already acquired a copy of the ebook although not yet read it and hope that the author will soon make this also available on audio.

Wow. I loved it

What did you like most about For Every Action?

The story was great. Actually it was cool. Im not going to summaris it as the audible description is exactly what I would write. The concepts are great sci fi. Just past our level of technology in ways but then as an impact pulling it off would be world changing. As soon as I started listening I wanted to see where the story was going.

What was one of the most memorable moments of For Every Action?

That's hard to say without sort of ruining the overall story. One character sets us up for the next book which is great and there is an element of jumping around a timeline. It all makes for a great book.

Which character – as performed by Judy Rounda – was your favourite?

Jacob. Obviously it's easy to pick main characters because they get so much air time but he is interesting and likeable and he certainly had me listening for longer than I planned as I got so into the story and his character.

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

It sort of made me think. What if and when this happens wow or maybe if this happens. Also would I want to be like some of the more different characters.

Any additional comments?

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review