Frontiers Saga Series #14: The Weak and the Innocent

By: Ryk Brown

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

A ship in the hands of their enemy...A liberation gone wrong...A chance to double their ranks...A bold and daring plan...Their support from the Pentaurus cluster dwindling fast, the Alliance faces new and unpleasant realities in the Sol sector. But, as they soon discover, untoward changes have the potential to bring unexpected opportunities. The trick is in how you use them.

©2015 Ryk Brown (P)2015 Tantor

Action, Action, Action

This is book 14 of the series. In the last book, a scout ship with a jump drive fell into Jung hands. Captain Nathan Scout and the Aurora must get the jump drive back or destroy it. They end up taking on a Jung battleship in an attempt to obtain or destroy the scout ship.

The Ghatazhak play a key role in this book and Jessica and Commander Telis are at odds with each other. Jessica is also upset as her brother was the Captain of the scout ship that was taken by the Jung.

The Pentaurus Cluster is having problems because of the murder of Prince Casimir and the starting of a civil war. What is to happen to the Alliance and all the help, supplies, people that the Pentaurus Cluster has sent to Earth now that leader is dead. We have two new characters coming forward. Captain Suvan Navarro of the Avendahl who is protecting Princess Deliza. Princess Deliza has taken over from her father and is honoring the arrangements with the Alliance. Deliza comes to Earth to help and is redesigning the Falcon into the Super Falcon. She is a better engineer than her father. All her life she grew up working on his Falcon.

Jessica had escaped with a reporter and her cameraman and they are preparing a broadcast telling the truth about the Jung and the Alliance. The Admiral hopes this will turn worlds against the Jung and they will overthrow them. Of course, this book ends in a cliff-hanger.

Jeffrey Kafer does an excellent job narrating the series.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

The performance is EXCEPTIONAL, the story is not

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really. I generally listen to audible books while driving or working on a project. In this case I found myself daydreaming or wanting to listen to another book.

What about Jeffrey Kafer’s performance did you like?

He's experienced and it shows. He's not monotone while reading and yet doesn't sound like an overly animated announcer from a tv commercial.

Do you think Frontiers Saga Series #14: The Weak and the Innocent needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No I don't (but there already is). I've actually bought the next book in the series but will not be listening to it.

Any additional comments?

The first books in the series were spectacular. There was action dancing with excitement, threads of sci-fi technology woven into the story without being overkill, new plots and situations popping up keeping the tale fresh along with meeting new characters. But at some point the author became too engrossed in minutia and lost focus on what actually made the series great.

I no longer pondered what would happen next in the story. As an example, chapters dedicated to the philosophy of the ethics of war and the individual, began to pepper the series leaving me to wonder why I was listening to it in the first place. If I had wanted that, i would have purchased a different book.Then there are the space battles. In the beginning of the series were great and kept your attention.

This was because the focus was on the battle at large and not the individual 45 degree turns with a roll to starboard each ship made during battle while keeping a running count of the 18 inbound missiles that were being shot down 1 or 2 at a time.It's obvious the author has an extremely active imagination and he could see these things as they were happening when he wrote them. That is an awesome thing to have for writing sci-fi, but it can also be a burden if you don't reign in on it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I have enjoyed the series but this book was just dull and unnecessarily loaded with a multitude of POVs. For example, did we really need the POV of a reporter going around interviewing people? The story was just so disjointed and scattered that it ultimately felt like nothing really happened. The whole book could have been told in one or two chapters.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

STILL getting better!

14 Books so far, and this series gets BETTER with every book! Impressive!

Ryk Brown is KICKIN, and Jeffrey Kafer keeps bringing the characters ALIVE!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

It's getting "Long In The Tooth"

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Could have been time better spent if it didn't start to seem like this story is going to go on forever.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

What ending? Overall I've enjoyed the series...BUT...like all of these space military series this story has no apparent "ending" in sight. Don't get me wrong...the stories are good but at some point the loose ends need to be tied up. With "The Weak and the Innocent" I started losing interest when I realized that the initial battle to start the book was a continuation of the same battle at the end of book 13 and it still takes up a full 3rd of the entire running time of the book.

What three words best describe Jeffrey Kafer’s voice?

I thoroughly enjoy Jeffrey Kafer's narration and hope he continues to voice many works in the future.

Was Frontiers Saga Series #14: The Weak and the Innocent worth the listening time?

Of all books in the series I found it to be the least engaging for me.

Any additional comments?

Endless stories tend to eventually get tiring. Why not have a complete "story thread" run it's course over...say...3 books (remember when there were trilogies?). Then do a different story arc in the same universe with the same or different characters involved in another trilogy. Since I'm currently following several of these L-O-N-G story arcs I find myself reluctant to get involved in any other series for fear that I'll die of old age before finding out how the story ends. Too may authors seem to be relying on these "cash cow" series and it's getting incredible difficult to find a GOOD stand-alone sci-fi book. Just my 2 cents worth.

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

Keep Them Coming!

I can honestly say I’ve never been addicted to a story and the characters like I have been for this series. About to begin book 15, and I’m nervous it’s coming to an end. This really is an amazing series!

I have loved this story!

Can not WAIT to hear the next installment of the series. The characters have become friends I want to know more about.

heart wrenching!

Oh My God! Not to reveal to much, but just when you think they aren't going to deal with a major, but personal issue, and after you've breathed a sigh of relief after a big battle, you get punched in the gut. In a good way, sorta. Sad, but fulfilling. I'm straight and all, but man I love Nathan Scott!

great ending

Good stuff, really sad to see the series come to an end. shocked I would ever say that for a 15 book series.

Excellent

Best series out there, great characters, great story line. Looking forward to reading next episode. I have read every episode.

Jess is a dreadful character

In what military would someone like Jess get away with talking to there superiors like she does time and time again. I really like this series but unfortunately the Jess character is really starting to ruin it for me. The story and performance are excellent as always.

another brilliant book

the series has stayed consistently good read. don't try to read out of order! jump in