Hell Divers

By: Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Narrated by: R.C. Bray

Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

2016 Editor's Pick

2016 Audible's Best in Science Fiction

The New York Times and USA Today best-selling series

More than two centuries after World War III poisoned the planet, the final bastion of humanity lives on massive airships circling the globe in search of a habitable area to call home. Aging and outdated, most of the ships plummeted back to Earth long ago. The only thing keeping the two surviving lifeboats in the sky are Hell Divers - men and women who risk their lives by skydiving to the surface to scavenge for parts the ships desperately need.

When one of the remaining airships is damaged in an electrical storm, a Hell Diver team is deployed to a hostile zone called Hades. But there's something down there far worse than the mutated creatures discovered on dives in the past - something that threatens the fragile future of humanity. 

©2016 Nicholas Sansbury Smith (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A little cliche action hero-y but damn good story anyway

You know how it goes. The Hero who is tragic and damaged, he (insert self destructive vice) too much and can barely hold himself together. He has a chip on his shoulder and is something of a loose cannon - both characteristics that keep him from rising in the ranks while also ensuring he's called on for the most dangerous deploys. ....but it's actually still pretty good. Solid character development, an actual female captain (who's main character arc is actual leadership not a romance with aforementioned Loose Cannon), and it's got plenty of nail biting moments while not being overly predictable or relying on jump scares (can books have jump scares?) I was mad when it was over and now I'm gonna go download the next in the series.

Came for the dystopia, left with derivation

RC Bray does a wonderful job with introspective strong male protagonists. His narration was spot-on as always. The plot to hell divers is exactly what you'd expect from the synopsis and cover art. It immerses you in a world not too unlike our own, with little glimpses of how the players of this world view our privileged existence. Beyond the basic premise, I found the writing derivative and expository at times. Lots of plot points are nothing more than they appear on the surface. I couldn't get into any intrigue beyond the fate of the protagonists. The world building ends at the surface level. That said, the world building is still masterful. Without getting into too much detail, it differs so much from our own that it's shallow skin might make it more believable, avoiding unneeded complication in a very cut-and-dry existence. I look forward to picking up future books to find out if there is more than meets the eye hidden in the next installment.

Like listening to an apocalyptic action movie

I tried this book on a whim — I love apocalyptic stories but there are a lot of mediocre books out there. This is not one them! The Hell Divers series is original, exciting, and addictive. I’ve literally had to buy more credits as I’ve plowed through listening to the whole series to date in the last month. Be warned: this story will grab you and you won’t want to let go!

HELL DIVERS: A HEAVENLY THRILLER!

"Hell Divers #1" was even better (based on all the great reviews I read prior) than expected. An absolutely amazing thrill ride, start to finish, with well developed, multidimensional, realistic characters. I was familiar with Sansbury Smith's work from his "Extinction Horizon" (Zombie) series, and went through them, one after the other, till I had to wait for his newest release, and preordered that one. This book had it all. . . mystery, suspense, nonstop thrills, and horror all perfectly mixed in. I did not read the synopsis for book #2 for until I finished this one, so was surprised by the ending, and thought it was perfect! Looking forward to moving onto book #2 in this series soon, and cannot recommend Mr. Sansbury Smith's work highly enough. He is definitely not a one hit wonder, and is (quite honestly) just terrifically talented, and gets what readers/listeners seek in thriller/horror books. It goes without saying that R.C. Bray was as amazing as the narrator. Whenever I see his name listed as the person who narrated a book, I know the listening experience will be well beyond expectations! :)

Smith can’t write a compelling character to save his life or this story

X is the only borderline tolerable character and that’s because Smith made every other character boring and incompetent. Every character has some tragedy in their backstory, it feels like Smith doesn’t know how to evoke emotion so he’s just throwing tragedy after tragedy at the characters in hopes it will make you feel something. You don’t. It has possibly one of the worst endings I’ve ever read. The fact he got this published proves anyone can write a novel. I’d like to tear the ending apart here but I won’t spoil it. It’s one of the most un-compelling books I’ve listened to in years. Even R. C. Bray couldn’t save it and that’s saying a lot. Doesn’t even deserve one star.

read the book so of course I had to listen to it

I am not a big science fiction fan at all. I usually avoid reading them. As a fan of Mr. Sansbury Smith's other books I knew I just had to give Hell Divers a try. As I said, I already read the book and thought why not listen to Hell Divers. Wow, the book is fantastic but audible brings the entire book to life in vivid colors. R. C. Bray took no time to get used to, as some narrators do for me . Some narrators distract me from the book but not R. C. Bray, he made Hell Divers play in my mind like a movie from the very start. Whether you read, listen or both ( my suggestion ), this is one hell of a book and series.

Good story great listen.

It is a good story but somewhat predictable. The idea is a bit far fetched but that’s what you expect in apocalyptic novels. If you are a fan of RC Bray you will enjoy it.

Thoroughly enjoyed this!

I was quite surprised and pleased Nicholas...I went directly to the second book and am looking forward to the 3rd! R.C. you are doing a great job with the narration.

This is not a "standalone" book series. You do need to read these in order to understand all elements of the story.

Looking REALLY forward to the next one!

I usually don't read my SciFi however....!!

So, I'm kind of strange...I love SciFI TV, all the way back to Star Trek: Next Gen when I was a kid. But...reading it in book form I usually find tedious and a struggle to get through, with a few exceptions (thank you Douglas Adams!!). But this book was on sale, the premise sounded really interesting and my boyfriend had recently made me listen to the Gears of War books on Audible which greatly enjoyed, so I took a chance. So glad I did!! This book is an adrenaline ride from beginning to end. It doesn't flinch from the realities of nuclear fallout and using nuclear power to run a ship. It's not just the Hell Divers that are in danger when jumping to a destroyed earth. Cancer, deformities, radiation sickness and other diseases rampant on the ship, especially in the lower decks near the reactors. You're taken along for the same ride the Hell Divers go on as well as getting insight to life on the ship, the social state of affairs, humanity's fight to survive and heroism and compassion that exists even in this hard future. I will definitely be buying the second book in the series and I hope Audible comes out with the 3rd real soon. "We dive so that humanity survives"

Well what can I say. Very typical. Unfortunately.

In truth I probably would have liked it more. But it just wasn’t very inventive. Bray as usual does a good job. But again just dismal without hope of anything changing. Or any hope of a surprise. No plot twists. The characters were ok. The story telling done as well as one could hope given the lack a material to be inspired from. I probably have like it more if it wasn’t so typical of apoplectic novels. Terrible situation, uncommon valor, boring bad guys. Uninspired dialogue. Just hopeless - perhaps the story would have been better if it hadn’t followed the typical plot narrative. Sorry guys. I hate giving reviews that aren’t good. But had to here.

Brilliant!

Years after World War III poisoned the planet, the remaining humans all live in air ships floating above the ground. They relentlessly search the globe for somewhere they can inhabit and rebuild but the world as we knew it is gone. There is only a wasteland there that is radioactive and uninhabitable. Hundreds of years later and humanity is barely hanging on. The 2 remaining airships, Ares and The Hive, are outdated and held together with items that they scavenge. A team of people known as Hell Divers, are the only ones who can scavenge things from earth. They dive down and retrieve power cells to keep the ships afloat. When The Hive receive an SOS call from Ares, they have no choice but to go to the coordinates they sent. Only things is, the place Ares is is called Hades! It's a place that many Hell Divers have dived into but none have returned. Can the team, led by Xavier Rodriguez, known as X, survive? This book rocked!! What a start to the series!! The idea that the last remnants of humanity are in air ships circling the globe was unique (for me anyway). Usually in Post Apoc books, it's about the preppers and how they survive, here it's people from all walks of life, living in a ship because the earth is poisonous. The only way the ships stay afloat is the fact that men and women dive down to retrieve the necessary resources. It was a fresh and unique look to the PA genre. I've read quite a few of this authors books and am always amazed with his descriptive writing and how he can pull you in right from the start. The action starts pretty much straight away and never lets up. This author can sure right some intense and exciting action scenes!!! I had no problem, whatsoever, in picturing the harrowing scenes of the wastelands, nor picturing the Hell Divers themselves and what it would feel like to dive towards death! Because that's what it is... very few Hell Divers make it past their 15th (or 19th, can't remember the exact number!) jump and the author is able to portray the way the divers feel perfectly. My heart was in my mouth the whole time!! Another thing this author has a knack for is writing amazing characters. Xavier Rodriguez is damaged. He lost the love of his life and is just basically going through the motions. He is the head Hell Diver and is very very good at his job. The last dive he was on, he lost someone close to him and became responsible for Tin (Michael). He tries with Tin but X doesn't know how to look after someone else. He is a drunk and only lives so he can dive. I loved X right away. He may be gruff but he is loyal to his fellow divers and does what he can so the ship stays a float. He doesn't hesitate to dive, even when he finds out it Hades!! He is a worthy hero! Then we have Tin. He loses his father and moves in with X. Tin was awesome!! Such a smart little cookie and not afraid to do whats needed. He wants to be an engineer when he gets older and is interested in fixing everything and anything. He was inquisitive and I loved his character. I really hope we see more of him in the next book. Smith also writes strong females. Captain Ash's cancer is back but she knows she has to stay strong so the ship can stay in the air. She isn't afraid to take chances and make difficult choices, but she is also compassionate. The author knows how to write characters that you will immediately connect to. In all, this was a book that left me breathless many times! It is non stop and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!!! I don't know how many times I gasped out loud, but can only imagine it was a lot because so much happens, both on and off the ship! I listened to this in a day because I couldn't stop!! Bring on book 2!!!! R.C Bray is a master story teller. He brought not only the characters, but the atmosphere to life. I really felt like there was more than one person reading this! He is exceptional and I highly recommend you check his work out.

Boring and Absurd

Well this was disappointing. Decent premise but utterly boring in reality. Every character was so one-dimensional that I still have no idea who was who, and honestly I don't much care. The general concept was poorly executed, absurd and filled with plotholes.

Hell No

I've never reviewed an audiobook other than the standard star system but with this one I felt the need to share my thoughts.

Good god, this book was boring. Despite its exciting premise Hell Divers never manages to grip you, the first chapter really sets the tone for the rest of the book; clichéd and cringe worthy. For starters the main character is literally called "X" for well over 90% of the book. That's his name, I'm honestly being serious, unless of course on a mission where he prefers to be referred to as Commander X.

Once you get over that edgy hurdle you then come to the dialogue which has a flair of 80s action movie to it. Now, 80s action dialogue I can handle with just the right amount of cheese and self deprecation but this book takes itself way too seriously which unfortunately sucks all the tension out of scenarios and replacing it with a few audible groans of despair. None of the dialogue is really good and the characters saying said dialogue are all flat, boring and for the most part unlikeable. I didn't enjoy any of the characters in this book, nothing they said connected with me and nothing they did excited me.

The worst part about this book is there are some good ideas hidden away behind all the tropes but the execution sucked. How the hell this book was sitting with five stars when I spent my credit on it is a mystery to me so take my advice, don't waste your time or money on this.

Can't get enough.

Love this series. Can't get enough of it. Exciting on the edge of your seat stuff. Love the narrator too, he just brings the books to life.

Average

This is my second novel from the same author nick s smith, the first was extinction cycle. If you enjoyed that I think you will enjoy this. I think the problem I have with this author is his writing style its adequate and serviceable but not that exciting. I had the same problem with extinction cycle. So if ur a fan of the author plz get this book you will love it and the narration by RC Bray is amazing. Otherwise if ur looking for a post apocalyptic tale plz listen to Arisen it's beyond amazing (also narrated by RC Bray)

Chose because of the Narrator, hooked because of the story!

Brilliant, gripping and totally original story concept. I found during a search for books narrated by RC Bray as I love the After it Happened series. Totally worth it. My audible credits are well spent👍🏻

I read so humanity survives

This book was amazing it left me wanting more, it was the right balance of scifi with a well this could REALLY HAPPEN. Nicolas s Smith weaves a story that will leave you routing for your new found friends and feeling every bump and loss they take, his awesome writing with the voice skills of R C Bray make this a tail that is amazing and I have listens to many times since I purchased it. Once you read it you will order the others straight away

Clichéd and predictable

Nothing new here. All the characters are basic caricatures. The monsters are generic. The language is repetitive, with tongues being repeatedly bitten, and blood repeatedly steaming from one hole or another. Even the characters die in the same way. The kind of story you would expect from a 14 year old. Despite this it had exciting moments, but it was far from great.

Simple amazing

I put off this series for a few months, but then decided to give it a listen. Mainly due to R C Bray as I love his narration. Wow! Am I glad I did! What an awesome book! Just Abbas to start book two

Omg, I mean......wow.

This is one of the best books I have ever listened to. A word of advice though..... don't start listening to this book at night, I couldn't turn it off or fall asleep. So thank you Nicholas Sansbury Smith, its now 9am and I'm an exhausted slobbering mess with spots floating before my eyes, I hope you're happy. Amazing book, but I am now going to fall into a coma. I almost forgot (exhortation) R. C. Bray did an amazing job with this book, honestly couldn't have been done better.