Hell Divers III: Deliverance

By: Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Narrated by: R. C. Bray

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's Summary

The New York Times and USA Today best-selling series  

They will dive, but will humanity survive?

Left for dead on the nightmarish surface of the planet, Commander Michael Everhart and his team of Hell Divers barely escape with their lives aboard a new airship called Deliverance. After learning that Xavier “X” Rodriguez may still be alive, they mount a rescue mission for the long-lost hero.

In the skies, the Hive is falling apart, but Captain Jordan is more determined than ever to keep humanity in their outdated lifeboat. He will do whatever it takes to keep the ship in the air - even murder. But when he learns the Hell Divers he exiled have found Deliverance, he changes course for a new mission - find the divers, kill them, and make their new ship his own. 

In the third installment of the USA Today best-selling Hell Divers series, Michael and his fellow divers fight across the mutated landscape in search of X. But what they find will change everything. 

©2018 Nicholas Sansbury Smith (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Another awesome entry in a great series!

Captain Jordan of the Hive is treating humanity as his own personal play thing. You agree with him or you disappear. Just ask the last of the Hell Diver teams, left behind after they discovered and confronted him on some of his dark secrets. The Hive is struggling under his iron hold leaving us to wonder, without Divers how can humanity survive?

Meanwhile X, the most successful Hell Diver ever has lived on the surface with only Miles, his canine companion for company. He has barely survived for ten years after being left behind, assumed dead, an assumption Captain Jordan keeps going even though he knows differently. Rather than saving X he takes credit for the discoveries X finds as he roams the vast wastelands looking for a place to call home.

Not to be counted out, the last Hell Divers Team, also abandoned by Captain Jordan has taken flight in the Deliverance, a ship created after the Hive and more advanced. These Hell Divers are determined to find X and save the Hive from Captain Jordan, no matter the cost...

This story is full of action and thrills. The monsters scarier than ever and the challenges our heroes face larger than ever. But they are heroes through and through and they will do whatever it takes after all, they Dive so humanity survives.

If you’ve read the first two books this entry paints a bigger picture filling in some questions while revealing others yet to be answered, if you haven’t read them yet you’ll want to. This story is a must read adventure best when read from the beginning.

As always R.C. Bray does an amazing job narrating and bringing the characters to life, his voice the perfect one for a series like this one.

25 of 27 people found this review helpful

The true fate of X is finally revealed

Commander MIchael Everhart, aka Tin, isn't the first Hell Diver to be betrayed by the leadership aboard The Hive but he is determined to be the first to actually do something about it. His dive team has acquired an airship of their own, Deliverance, and they have also found strong evidence that X actually survived his fall back to Earth 10 years ago. Not only survived the fall, but apparently actually found a way to survive on the toxic surface for an extended period of time. Even if X is no longer alive the truth of what happened to him must be uncovered, so searching for that truth becomes the top priority for Tin and his team. Payback for Captain Jordan's betrayal will need to wait for the moment; however, his time will come...

Once again Nicholas Sansbury Smith keeps the story fresh and exciting by expanding our knowledge about the Earth's destruction, this time by revealing to us what happened to X after he was left behind on the surface ten years ago. Past and present story lines are woven together until they converge as Team Raptor seeks to uncover the truth about the fate of their former leader. The knowledge that X survived on the surface for an extended period of time should provide a nice dose of hope to a people that desperately need some, so Tin is determined to get the facts. Of course there are many surprises along the way as the book builds up to a confrontation that has been a long time coming. I would say that this book was the best of the series so far and despite the fact that many of the existing story lines were wrapped up nicely, a number of new and interesting opportunities also became available to be pursued in future books. If you enjoyed the first two books in this series do not hesitate to pick this one up.

R. C. Bray remains the narrator and his portrayal of X is just perfect. He definitely makes this series better and I can't wait for the next installment.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

This book sets a new standard for sci-fi writing

Melissa's Review:
(There are minor spoilers below)
---

My husband introduced me to Nicholas Sansbury Smith and two of his series’ Hell Divers and Extinction Cycle. I’ve loved both. My husband and he are friends online, and he sent me a pre-edit copy of Hell Divers book 3, which was very cool! Needless to say, the series just keeps getting better and better, and I’m curious as to what’s going to happen in book 4. With the pre-edit version, I would have to say that Mr. Sansbury Smith? Mr. Smith? is a great writer. While I did find little mistakes throughout this copy, they were all minor. His writing style is great! With book 3, I like how he went back in time to explain more of X’s story while he was on Hades by himself. Thankfully, with some back and forth kind of stories, this one was easy to follow, and I didn’t have any issues figuring out what was going on. With books 1 and 2, I had listened to those in audiobook form with the great narrator, RC Bray. Love him! With book 3 and actually having to read it, I couldn’t help but have RC Bray’s voice in my head as though he were reading it to me. Lol

In the end, it took me just a few hours in total to get through book 3; it was so hard to put down.

Great author! Great series! Looking forward to book 4!

---
Josh's Review
---

To say that I have been anxiously awaiting this book release would be an understatement. The wait between books two and three seemed to just drag on. The wait, however, was well worth it as this entry in the Hell Divers series exceeded every expectation I had.

As is the usual, the action scenes in this book were well thought out and kept me hooked. The storylines taking place throughout the story were split up enough to keep me wanting more. That is not to say I wasn’t cursing when the story would break away to another character set, but I definitely found myself watching the clock, knowing I would be able to listen to the audiobook again once I got out of work.

One thing I noticed with this sequel is that it reaffirms the level of expertise Nick has with character development. For anyone who has read/listened to book two, they will know the character I am talking about when I say that Nick knows how to write a character that you just love to hate. If you aren’t sure, you will know who I am referring to once you’ve read the story.

Nick also keeps his skills up with showcasing various takes on human nature in this book with characters like Ty, Rodgeman, Magnolia, Jordan, X, and Katrina. Watching how each character dealt with the situations presented to them was as awesome as usual.

With this release, Nick has set a new standard for science fiction. Nick has sounded a siren alerting other genre authors as to the quality they should match or exceed in their own writing. Book three has definitely hooked me and given me the same level of anxiety/desire for book four. I will definitely be re-listening to the entire series again prior to the release of book four.

Hell Divers Three is a definite winner in the sci-fi genre. If you’re reading this review, and haven’t at least started book one, do yourself a favor and do so already. The audiobook version is brought to life by the magical narration of R.C. Bray. Bob has a way with narrating that adds something extra to an already awesome story.

If I could rate this higher than 5/5, I would do so.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Best of Three. Vote R.C.

Hell Divers isn't Hell Divers without < "X" >
I 2nd, or rather 1225th, every other positive review of Hell Divers III: Deliverance. It's a masterfully written culmination of the best themes and characters from the first two books. No filler or fluff. A highly recommended listen indeed.

R.C. Bray is a no nonsense man. Humanity can trust him. He will lead them to salvation should their Planet Earth ever become temporarily or permanently uninhabitable pending critical disaster of their making, e.g. excessive nuclear detritus, EMP rel societal collapse, degenerative genetic bio disorder or variant, etc.
Click "helpful" below to place your VOTE for R.C. Bray for Commander of Planet Earth When Sh%t Hits the Fan!

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Caligua Spacer Versus Rambo Helldiver

This 3rd book of the series held up very well with the other two. It's unclear whether Nicholas Sansbury Smith meant this to be a trilogy or if he intends to continue on with in as a series since, while it did tidy up a lot of loose ends in this telling, it left the ultimate fate to those 500+ human still lost in space, earth still an apocalyptic hellhole and X and his two companions on an unforgiving ocean. I am really hopeful that the author continues with this very engaging series. R. C. Bray continues to provide a superb performance in narrating the story.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Scary, Enraging, Thrilling. This book is great!

At the time of reading this was the last book in the Hell Diver series, and I think I liked it better than the first two.

The post-apocalyptic world created by Nicholas Sansbury Smith is intriguing and terrifying, and the fight for human survival is an exciting. To get the most out of this book experience you should read books 1 & 2, because one of my favorite aspects of the story is the character development. Years have gone by since Book 2 (Ghosts) and I really liked seeing how Michael Everhart had grown into a ferocious Hell Diver in his own right, X has found a way to survive living in hell on earth, and how his dog Miles has become his lifesaver. I also loved to hate the way that Captain Jordan transformed from a precise, duty-bound officer into a Machiavellian, scheming tool bag. And the introduction of the cannibals, is a good segue into the next book.

If you like sci-fi post-apocalyptic, dystopian action stories, I think you'll find this story well worth listening. RC Bray does an excellent job narrating, and Nicholas Sansbury Smith has crafted a really good story.

I'm looking forward to Book 4 (Wolves)!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Another great Hell Divers Story!

I couldn’t wait for this book to come out and to find out more about X and his time on the surface. This book does not disappoint and also leads to new areas for the author to explore in the future. I can’t recommend the whole series enough.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

A Ghost from the Past

One of the best installments yet in the Helldivers series. This book continues after the failed mission at the Hilltop Colony. Follow the divers left behind as they continue in Xavier's footsteps. Trouble continues to brew on the Hive as Captain Jordan goes to any lengths to keep his secrets and maintain his command. The fate of humanity may rest in the hands of a ghost and his dog.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Holy Hell!

In this third installment, we learn a few shocking things, gasp for air at a few heroic stunts, cry in moments of fear and sadness and we keep turning the pages going “More….more!”. What a brilliant writing, poignant, exciting, horrifying, immersive…. stupendous. I love the writings of Nicholas Sansbury Smith. In each book he immediately immerses you. I love to love these villains and root for the hero(s) and there are plenty of both nicely fleshed out in ALL of the books. I promise you, this book, this entire series is ALL good on many different levels. These books just get better and better.

13 of 16 people found this review helpful

Best in the series so far!

In this powerful third installment of the Hell Divers series, we finally learn the whereabouts of Xavier Rodriguez and glimpse his horrendous ten-year journey on the toxic post-apocalyptic Earth. A lot of loose ends are tied up, however, a few new ones have emerged, including murderous, megalomaniac Captain Jordan of the airship Hive. He’s the perfect villain you’ll love to hate.

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

a good series

a good conclusion to the three books. not as good as the first book but brings it all together nicely.

excellent

loved the whole series. can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Absolutely awesome book!

I seriously cannot get enough of this book. I've recommended it countless of times too!

great stuff

It's not often I enjoy the third book in a series as much as the first. The world and charactets the author has created is wonderful and I am very much looking forward to future instalments.

Smashing.

I love this collection of audio books, I am impressed,well written well read, looking forward to the next one.

A great end to the trilogy.

I thought it was the best book of the three, bringing every story thread to a conclusion. who knows if we'll see X again but if we do it'll be a whole new story very different from the previous.

great book

love this book gripping story that keep me and listening to the into higher park deafly one I will go back and listen to again love the entire series

Good finish to a great series. Highly recomended!

Very enjoyable conclusion. Few forgivable holes in the story but all finished off very nicely. Even scope for a book 4.
Excellent narration as usual from RC Bray.

satisfying ending

Not as good as the previous two but just in terms that thematically it covered the same ground.

Left me hungry for more.

A great third instalment to the book series. Nicely answers the questions which were begging to be answered in the previous book. But, also makes you ask so many more.
Looking forward to the next one (I bloody hope there is a next one)