Hell's Rejects

Chaos of the Covenant, Volume 1

By: M.R. Forbes

Narrated by: Jeff Hays

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

The most powerful starships ever constructed are taken. Thousands are dead. A fleet is in ruins....

Lieutenant Abigail Cage never expected to find herself in hell. There was a time when she was one of the most respected operatives in the military. Now, she's doing hard labor on the most miserable planet in the universe.

Not for long.

The Republic is looking for the most dangerous individuals it can control. The best of the worst, and Abbey is one of them. Joined by the most ragtag collection of criminals the galaxy has to offer, she sets out to recover the ships and take down the traitors who stole them.

There's only one problem....

A new evil is rising in the galaxy. One with a power unlike anything anyone has ever seen. One that's been waiting for this moment for a very, very long time.

And it wants Abbey too.

If you love Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy, or Star Wars, you’ll love riding along with the Rejects in this fun-filled, action-packed space opera adventure from million-selling author M.R. Forbes.

©2017 Michael Forbes (P)2017 Michael Forbes

Wow just wow

I have come to accept that audiobooks are best defined by tje narrator and so did this one. Additionally the introductory story was amazing, for a full year i have been looking for a book to challenge Evan Curry Odysseus book series and found one, spent an entire day listening to it.

Great book!

Was riveted to my seat throughout the entire book. Great story and one of the best narrators Ive heard. Cant wait for book two.

Good start to a new series.

An promising start of what hopefully will be another epic series on the eternal battle between the forces of evil and good. Captain Olus 'Kill Shot' Mann, head of the Office of Strategic Intelligence is tasked with assembling a stealth crew and assets needed to discover the enemy who stole two seemingly invincible starships and used them to kill thousands of people; along with recovering those ships for the Republic. He chooses the crew from a damnable penal planet named Hell that is used for the worst of the worst criminals within the Republic, a crew that no one would miss should they fail in their mission.

What follows is a highly intriguing series of adventures for the crew and the readers as they blindly pursue their mission from planet to planet. Forbes saves a major revelation about the nature of the enemy until near the end of the book, piquing my interest in the next book even further.

Jeff Hayes has one of the best voices for mimicking both genders and continues to use that talent fully in this audiobook.

A dangerous crew created on a dangerous mission

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

The powers of the Republic will do about anything to stop the Outworlders after their latest attack. They destroyed a station with many powerful and elite captains present then stole of the two powerful space ships that were the only thing strong enough to fight the Outworlders. On a secret order, Captain Olis Mann is to do anything to kill who killed their people and stole the ships. Captain Mann feels creating a crew of ex-military and now prisoners with nothing left to lose is the answer.

Jeff is one of the most entertaining voice actors I've listened to. And I will continue to listen to him. He has a voice for every single character, no matter how large or small the part. When we have more than one character responding, we hear more than one character responding. Jeff truly brings the story to life when he tells it. This book is no different than I'd expect from Jeff.

So I know I enjoy M.R. Forbes's books. I know I love listening to Jeff Hays. And I absolutely love this title and description. How could I go wrong when I see it up for review? I HAD TO HAVE IT!

Forbes dives right in with events that shows us the Republic is struggling with Outworlders. There is a real battle between them in the universe. And being in space, it's life or death, and they are fighting for life.

We do get a large cast of characters. Each is in a different place or side of the battles. In doing this we get to see all that is happening, giving the story and world a large feel.

In getting these many different characters views, a few of them are lives that are extinguished with the battles they fight. Sad, but gives us a great view without giving away the "bad guy" and their full intentions. It also gives us the information that another character is sent to investigate while we follow our main characters. There are views from solid characters we follow through the book. Abigail Cage is one of these characters. She's severely wronged. Then someone wants to use her. But she's stronger than them - mentally. She outwits them. Though, because of that she almost gets overlooked when Captain Olis Mann going about fixing things (so we think) is looking for help. Captain Olis Mann is a man on a mission. He's to do what it takes to stop the Outworlders. The Republic have given him free rein to find the ships stolen, and kill who took them and killed so many people in the process.

It's mentioned by a few characters of how the Republic is corrupt. We start to see that with some of the actions being done to and with a few characters. There really is something more than meets the eye with the Republic that's to be good. I'm guessing the Outworlders have very good reason to fight them. But it's sad to see so many lives lost. We also see the Outworlders are not the innocent side either. But in the end we see there may be a third option here. Who are these people and what side are they on? If they are even on a side.

The universe is large. We get many different beings in this book. There are many different aliens (and I'm including humans as we are a being in a vast space system) in this world. I love it! It adds diversity to the cast but also adds to their personalities. Who they are and what they believe makes a huge difference in how they react.

I enjoyed this story. The crew too. A bunch of misfits, or rejects as the title says, that are brought together. But they make an awesome crew with some conflicts mixed in. The crew has a feel like the crew on the tv series Dark Matter. I enjoy this blend of personalities.

This story is all science fiction, though not heavy in the way of trying to understand technology. It's in space, on spaceships, with neat things they all can do. But! There is an element of something more. You get a paranormal feel at the very end of the story. Is it divine or is it alien powers? I don't know, and that's an added curiosity to keep me coming back for more!

Solid start to a new a series.

Any additional comments?

Hell's Rejects is the first volume in a new series by the prolific M.R. Forbes. This is a fast paced space adventure, with a ragtag group brought together to help save the galaxy. While many of the characters might feel a bit formulaic, I like them and the how they play off of each other. There is a ton going on, plenty of secrets and Forbes knows just how to dole out enough info to keep you guessing. Definitely a series I will continue.

This is the second book narrated by Jeff Hays and he delivers another excellent performance. Like the last book I listened to that was narrated by Jeff, this book has a large cast and Jeff is able to bring all of them to life, each with their own unique voice. It really is amazing, even if there were dialogue tags you'd be able to identify which characters are talking. No clue how he keeps all the voices straight in his head, but it is truly impressive. Definitely one of the top narrators out there.

Fun start to space adventure

Cool story in a fun, creative galaxy. Reminded me of star wars and guardians of the galaxy mashed together. 4 stars only because made up swear words are really annoying. Jeff Hays is brilliant as always, really making the book come to life.

Great listen!

Worth the listen in my humble opinion. Great characters and a story that keeps you wanting to find out more as you go along.

Rag tag crew kicks butt

This is an entertaining space adventure. The leading character is a kick-ass woman. She is likable and sympathetic. Her crew is a mismatched group of rogues. They add interest and humor as they struggle to save the universe. Jeff Hays does a good job with the narration. This is the first time I have listened to his work. I would be happy to listen to him again.

a breath of fresh air. a great start!

I can't wait for the next book! a great way to start a series.. the characters are well fleshed out.. the action good

The combination of Forbes & Hays is awesome!

I listened to this entire series when it was newly released. The story has flaws, but we’re all flawed humans, right? As someone raised Catholic, I especially loved the touch of Catholicism in this series as both antagonist and protagonist forces behind the scenes. Was it blasphemy? Frag no! Then add in the astounding vocalizations by Jeff Hays who gave every major character a distinctive voice and character. His human vocal chords are on par with the bet of Mel Blanc. If that doesn’t compute, look it up. Anyway…not anyways…I hate writers who don’t know correct English grammar. What is accepted is very different from what is supposed to be taught and learned. Oh well, I’m digressing. Jeff Hays ALONE did all male and female voices. He is one of the few narrators smart enough to use the inexpensive, but very effective voice altering technology to its best results. Sometimes too much delay or reverb, but the entire series was a masterpiece. Now, he is the main force behind the troop called Sound Booth Theater. Don’t believe the voices come from one person, watch their YouTube channel. They even perform bits from different book projects they’ve done or might be new. I’ve read the remarks that say negative things about Jeff, and when inspecting them, they never have anything good to say. I believe those kinds of people are called Trolls. I’d call them something else. And even more ridiculous when they can’t even make proper sentences using correct English words. Now onto the other books in the series…