Icarus

Interstellar Cargo, Book 1

By: Matt Verish

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Cole Musgrave's dream of interstellar travel is about to become a nightmare. When a high-profile delivery is compromised aboard a state-of-the-art cargo vessel, the newly appointed captain finds himself embroiled in an assignment far above his pay grade.

Blackmail, terrorists, a malfunctioning prototype A.I. pilot, and a sinister terraforming corporation with deep criminal ties await him. Who knew delivering cargo to the deep recesses of space could be so dangerous?

Armed only with his cunning and past military experience, Cole is one against many. But this unorthodox interstellar cargo pilot won't go down without a fight - even after he is faced with a choice that will alter the course of his life forever.

©2016 Matthew Verish (P)2016 Matthew verish

Fun Space Sci-fi Adventure

I was unsure about this book until I was about an hour in. The overall story was well-written, engaging, and fun. There were enough plot twists and turns to keep your mind occupied trying to figure out just wat was going to happen next and who to good and bad guys really are.

A former military cargo ship pilot is tapped for a surprising assignment. He is to pilot the newest state-of-the-art ship in the company's fleet equipped with an advanced artificial intelligence (AI). Surprisingly enough, the AI even turns out to take a liking to him. When he gets only hours into his mission, however, he finds that he was chosen for a reason... To be the fall guy for an act of terrorism. However, there are plans within plans, and other members of the crew have both obvious and hidden agendas. There were enough plot twists, surprises, and turns in the story that I was impressed with the creativity of the writer.

The narrator did a good job with the book as well. I gave him 5 stars, but he was really closer to 4.5.

I think that just about all fans of space science fiction will appreciate this book at the very least. I would recommend it to most of the sci-fi fans I know.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, publisher, or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review. I was NOT required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.

Wow! .... Much Better Than Anticipated!

Icarus was great story and I really enjoyed listening to it!

I really liked Cole's character, and how he maintained his cool, and dry humor while he dealing with each situation, and the ever evolving A.I. called Cain. There were times, I wanted to choke the A.I., but while Cole couldn't choke Cain, he definitely outwitted the A.I.

The narration was awesome, and really added to the story! Kevin has a great voice, and I could easily listen to him all day.

Audiobook was received at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom dot com.

I recommend Icarus to any Sci-fi fan. It's was fun light listen! For those who have a Kindle Unlimited memberships, the book is currently offered through KU. Download and add whispersync, can't beat a great story at a great price!

Space by Pierce

I agree with others that this does have that Firefly feel to it. The book is excellently narrated and the story is pretty good. It was nice to follow along with the ship's crew and experience some of their space adventures. If you like space sci-fi, this might very well be one of the books you would listen to. Frankly, it's not the best, but it is pretty good and worth the time and money.

This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

An excellent and original Sci-fi masterpiece!

I'll keep this short; great plot, well written characters, and excellent narration! I dream of the day this becomes the next Martian or Guardians of the Galaxy and heads to the big screen! This is a great read for everyone!

Exciting Outer Space Adventure

What made the experience of listening to Icarus the most enjoyable?

I purchased this book not knowing the author but I am a dedicated SF fan and then I saw that Kevin Pierce did the narration. That sealed the deal.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Icarus?

This is a riveting story with well developed characters.

Have you listened to any of Kevin Pierce’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

One of my favorite narrators

Light Space Opera

Superb narration. Space opera, book 1. Fast, furious, and fun, this felt much like GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (minus the magical elements) with brief space skirmishes, a mismatched team, double crosses, treason, and a whiff of romance. Like GUARDIANS, the hero listens to pop rock music from the old Earth culture.

The writing isn't great, with holes in the plot, thinly sketched characters, and weakly defined motivations.

But it's entertaining, and the hero is likable. Cole Musgrove, ace pilot, finds himself the dupe for a treasonous plot. Next thing we know, he's on the run from several über-powerful organizations. A few new "friends" must perforce run with him.

Add in an adolescent sentient AI ship computer suffering growing pains and engaged in self-discovery.

Several typos in the book.

I didn't care for the heroine, Dr. Lin Dartmouth. She shows poor judgement and self-absorbed criminal carelessness.

But it's entertaining. Easy to follow. No sex. Not much cussing. Some humor. Several fist fights and spaceship skirmishes. Some death, but not grisly or gruesome.

Excellent narration. I read and listened, alternatively.

An Enjoyable Light Read

Icarus: Interstellar Cargo was an enjoyable, light read. As a person who enjoys reading a lot in the genres of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, this book was a comfortable read, if sometimes predictable. That being said, I truly don’t intend any insult. On the contrary, Author Matt Verish has written a very good story with plenty of chracters and action to introduce his series. Based on book one, I would definitely try book two when it comes out on audio. In the mean time, Verish does have a fast paced, short story set in the same world as Icarus.

Narrator Kevin Pierce is a good pairing for this book. He has a distinctive sounding voice that I think works well.

Finally, this audio book was provided by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an honest review courtesy of Audio Book Blast.

Beware of Cain

Any additional comments?

There is action, humor, suspense, betrayal, a prison beak, terrorists, blackmail and a rogue computer.

Fast moving entertaining and enjoyable space travel story. Cole Musgrave is assigned by the company he works for Solex to be the backup pilot of an interstellar experimental space vessel on it's maiden voyage. Along with a group of people unbeknownst to him who have an ulterior motive for being on the ship. What could go wrong? Everything.

Cole finds himself in the middle of a "political" game he wants no part of, and is unsure of who to trust. Not knowing who to trust Cole has to rely on his own experience and wits while deciding what to do in each situation that arises. In addition to everything else he is dealing with Cain the ships A.I. has it's own ideas.
Computers becoming self aware can have some scary results.

Loved Cole's sense of humor in every situation.

As usual Kevin Pierce did a great job with the narration. All the character voices were good. You could tell the difference between the characters and who was speaking. Nice smooth even pace with the narration.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Boom

Malfunctioning A.I. and a Veteran Space Captain

Cole Musgrave thought he has a posh new job as the back up pilot/captain during a test run with a new A.I. run ship. But the A.I. malfunctions requiring the veteran pilot to take charge. I like dry, sarcastic humor so Musgrave was my favorite character.

This story has lots of unexpected plot twists and it leaves you wondering who the good guys are. There is some science and details about space and things like terraforming but it has a lot more to do with the story between the characters.

The narrator, Kevin Pierce, did a decent job, I’d probably listen to another story narrated by him but I wouldn’t seek him out like I do with other narrators.

I’m curious to see where book 2 will take the crew and am hopeful that there will be more character development and details about the relationships and interactions between the characters.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pleasantly convoluted

A well-narrated story that has devious twists and turns. I would have ended it right there but it seems that Audible requires at least fifteen words in reader-submitted reviews.