Into the Dark

Alexis Carew, Book 1

By: J.A. Sutherland

Narrated by: Elizabeth Klett

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

At 15, Alexis Carew has to face an age old problem - she's a girl, and only a boy can inherit the family's vast holdings. Her options are few. She must marry and watch a stranger run the lands, or become a penniless tenant and see the lands she so dearly loves sold off. Yet there may be another option, one that involves becoming a midshipman on a shorthanded spaceship with no other females.

©2014 J.A. Sutherland (P)2015 J.A. Sutherland

Sailing Spaceships - super cool!

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. Its fast moving, interesting and not what I was expecting. But it’s definitely a fantasy so don't expect everything to make sense. You have to use your imagination and let the writer take you to those very unlikely places that as a kid you truly believed existed and could not wait to go there. Its fun and easy listening. I'm looking forward to the next book. The narrator, Elizabeth Klett, is one of my favorites and never disappoints with her outstanding performance.

Original take on a Royal navy adventure.

I wasn't sure what to make of this book when I got the credit from the author in return for an honest review. Well, what I got was a great adventure story set in space, but set like a wind and sail Royal Navy adventure. Alexis Carew is a 15 year old girl on a colony planet that has inheritance rules based on Male Primogeniture, meaning she can't inherit her grandfathers land or property, but has to be married so her husband can. After an especially bad meeting with a spoiled potential suitor, she decides to try and join the Royal Navy, which happens to have a recruiting party on the planet at the time. She is refused as an able spacer, since she is too young, but the ship's Captain decides to use his discretion and takes her on as a Midshipman. So starts her adventures and education on board an otherwise all male ship, with the many different challenges this entails, such as lack of privacy, not having uniforms made in her size, some resentful crew members and no background for naval training. She overcomes these challenges, and grows into her role as an officer in training as the ship deals with patrolling, combating pirates, and at the end of the book, preparing for a war. The book is well written, and while set in space, it reads as a sort of homage to books like Horatio Hornblower and Master and Commander. It has interesting technology, without getting too bogged down in the details. It is well paced, and I really enjoyed it. Elizabeth Klett did an exceptional job as narrator, keeping the action moving with a variety of different voices, tones and accents that kept me wanting to hear more. I would recommend this book for any fans of Master and Commander, as well as fans of Jack Campbell and H. Paul Honsinger.

Charming!

The young heroine, Alexis Carew, really makes Into the Dark an outstanding book. She has a lot of personality without being snooty nor an annoying know-it-all, and she is actually very responsible and respectable. I can’t help but adore this well written young protagonist, because it is increasingly difficult to find a strong female lead in books these days. This is the first book I’ve listen to by Elizabeth Klett, she has such a pleasant voice to listen to that I instantly became a fan. Her performance for this book is top notch!

I think this is a wonderful book for lovers of YA, even if you’re an adult!

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

Space Opera that invokes Aubrey-Maturin series.

I received an Audible copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

The quaint English setting of this space adventure immediately invoked the setting of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series for me, which was a good start. The science side of the book is perhaps too much in the background and some of the characters feel like stereotypes. Having said that, I enjoyed listening to the book (narrator did a good job of voicing the protagonist) and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

400+ Audio books. Sci fi and fantasy.

This is a five star book. Starting on the second in the series now ☺

Charming, Enjoyable, Solid, FUN

I shall say right out front, that I received a promotional copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.

I will further say, that I plan to spend one of my own credits when the talented Ms. Klett and Mr. Sutherland release the next book in audio.

Perhaps I was a lost cause from the start. I adore a good scifi. I adore a new clever take on faster than light travel. I adore a military scifi (especially naval). I adore sailing and tall ships. I adore a smart, tough female protagonist refusing to let patriarchy define her.

And I adore a well intonated British accent.


"Into the Dark" would have had me from the third page... even if it WEREN'T a darn good story.

Horatio Hornblower, Honor Harrington, Sassinak, Kylara Vatta, Keladry of Mindolin, a bit of Nicholas Seafort...

if Mr. Sutherland isn't familiar with all these series, he damn well ought to be, for it's hardly a ground-breaking genre... but why should it be? Sutherland's story is well-paced, plausible, amusing and somber by turns. Alexis Carew is a fine inheritor of the reluctant, or perhaps humble, hero mantle. Her demeanor is charmingly modern, her disinterest in the trappings of expected behavior admirable, and her interaction with others totally credulous.

I was charmed.

The book is also, in many ways, absurd.

The mental gymnastics required to shoehorn Tall Ships into interstellar space are... daunting. BUT, by God, Sutherland managed it, and I was willing to buy the whole line of nonsense... and smile. It IS absurd, but... I found myself shrugging and saying "well, and why not?" Sails and rigging and cannon and broadsides, and 18th century British naval discipline alongside FTL transit, and colony disputes. I laughed, I shook my head in astonishment that I was OK with it.

And I was. Completely.

Elizabeth Klett is charming, well paced, and clearly in tune with the material. Her cultured British accent at times both at odds with the content, and yet perfectly tuned to set the stage. The production is clean, the audio quality top notch, and I applaud her performance. I look forward to more.

Do treat yourself to this one. If you are a lover of Sci Fi, if you are an admirer of strong female characters who simply (to quote a recent meme) "give absolutely zero ^#$(*&" about what the world expects of them. If you love a good naval romp, or if you just want to have a fun time in a fanciful yet gritty world...

Buy this. Buy this immediately, and enjoy.

A must for science fiction lovers!!!

Let me start off by saying I read a lot of science fiction books. Most stories share common themes in how the ship's work and how the heroes Act. This is because it is extremely hard for an author to come up with a truly original perspective from which to tell a story. However in this series the author takes ancient sailing techniques and puts them in to space. Her characters are believable and lovable, the world that she has built in this series feels real. She accomplishes this in two major ways, 1st is she puts her character in difficult circumstances where deciding what's right and wrong isn't straightforward. Secondly, she pulls inspiration from True historic events, meaning that the things that happen feel real because they are very similar to things that have already happened in our world. I have read the series three times and enjoyed it greatly each time.

The narration is also excellent, Elizabeth does an amazing job of bringing each character to life.

Great New Series!

I got this book on the recommendation, I believe, of Nathan Lowell, who writes one of my favorite series, Tales of the Solar Clipper. This is a great series, and the details of ship handling sound like the author is very familiar with sailing ships and adapted the technology to star ships. Truly very enjoyable!

Tall sails on a spaceship! By golly it works.

I avoided this series a long time.
Tall sails on a spaceship; Really? Come on.
I could not have been more wrong.
My expectation was a poor aristocratic rich girl roughly thrust amongst 'ruffians' in a setting of an ancient British wet navy - all weakly crammed into outer space.
Shiver me timbers... Arrrg!
Although some of the above elements are here, they are neither weak nor crammed. This is a good story. The tall masts and sails even work.
It is a light science heavy character plot.
The science is enough for the tall sails and open gun port cannon style armament to work. Hey, I chose to believe it.
A basic theme includes Honor and Duty but I think it's mostly about Loyalty. What it is and what it takes to instill it in others.
Then there is the 15 year old underdog who stylishly and properly overcomes huge obstacles to come out on top. I was heavily invested in many of the characters and deeply engaged in the story early on. There was laughter and possibly a little cheering.
I don't recall any glaring plot inconsistencies.
The narrator is a good fit for the main character. Secondary characters are unique and believable. Did not grate on my nerves even once. In fact, I realize that once the story began, I didn't even notice the narrator. Is that due to superb narration or great story? I don't know but I appreciate it.
Thanks to all involved for entertaining me.
Job well done.

Most entertaining book I've listened too

What did you love best about Into the Dark?

Great story and exceptional narrator. I really enjoyed this audio book. One of my favorites of the hundreds so far. Had to go back and listen to twice more and will likely listen to it again. Highly recommend it!

What other book might you compare Into the Dark to and why?

Definitely reminds me of the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin series with Patrick Tull

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

I had not listened her until this story but she,s great, really captured the right feel for the story with her English accent.