Lysandra

The Cygnus Virus Series, Book 2

By: T.J. Zakreski

Narrated by: Sarah Sampino

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Lysandra is the second book of a sci-fi trilogy, promising the listener a suspenseful and entertaining listen that will leave them wanting more. The author’s first novel, The Cygnus Virus, was described by IndieReader as, “an infectious cyberpunk thriller,” and Kirkus Reviews as, “a story that’s part William Gibson-style Cyberthriller, part wacky comedy.”

Interwoven through both books are themes of cloning, virtual reality, redemption, and vengeance. Lysandra is a genetically modified Magdalene who wants to be like any other teen living on planet Terra, but the unholy Church won’t leave her alone. After it tries using its ownership of her DNA to try to control her, there’s a nasty trial and some wicked turns through which Lysandra and the listener discover Lysandra’s hidden powers. She seems to get away, at least for a while, until the Church enlists the help of the ultimate assassin - a rebooted space virus from Earth named Cygnus, she once destroyed. Now her only hope is an ex-con and defrocked lawyer, Andron, and his band of misfits. To have any chance of survival, they must learn how to work together and Lysandra to believe in herself. Desperate and out of options, they take the fight to the Church in an explosive ending, that will leave the listener breathless.

T.J. Zakreski made his debut as a writer in 2016, although it can be said he is no stranger to crafting dialogue as a seasoned litigator.

Early in his legal career, Zakreski received global accolades for his work in defense of Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser against Monsanto over GMO seeds in front of the Supreme Court of Canada. Dialogue from his defense is featured in the reality play “Seeds” and the case has inspired a movie presently in production in Canada, Percy.

©2018 Terry Zakreski (P)2018 Terry Zakreski

Interesting idea

First off, the narrator does a great job. Quality performance.

This just wasn’t for me. There was some entertaining parts, but most of it didn’t intrigue me. There are info dumps, too much random info and multiple POVs, so the story flows weird. The timing felt weird too. The idea for the story is interesting, but nothing stood out for me. Lysandra is owned by a cult like church because she’s made in a lab; clone like, but she lives with her adoptive dad.
He tries to get her away from the church when weird things start happening, but the church is dangerous and Lysandra has to go on the run. The story starts with her making stupid teenage choices with her friend, to her on the run from the church and becoming a stripper, and then to her kicking butt. She makes bad choices, but she’s an okay character. Andron is another character; he was in the first book, which I didn’t read. He’s in prison for his actions in the first book, but he gets out and looks for Lysandra. He’s older, but has dealt with a lot, so he’s not exactly mature. He’s okay. Other POV’s, the leader of the church, Thomas, and Cygnus, the evil computer virus that tries to bend the moronic church people to do its bidding. Most of the church parts were boring to me; which there’s a lot of, so yeah, this book just isn’t my thing. Too slow moving I think and the characters didn’t pull me in. So, I went 3 stars because the book has potential, but I’m just not the reader for it.

It was okay but I didn’t get a cyberpunk vibe.

This book didn’t really have much of a cyberpunk feel to it. Most of the plot could be summed up with, Church bad, men bad. Women good.
The story was kinda short but I was allowed to try this book for free so I shouldn’t really complain.

hypnotizing

such a good book it was brilliant and very good and I loved it every single second of it it was enjoyable and very well described and written the narrator was great and overall it was a wonderful story
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

just good, not great

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

First of all, this is the 2nd book in a series. As the first book is not available on Audible, I haven't gotten any of the context from it. That said, it wasn't hard too follow. The premise was interesting, but I was a bit underwhelmed for the first half of the book. The latter half, though, was much better and ultimately what influenced my rating. The narration is done decently. The narrator has an engaging voice, but she is a little limited in her voices. The main character's voice is pretty distinct, but all the others sound pretty much the same. All things considered, this was good, but not great.

Crazy

I like this book. The Bible background in it was interesting to listen to. It seemed like a future life but then had part that seemed like it could be now a days. It was action packed and well rounded. Narrator's voice was great.

Good book, just not for me.

I found this book to have a very distinct feeling it was stuck in 1st gear....in mud. The story was o.k., the tempo was off. That's my suggestive opinion though, so take it with a grain of salt. I would really like to recommend this audiobook, but to be honest, I can not. Now for the obligatory: "I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

When cloning God goes wrong...

The book follows two main characters: Lysandra and Thomas.

Lysandra's storyline is pretty interesting. She is more or less a clone gone rogue. Except, she was cloned from DNA that is supposed to be from Jesus. At least, that's what the Church was trying to do. Things went wrong when the parents found out they were having a girl instead of a the Son of God Reborn.

Thomas' storyline is rather bland. He's a stereotypical leader of a powerful organization that has more money than they know what to do with. The author just happens to label this organization as The Church. There's just not a lot or new with Thomas to keep me interested in him.


On the narration:

For the most part, Sarah does a well-enough job. She gives the main characters a distinct voice for dialogue. However, some of the secondary characters' voices start to run together, and it can be a bit difficult to follow along with the conversation. She also sometimes lets some secondary voices bleed into her narrator voice as the book transitions out of a conversation.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.