Maze: The Waking of Grey Grimm

Book 1

By: Tony Bertauski

Narrated by: A.J Carter

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

Grey isn't sleeping.

Sunny Grimm finds a strap around her son's head with an embossed symbol between his eyes. This is the mark of awareness leaping, where players launch into alternate realities and anything goes. Investors make millions. Critics, however, refuse to call it a game. They argue that reality confusion will end humanity. Labels aside, there are many who play. And many who lose.

Sunny Grimm goes on a mad search for her son and the people responsible for allowing him to play. The only way she will find him is to not lose herself in the search. The Maze is more than a game.

©2017 Tony Bertauski (P)2018 Tony Bertauski

A twisted maze that resolves beautifully

If you liked the matrix, you’ll like this story. If you like Stephen King, you’ll like this book.

The story felt a little like living in a mad person’s head at times, but it was done so beautifully and artistically and there were little breadcrumbs throughout the entire book hinting at the truth. The ending was unexpected, but done in a very satisfying way. It all made sense once you got to the end. Also, while the book resolves enough to be satisfying, the author reveals a small unraveled thread at the end to tease the next story.
I loved the characters. They were very real. They are well rounded and flawed human beings who struggle to find truth in a hostile and confusing landscape.
I will definitely be getting the rest of the series!

Great story

Awesome story. Once I started this I had a hard time stopping. Highly recommended book and author. Great narration as well.

A new reality?

The story is from the different points of view of the main characters as they try to figure out what is real and what is the Maze. The Maze could be real or it could be just a dream, but how do you tell the difference? There are illegal drugs that will take you there or a deprivation tank filled with liquid oxygen - you may or may not survive in this world.
It was a little hard to follow at first, but once you got into the flow it was a very intriguing story. Looking forward to the second book!!

Get ready to be blown away!!!!

Amazing writing that grabs you from first paragraph!!! And the narration is perfect and on point!

love this Author

excellent story and narrator, Tony Bertauski is one of my favorite authors,,I've teas all his books and am now looking forward to listening to them on audio

Maze

This read takes you into a listen that pulls you in to a intriguing World. The Author has created a different World that kept me wondering what was going to happen next. And the Narrator does a fantastic job with the Voices of the characters. I definitely look forward to book 2. And I definitely recommend this listen.
Shauna Joesten

A very odd storyline

I was given this Free Audible book and am writing a review. This was a extremely odd story, with a lot of (at least to me) uncomprehenceable chapters. I had trouble finding the line of the story until near the end. I became quite confused at times trying to make sense of the Story. Author gave me both book 1&2, so I stuck with it so I could understand the 2nd book. Narrator was ok, sort of monotone in this reading.

Almost A 4 Star

This book definitely shows the author has grown and matured. I wasn’t quite ready for it; but I won’t hold it against him. I plan to listen to it a few more times to get my head around it.

•audiobook•
3.25

I’m a huge fan of Tony’s imaginative, unique, warped storytelling. His story lines are a definite betrayal to any cookie cutter book out there - because the plot is out there and will keep you guessing.
The characters are so grounded and realistic, you’re bound to relate to them or would almost swear you know who he body snatched!

This audiobook, however is too muddled for me to really follow and lose myself. Perhaps a hard copy of the book would suck me into this alternative reality more easily. i’ve read the first book of Foreverland, so although the occasional references were subtle, it added depth of a shared secret.
As mentioned, I probably will listen to it a few more times and then push through with the series. I’ve yet been let down by this author. Perhaps my non gamer head and non experience prevented me from fully letting go and getting swept away.

Freddie and the other cop (egads! What’s his name!?) also felt more jaded than to be expected. Maybe that’s another thing that kept me more on my toes; a warmer character may have helped me ease into the waters. It’s explained but it just didn’t feel like it flowed.

I think it was the time jumps “before/after the punch” that made it feel more jagged than smooth.

It’s still a good, sci-fi psycho thriller but you’ll have to really pay attention and concentrate compared to his other books.

I really liked this newer narrator chosen for this book .... (I’m still trying to get through Ronin because the voices that narrator uses remind me of characters from other books.)

Interesting storyline

I must admit I struggled to finish this book. The narrator had a very monotonous voice which I found difficult to concentrate on and made the storyline difficult to follow. I personally feel that this would be better read as a book. But the concept of the story was very interesting. How far would a mother go to save her son?

Mind Bending Tale That Asks What Is Real?

This is an excellent story brilliantly written. Having not read the Foreverland trilogy, which are mentioned in this book, I came at this fresh and without any preconceptions as to what I should expect. This book does not need you to have read that series at all but if you’re like me then I suspect you’ll be adding it to your To-Be-Read list after this book. Its mind bending sci-fi that does what all good sci-fi, and good fiction in general, should do and that’s ask questions of the reader and leave you pondering the answers. The author's writing style is imaginative, creating vivid images as the story progresses. I enjoyed this book immensely and naturally want more of this world and this author.
The narration by AJ Carter is perfect for this story as he brings a noir-esque tone to the story. Each of the characters are delivered with their own clear voice making the story flow nicely. If I were to be really picky I felt the reading a little slow, not bad, just slower than I particularly like. I’m sure that was intentional but I adjusted the speed to 1.2 just to give it a push.
Overall, this is a really imaginative story that draws you in and twists your perceptions around before showing you that you were in fact wrong the whole time.