Nebulous

Jet Black, Book One

By: T. S. Littlefield

Narrated by: Ray Greenley

Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

Three years after losing his father in a fire, 13-year-old Jethro Black (his friends call him Jet) finds himself embarking upon a mysterious adventure when, while attending his grandfather's funeral, a strange man walks up and gives him an envelope and a key.

As a mystery begins to unfold, Jet and his best friend Travis are about to discover that there is more to the world than meets the eye, and they just may have a crucial role to play in the outcome of humanity's future.

Nebulous is the first release in the young adult science fiction book series, Jet Black.

Warning. This book series will take you on an adventurous ride through the world of Jet Black. Here you will inevitably find various religious and spiritual undertones woven into the story. Some of these are subtle, some are not. Others are hidden as clues to a larger picture. While some readers may value these as hidden treasures, others may choose to see them differently. If you are easily offended by religious and/or spiritual content, I suggest you turn back now. If however, you are not afraid of such things, by all means... Proceed at your own risk.

©2014 T. S. Littlefield (P)2015 T. S. Littlefield

Not For Me or Many Others

This is too complicated for young kids and too silly for older kids. All the reviews are glowing, but the rating is 3.8 at the time of this writing. That tells me most people did not like it and did not want to spend anytime talking about it.

Nebulous

What did you like best about this story?

‘Nebulous’ has a super interesting plot rooted in the best of modern Sci-Fi. The author give as a glimpse of the complex universe created for the Jet Black series, and it’s looking very promising. The author is great in creating a complex and engaging world for their characters, that the readers would hold their stories to a high standard. Littlefield is paving the way for some very high quality young adult Sci-Fi stories

On the whole I really enjoyed this book,

My feelings were a little Nebulous about this book at first.

Forgive me, I can’t resist a good play on words no matter how bad.

On the whole I really enjoyed this book, though I went in expecting typical YA fiction, and found that it’s really a children’s fantasy (I would recommend this to 8-15 year-olds). It’s was nice not having to wade through all the hormones typical in YA.

It begins with the typical grade school problems, and the emotions of a boy who has just lost a grandfather, after previously losing his father in a freak firefighting accident, but the tension quickly escalates. Jethro “Jet” Black discovers a relic of his grandfather’s, and things get more complicated from there. With cyber implants, spaceships and kidnapping, there’s plenty to keep the plot moving. There are scenes of Christianity at intervals, displayed in the small town families affected by the kidnappings. Littlefield writes very believable children, none are too smart for their age, and the characters are mostly endearing. The rest, of course, aren’t supposed to be.

The overall production quality is decent, consistent volume, no strange effects on the voices. Every word is clear and understandable.

Ray Greenley does a pretty good job. Initially I didn’t care for his narration, his lower vocal range sounded a little forced and scratchy, but he only used it during the prologue. After that his natural reading voice quickly grew on me; and the voices he used for the kids are all well done. I would imagine a child’s voice to be one of the harder parts of narrating. I don’t really care for his emotional/crying scenes but those are always difficult to pull off naturally.

All in all, I went from thinking I might not want to read this book to looking forward to it’s sequel.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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An entertaining read.

Any additional comments?

An intriguing and entertaining read.

When Jet is at his grandfathers funeral, a strange man hands him an envelope and a key. He finds clues that lead him to something that he puts down to being a compass because it seems to be showing him the way to somewhere. He decides to follow it and from that moment on, his life is changed forever!! It's hard to say much more about the plot without spoiling something so I'll get straight to my thoughts.

Character wise: I loved Jet. He is a typical boy until he finds the glove, but even after finding it and discovering what it can do, he stays down to earth and stays himself. I also loved the fact that he uses his friends to help him. He knows he can't do it all himself so enrolls some of his friends. He was easily relatable and likable.

Plot wise: This has lots of layers. You think it's just a simple tale but it's not. It's not only Jet's tale but it's a story of his grandfather, his father and even people he doesn't know. He threw in a side story of missing kids that intertwine with the main story and I loved how the author made the kids heroes for being brave and doing whats right. It's fast paced, intriguing and captivating and I enjoyed everything about it.

Audio wise: The narrator did an amazing job with this book. He breathed life int the characters and made the story more enjoyable. You could easily distinguish the characters even though he didn't change his tone much throughout. It was a subtle change which I liked.

In all, this was a pleasant and quick listen. I was surprised how much I loved the story. The author has created an intriguing first book and since it's a debut, I was well impressed. I can't wait to see where the author takes the story and characters and am looking forward to book 2.

Enjoyable family level fantasy romp!

Characters are believable, story entertains, narration not overlong, story keeps on going. Hope to see more of Jet Black in the near future! Good so;id imaginative fun!
Ray Greenley does a great audio performance with excellent character definition.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review, and I got the best of the deal!

Fun, interesting and ready for book 2

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

The story was well written but Greenley's narration helped make the characters easy to follow and get into. This is how I read to my kids when they were little except he never misses a beat. The pacing is good, characters are given appropriate/unique voices and Ray's voice is butter smooth the whole way in.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Nebulous?

When Jet first showed his glove to Kale... lots of great scenes but given what had just happened the day before it was a powerful scene showing empathy and kindness to someone we didn't expect.

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

No, this was my first title read by Ray Greenley but I will certainly seek out others!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I must admit to shedding a tear at the end when the kids they rescued were reunited with their parents. Then, this emotion quickly changed to despair realizing that book 2 was not yet released and it was over.

Any additional comments?

I can't wait to listen to this again with my kids... they are really picky when it comes to the quality of narration and I know Ray Greenley will not disappoint :) Very interested in the next book and it better not change Narrator or voices as it ruins the experience :)

Hooked! Can't wait for book 2

The narrator is great very interesting fun story. the dialog is realistic and engaging. Hurry with the next book. I let it in my life I listen to it together

A magical adventure!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it is a very imaginative and creative book that makes one think!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Nebulous?

When the puppy was involved and shared her thought process...

Which scene was your favorite?

The ending as it ends happily!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I could not sit still for that long, so no. However, I loved the story and found myself wanting to listen to it longer than I thought I would.

Any additional comments?

Very creative, imaginative story that reminded me of Harry Potter and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Very good read about an adventure out of this world! Will be looking for the next one!

Fantasy and Adventure-Filled

Where does Nebulous rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A gripping young adult adventure novel. I love how the author deftly weaves the adventure and relationship of Jet and Travis throughout, an adventure filled with magical powers and fantastical imaginings. The best part of the book is that it has wide appeal. It can be read by younger audiences as well as adults, and has a sustained intrigue (sparked by the mysterious letter from Jet's grandpa). Recommended due to its strength as a cohesive, compelling read.

Nebulous, a great story for the YA audience.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

What praise can I give Nebulous? It is this… Tristan, my 12 year old son, listened intently to the book, and when he was done, he started over again. He loved it and wants more. He eagerly awaits the next book in the series. For me, Nebulous was “Stand by me” meets “ET” with some super hero gadgetry thrown in. The story explores family and friendship, as well as the innate desire to do good, especially among young boys just starting to come into their own. It is a sci-fi adventure and a mystery perfectly suited toward the YA audience.

I received this title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

Tristan’s review:
“Great story I loved it! Some things that I liked
about it was how the story focused on boys
about my age going to save kids from a secret
organization of people. I liked that because my
age group of boys generally likes the idea of going on an adventure
and saving people, which perfectly makes this story a hit for the YA.

Another part of the audiobook that was also great was the actual narration.
The reason I thought the narration was so good was because you could
easily tell which character was talking even before that character’s name was announced.
That’s a good attribute because I’m sure making up voices for all those characters is challenging but rewarding in many ways.

In conclusion these are the reasons I liked the story so much.”