Oracle

By: Douglas E. Richards

Narrated by: Dan Bittner

Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

An interstellar war is racing toward an unsuspecting Earth. Can one young woman stop it before it's too late?

LA detective Anna Abbott can see brief, cryptic visions of the future. She just doesn't know it yet. But others do. Others who will stop at nothing to ensure that her abilities never see the light of day.

Soon Anna is fighting for her life against an array of powerful adversaries, and not all of them are human. Because a small group of aliens hiding on Earth believe that she can single-handedly alter the course of an interstellar war. One that has raged for thousands of years, but which is completely unknown to humankind.

Until now.

But even if Anna can beat the odds and stay alive, the greatest threat of all awaits: a super-intelligent species determined to prevent humanity from achieving its evolutionary destiny - at any cost.

Oracle is a roller-coaster ride of a thriller. One packed with breathtaking action, startling revelations, and mind-blowing science, including a scientific rationale for clairvoyance itself.

"Richards is an extraordinary writer," (Dean Koontz) who can "keep you turning the pages all night long." (Douglas Preston)

"Richards is a worthy successor to Michael Crichton." (SFBook.com)

Near future science-fiction thrillers by Douglas E. Richards

Stand-alones

Quantum Lens
Game Changer
Infinity Born
Seeker
Veracity
Oracle

Series

Wired (Wired 1)
Amped (Wired 2)
Mind's Eye (Nick Hall 1)
Brainweb (Nick Hall 2)
Mind War (Nick Hall 3)
Split Second (Split Second 1)
Time Frame (Split Second 2)

Kids' science fiction thrillers (nine and up, enjoyed by kids and adults alike)

Trapped (Prometheus Project 1)
Captured (Prometheus Project 2)
Stranded (Prometheus Project 3)
Out of This World
Devil's Sword

©2019 Douglas E. Richards (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

It's ok

Good premise, but poorly written. He keeps telling the reader things that should have been evident within the scene. We know the lead has gifts, he doesn't need to keep reminding us. He's made her too perfect; higher mental abilities, rich, best detective in the country. She has no hurdles to overcome, which would develop the character.

We know another character is a professor, there's no need to include his university along with his position just to tell us what he said.

The fact that this hit the NYT bestsellers only says people bought into the storyline; it doesn't say how many took the book to a second hand store after buying it.

This book needs serious editing.

Not a fan of the ET bent

Douglas E. Richards in currently my favorite author. Personally, not my favorite book, though. don't get me wrong, I'll read the sequel, but I love the scientific thrillers sooo much more.

Oracle

The premise is interesting though the story development is a bit long winded. Chapters 4 and 5 were basically summaries of research, dubious or otherwise, on the unconscious mind. and the repeated mention of 'her unconscious mind' didn't add anything to the plot. I finally gave in to my intuition and returned the book. All in all, boring.

Engaging, engrossing

Worth the credit, for sure. Likable, realistic characters. Engaging plot about an intergalactic war that may or may not reach our shores. Plenty of action with good aliens and bad aliens all hiding among us.
But not perfect. Occasionally trite (but passed quickly). And while I gave the narration a 5 I could have (should have?) knocked it down a notch simply for the way the main antagonist was voiced. No way that guy would ever blend in, much less become successful.

Still, a totally fun listen that kept me engaged from start to finish.

Meh . . .

Douglas E. Richards is brilliant and has the knowledge to be the next Michael Crichton, but his dialog and storylines are so bad it's hard to suffer. In this latest book, Oracle he inserts tired old jokes like "don't call me Shirley," that he repeats and gratuitous, nauseating sex/love episodes,(they made love over and over again all night long,) make me wonder if he has anyone aside from family members read his scripts. When Richards is explaining a theory based on actual sciencic knowledge or even theoretical science, he's the best but when he deviates and attempts a dialog, it's painful.

Another good one!

Love all of Douglas' books and this one is no different. Looking forward to continuing to read everything he puts out. Highly recommend his books.

Great new female protagonist

very shortly after starting the book I didn't want to stop listening. I'm looking forward to Oracle 2

DER did it again!

awesome, fun, fast, page tuner, can't wait for the next in the series! thanks DER

A little light on plot

Not a bad read, but everything always seemed to work out too easily and surprise.

Pretty good story but...

I like the story. It was entertaining and had some excellent moments, but it was a bit too linear and complete for me. The story went in a straight line, one step at a time and most if not all answers were arrived at by meticulous explanation or dialog. I like my stories a bit sloppier and random. I want to determine some of the answers myself whether they match the author's interpretation or not. That said, if you like you books to be easily followable and answers provided to all the questions, this book is for you. Even if, like me, you like things a bit more crazy, this was well worth the sale price, but I would have been a bit less happy if I put a credit into it. It was a good listen and while the narrator didn't have a chance to really shine, it was a nice clean reading of the book.

Coincidences happen, but not as often as this.

I have read a lot of comics through the years and one the common factors in most of them is the over reliance on coincidence. The cavalry come over the hill, just in time. The good guys develop the winning technology, just in time. The bad guys have overwhelming numbers, but they are poor planners or over confident or their tech has a flaw they were unaware of. Finally and worst of all, there is an unlikely traitor in the midst of the conflict (either side, doesn't matter). In a comic it's acceptable, in a book it's not.
When the fortuitous chances occur in every other chapter it begins to feel like laziness or sloppy planning. "I've written myself up a dead end" says the author. "Aah the invisibilty tech will help, I can say they just perfected the personal version last week." "But hold on, now the genius tactician I wrote is using it to win the war outright." "A traitor in the otherwise homogenous, perfectly balanced and benevolent aliens will do the trick."
The above is a simplification of one key point in a book that is riddled with such convenient twists. I realy wanted to see how this played out but the stacking up of helpful tech and traits alternating with the broad brush evil bad guys just became too much. The antagonists can almost be heard making evil laugh sounds at the end of every sentence, Mwahaha.
By halfway through the book I guessed the probable plot lines and stopped caring.
The performance by the reader was as good as could be expected given the material.

Superb book!

I loved every minute of listening to this book. Douglas is a masterful storyteller who researches his science relentlessly, then embellishes it to make a fast paced and entertaining read/listen. On the back of listening to this book and his book Split Second, I have gone ahead and purchased 2 more. If they are half as good as this one was I will be more than satisfied. Keep up the good work Doug!