Pitfall

Consulate, Book 2

By: Drew Avera

Narrated by: James Blackmore

A deadly enemy. A hidden weapon. The fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

Five years after the explosive events of Traitor, Ensign Auden Hoyt serves aboard the CSS Pitfall, a Consulate Navy vessel sworn to protect peace across the stars. When a distress beacon from the Solar System draws the crew into deep space, they find more than just a freighter under siege—they uncover a threat that could change the course of the war.

A powerful Heshian warship is bearing down, and the Pitfall is outgunned and outmatched. But the Heshians aren’t just here to destroy—they’ve brought a weapon that could tip the balance against the Consulate for good.

As Auden and her squadron take to the stars, she’ll face a battle that tests her courage, her loyalty, and the very mission she’s sworn to uphold. Survival isn’t guaranteed. Failure isn’t an option.

Pitfall is a pulse-pounding space opera thriller perfect for fans of Star Trek, The Expanse, and Star Wars. If you love tactical space battles, interstellar intrigue, and bold heroes fighting for humanity’s future, grab Pitfall today.

©2025 Drew Avera (P)2025 Drew Avera

Thrilling

Pitfall by Drew Avera is an excellent military space opera adventure. James Blackmore did an incredible job with the narration.Pitfall is the second book in Consulate series. The story is entertaining, interesting, enjoyable, thrilling, exciting, fast paced, engaging and more. Consulate is a great blend of Star Trek and Farscape.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. Highly recommend.

A better second book than the first

Note: I received a free copy of this audiobook, and I have tried to be unbiased in this review.

I just finished listening to this book which I began right after finishing book one of the Consulate series, and I found this one to be better in multiple respects.

The performance was about the same as book 1, which I gave 4 stars for a quite competent good performance, so that is what I gave this one as well. The story was better in that it was more focused on things which needed to be sci-fi. This is where I felt that book 1 was very weak, because the story which was told felt like any old on-the-run from the law car chase. In this one, the sci-fi elements were more integral to the story, although still not up to the level of sci-fi greats. Something which grated on me a bit in both books was the aliens calling other aliens "men", as in, "Let's go men." when they were going to do something. This, plus the fact that the aliens just felt like hostile humans again detracted from the sci-fi. Why make the antagonists aliens if they're not really alien?

Due to the story making more sense (both as a story and as a sci-fi story), I have rounded the score up to an overall 4. I am planning to listen to book 3 soon.

Fast-paced, exciting

Good to hear a better narrator vs the first installment. Nice follow-up and continues the story well while introducing new elements.

Space Opera At Its Finest

I enjoyed this book a lot. I was entertained by the life aboard a spaceship, the camaraderie between the crew, and the moments of humor. I liked Ensign Auden Hoyt whose nerves, intelligence, and bravery were tested by the events which occurred. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series. I enjoyed James Blackmore's narration as his performance added to the story's entertainment. I was given a copy of the audiobook. I volunteered, without financial gain, to post this review which reflected my honest opinions regarding this audiobook.

Solid "next generation" progression of the story and tensions

Different ship. Different crew. Same galactic threat. One new pilot on her first deployment with a familiar last name. What terrible and violent encounters are in store for the Pitfall, and who is responsible for ringing the damn bell? Get to know these new characters as they follow mission parameters, until they can't, and make your own mental comparisons to Battlestar Galactica's (2004) first season. Full of excitement, camaraderie, hi-jinx, and problem solving. Narrator James Blackmore does a wonderful job setting the tone and giving each voice a unique inflection. [Disclosure: I received this title for free and listened at 2.0x.]