Ribbonworld

The Balcom Dynasty, Book 1

By: Richard Dee

Narrated by: Stephen Bungay

Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Review a hotel for me," she said. "It'll be easy," she said. I haven't even got started, and there's a body in the bathroom.

It was only supposed to be a hotel review. All Miles Goram wants to do is finish up and get off Reevis as quickly as he can. It's an airless planet where everyone lives under a giant dome. Not the sort of place he wants to be stuck on. The body in his bath has really fouled his plans up. Then, he discovers the dead man's secret.

As Miles gets drawn deeper into life on Reevis, he finds corruption and mistrust everywhere. Balcom Industrial treat the place like their own kingdom and discourage any questioning incomers. As a journalist and ex-convict, Miles is on top of their most unwanted list.

If the death threats and the fact that everyone trying to make him leave wasn't enough, there's the added distraction of a missing heiress thrown in.

Suddenly, his life has got very complicated, and Miles wants answers. If only he can live long enough to find them.

©2015 Richard Dockett (P)2020 Richard Dockett

Original

Great story. Not read anything quite like it before. Love the explanation of the different world/s and how we’ve conquered them to survive on them.
Miles is a great guy, a nice guy and someone I think we could all use on our side.
Narration by Stephen Bungay was ode to for this series!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Absolutely nailed the crime noir vibe perfectly

I was motivated to grab a copy of Ribbonworld on Audible when I heard a sample of Chapter one. The narrator, Stephen Bungay captures the crime noir tone of the book exactly. His vocal interpretation of Miles Goram, the chief protagonist in the book is incisive, and perfectly nuanced with elements of cynicism and mystery, making Miles an easy but intriguing character that you warm to instantly. That instant connection hurls you into the life of Miles, a slightly down (he’s just got out of a jail spaceship), but no quite out, gossip columnist who needs to find out who’s killed Nic Stavriedies, a star hotelier and famous entrepreneur whom he was sent to Reevis to interview, and who ends up lying dead on Miles’ bathroom floor in his hotel. And so begins the adventure on Reevis – the Ribbonworld of the title – and the many fierce and fascinating characters that Miles discovers on his journey to clear his name and uncover the real killer of the hotel owner.

Throughout Ribbonworld, Mr Bungay’s depiction of characters voices is spot-on. From the strange police duo Flanagan and Chumna, with Flanagan’s gentle Irish lilt, soothing possible offenders into a false sense of security to Chumna’s brash, uncompromising timbre that clearly shouts ‘I don’t suffer fools gladly’, the vocal expertise of Mr Bungay in his adaption of Ribbonworld shines through.

I particularly enjoyed the audible realization of Tash Perdue – the practical, intelligent planetary explorer and Donna Markes, the conniving PA of head of the Balcom dynasty - Igor Balcom himself. In audiobooks, a male voice undertaking a female one can sometimes not quite work, but Mr Bungay’s skill in this area is heard, and the listener quickly feels the words being said come alive by the female characters, and are audibly transported into each scene.

Ribbonworld is a story set far into the future on a distant planet, but such is the power of Mr Dee’s writing, his amazing worldbuilding and the grounded scientific foundations that this story is built on, that you feel this is a world that’s close by, indeed, it could be a shuttle hop away. The story itself is beautifully woven whodunnit with a flavor of an industrial espionage and conspiratorial activities. It holds the listener gripped, waiting on the next chapter. I really recommend this audiobook to anyone who wants to escape and immerse themselves in Dashiell Hammett-style story in space!

good story line.

I enjoyed the characters and the story, and I look forward to more Balcom Dynasty stories!

Amazing Audible done right.

First up. I love the narrator's accent in this title. Steven Bungay does an awesome job at unfolding the story at just the right pace all the while being very effective at mimicking the different voices when required. Richard Dee, while I don't know his work personally, except for this title now of course, has done an exquisite job with Ribbonworld. Giving no spoilers away, the world created in Ribbonworld is one in which I really and deeply fell in love with. Seeing it through the eyes of the main character who is portrayed in the first person gives you the experience that you might expect, however I must add a very colorful one at that. To be honest, I couldn't put Ribbonworld down. I just wanted to know more about the world, characters and story, but having said that, I am very easily pleased. I see the effort put into the writing and I do love all genres except romance. I recommend Ribbonworld wholeheartedly and give it a solid 10/10.

Very intriguing story

A great story with a twist on the reporter genre, The setting is interesting and engaging, providing a unique set of problems for the protagonist.
Narrated well.
I look forward to the next book in the series.

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

A Little Ellery Queen in a Dashiell Hammett Plot

This book opens like a scene from Dashiell Hammett, and while hero Miles Goram is not a hard-boiled detective, the novel keeps that Hammett-like feel as it builds a mystery around themes that legendary author often wrote about. The opening scene sets the groundwork for the whole novel. Goram has arrived late in the domed city of Reevis and when he checks into his cheap hotel room, he finds a body in the bathroom—the body of the man he had traveled here to meet. Goram thought he had come to Reevis to review a new hotel, but his now-dead contact had a much bigger story in mind and Goram has to get to the truth behind it before someone kills him. The problem—absolutely no one seems to want him around—not the workers, not the local government, not the Balcom corporation—and it’s not easy to solve a mystery when no one wants to talk to you.

Yet Goram can’t help but dig and what he finds is…well I don’t want to spoil the novel for you. Suffice it to say that Dee has created a hero that it’s easy to get behind, and he puts enough clues out there that you have a legitimate chance not only to piece together what’s happening but to figure out the big surprises. So I think it’s fair to say Ribbonworld gives you a bit of Ellery Queen in a Dashiell Hammett plot set out in a realistic science fiction setting.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Definitely a 3.5 star

I received a free review copy of this audio book, at my request, and am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review.

This book is an example of why I don't like the 5 star system. This is definitely not a 4 star book, but it's better than a 3 star book. It's a solid 3.5.

The story presents itself as a mystery, of sorts. However, it's not. It's a story about a journalist becoming tangled up in a corporate plot. However, the journalist isn't all that particularly nosey and has no real sleuthing skills. His investigation, as it were, it more about back story and world building, "why is there a breeze in the dome? " etc.

He more or less stumbles to the end of the book with the good will of people around him, who are really driving the plot.

So without the mystery, there should be great world building and character. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Most characters wear their entire character development on their sleeve, in a wysiwyg kind of way. There is really only 1 exception to this and it's played more for confusion to the other characters than anything else.

So then, why 3 stars? Well cause it's an enjoyable read. The story is interesting enough to keep my interest, the characters are not charming, but are likeable enough. The plot is good and the tech is cool. The idea of a ribbon world is different, even if domes are not, and the concepts that are built around it are interesting.

The voice narration, by Stephen Bungay, was pretty good. He doesn't have a wide range of voices, and his female voices are weak, but his voice is easy to listen to and fits into the story well. He occasionally uses voice modulation for phone calls and communication, which is a nice touch.

All in all, a perfectly good book, but not great, with good narration, but not great. If the author put a bit more effort into developing his characters and making them more complex, and adding some layers to the story, then it would have been much better. Likewise, if the narrator had put more effort into his voices, he would have been much better. But as it stands, it's a good book, a d an enjoyable read.

While I won't go seeking out book 2, if it crosses my path, I definitely see me picking it up.

"Someone to trust: an honest journalist."

Written in the first person from the perspective of Miles, a down on his luck one time journalist, recently out of prison for something he claimed not to have done, Ribbonworld tells of his less than happy visit to review a luxury hotel soon to open on an industrialized planet where one side is permanently frozen and the other scorched and blazing facing it's sun. Just a thin, 50 mile strip, a ribbon of land, is habitable under domes erected to protect inhabitants from the vacuum of space. Still fragile from his incarceration, things go wrong from the moment he arrives.

Good in the first person by Miles, through his eyes the reader is treated to the stunning scenery and delicious dome-grown food he encounters as well as being drawn into the political unrest of the city. Stephen Bungay narrates, his pleasant voice breathing further life into the character. He reads with good inflection and pacing and his individual voicing s for the different characters is good. A nice performance which definitely added pleasure to the book's experience.

I have to thank the rights holder of Ribbonworld, who, we my reqjest, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom. I enjoyed being immersed in this different world and, despite some small reservations, also thought the plot itself was intriguing. I look forward to the next in the series, Jungle Green, coming out in Audio.

Surprisingly intricate

There is a lot going on in this novel. World building is awesome, but the science is just “there” without explanation. It is much more a story of mystery and adventure set in space.

I really liked it and have added it to my “listen again” list! (A rare honor, but still somehow a lengthy list...)

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for a review.

Sci-Fi Mystery

This is full of mystery, politics, intrigue, espionage and a little romance. It had two genres that I love, mystery and Sci-fi and the author did not disappoint. It sounded like the author knew what he was talking about when he explained the science of living on a planet that is nothing like earth. I am glad to say he didn't go too deep in the science and spread it through out the book, so you don't end up with a headache.
There is no profanity, sexual content (behind closed doors) and moderate violence.
Would recommend.