Embers of War

By: Gareth L. Powell

Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella, Amy Landon, Greg Tremblay, Soneela Nankani, Natasha Soudek

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

From BSFA award-winning author Gareth L. Powell comes the first in a new epic sci-fi trilogy exploring the legacies of war.

The sentient warship Trouble Dog was built for violence, yet following a brutal war, she is disgusted by her role in a genocide. Stripped of her weaponry and seeking to atone, she joins the House of Reclamation, an organization dedicated to rescuing ships in distress. When a civilian ship goes missing in a disputed system, Trouble Dog and her new crew of loners, captained by Sal Konstanz, are sent on a rescue mission.

Meanwhile, light years away, intelligence officer Ashton Childe is tasked with locating the poet, Ona Sudak, who was aboard the missing spaceship. What Childe doesn't know is that Sudak is not the person she appears to be. A straightforward rescue turns into something far more dangerous, as Trouble Dog, Konstanz, and Childe find themselves at the center of a conflict that could engulf the entire galaxy. If she is to save her crew, Trouble Dog is going to have to remember how to fight ...

©2018 Gareth L. Powell (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Mixed-Bag

I became bored with the multiple storyline threads at the beginning of this book and stopped listening about a third of the way in. It did not help that one of the multiple voice actors talked with a monotone which I found
very irritating. After a time I decided to give the book another chance and started listening again. The story grew on me as the book progressed and I started enjoying it about half way through.

Fantastic!!

This was such fantastic story telling, universe building, and character development. I loved having the different readers and really having a different feeling and sound for each character. It’s been a while since I’ve read such a really well done sci fi book. I am going to download and start the second book of the trilogy immediately!

Worth it

With 3 great narrators and 1 terrible one, performance breaks even. Decent story, too. First few chapters are slow and may not hook you in, but I'd say it's worth trying... if it does manage to keep you, the payoff is a middling story with characters to make up for it. The ship, my personal favorite character, is believable as an independent entity and thoroughly entertaining even as her supporting characters are lacking.

The beginning of this book left me just barely interested enough to continue, but the ending has me borderline excited for the next entry.

Interesting.

Interesting take on future tek.
Just enough loose ends to make you wonder about the universe.
Characters are interesting, but a bit unlovable. The best, in my opinion, is the Trouble Dog.
Ends well. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Maybe a good story?

I couldn’t get past the second chapter. The narrator, while she has a good voice, kept on dropping her voice at the end of every sentence and it drove me nuts.

Excellent Read/Listen

I had passed over this several times in the Audible plus listings. The description while spoiler free definitely didn’t set the hook quickly either. This is a gem that I hope was only hidden for me.
If you love space opera or just any fiction that features strong character development read this. The story uses the ideals of good science fiction to immerse you in its concepts, characters, and progression that feels comforting and familiar while remaining unique and engaging.
I particularly like the usage of point of view and how well the performance of the reading dovetails with it.

Narrator inflections stopped me

I could not listen beyond a few minutes simply because of the narrator's upward inflection at the end of each sentence. I have no idea what the story line is, sorry.

love it

I love these kind of books. this was a great story. awesome and interesting

Hound of Difficulty has an exciting life

Clean and tight writing from multiple character perspectives, Embers of War is an easy and engaging read. It was my first Gareth L. Powell, and I look forward to reading more of his books. Works well as a stand-alone book. Worth a read or listen.

Great Book, Poor Audible😞

The story is great but I feel the narrator ruins the story. No excitement in the narration, flat tone, and I had to just get the book to read. Please don't think this is an attack on the narrator. I just don't like her reading style for this story. I love the book and am excited to read the next ones.