Emergence

Dave vs. the Monsters

By: John Birmingham

Narrated by: Mark Zeisler

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

John Birmingham is the master of alternate history adventure - and now he's mastered a new genre with the volcanically fast-paced and wildly inventive Dave Hooper urban fantasy series. The series is anchored by a thrilling high concept: An oil rig opens a rift deep in the ocean that unleashes terrifying monsters into the world. But perhaps its coolest asset is its hero, Dave Hooper, a tough, bleakly funny, down-on-his luck oil rig worker with an unlikely destiny as a monster-slayer and world savior. With a memorable concept and an unforgettable new hero, the Dave Hooper series will satisfy Birmingham's large fanbase and convert a new legion of devoted fans.

©2015 John Birmingham (P)2015 Recorded Books

Very entertaining

Dave is a great hero (anti-hero) amd I found myself actually liking his character. The story is well thought out flows very well. I couldn't stop listening.

Marinated in its own pastes and juices!

Meh..I really wanted to like it, but I was turned off by the way we were dumped into the hive mind of the demons. I think I would rather have heard about how they were forced under the capstone to begin with. I was not able to suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy this. I will return it, but I liked it well enough to check out some of the author's other books. Hoping that they are a little more rooted in reality.

On the fence about this one

What did you like best about Emergence? What did you like least?

The premise of this story is great - monsters suddenly reappear after millennia of absence, and an average guy stumbles into the spotlight as he defeats a few and randomly gains great power. The execution, however, leaves a bit to be desired. The author does a good job of developing a fairly wide range of supporting characters - then he drops a dense, uninformed "party animal" into the spotlight. Said party animal proceeds to screw up just about everything, yet saves the day despite himself.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I'd have made the main character as smart as the book claims he is. The book tells us he is an engineer with multiple degrees, who leads a team of fellow engineers on an oil rig guaranteeing its performance and safety, but instead we get a fairly dull character who is more interested in drugs and women than just about anything else.

Was Emergence worth the listening time?

Barely. I like the premise enough to give the sequel a shot, but it's going to have to impress me to keep my interest.

meh

it's OK but a little formulaic. The main character is hard enough to like, but then as soon as he begins to be relatable.... out come the ethnic slurs.

A fantastically flawed protagonist

A grest book overall, though it has perhaps a bit too much exposition and set up, but none of that really matters as the titular character, Dave Hooper is such a delightfully flawed and damaged asshole being inside his head is an absolute treat.

A wild thrill ride of urban fantasy.

I wasn't sure what to make of this one when I first got it, but it was great! I like John Birmingham's alternative history books, but Urban Fantasy is a whole other ball of wax. Well, this is a home run! The story centers around Dave Hooper, the Safety Manager of an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. After a booze, drug and hooker filled week off on vacation, he goes back to the rig on the company helicopter hungover and just wishing the day was already over. On the way out to the rig, the call comes in that theres a fire on the rig, a safety guys worst nightmare. When they get to the rig, the workers are scrambling around trying to get off the rig. The reason for this is that the fire isn't really big, but the Demons who are slaughtering people on the rig are. Dave goes looking for the source of the trouble and he finds it: a big demon 7 foot tall demon that kind of looks like an Orc. He grabs one of his coworkers splitting maul, and in a fit of rage, kills the demon, who was drunk on the blood of one of his fellow workers. Dave wakes up in the hospital, on an IV drip. Dave rips out the IV, and long story short, ends up showing he now has super strength, super senses, and an increased healing factor.The Navy Spec ops team that has been tasked with discovering whats going on recruits him on the spot to help them check out the rig. In addition to everything else, Dave has all the knowledge of the Demon he killed, kind of a monsterpedia. They discover that the rig drilled through a dimensional breach, and the demons are escaping to our world, which they were banished from when humans were still wearing animal skins and living in caves. Dave has to help stop the Demon invasion with his trusty splitting maul, which is now charmed sort of like Thor's hammer (can't be picked up by anyone else, unbreakable, has a sort of sentience and energy) Dave faces off with the Demons in New Orleans, and after a heavy duty battle in which Dave finds his limitations, the Demons are stopped, at least for the moment. What happens next? Read book 2, Resistance: Dave vs. The Monsters to find out. Mark Zeisler did a fantastic job of narration. He got all the different voices and accents right, and I felt like I was right there in the middle of the action. I definitely recommend this for fans of Simon R. Green, Jim Butcher and Kevin Hearne.

Good Stuff

Which character – as performed by Mark Zeisler – was your favorite?

DAVE!!!!

Any additional comments?

This is a pretty funny cool story. Best line in a book ever, "Seriously? Well same as before, Im Dave and these are all the F***s I don't really give about who you are" Dave kind of reminds me of Sandman Slim. If you enjoy those stories, chances are you will like this one.

Whee

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

Sure! This was a fun ride!

Any additional comments?

This was ultimately a "fluff" listen but I really enjoyed it.

Its very Orc and Minty...

What a take on fantasy meeting reality!Its excellent narrative and i can definitely get the "ive come here to kick a$$ and chew bubble gum" vibe LOL.I cant wait to check out more of the series,and will SPREAD THE WORD

Good story

I was not sure about this one when I first looked at it.
But after I read about some of the reviews on how much the f word was used I had to check for myself.
Great book!!