Scavenger: Evolution

Sand Divers, Book One

By: Timothy C. Ward

Narrated by: David Robison

Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

A compilation of Scavenger 1-3 (Red Sands, Blue Dawn, and Twin Suns).

In the future, sand divers search the depths for the lost city of Danvar and the truth behind their bleak existence. Divemaster Rush hasn't dived since he lost his infant. A job offer turns from an escape to a trap, and the lure of a hardened heart to survive like anyone else would. One dive leads to another. Farther and farther from the surface, death and evolution change his world. He'll have to change, too, or watch his wife rise without him.

Inspired by Hugh Howey's world of Sand, and written and sold with his permission, Scavenger: Evolution takes the landscape of Dunes and throws in the pacing and thrills of Alien.

©2015 Timothy C. Ward (P)2015 Timothy C. Ward

Fascinating and exciting Sci-fi Story

Where does Scavenger: Evolution rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Near the Top

Which character – as performed by David Robison – was your favorite?

Rush. His narration was perfect. He surprised me many times by performing different accents and sound affects awesomely. Great choice of a narrator for this series.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review

An Emotional Thrilling Story in the world of Sand

This was a fun read. There was a lot of action and once the story started moving it didn't stop. Leading up to all the action is a ton of emotion built into the main character. This base enhances the rest of the book giving the exciting scenes an extra layer of what's going on in the characters heads. It provided a good pushing off point for the characters motivations.

I loved the expansion of Hugh Howey's Sand world in this story. We got to see the power of the sand diving suits used in new and different ways. We also learned a bit more about the old world that existed before everything was covered in sand and that was cool.

I liked the characters in this story. They had a lot of emotionally charged back story and it helped make the story feel deeper through the many fun fast paced action driven scenes that made up the last three quarters of the book. You get a lot of the main character's thoughts throughout the story and really feel like you know him by the end of the book. If you liked Hugh Howey's Sand you'll enjoy this story as well. It did not disappoint.

I read this book by listening to the audiobook. Dave Robison's narration was fantastic. First of all, the guy just has a great voice for narration. It's low, rich, and just easy on the ears. This guy could read a phone book and listening would be a nice way to pass the time. Beyond that I really enjoyed his reading of the character's dialog. When they got emotional you could really hear it in his voice. He's a great actor. I've noticed a lot of narrators, even popular great ones, don't really let their voices get that emotional when reading dialog of characters who are crying or screaming. I appreciated the emotion this narrator poured into his words. It really helped you feel what the characters were feeling and added to the emotion of the scene. I also loved the effects he used like a subtle echo when the character was thinking or the cool effects he put on a robotic A.I. voice. All of these made the story that much more fun to listen to and immersive. So a great story that made for a fantastic listen with great narration.

I have mixed feelings about this book.

The story of this book starts just before the bombing that happens almost at the end of 'Sand' by Hugh Howie. It explains who was responsible for those bombings and the journey of some sand divers in search for the city of Denvar. Ward also tried to fill in some gaps of information that Howey left missing, about other parts of the world, and how it came to be like this.

Normally I do not go for fan fiction, but having read 'Sand' I was very curious about this one. Sand leaves a lot of unanswered questions. It is an amazing book but the end feels rushed and leaves with more questions than answers. I had faith in having some hypothesis in 'Scavengers', and while part of my curiosity was satisfied, it left me with a bittersweet taste.

The idea was good, but the writing is poor, confusing, and chaotic. At some points, the pace is so slow that I inadvertently zoned out, and then something sudden happened and I found myself lost in the story. The characters are quite flat and not especially likable. The only one a bit more developed is Rush, but even like that, I could not connect with him either. I also had troubles understanding the changes in Star and the relationship between them. In the way that it was described it did not make a lot of sense and sounded more like a description made by someone with schizophrenia.

I liked the technology they discovered, but I missed some explanations, probably lost in the middle of the confusing narrations and Deus ex Machine. I am still not convinced on how it all fits with the original book. I wanted answers but I am not sure that this time I got the right ones and in the right format.

David Robison's narration was good, and his voice seemed ideal for Rush. He delivered different voices for the characters, but I do not understand his choice for Vicky's voice, with a lower pitch than for some of the men.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I like the world it is based on, and the idea was a good one, but the writing style was just too confusing for me to enjoy.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

Interesting listen

What did you like best about Scavenger: Evolution? What did you like least?

I had a hard time following the story line and fully understanding the story. I can't say either what I like best or least. In all honesty I will listen again and update accordingly.

Would you recommend Scavenger: Evolution to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book because some of my friends would enjoy this type of story.

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Excellent

Any additional comments?

.The book is fan fiction set in the world of Hugh Howey's Sand. The book contains three novellas that coalesce into a complete story.The book centers around Rush a former Divemaster who is struggling with the grief of his sons death and estrangement from his wife.When a stranger offers him a substantial amount of cash to dive the sands again he accepts.The resulting consequences force him to choose what's important to him and fight to protect the people he cares for.Even though I have not read Howey's Sand series i easily understood the world Timothy C Ward created.The author left me wanting to know more about the backstory of Rush's former life and downfall into drunkenness.I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any fan of the Post Apocalyptic Genre.The narrator did an excellent job and his gruff voice fits perfectly with the books post apocalyptic story.I received an audiobook from the author via in exchange for an honest review.

Overly dramatic, I didn't finish it

The concept of the story seemed pretty interesting. However after listening to it for about an hour I was very confused by the story, and put off by the use of echo when the character is thinking to himself.

Since I did not finish the story I gave it all threes to keep it in the median range.

The Book was provided by audiobook blast in return for an unbiased review.

I look forward to reading more of this series.

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

Yes. This book brings a very interesting twist to the post apocalyptic genre. The author came up with an original idea for a very unoriginal setting, and I was never bored when I read this one. I was disappointed when it ended, not because of the ending but because I wanted more. However I did want more backstory on what happened to the planet and I'm curious if the same things happened to the other parts of the globe. I'm sure these things will be explained in forthcoming books. A very good read. There could be so many more series based in this same world.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main one of course! Second favorite was the cave dweller, hopefully he gets his share of attention later.

What does David Robison bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His narration was perfect. He surprised me many times by performing different accents and sound affects awesomely. Great choice of a narrator for this series. I would love to listen to him again.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was gifted to me free by the author in return for an unbiased review through Audiobooksblast dot com

A fresh idea for a sci-fi world

Would you consider the audio edition of Scavenger: Evolution to be better than the print version?

I am not sure since I did not read the print version. I did enjoy the narration though.

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoyed that it was a fresh concept. The idea of a world largely covered in sand evoked images of Dune, BUT the sand diving suits made for a really awesome twist. Scavengers diving to the ruins of old covered in sand.

The book was a great mix of straight sci-fi and post apocalyptic genres. The author does a good job of getting you "into" the world and understanding how it differs from our own.

What about David Robison’s performance did you like?

He had great intonation and portrayed each character very well. Sometimes in audio books it is easy to lose track of who is speaking, but in this case that was never an issue.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I had the time I probably would have!

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

(ﾉ'ヮ')ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧Fascinating and exciting Sci-fi Story

What made the experience of listening to Scavenger: Evolution the most enjoyable?

Wow. It truly has been a long time since I've had a good sci-fi book. Scavenger: Evolution has really good non-stop thrilling action. A great story along with a great narration performance; that made it enjoyable and unable to stop.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Main character Divemaster Rush was my favorite one. Living a miserable life and having given up after the death of his son, he gets a second chance. He's offered a diving job that changes everything. He finds himself trying to change himself and working alongside his wife. She is both; the woman he blames for the death of his infant. And, the woman he is still married to, and loves. Enjoyed the relationship with his friend Avery. Lots of emotions the guy has to battle with; not just a powerful adversary enemy.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite part is trying to rid themselves of the Governor's nanobots. All in all, I immensely enjoyed the Twin Suns chapters. When they must flush out the nuclear plasma ingested. Rich detailed and not overly done.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

In truth, I found the beginning slow. Then I was so caught up in the emotions and their quest to reach "Danver", I kept pushing wanting to find out more. What were his best friend's Avery plans. What were his secrets. How could Rush fix his marriage. Every time I followed the story, it took a turn I had not expected. The action became non stop and fast moving while keeping you on edge. Intense. My saving grace: It was the holidays and I was off from work.

Any additional comments?

The story was exceptionally performed. Characters had their own personalities, their own voice; and you could feel the emotions going through them. Even the robotic voices he used. Fantastic job! I could listen to this man read the dictionary or the biggest law book, and I would still enjoy it. He poured emotion into each character, and he also made it fun.

Disclaimer: This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

Exciting addition to the SAND universe

This is one of the best stories told within Hugh Howey's Sand universe & it's very exciting stuff too!

Timothy C.Ward's Evolution series, just like Michael Bunker's - Dunes Over Danvar, is pretty much essential reading for anyone who enjoyed the original books from Hugh Howey. Dare I say it, they are nearly better cause they go deeper into the story, down to the nitty-gritty!

Anyway, a great audio performance, with some nice special vocal effects were it counts.