Sentinels of Tzurac: Terra Major Under Threat

By: James Raven

Narrated by: Peter Baker

Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

The Sentinels of Tzurac is an action sci- fi story, written in the spirit of George Lucas and Gene Roddenberry productions, which stimulates the imagination and brings back the emotional excitement experienced by those of all ages who followed the Star Wars and Star Trek sagas.

The year is 2055. Earth's natural resources have been ravaged and the planet is slowly dying. MERIC, the mining company owned by Samuel Jensen that employs new recruit engineer Kyron, is now mining a newly discovered planet known as Terra Iota when an explosion rocks their operations and brings them to a screeching halt. A strangely powerful blue crystal they will come to know as Xytrinium is cause of the explosion and Kyron is sent to Terra Iota to investigate.

Saying goodbye to his love, Torri, Kyron embarks on a journey to the distant planet, unaware that evil forces lurking within his own company don't want him to arrive on Terra Iota alive. Someone is moving behind the scenes to control all of this valuable volatile substance and his motive is as simple as it is diabolical: He is determined to exert complete power over the entire world. Caught in the middle, Kyron now finds himself in a war with a man who seems to hold all the cards; and when a murder, an ancient gold ring, and his father's hidden past reveal startling truths, Kyron will risk everything to save Earth - and the life of the woman he loves.

©2012 James Raven (P)2012 James Raven

I found this book great for multitasking

Would you try another book from James Raven and/or Peter Baker?

James Raven: Perhaps, if he has something that is not so predictable, without the heavy foreshadowing.

Peter Baker: Probably, especially if the lead character is male as his voice is better suited to the masculine voices.

If you’ve listened to books by James Raven before, how does this one compare?

This was my first James Raven book.

Have you listened to any of Peter Baker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I believe this is my first Peter Baker book.

Do you think Sentinels of Tzurac: Terra Major Under Threat needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It works fine as a stand alone, but a follow up would explain some things. From Kyron's alien guardian, I had the impression something bigger was looming on the horizon, so I would like that explained.

Any additional comments?

This space opera is very fast-paced, definitely action driven. With the ease of plot and readily identifiable bad guys, this story felt like an old friend. While predictable, it was easy to fall into and simply enjoy the tale. Kyron is an honorable man, a hard worker, a considerate fellow so of course I wanted things to turn out well for him.

Of course, the other side of the coin is that there wasn’t really anything that wowed me. You can spot all the good guys because they are polite, well spoken, physically fit, and usually blonde or redheads. You can spot all the bad guys because they are rude, uncouth, smell funny, look funny, and are usually bearded and dark haired. Additionally, with the exception of a very minor character that has a tiny part, all the women are mothers or lovers. They have no real role in the story. While Torri, the main love interest, is a ‘brilliant engineer’ we are never shown her brilliance in her chosen field; however, she does look smashing in her lab coat. Yep, the women’s main job in the book is to look great and provide a bit of compassion on cue.

I found this book great for multi-tasking as I didn’t have to give it too much of my mind to follow the storyline. So if you are looking for an audiobook to play while taking on some heavy house chore or cleaning out the garage, this is a good one as it is easy to slip back into the story line after a minor interruption.

The Narration: Peter Baker did a decent job. He had a feminine voice that was used for the few ladies and a handful of male voices and accents used for the guys. I did occasionally have trouble distinguishing the voice for Kyron from some of the other men when there was back-to-back conversation going on. Baker did give a steady pacing and included excitement or worry as the story needed.