Star Watch

By: Mark Wayne McGinnis

Narrated by: L.J. Ganser

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's Summary

Join the Star Watch crew on their first mission to the planet of Trom, where hostile Pharlom invaders have appropriated high altitude cloud-ports as prisoner of war camps. As a fierce battle in space ensues, fragmented warships fall into Trom's atmosphere and head right for a populated cloud-port.

From best-selling author Mark Wayne McGinnis comes the highly anticipated Scrapyard Ship spin-off series, Star Watch.

The Craing War is now over... the enemy defeated. As planetary systems around the galaxy try to bring normalcy back to their existence, one thing becomes crystal clear... without the Craing around to keep everyone in line, space has become a far more dangerous place.

With tens of thousands of warships idle, along with hundreds of thousands of Allied crew personnel sitting on their hands, it's up to Admiral Perry Reynolds whether or not to send the combatants home, and mothball most of the ships. But as more and more requests for prompt Allied assistance come in from the farthest reaches of outer space (i.e. for minor incursions into sovereign territory; or others, more serious - including barbaric planetary invasions), Admiral Reynolds is compelled to introduce a new stellar over-watch program. With his own career winding down, one of his final directives will be in the formation of a special intergalactic marshaling service... Star Watch. The admiral has the perfect ship lined up for the task - the most advanced warship in the known galaxy: the mile-long Caldurian vessel - the Minian. Next he needs to outfit the ship with a captain and crew he can trust to get this far-range venture initiated properly.

Across the galaxy, young Boomer, daughter of Captain Jason Reynolds, begins her training in the ancient fighting methods of the Kahill Callan, and prepares to battle against Lord Vikor Shakrim - leader of the dreaded Sahhrain warriors.

©2015 Mark Wayne McGinnis (P)2015 Mark Wayne McGinnis

Did not enjoy

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I alternate between Audible and podcasts during the gym and my commute. Typically I start an Audible story and I get hooked and can't stop listening during every available minute. Not this one. I often took breaks to listen to news podcasts and other material. The story was not engaging and often seemed formulaic and stale. I went to listen to continue listening a couple of days ago but realized it was over. I didn't notice that I'd finished and now, just 3-4 days later, I don't even recall the ending.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I did not like the narrator. To me he came across as imitating some sort of 1950s stereotypical scifi story telling style.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

This book continues the Scrap yard ship series.

If you liked the Scrap yard ship series then you will like this book because it picks up where that series left off.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Almost Gave Up

Would you try another book from Mark Wayne McGinnis and/or L.J. Ganser?

The beginning of the book was so bad I almost pulled the plug - the rock people,,, The balance was was better but not great. The narrator can;t do female voices but has a strong talent in everything else.

If you’ve listened to books by Mark Wayne McGinnis before, how does this one compare?

Compared to previous books this one doesn't quite measure up - disappointing.

Was Star Watch worth the listening time?

I wouldn't recommend this book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Horrible!

This book should be flagged as part of a previous series. It is NOT a stand alone book or series. The characters have absolutely no depth are introduced as though you should already k ow them and you are left to wallow through a book with none of the characters having any personality. The setting of the story is widely unexplained and none of the arrangement of the different forces even touched on in the least. This book leaves a reader who did not read something previous mired in questions left unanswered. I presume that this story is based on some setup from the scrapyard series? If so this book should never have been sold as a stand alone as it fails in that regard, triumphantly fails no less.

10 of 13 people found this review helpful

decent narration, story seemed too convenient

no back story on the characters made it hard to follow. I felt like I knew who is going to win before the story even got into it

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Mediocre book

Never felt very excited listening. It also felt full of cliches and unimaginative elements, galaxy unstable after the fall of Rome/Krang, special child who is the chosen one, hallucinogenic tea gives special powers, bad guys are basically pure evil, possession, tough warrior dudes who have thick skin and horns actually called rhinos, guy saves girl who has a dark back story.

And the only character development beyond the savior girl is the captain dealing with balancing his ex wife and his gf.

Not a bad book but not one I'd recommend either.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Pleasant Input

Come for the Watch and stay for the Listen. An enjoyable interlace of characters each with their own feel to them. I was mesmerized at the get go and stayed into it as the plot developed.

Before you buy, know this

Before you buy this book avoid the error I made. This is not the first book in a series. It is a continuation of another series called scrap yard ship. The title did not make that obvious, and There is little effort for set up. Unless you have read the previous seven books, you will not know what is going on, or who anyone is. I was lost listening to this book, and could only discern that the author is apparently a TMNT fan.

Watch your back !

Would you consider the audio edition of Star Watch to be better than the print version?

I think this book would be grand in print as well as audio !!
A great multi-level story !!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Star Watch?

When Boomer, a 10 year old girl, came to the rescue !!! Enhancement shield and all !!

Which character – as performed by L.J. Ganser – was your favorite?

I liked every character in this book, except Lord Sha Creame.
Hannah, Jason, Boomer, Dera, Rickett, and the rest of the cast, had an important part in this book !!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I cheered when Lord Sha Creame, got what he deserved !

The most basic of Space Opera

What disappointed you about Star Watch?

Took 30 seconds to realize how bad the narration was, another hour to realize how little the narrator had to work with. Another second to delete it.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful