Seaswept

Seabound Chronicles, Book 2

By: Jordan Rivet

Narrated by: Ray Greenley

Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Sixteen years ago, a volcanic eruption changed the world forever. A small group of survivors escaped on a cruise ship called the Catalina ahead of a choking cloud of ash. Since then, they have been surviving at sea, drifting until the land becomes safe again.

The adventure continues in Seaswept, the heart-stopping second book in the Seabound Chronicles.

After her triumphant return to the Catalina, Esther begins developing a new way to produce energy. Meanwhile, the exiles from the Galaxy Flotilla, including the enigmatic David Hawthorne, struggle to find their place aboard the Catalina.

When Esther makes a major breakthrough, David offers to sell her technology for supplies and alliances for the Catalina. They dock with the Amsterdam Coalition, where David's bidding war soon takes a dangerous turn.

How far will Esther go to rescue him? She's still not sure whether she can trust anyone on the post-apocalyptic ocean - even David himself.

©2015 Jordan Rivet (P)2016 Jordan Rivet

Swept away again with Esther and her crew

What made the experience of listening to Seaswept the most enjoyable?

It was great to catch up with Esther, David, and the other characters again after finally getting back safely to the Catalina in book 1 and to follow along as they once again tried to get everyone back safely to the Catalina.

What did you like best about this story?

It was interesting to watch Esther and David's romantic tension. Esther's hesitation was very relatable and by the end of the book it was satisfying to see the direction in which it progressed.

What about Ray Greenley’s performance did you like?

Greenly has a pleasant reading voice and brings something different to each of the characters. I was impressed with his attention to detail especially in affecting foreign accents such as the Australian character in the book.

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

I found this book was a good accompaniment to my daily commute. It had a good pace and was something to look forward to on the trip. There were several times where I just had to stay in the car after I'd arrived to finish the next section and see what would happen.

Any additional comments?

It was fun to see what was going on with the crew from Seabound that I listened to previously. It was great that all of the major plot points from this book were wrapped up by the end, but still has me looking forward to book 3.

Great series so far!

Esther's apocalypse at sea continues! Book two has quite a bit more action than the first. Esther creates a game changing new technology that improves sea travel without having to rely on oil. Definitely a game changer!

The romance between Esther and David gets a bit complicated and the tension between is obvious to everyone but them.

If you haven't read the first book yet I highly recommend listening to it first. This book is fine on its own but you'd be missing a good piece of the story. I loved book one and book two is great as well.

A friend asked if this is something she could listen to with her son. Absolutely! No sex and no swearing. Instead of swearing, they use words like salt or rust. This series is great for all ages!

Another great performance by Ray Greenley. He does an excellent job keeping each of the characters sounding different, including a few accents.

Great series so far and I'm looking forward to book 3! I did hear the narrator mention at the end of book two that there was a prequel to listen to called Burnt Sea. I don't see it on Audible yet but I definitely want to find it!

Salt! This was a fun book.

The first book in this series felt really different to me. It basically told the story of a ship that was surviving by drifting from place to place trying to trade. They met up with another group of ships and things went south as I expected they would. The second book, Seaswept had a ton of action in it and picked up right where the first book left off. The story is so engrossing I kept thinking that it had been hundreds of years since the volcanic eruption that changed the world forever.

Esther is back and better than ever. She's just as confused as she was in the first book -- maybe even more. But attempts to save the day on numerous fronts. Seaswept introduces some new characters and new ships into the mix too, which added to my enjoyment.

The story flowed extremely well and there didn't feel like there was a piece missing. Most if not all of my questions were answered. And, like any good story, a few more came up towards the end. I mentioned that I felt like it'd been more than 100 years since the eruption and I honestly kept thinking that. I think part of it is because they don't use all the curse words. Instead, they are substituted by words like "salt" and "rust", which, to be honest, added a ton of charm to this book without making it too gritty.

Sure, some of the romantic scenes were a little childish and seemed a little far fetched, but the main character is supposed to be in her early 20s (and I'd assume a tragedy like the volcano eruptions and growing up on a ship, knowing nothing different could stunt your love-life a little). I think that Rivet wrote this book with a lot of ages in mind and kept it safe enough to be approached by almost anyone, so I didn't let that bother me.

Ray Greenley narrated Seaswept and absolutely crushes it. He allowed the already fast-paced story to flow so smoothly that I almost forgot that I was reading. More than a few times I sat in my car in the parking lot waiting for a scene to finish or a chapter to end.

Overall, if you enjoyed the first book in the Seabound Chronicles, then Seaswept is definitely for you. If you enjoyed the movie Waterworld (I really did) and unique and different post-apocalyptic stories -- this series should be a nice change of pace.

I'm really curious to find out as much about Esther's backstory (Rivet teases the prequel) as much as what is going to happen next.

I was given a free copy of this book which has not affected my review in any way.

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horde a life-changing technology or to share it

Seaswept is the second novel in the trilogy called The Seabound Chronicles by Jordan Rivet. In a world where extreme weather events have pushed civilization to the sea, people have survived by living in a variety of ships or barges. After saving her home, the cruise ship Catalina, Ester, the ship’s mechanic, is focused on solving a critical problem: fuel. If she can develop the technology to generate biofuel, the Catalina would be free to move about the ocean rather than drifting and only sparing their fuel reserves for specific voyages. However, once the technology is developed and works correctly, the turbulent question of whether, if, and how to share it emerges. Caught in a variety of political factors, Ester is determined to risk it all to save the man that she might love, David Hawthorne, when the politics surrounding this fuel source get out of hand.

Seaswept continues the sweeping adventure from the first novel. This is a fast-paced story that is filled with a lot of action and gray-areas as different characters fight to do what they believe is right. The powerful question of whether to horde a life-changing technology or to share it with everyone, and the consequences of decisions made regarding this question drive this story. However, as with before, it is really a story about people trying to survive and maintain both healthy relationships and their humanity. It’s easy to become invested in the characters' lives and want to scream at or cheer with them. As this is the second installment, the world is already well fleshed out and the main characters are well known, which makes it easy to jump into the story. Also, the complexity of the world makes it possible to layer motivations of main characters, especially Esther, which is nice. Even some of the supporting characters make a brief, but lasting impression. However, there are so many new minor characters that it was hard to keep track of them.

The narration by Ray Greenly was also well done. He does a great job with voice characterization. I’m not sure if this is the voicing or the writing of the characters themselves, but all the young characters sound exceedingly young and naïve, which makes this story feel like a young adult novel, which it is not necessarily. The production quality was good. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes unique post-apocalyptic and action & adventure stories featuring a female protagonist.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

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Just keeps on getting better

TARGET AUDIENCE: Young Adult and adults.

PROFANITY, SEX & VIOLENCE: None. Despite being a post apocalyptic book, this book is free from significant violence. Really a well written book, that is enjoyable and I am comfortable with my teen and pre-teen children reading.

STORY LINE: Post apocalyptic book that takes place at sea. This is book two in the series but can be read independently. Truly enjoyable story that contains some mild romance as two young adults seek to save their friends from individuals who care only for themselves. Believable story, as the apocalypse is the eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera, something that will eventually occur.

NARRATOR: This narrator is amazing. I listen to all my books on increased speed. He is especially good at always keeping the unique characters’ voices distinct. Prosody and flow of his reading is always superb. I love listening to him.

OVERALL: Absolutely recommend this book. It is terrific.

This audiobook was given by the narrator (after begging and pleading with him to let me have another one of his books, he obliged) however this truly was a terrific book.

An okay sequel...

Struggled to start and finish this book. Not sure if I will read the 3rd book yet. Will probably take a break and then come back to it. Like the premise of the series but could be a better execution.

Seaswept 2

This is a good series.The writing could be beter.The people are one dimensional.I like the engenuity of the characters in making new communites for themselves.Ray Greenley is a good narrator.He spits venom better than almost any narrator I know of.lol I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

Good story good characters.

Good strong intelligent female main character . This story continues a believable premise with action and suspense.

If only

The main character lived up to the rest of the book. Or to the rest of the characters. Or maybe if one of them smacked the girl upside her head,that would have done the trick. I've rarely seen a more self pitying chick in my life. It's like we were supposed to forget how much David genuinely tried only to be basically called trash in the last book. I kept expecting her to have some sort of revelation that you can't tell a guy to go away every time he looks at you and then feel like he's the one not trying hard enough, but nope. Her emotional immaturity makes women look awful in a way that makes it super hard for girls who really DO want a guy to leave them alone and that really spoiled the otherwise excellent storyline and characters for me.