Sentinels: A Distant Star

The Sentinels, Volume 2

By: Van Allen Plexico

Narrated by: Pete Milan

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Having saved the world from the sinister Warlord, Esro Brachis wanted nothing more than to relax and work on his wondrous suit of armor. But then the superpower-adapting robot attacked...And alien soldiers landed in his back yard...And a strange force hurtled him across the galaxy, with only a beautiful alien starship officer at his side. Come to think of it, the whole situation actually might not be so bad - if only she didn't want to kill him!

Continuing the saga following the momentous events of Sentinels: When Strikes the Warlord, the second Sentinels volume brings more action, more adventure, new enemies and allies, and a cosmic-time-travel leap across the galaxy!

©2007 Van Allen Plexico (P)2017 Van Allen Plexico

Critic reviews

"This kind of fun doesn't come along every day." (Pulp Fiction Reviews)

"There's a grandness to this book. You need to be reading the Sentinels." (Percival Constantine, author of SoulQuest)

Great superhero romp!

The story was great! You can really tell that Van enjoys writing these and he pulls from multiple superhero sources to get his inspiration. It took a while for me to get used to the speakers voice and tone. It was almost as if he was going for a sense of the dramatic, but it was coming off more like vocal fry in my ears. Overall, though, absolutely wonderful story, even better than the first, and I can't wait to get hold of number three!

More fun with the Sentinals

Plexico continues his superhero series with the second instalment, A Distant Star. I am happy to report that the the wonderful balance he strikes between likeable characters saving the universe, and his tongue-in-cheek writing style that doesn't take itself too seriously yet never fails to entertain, was handsomely met. This story picks up where the last one left off, continuing marvelously with each character's development, as well as introducing us to new ones. If you like superhero stories, or like a fun filled story that is more light hearted, this series is highly recommended. The narration nicely done. There has been some previous reviews with the first installment from people who didn't like Pete Milan. I think he is the perfect narrator for this story. He gets the story and delivers it the way it is meant.

The battle never ended, Sentinels must be vigilant

This book pretty much picks up right after the first one, and as much as I loved the first book, I really thought book two was even better. It really improves in places, and seems to flow a bit better. This story has a real Fantastic Four vibe to it, with the return of a new Warlord, an alien race coming to Earth, and the cosmic feel that pervades everything. If book one belonged to Pulsar, book two is Esro all the way. And that is good, as his character really shows development and growth.

Here's the bad news, the team is in some trouble. One member is injured, one missing, one dealing with personal issues, and another that may or may not be who he was anymore. Add in that the team's funding and support is about to vanish they may not be able to pull off the hat trick necessary for them to save the day this time. Plexico truly seems to have come from the Stable of Marvel or DC in those great years of the mid-seventies to mid-eighties. He has taken the best concepts from that era and applied it to this modern team of neo-heroes. I do not mean to pigeonhole him, either, his writing is not limited to the ideas from those great old comic books, but really pays homage to them while added to that legacy. I think of him as a modern Starlin (Warlock) or Stern (Quasar), but with the team dynamic.

There is more than enough action and intrigue to go around, with the story weaving around Erso and Mondrian. There is also a great lead for the third book, with the Warlord concept making any victory the team has pyrrhic until the stop it at the source.

Again, Pete Milan makes this fun, and he is so good at his job that I could actually see myself as a kid listening to him on one of those power record stories. I just needed a comic book in my hands and a beep to go off to let me know when to turn the page. So, he clearly pulls this narration off like a master. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.


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Declining Quality

I received a review copy of this audiobook.

I rather enjoyed the first book in this series, but this was a marked decrease in quality. Inconsistency in characterization, clichéd story beats, and lack of an overall plot are just the most obvious failures.

It’s not the worst book ever. It’s just very disappointing after the first book in the series.