Spaceside

By: Michael Mammay

Narrated by: R.C. Bray

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of Planetside, a Best Book of 2018 (Library Journal) 

A military legend is caught in the web between alien intrigue and human subterfuge....

Following his mission on Cappa, Colonel Carl Butler returns to a mixed reception. To some, he is a do-or-die war hero. To the other half of the galaxy, he’s a pariah. Forced into retirement, he has resettled on Talca Four where he’s now Deputy VP of Corporate Security, protecting a high-tech military company on the corporate battlefield - at least, that’s what the job description says. Really, he’s just there to impress clients and investors. It’s all relatively low risk - until he’s entrusted with new orders. A breach of a competitor’s computer network has Butler’s superiors feeling every bit as vulnerable. They need Butler to find who did it, how, and why no one’s taken credit for the ingenious attack.

As accustomed as Butler is to the reality of wargames - virtual and otherwise - this one screams something louder than a simple hack. Because no sooner does he start digging when his first contact is murdered, the death somehow kept secret from the media. As a prime suspect, he can’t shake the sensation he’s being watched...or finally succumbing to the stress of his past. Paranoid delusion or dangerous reality, Butler might be onto something much deeper than anyone imagined. But that’s where Butler thrives.

If he hasn’t signed his own death warrant.

©2019 Michael Mammay (P)2019 HarperAudio

Great Story, Great Performance, Easy but Captivating Listen!

In Spaceside, Michael Mammay manages to craft a sequel that equals the original novel in enjoyment and quality writing. The pace is fast and the plot feels correct for the world built in the first novel.

I also enjoyed the author’s decision to forgo the constant re-telling of the first book so many authors feel is required. “Spaceside” can stand on its own as a novel. There is enough backstory to provide context. However, those that have read “Planetside” will get a much richer and emotional journey.

I also applaud the authors ability to write a novel that seems to ignore genre in the best possible way. Fans of mysteries and Clive Cussler style pseudo military thrillers will find “Spaceside” a great ride that just happens to occur in a sci-fi setting. While Sci-Fi fans will discover a classic sci-fi adventure that harkens back to the character driven masterpieces of the Heinlein era.

R.C. Bray is stellar as usual and brings a layer of emotion to the dialogue that enhances the experience of listening to this novel.

Mike Mammay has my vote for best author.

Spaceside is the continuation of Carl Butler's life after the events of Planetside. It's a brilliant adventure where the tenacious investigator is dropped into another snake pit situation without a clue what's really going on. He peels back the layers and subterfuge and inserts his wildcard into the events in play.

Really, really enjoyable listen. It's elegant, cerebral writing that's so polished you'd never know this is only the second book from Mike Mammay. Butler and the supporting characters are easy to relate to and their thought processes, dialog and actions are completely believable. Whether it's in an office or on the battlefield, you're emotionally invested in the outcome.

And if that isn't enough to recommend Spaceside, there's also the _phenomenal_ narration. Bravo, RC Bray! (standing and clapping) BRAVO! Audible needs to make more stars available to reflect his performances. He effortlessly sweeps you into the story for total immersion yet again.

So if you like smart, fast paced Sci Fi mysteries that could easily double as military espionage, where you don't know where to turn or who to trust, with catastrophic consequences for all involved if you make a wrong move, this is the story for you.

Even better than the first one

Great story and awesome narration. This story was even better than the first one which is tough because Planetside was also great. Really hope there are more stories coming from the author!

amazing

looking at sequels I couldn't have asked for more. this book leaves you with what if's!

Just as Riviting as the 1st Book

Michael Mammay is a new "always buy" author for me. "Planetside" was really good and the sequel might be better. My only problem is knowing that I will have to wait too long for book #3.

Excellent

Mike and RC Bray have once again captured my attention on an interplanetary journey through intrigue, deception and combat. The characters are great and the story flows in such a way that you'll be annoyed to hit the pause button. I can hardly wait for book 3.

great series

cant wait to download the next series to see where he goes from there, great.

Just as exciting as the first book!

If you enjoyed Butler at his Butler-est in Planetside, you're going to love Spaceside! Now retired from the army, and trying to come to terms with what he did on Cappa, Butler is thrown into a world of corporate espionage. With some really nice twists and turns, and Butler's fantastic voice, Spaceside is just as exciting as Planetside, with an added chunk of retrospection that makes it a refreshing sequel instead of just another copy/paste adventure. And my favorites, Plazz and Ganos, return for fun and banter, too!

Like Planetside, RC Bray is the absolute perfect narrator to bring Butler's voice alive <3

A fantastic sequel to Planetside!

Great performance by RC Bray! This is part of the best military sci-fi that RC Bray could narrate! Loved it! Great job Michael!

Another brilliant delivery

Michael Mammay and RCB bring you another awesome tale from the front, complete with corporate espionage in this entry.

Cannot wait for book three. 10/10 would read again.

A Worthy Sequel

Spaceside was a sequel I had hoped for after enjoying Planetside, but had sort of given up on after quite a bit of time had elapsed. Sometimes it goes that way, you read a book with a sequel clearly in the offing and nothing comes of it, I have just such a book in my library.

For some reason, Audible failed to notify me of the release of Spaceside. This seems to happen quite a bit and the notifications I do receive that tell me of new books from authors I like often seem to be ad hoc and random. So, when I stumbled across Spaceside from Michael Mame, I immediately added it to my wish list pending the arrival of my next credit. What makes a good book great, is the addition of probably the best narrator on Audible, R.C. Bray. He narrated the first in this series and so I was very pleased and relieved to find him reading this sequel, too. Hats off to Audible or the publishers to retain narrators across books in a series. Bray has such a great voice, is so fluid, natural and dynamic in his delivery, he could make a shopping list sound cool! That's not to say that mame's sequel is a shopping list, no, not at all I am pleased to say.

Although this second book in Mame's Planetside series seemed to be a long time coming, it was worth the wait in my opinion. I really like Mame's writing, it's fluid, natural and the plot doesn't lack pace. Compliment that with the aforementioned narration from R.C. Bray and you have another winner from Michael Mame and a worthy sequel to Planetside. If anything, now the scene has been setup in the first book, I felt like the story was tighter this time around. Mame has crafted a detective/soldier action story and all I can say is that it works well and brought to life by Mame's excellent writing and Bray's narration.

The only minor aspect that caused some confusion on my part, were references made to the first book, which I had basically forgotten what the key plot points were. A little further into the story and more exposition relating to the first book allowed me to reconnect with the relevant elements.

Only one aspect to this story left me a little disappointed, although only very briefly. I can understand why Mame did what he did, but it felt a little jarring to me as the story came to a sudden end. I started to hear the end credit music and blinked in surprise, not expecting this at all at the point in the story. It felt like the book had another 25% yet to go, but I guess Mame is saving that next part for book 3 in the series, so I can forgive that.

Spaceside is slick, competent and well paced. I look forward to the next in the series , but hope it's not going to take quite so long.

Another cracking military style detective adventure

You jump straight back in with Butler and once again he’s pulled into another case to solve, which doesn’t disappoint. Without giving anything away, I liked how the story built on the first book and took it into an interesting direction. RC Brays narration again is class and makes the book even better. Really looking forward to jumping into the next book in the series!

cannot wait for the next one in the series

I have to say I love these books the author keeps me on the edge of my seat for every single chapter cannot wait for the next one in the series

Great second Book

Great series really looking forward to the next one and as for R. C. Bray One of the best narrators in the business five stars

Book 2 space side

Another home run just as good as the first book planet side. I hope it’s as good or better

Worthy sequel to Planetside

Readers of Michael Mammay's previous book in this series will certainly enjoy this sequel but the first book is pretty much a pre-requisite, since there are lots of references to 'Planetside' which are rather important in understanding the situation and thoughts of the main character Colonel Carl Butler. This novel feels more like a cross between a PI mystery/thriller and a conventional military adventure, which just happens to be set in the context of a future where space travel and planetary colonisation are usual and aliens not too dissimilar to humans exist, rather than typical military sci-fi. There is no exhaustive description of the workings of propulsion systems, or the physics of plasma torpedoes, so if that is what you crave you should seek it somewhere else methinks. Exploitation of the aliens by massive corporations is unsurprising if not acceptable. The characters are well written and the plot is always interesting. The story unfolds at a relatively leisurely pace, not at break-neck speed, but there is plenty of incident throughout. The book finishes with a number of issues unresolved which is a little frustrating, but since there was no doubt that I would be reading the next book in the series in the very near future, that was of no real importance to me, as long as it does not carry on ad-infinitum, though it may be irritating to some readers. This series might suit thriller readers looking for a change of context as well as sci-fi fans who do not regard deep discussion of speculative physics as essential.

Keep Up!

This is fast paced, punchy and with humour. With good narration, what more could you ask for. Well worth the credit and the 5 stars.

Enjoyable and competent Book 2

RC is as good as always, the story isn't up to the level of book 1 but still very enjoyable. Hopefully the 3rd book will put the trilogy back on top.

INVESTIGATIVE SCI -FI AT ITS BEST

Fantastic smooth ride...
This is a read that both the story and narrating match perfectly...
It's not a simple fact that R.C. BRAY is the master but the story and characters are so easy to associate with...
this a review after I read books 1 & 2 back to back and put book 3 in my library 2020...
that said I've pre ordered it and cant wait...
this will be the same review as book 2..

Great story, charactors and setting.

A great space series and one to add to my list of referrals. RC Bray seems to pull off different characters with ease at the same time, never managing to sound like Skippy. Talented chap.