Star Fighter Charlie

The Dragon Mage, Book 5

By: Scott Baron

Narrated by: Gary Bennett

Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

A magic wielding astronaut fighting off an alien invasion with his dragon friend? Charlie thought they might actually pull it off... that is, if Lady Luck decided to play nice for a change. Unfortunately, knowing his fortunes, the odds of that were slim to none.

Could a magic wielding astronaut fight off an alien invasion with just his vampire assassin and space dragon friends? Amazingly, Charlie thought they might actually pull it off... that is if Lady Luck decided to play nice for a change. Unfortunately, knowing his fortunes, the odds of that were slim to none. 

The aliens were coming, that much was certain. What they could do to stop them, however, remained up in the air. Having joined forces with the mighty AIs overseeing the planet and its defenses, at least their toys had been upgraded accordingly. The magic users now had big guns. But against a magical enemy they couldn’t see coming? 

All the weapons in the system would not be of any use. They were screwed. That is, unless they could somehow harness their own magic. That, or perhaps bring to bear something entirely new, spawned not in a distant galaxy, but rather in their own realm.

©2019 Scott Baron (P)2020 Scott Baron

Fun with some darker overtones

What a pleasure it has been to continue with the wonderfully written “Dragon Mage” series by Scott Baron. This audiobook review covers the fifth audiobook in the series, and I can only say that Charlie’s adventures get even more complex and vast as things progress. In “Star Fighter Charlie”, Baron has done an exceptional job of taking a science fiction and fantasy-based series and blending together both technology and magic where one begins to believe them to be equally important. And, in this book, it becomes evident that the master of both of these powerful skills will become the victor; it is the only way to succeed and survive. As with the previous audiobooks, Gary Bennett does a magnificent job with the narration and I can say that I’m happy he has continued to be the voice and personality of Charlie and the multitude of others. If you enjoy great story telling and superb narration, I highly recommend you give this series and listen, you would not want to upset a dragon now, would you?

As with the other audiobook in the series, this one amps up the adrenalin quickly by placing the listener in the heat of battle with heavy action. Although the author includes some decent prologue information early in the book, be aware that one should listen to this series in order or you will not fully comprehend all that has taken place. There are multiple characters and alien races which could get confusing if you have no prior knowledge of previous events. The book does a wonderful job of including various AI (Artificial Intelligence) system along with some very unique alien races. What could a smart toaster do to assist Charlie? You might be surprised when you listen to this story.

Let me say that this book felt vaster and more galactic in scale because many of the characters take numerous jumps to various systems in route to their final destination where they come across many newer and different inhabitants. While a number of others remain back on Earth and the nearby moon base trying to keep things in check. The story forks in to two different parties, those traveling and those not. However, I liked that both groups had important roles to play impacting the outcome of not only themselves but the others as well. It was fun to travel to distant worlds and see new things in one chapter and then be brought back to Earth to see what is going on there.

The other audiobooks in the series were a bit more humorous and light-hearted. Here, we begin to see a darker side to the story. There is a taking of sides including rebels, loyalists, and even some aspects of terrorism woven into the story. We even see the different forces implement FUD (Fear, uncertainty, and doubt) as a part of the campaign to win this ever-increasing fight. Charlie knows that he will fail if he is unable to win over one of the alien species to assist in his goal. What I found interesting was the ever-increasing use of magic and technology from Charlie. In earlier audiobooks from the series, Charlie was all about the importance of technology and in later audiobooks we see him hone his magical stills. Yet, in this book we see him putting both these skills to use, and you will begin to see why it is necessary. Here is what I enjoy most about Scott Baron’s writing, he makes this blending seem effortless and believable.

Like with other audiobooks in this series, there are the regular band of characters which have been with Charlie from the beginning along with some newer races or characters introduced along the way. Another thing I like about the author’s writing is his ability to build close relationships between characters which do not feel forced or planned. We also see how important each individual character is to the story and their required skill for success. Not only do we have the regular banter between these characters, but there are some more serious and emotional moments as well. Charlie and his friends learn the importance of sacrifice and how the many are more valuable than the one. Even though Charlie is the main character, he understands the significance of using all who are willing to fight this new foe, and this even means leveraging a different race willing to be at his side. I do not want to give away too much, but if you are also a fan of Scott Baron’s “The Clockwork Chimera” series, you will start to see a tie-in with Daisy’s timeline and story; what a wonderful surprise.

The audiobook’s narration by Gary Bennett was solid and professionally produced as all of the series has been thus far. The audio itself was clean of any artifacts such as background noise. However, I did notice a few slight audio plugs/edits, but it was not something that took away from the story. It amazes me that Mr. Bennett is able to maintain the many character’s voices over the series, and I would not have Charlie sound any different than he does. I’m always excited to have a narrator stick with a series, so thank you for this.

For parents and younger listeners, please note there is a fair amount of vulgar language in this series. There are also a few crud jokes and light sexual references mixed in. Nothing that is overly inserted into the story line, but it is there. This book in the series does have a few more subjects that may not be appropriate for very young readers (war, terrorism, etc.) but nothing that is not found in many other works of science fiction.

In summary, I found the tie in with Mr. Baron’s other series fun and welcoming. The story is still interesting and felt much larger than previous ones due to the amount of space travel and flashbacks to events on Earth. The narration was outstanding with only a few slight places where edits were necessary. It is a great series and one that I would recommend to people who like a blending of tech and magic in their stories. Well worth jumping in the series if any of this sounds interesting.

Disclaimer: This audiobook was provided at no charge by the author, narrator and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias review

Charlie.. getting better on every book.

Start from book one and get hooked. By book 5 (this one) you will just love it..
A good continuing and evolving story that keeps you entertained.

It's book 5 you should know by now

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

After book 2 in a series really the only thing you want to know from reviews is if there is some major shift, either in tone, narrator, story, etc. The only real reason to want to know is if you should stop reading/listening. You should keep reading/listening. The books are as good as ever, and at this point, we start to get science and magic converging, so it's good times all the way around.

Great series keeps expanding the story universe

Great series keeps expanding the story universe.

If you enjoyed the previous books you'll enjoy this as well.

Enjoyed it!

Kinda like watching a weekly space drama. This was week 5 and now for the next installment of Wonderman Charlie. Fun listen. Thank you author / producers for the audio book and I'll be sure to get the next.

Earth is peril once again.

Earth is safe, all of the invading forces were killed or captured and the portal was sent into the sun where it could not be used. This does not stop the shimmer ships that made it across right when the portal opening from doing their job. Their job of course is to quell all resistance they find in the solar system to pave the way for the rest of the force they assume will be following them. Charlie and his friends must use all of the knowledge they learned fighting their last battle to overcome their new foes. In a battle that crosses many solar systems and involves numerous intelligent lives of all types Charlie and his friends work to keep to save the lives of everyone on Earth and even to try and save some of those that are attacking them.

Good.

I am terrible at reviews, all I can ever say is: enjoyable story and narration.

Perfect book

This book was so incredible. I was on the edge of my seat and visibly showing facial emotions (As my wife was pointing them out to me from video taken while I was listening). I love it and cannot wait to dive into the next.

Action-Filled Sci-Fi With Heart

Star Fighter Charlie is the fifth book in the Dragon Mage series from Scott Baron and Baron isn’t holding any punches. In this one we’re treated to a couple different alien races, a planet hopping chase throughout the solar system, unbelievable selflessness, and so much more.

The “human” elements of all the characters (including the non-human ones) are what really make these stories. The connections that Charlie has made, the connections that his crew and friends have made with each other, the acts of selflessness, the kindness, the love. Those are some of the major reasons that these stories work so well. I won’t ruin one of the major plot points in this book, but it brought a tear to my eye. It was unexpected and honestly awesome.

Star Fighter Charlie was another book full of scenes out of an action-packed Science Fiction movie… with a dragon of course. I realize as I sit here trying to describe the book and talk more about it that it’s really hard to do that without spoiling most of the points in it. I’ll either spoil books 1-4 or the major points that Baron has in this one.

Just know, that if you’re this far in – the series isn’t getting stale yet. Baron is able to write in a way that keeps dragging me in deeper instead of pushing me away. I don’t know how many books are currently written, I do know that I have book six in my audible queue (review coming super soon). But, I definitely want to know what is going to happen to Charlie, but not just Charlie – his friends too. They all mean something to me now and I hope that all of them are able to solve the worlds problems and get home safely. Wherever home ends up being.

I also need to point out Gary Bennett’s narration. He’s been a steady player since this series was first brought to audio – and he’s able to bring each character to life. He performs without going overboard. There is no unneeded drama. It fits with the series and the storytelling inside of it so well that it’s hard to imagine another narrator doing the series.

I used to be a toaster!

I am glad to join Charlie and his crew on their latest adventures. This book took all of the things I liked about the previous stories and ramped it up. There are giant space and ground battles, new alien races, and plenty of trickery and backstabbery, as well. Plus, maybe the author is listening to me because there was just a tiny bit of space piracy. The characters all continue to develop and grow, even five books into the series. The toaster AI is awesome. The narrator does well with this book as well. Overall, it was an enjoyable listen and I’m looking forward to book six.

This audiobook was provided by the author at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Action packed space battles - what's not to like?

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Star Fighter Charlie picks up where book 4 of the Dragon Mage series left off. Having seen off their enemy, Charlie and his assortment of human, alien and AI friends are looking for a break - but of course events don't go according to plan, and so they are on hand to rise to the occasion.

The title gives a clue that this installment of the series is a full-on space battle almost from start to finish, ranging across many star systems, and also introducing some new characters. It's also nice to spend some narrative time inside the head of the bad guy for a while!

Gary Bennett does a sterling job of guiding the listener through the story as usual. The Dragon Mage series continues to be a fun, easy-going and highly entertaining read.

More excitement with Charlie

Just when you think things are settling down a new enemy arrived on the scene. love the AI voice adds fun to it all.

Enjoyable series

This is the type of SF books I used to read in the 80s, Not overly taxing but enjoyable and light.

I would say they a would be better aimed at the young adult market.

I liked the narrator and the books get better through the series.

One negative is that the scenes can jump around a little, and feel that they have been edited down from larger text, e.g. some fights start and instantly end as if a dozen paragraphs have been cut out to shorten the book.

BEST AUDIBLE PURCHASE

SCOTT BARON is a genius... get a bit upset he keeps messing with my favourite characters though lol