The Arrival

By: Adair Hart

Narrated by: Michael Pauley

Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

Jake Melkins is a few months away from turning 21. By the Seceltor Empire's laws, he will have to go to a breeding camp, or directly into slavery. Neither choice appeals to him. All this changes with the arrival of a space-and-time-traveling being known as Evaran at the space-station-turned-rest-stop that Jake lives on.

To make things complicated, Greecho, the slaver who abducted Jake as a kid, has arrived at the station. He and his crew, along with his 22-year-old human pet, Kathy, are about to go on a slave run to Earth.

Evaran has decided to interfere and free Jake and Kathy. That decision will lead him to Earth, where he will need to deal with the consequences.

©2016 Adair Hart (P)2016 Adair Hart

Everan has a soft spot for humans!

Remember that old 70's show Kung Fu, where Caine travels the old wild west with nothing but a pack and a stick? (Loved that!) Well mash that up with some Starman vibes, and a dollop of Dr. Who -- (and maybe a bit of Lost in Space) -- and you have some idea of this new series.

Everan is a man, (but not a human man), who has been alive for 500,000 years. He has a belt full of tech, and a time traveling spaceship, complete with a robot companion. At least part of the time, he's busy catching criminals and dispensing justice.

He's clearly an entity who's seen it all, done it all, (and wasn't particularly impressed the first time). He isn't moved emotionally, but is measured and steady in his responses when faced with danger, the way someone of his vast age should be. But he isn't omniscient.

In this one, he rescues a couple of human slaves from nasty alien slave traders, playing a minor con that results in the female slave being rescued. The way it's written, Everan doesn't appear to know what the consequences of his actions might be, and that "anything can happen" note added to the weird, moody tension throughout the book.

The author has written in a spare and minimalist way, with little description provided for characters or scenery. That consistent lack of prosey description provided a sort of mental 'green screen effect,' which allowed me the freedom to decide how everything looked -- which was a fun exercise for me. (I don't know if that was intentional, but if it was, it was kind of brilliant.) Others may prefer more detail.

So far, I'm definitely interested in continuing and have begun the 2nd book which is really good, too. I hope this premise lives up to it's potential, and maintains the alien-ness of it's main character as the series progresses. I'd also like to see Everan become a little less bumbling and absent minded when it comes to the danger his friends are in. A little less human, full stop. Either he's this long lived superior being, or he's just another dope with fancy gadgets who has to resort to brute force when things get tense. (Personally, I'm not interested in the second choice.) It would be far more original if Everan had a big brain.

The reader: Michael Pauley is new to me, but I thought he did a great job with the material -- until he came to the dreaded action scene at the end of the book. At that point, he became over-emotive and read the material WAY too fast. His performance highlighted the lack of description and the spare descriptions of the characters, despite his valiant efforts to instill some excitement. Still, I'd happily buy other books narrated by him because, overall, I think he's good.

All of the characters are well served by this reader, and the dialogue is great. So is the pacing and the tone of the book. And Everan has a strangely innocent POV that I found intriguing -- and most important, it kept me listening.

For a two hour book, that's impressive.

Highly Recommended -- at least for this first book. (I'll let you know about the 2nd!)

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Loved this prequil

Loved this prequel! I have not read the following books, this can be a standalone short book. It was reminiscent of Dr. Who, and I thoroughly loved listening to the book. It is appropriate for young teens, with no sex or language. The story immediately grabs you. I was pleased with how well the author developed the characters in such a short period of time. Following the listening of this book, I am absolutely going to read the rest of the series!

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com."

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A Captivating Teaser!

I haven't listen to book one or two in The Evaran Chronicles; however, after listening to this prequel, I'm definitely interested in listening to the other stories in the series.

The Arrival is a well written short story that introduces us to harsh world from another galaxy where humans are captured, and treated as a commodity. The author really did a great job developing this world, and creating unique characters that are both likable, and some that are not so likeable.

This teaser gives a glimpse of Evaran, who's different, but tuff. I really liked his character, and it sparked an interest in me to listen to the other stories about him.

Michael Pauley's performance as usual is awesome! He really does a great job portraying different types of alien beings!

"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom dot com."

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

A great Sci-Fi story that's not over the top!

From beginning to end, The Arrival was amazing. It's compelling and the pacing is just right. This is Sci-Fi done right. A powerful being sees the opportunity to make something right and helps, for nothing in return... just because it's right.

The characters are well explored and have distinct personalities that are easy to tell apart, in large part due to the amazing narration.

I would absolutely love to hear more by this combination!

This book was provided free in exchange for an honest review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Eagerly anticipated and well worth the wait

Evaran's back story revealed to some degree. Wonderful character. Great world building...galaxy spanning yet flows without the need for in depth explanations, similar to Star Wars in that sense. Narrator does a great job with the story. I look forward to more tales of evaran. I received this audiobook from the author narrator or publisher for free via audiobookblast in exchange for an unbiased review

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A fun start to a great series!

I really enjoyed the intro to this series! A quick introduction into the world of Evaran! Definitely helps getting into the other books.

Good prequel, somewhat rushed.

I received this audiobook for free from the author / narrator / publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

As far as prequel stories go, this one is much better than the usual fare. This is not like most other prequels stories that publishers force authors to write, due to fan demand. This one actually fits nicely into the the beginning of the book 1 of the series.

That said, the sequence of events sounded rushed. There are rough edges and the story doesn't quite flow naturally. That doesn't make it a bad book though. The back story is good and prepares you for the books to come.

Awesome start!

This is like Legends of tomorrow & a bit of Guardians of the galaxy rolled in to one. Exciting, entertaining and I’m completely hooked.
I can’t wait to learn more about Evaran and all of the characters he’ll be meeting.
Narration was excellent.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator.

Love the History

I love this series. Evaran decides, apparently on the spur of the moment, to free two human slaves from an intergalactic slave trader. The slaver isn't happy about Evaran's decision and plans to do something about it and to recover his 'property' in the process. This was interesting history for The Evaran Chronicles and explains how Evaran becomes aware of earth. I only wish it had gone into more detail about who Evaran is and where he came from. It did explain what happened to his first mobile artificial intelligence friend. And I hope to see more of Kathy and Jake in the future.

The narration was superb and I enjoyed listening though I did listen on 1.5 speed which as perhaps a little too fast in some parts of the book.

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! and am leaving honest feedback about the quality of the material.

One of the best prequels I have read…

If you are looking for a unique, innovative, and well-written science fiction story that includes time and space travel, aliens, enslaved humans, distinctive technologies, and a mysteriously calm and soft spoken character called Evaran, then “The Arrival”, the prequel to the “The Evaran Chronicles” should be your next book to read. The author (Adair Hart) does not simply craft another “aliens meet humans” story in this prequel; not at all. Instead, Mr. Hart tells a deep and complex tale in a very condensed book containing 89 pages or just shy of 3 hours for the Audiobook edition; excellently narrated by Michael Pauley (the same narrator of the entire Evaran series of books).

Although the book is a prequel to an existing three-book series, it can stand on its own and in my opinion is well worth the price in any format. The book is provided free of charge (Kindle version) to those who are subscribed to the author’s mailing list; per the book’s Amazon page. As a disclaimer, I have not yet read the other books in the series so my review is solely based on my knowledge found in this book alone. However, I will say that once I finished the prequel, I wanted dive right in to the series and discover what kind of trouble and adventure Evaran, along with his companions, will have.

The book opens with a human (Jake) working with his “father” on a distant spaceport that is more of a rest stop for various travelers. To me, it seemed more like a truck stop or dinner for space ships. A bit dirty and somewhat broken down. Jake is scheduled to be a breeding slave when he comes of age soon. We are introduced to a mysterious human-looking stranger (Evaran) who arrives at the spaceport asking for details on a planet called Jake knows as Earth. Evaran is quite fascinated with Jake being a human in this distant part of space and Jake is quite interested in this stranger’s seemly advanced technology. During their encounter, a slave ship and crew pays the station a visit while heading to earth to pick up another allotment of slaves. Evaran’s plans begin to unfold and the reader is treated to a delightful story consisting of many twists and turns.

I found the book to be very engaging, easy to listen too, and the story well-paced. As stated earlier, even though it stems from a mash-up of various story lines from other science fiction books, it felt unique and different from anything I have read. Michael Pauley’s narration of the book was flawless and his voice enjoyable. He could voice the book’s multiple characters without issue and his voice is what I would expected Evaran to sound like. It was relaxed, smooth, and confident until someone got him angry, which took extreme effort and did not happen often in this book. I noticed no audio artifacts while listening to the book and the volume level was consistent. Everything one would expect from a professionally produced audiobook.

Disclaimer: I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

Few mistakes in story but great as usual

Shame about the storyline mistakes but great story as always. Hopefully will be more adventures coming from Evaran.

A nice introduction to this wonderful book series

This book was given to me free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

This is a great introduction to the series giving a little background knowledge and teasing you into Evaran's world.

A great reading by Michael Pauley providing a wonderful balance across characters.

A short audio book that leave you wanting to know a whole lot more.

A good short story

Who was your favorite character and why?

Evaran is a good-hearted hero who tries to take the peaceful approach to any given situation, but he is capable and more than will to use force when necessary.

Any additional comments?

A good start to the series, and I am looking forward to book 2.

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com.