The Cassidy Chronicles

By: Adam Gaffen

Narrated by: Jane Weatherstone

Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Welcome to the world of 2113. The country has shattered into 10 squabbling nations, and the solar system is on the edge of colonization. Technologic wonders abound. Yet, it's not unlike our own. People meet, fall in love, face assassination at their wedding - well, perhaps not.

Meet Aiyana and Kendra, Cass and Ken to their friends, a genius physicist and a retired movie star with a mysterious past. They live quietly, get along with their neighbors, don't have problems at work. So why did they have to run for their lives from their wedding?

Travel with them across the continent as they search for answers, make new friends, face daunting challenges, and discover unexpected enemies. It's a ride you don't want to miss!

©2020 Adam Gaffen (P)2020 Adam Gaffen

Cassidy and Kendra

This is the first time I have listened to this author’s books. I loved it! The story is a fast paced dystopian sci-fi. The story is set in 2113, it is interesting and entertaining. The characters are well developed. At times, I could see the story unfold. It was not perfect. I felt there were a couple of slow spot, and an overemphasize on certain abilities. The story was easy to follow, and a pleasure to listen to. I will look for more books by Adam Gaffen. I received a free copy of this audiobook from StoryOrigin, and am leaving my honest review.

Great Action Thriller

This was my first experience with Adam Gaffen's work, and the story flowed from one action filled scene to the next, with little downtime. Aiyana and Kendra were characters that pursued their own dreams. They were brave, courageous, and determined. I liked that although the book was in the LGBT genre that the sexual descriptions were limited to some kisses and some suggestive language but not graphic in content. Jane Weatherstone's narration was good, and her performance kept my attention. I was given a free copy of the audiobook, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

Espionage SciFi Thriller!

This was a fun, action-filled, espionage science fiction story. Kendra, Aiyana, and Derek are about to embark on a plural marriage. It’s their wedding day in the lovely little town of Los Alamos in the high desert of New Mexico. Then things go horribly wrong and they are on the run, accidentally getting separated from Derek and having to leave him behind. Cass (short for Aiyana Cassidy) and Kendra both have secrets and those secrets have messed up their special day.

It’s a long chase, the entire book. They must stay at least one step ahead of those that hunt them. But this is hard to do because they have more enemies than they know. Kendra has an old car, a Bugatti, that she’s upgraded to manage the normal high speeds expected from vehicles in this near-future world. There’s a lot of pop culture references too, mostly scifi shows. While many of these gave me a little chuckle, sometimes I felt the story was a little heavy handed with them as it took me out of the story.

The story takes us from NM to Louisiana and back to NM. Maybe there was some time in Los Angeles too. I lost track. The characters get separated again at some point and then betrayal happens and the two must figure out how to get back together to fight their enemies. Along the way, they pick up a new ally, Mac. She’s super organized, speaks a mile a minute, often gets lost on long tangents, and has some useful computer skills. She really compliments Kendra’s no-nonsense level-headedness and Cass’s brilliant but sometimes airy personality.

While I really like that a good chunk of this book happens in NM, there’s one little quibble. Near the end, our heroes decide to come at a problem from two directions. But they had some imaginary road from Taos to Los Alamos. Currently, that road would drop you off on the same road from Santa Fe (which is the route our second set of divided heroes would be taking). The story talked of limited ways to get to Los Alamos, which is true, but totally ignored the Jemez road while inventing from new, direct road from Taos to Los Alamos. Just my little quibble since I live in the area and drive these roads monthly.

Anyhoo, the story threw in one more twist near the end, which I hadn’t seen coming. Yay! Exciting for me, even as it threatened our heroes. But all turns out for the best. The story finishes with satisfaction for the heroes. The epilogue was a little long but it set things up for book 2. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Jane Weatherstone did a pretty good job with this story. For the most part, she kept all the voices separate and distinct, though sometimes they did kind of meld into 1 voice when two or more characters were talking rapid-fire at each other. Her male character voices could use a bit more masculinity. There was 2 different pronunciations for Aiyana and I’m still not sure which is right. The pacing was good and Weatherstone did a great job with portraying emotions and nailing humor. There were no tech issues with this recording. 4/5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am exceptionally happy with this audio book.

An excellent story that really deserves five stars. This book is well written and enjoyable.

Enjoyable listen with some minutiae

This was a collection of three books. I enjoyed the author's description of a world we may face in 100 years. It was realistic and relatable. He was able to draw me in with the mystery of what was to come, and while I would say there were some parts I found unnecessary, I found the listening enjoyable. I had some difficulty keeping up with all the "nations" under what used to be the USA and the conflicts/differentiation of each while the duo was on the run.
Without giving away the plot and details. Be prepared to enjoy at least a few hours of slow and mildly eventful time.
I think the author had a great time snickering about what the reader/listener would feel when we were introduced to Mac. She hurt my brain but LOVE her! :)
Kudos to the author for making this such an empowering book about women. I abhor any book that portrays women in helpless "damsel in distress" situations. Not for this couple and nor for their team. Strong, capable, badass chicks! It was quite pleasant to see how these women worked together, mourned together, and fought together.
Jane Weatherstone - Great narration, and yes, she did work her heart out on this one. Multiple women and men, and a fast-paced narration to boot. While overall, it was a great job portraying multiple women, But I found a few to be cringeworthy. Her tone for Cass kept increasing and making each sentence sound like a shriek. I had to turn the volume down. Still, enjoyed her overall narration.
***This audiobook was gifted to me for my honest review.

I learned many effective things from this audible.

I loved this action-packed book. It captured my attention quickly and held it to the end.

Wow

A wild ride from start to finish! I love their beginnings and can’t wait to follow along on more adventures!!!

one of the best

Love his books. Great mystery, great character, a great listen. Still a good book .

A great story

I love the nods to Montana. A few cheesy parts but they were still enjoyable. Love the lgtbtq additions too

There are LBGT characters

I did not know beforehand that the couples were lesbian and gay. Had I known I wouldn’t have requested to review. It just isn’t my cup of tea. That being said the premise of the story sounds great and I’m sure I would have enjoyed it with different couple pairings. The narration from what I heard is good. If LBGT characters aren’t an issue for you definitely give this series a go!!

I was provided a copy of this to review.