The Dane Maddock Adventures

Volume 1

De: David Wood

Narrado por: Jeffrey Kafer

Looking for a modern-day version of Indiana Jones? Dane Maddock is your man! This box set includes the first three books in the Dane Maddock Adventures series plus a bonus story.

Dourado

A sunken treasure. An ancient Biblical artifact. A mystery as old as humankind.

In 1829, the Portuguese brig Dourado sank off the coast of Indonesia, losing its cargo of priceless treasures from the Holy Land. One of these lost relics holds the key to an ancient mystery. But someone does not want this treasure to come to light. When her father is murdered while searching for the Dourado, Kaylin Maxwell hires treasure hunter and former Navy Seal Dane Maddock and his partner Uriah "Bones" Bonebrake, to locate the wreckage and recover a lost Biblical artifact, the truth behind which could call into question the fundamentally held truths of human existence. Join Maddock and Bones on a perilous adventure that carries them from the depths of the Pacific to ancient cities of stone as they unravel the mystery of the Dourado.

Cibola

Dane Maddock returns in another unforgettable adventure! When Maddock rescues beautiful archaeologist Jade Ihara, he joins her on asearch for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. Cibola takes the listener on a journey across the American southwest, where the ruins of the mysterious Anasazi hide deadly secrets, and foes lurk around every corner. Maddock and his partner "Bones" Bonebrake must decipher clues from the fabled Copper Scroll, outwit their enemies, and be the first to unlock the secret of Cibola.

Quest

Dane Maddock is back. Deep in the Amazon, a university group encounters a horror beyond their darkest nightmares and vanishes without a trace. Called upon to undertake a daring rescue mission, Maddock and Bones must trace the true path of Percy Fawcett's final expedition, but the secret that lies at the end of the search might be even deadlier than the enemies who seek it.

©2015 David Wood (P)2017 Gryphonwood Press

Full of action

The first 3 stories are good & full of action. Makes you think of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt but not quite as detailed in character development. You will wonder why it’s important for Dane Maddox to be a marine archeologist, there’s not much in the stories about maritime recovery. Interesting biblical connections. Overall an ok listen, but the writer could flesh out more details of the characters to go along with the action sequences.

Need an Adventure Fix and on a Budget? Check...

Need an Adventure Fix and on a Budget? Check This Box Set Out!

Book One: Dourado

This is part of a bigger box set that I have out but I wanted to break the reviews up into book-by-book since that’s how I do all the other ones. I’ve read a few other books in this series and the other series related to Dane and Bones – but went back to the beginning with Dourado. It was cool to go this far back to see what Wood used to do as an author (how he’s improved and the “winning” moments that he’s kept in most of the books.

I usually call out the narrator later – but there was something that Kafer did in this book that I don’t think he does anymore.  When a phone call (or radio call, I believe) happened – he would distort the audio a little to make it sound like it was coming from a radio/phone. I absolutely loved that. I don’t know if everyone would – but in books like this, it was a really nice effect without going overboard.

Dourado was an interesting story.  I couldn’t really tell what the “treasure” part of it was going to be.  There was a part that I thought “okay, I think the book could end” but there was another couple of hours.  It was nice, and kept me on my toes! The lead up to the ending was perfectly thrilling without being overdone – a classic Wood tactic.

Overall, I thought that Dourado was enjoyable and definitely a great lead into this box set.

Book Two: Cibola

Cibola introduces us to Jade Ihara (a staple in later books) and it didn't go the way that I expected it to. Leave it to Wood to write me a story (especially since I'd read further books in this series) that just blew my mind when it came to Jade. This book did revolve around Jade quite a bit but it was still definitely the Dane and Bones show.

Their back and forth banter and ability to play off of each other in any situation really make these books for me.  They always crack me up and Cibola was no different.

The story (and legend) in this was awesome.  I've heard of this one but the way that Wood writes it out.  The people and organizations that he picks to be the antagonist are so topical it's ridiculous (even years after this was written and recorded).

If you have enjoyed any of the other Dane Maddock stories or if you're just a fan of Adventure novels - Cibola will definitely be a winner for you.

Jeffrey Kafer is the perfect voice for this series - I know that I've listened to quite a few since these original books came out, but Kafer just crushes it.  He's able to voice Dane and Bones in just the perfect way.  Especially the way that they play off each other.

Book Three: Quest

As anyone who reads my blog or reviews know; I love Jeffrey Kafer’s narration.  He does such a great job narrating that you forget that you’re listening to a fictional book.  He’s just able to bring the characters alive and make you forget you’re reading altogether.

I had to take a day or two after reading Quest to actually come up with a description that wasn’t full of hyperbole.  I enjoyed this story so thoroughly that I was in a book hangover once I finished.  About midway through, I realized that this was the third book in the Dane Maddock series, and quickly and frantically searched for more of them, to quickly realize that I already own some of them. (Yay me!)The story was just fascinating.  Mixing in old world history with new world adventure.  Think the Da Vinci code mixed with Indiana Jones.

The adventures that Maddock and crew take will bring the reader to numerous places both in the cities and deep in the Amazon.  The search and discovery parts made for a really fast-paced fly by the seat of your pants kind of adventure.

If you’re at all into an adventure that’s mixed with some amazing historical research — Quest is definitely for you.  I will be quickly checking out the other Maddock stories soon.

Bonus Short Story: Aztlan

This short story was, I believe, less than 30 minutes long.  But wow did it ever make me feel. I won't really go into what happened since it was such a shock (and it's super short and easy to read).  Just know that you are in for all the feels when you start and finish Aztlan.  It was such an interesting short story that grabbed my attention from the beginning.

Can’t get past the performance.

From what I can tell, the story seems like it would be good, but I’m just not a fan of this kind of reading. It sounds like a news broadcaster and a movie promo guy combined forces and read a book. It’s obviously fine for most people, given the rating, but the performance is 75% of the audiobook for me. This one is way outside of my wheelhouse.

Light and occasionally annoying.

Action and adventure mixed with history and this is a decent entry into that field. The negatives come from my finding Maddock mostly an ass. His relationships with women are high schooling and superficial. Female characters are stereotypical at best. Overall characters are one dimensional. The books are a decent listen but for more depth and better overall stories I have other go to authors. All that being said, the books aren’t bad and the action is plentiful. If you’re looking for deep character development in addition, look elsewhere.

disappointing... sophomoric...

I wanted to like these books but... where to start?...
The characters: the two main characters have potential but they have not really been very well fleshed out. They lack depth. The female characters are worse, by far. One other reviewer mentioned the female characters as 'one dimensional'... well said. You get the impression that the sum total of the writers experience with women was in high school and even then he wasn't really paying much attention. The female characters are so cliche that its hard to take them seriously. Perhaps this writer should team up with a woman writer to write his female characters dialog or at least start paying attention to the women in his life.
The story: like me, this author clearly likes history and exploration and clearly likes taking the road less traveled and exploring alternative history. All good. However, for it to be good fiction it has to be plausible (even far-fetched works if the rest is there ‐ great/good dialog, likable/memorable characters, etc.). These books push well past plausible into the realm of the absurd and with the addition of one-dimensional characters and insipid dialog you are just left feeling like you are wasting time on something pointless.
The narration: he gets some of it right but fails miserably with the female characters. It's just an average performance at best. He should study the masters of the trade like Patrick Tull reading Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series to hear what a truly gifted narrator can do with first class writing. However, this reader is working with pretty poor material - so its not entirely his fault.
Bottom line, these books (I barely finished the first two) come across as rough drafts based on some notes taken while researching some potentially intriguing quirks of alternative history that have been loosely cobbled together to form the basis of... what? a fictional narrative? A far-fetched theory of human history disguised as fiction? Who knows... a disappointment in any case.