The Demons of Kor-Lir

The Sleeping Legion, Book 0

By: J.R. Handley

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 2 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

A lethal orbital defense platform. A squad of green Marines. A silent alien killer. Who dies next?

2441 AD. A quarantine platform in the Rakasa system goes quiet and a squad of freshly minted Marines are sent to investigate. The blood soon flows, but there is one Marine who has the bravery and cunning to take on even the most lethal hidden foe. 

Set 125 years before the events on Tranquility that sparked the creation of the Human Legion, The Demons of Kor-Lir is a standalone novella and introduction to the Sleeping Legion series.

©2018 J.R. Handley (P)2021 Podium Audio

Oh the horror, the horror.

Long trip: check
Audible piped into stereo: check
Science Fiction book qued up: check
Interstate speed cruising set: check
Commence playback... ( **Blairing Alarm bells**)
DEAR GOD... It's... NOOOOOO! Turn it ooOOFF!
He's back. Dear GOD He's back...
But How?
It's...( Whining wimper) it's Kafer... it's that sci-fi murdering, smash your phone, curse Audible and the universe ...KAFER!
... "SKIPPY! Please kill me. "
" Are you sure Joe? "
" Yes Skippy, make it stop"
"Just jerk the steering wheel hard to... wait. do you want to hit a bridge abutment and explode or fly off a cliff so you can curse " He who shall not be named's" agent on you way to oblivion?"
"WHAT EVER IS MORE PAINFUL!" , "Make it happen. "
... but I'll miss you Joe...
..."How about I delete all Of..." HIS" material off your devices?...I'll even throw in a rail gun shot on the Audible compound. we can't let the contamination spread. "
"Skippy I want all contaminated devices shot into the sun while being nuked on the way!"
" D E A L !"
" This is going to be AW..Some!"
"Joey, HOLD MY BEER."
Joe was later found curled into a ball whimpering, "Never again, never again. "

All redshirts must die ... boringly

Two hours naming space marines, then killing them in short order, with no back story and a few military tropes thrown in (Crusty Sgt dresses down newest member? Check. Idiot who charges in guns blazing dies first? Check. And so on). No explanation/detail of tech, world politics or motivations of the good or the bad guys. Made up profanity like dwantnet and kreshling, plus somewhat familiar fr@cking and shy!te. Weirdly frequent use of Viking-style names and mythology, like Thridwolf honoring the Majesty of Jumilitar. And a ten second quick!e that comes out of nowhere at the end. Kafer’s usually good for military action books, but he can’t save this snoozer. If this was written to hook me into the series, it had the opposite effect.

Needs a new narrator.

Someone please explain too Mr. Kafer how pronounce “Sabot” . It is pronounced Say- Bow. Not sa-bot. If you are going to write a military themed novel then the person who is too narrate it should at least have the very basic military verbiage vocabulary.

Bad horror movie

I understand that this is a prequel but it reads like a bad horror movie. Like when they made the Doom movie or Pitch Black. While this universe sounds amazing, an undertone of humanity being defeated and absorbed into a greater galactic community. Though the constant random killing and bare minimum of information makes for a rather bland listen.

Not sure how I feel about this one

As a Book 0, this story may not show the true skill of the author. Or, it might. One thing I do know, I'm not a fan of the narrator. His pacing, delivery, and tenor are distracting and take me out of the story. I'm going to give book 1 a try and we'll see how it goes.

not entertaining

the writing didn't flow. much abuse among the ranks. I liked the sergeant at first but lost interest . there was no chemistry among the characters , no humor , no fun . the naration was blah but that was due to the writing.

A Fitting Prequel

This was a well-written prequel to all the other books of The Sleeping Legion series. It puts a number of things in perspective in such a way that gives a sweet realization - especially about Lance and his Obsidian sword, Zena, and Captain Grimgerde. Definitely a good read.

Author can not remember his books backstory

Good stand alone story, but when read incongunction with the other books in the series the backstories do not match up.

the hero of the story is basically a moron who is liked and as such gets promoted. he ultimately saves the day by not running away and doing his job. the great discovery he is credited for which saves his life is not even his but was given to him from his intelligent computer.

if you can listen for free go ahead but don't pay for any of the series. not worth the money.

Interesting Prequel

You can definitely tell that this is setting up details for a story that was already written, and is best suited for those who want more information of the beginning of the story.
That being said, I did enjoy it. It told a story of suspense and horror that explained how someone who is clearly a main character later in the series becomes who they are.
The tech was intriguing and the descriptions were done well, not bland or boring imo.

I am curious about the rest of the serious, though skeptical about the MC’s view of women and the way he talks about them. What that might mean in future books for how women are portrayed. Are they whole characters with goals and motives and growth? Or are they simply tools to please the male MC, there only to lift him up or support him?

Entertaining

The narrator took a little getting used to as his tone was… strange (and the way he said “womb” made me gag) but otherwise this was an entertaining enough listen.

Generic story in a military setting

Utterly forgettable and trivial story. The author lacks storytelling chops. You could find the story in any Marvel-comic. I mean that it is similarly calculatingly clichéd and absolutely predictable throughout.

I think I’ve already forgotten about it and moved on. Maybe this would work as a introduction to mil-scifi/ quasi space opera, or perhaps as adolescent lit (I find ‘young adult fiction’ a very non-descriptive term).

The one saving grace is the narrator who makes the most if awful material.

Consider yourself warned.

Unexpected

Short. Gritty and unexpectedly satisfying. I have not come across this raw kind of military yarn before...looking forward to the next one. The narrator is perfect for this sort of story....

To many chapters

The author needs a lesson in English and the difference between chapters and paragraphs I have come across another author who writes in this manner and I have. Never read another I only read this book because I had read the waking legion and thought this one would be as good. I feel cheated and short changed in this travesty of of a. 30 + chapter book.Stephen

too much detail to track..

there is so much detail to track, it is difficult to remember who is who, where they are, and what is going on. rather simplistic military sci fi shoot 'em up. could be entertaining if you love this sort of thing. perhaps for the young, new to military sci fi drama...?

Weak story poor character development very cliché

I like a nice space combat storey, but this one lacked any real plot interest, relying on jargon instead of plot. It was very linear, the characters where very one dimensional. The narrator was quite good, with his dry performance which matched the story.

I doubt I will bother going forward with the series, but will look out for the narrator.

not bad

it took me a will to get into the story. But enjoyed it by the end

Military Sci-fi Short Story

An interesting audible story in that in not sure I would have read this if it wasn't for the narration. It's how I'd imagine an American soldier trekking the story of an incursion into a space station using only military jargon. I think I just about managed to follow and look forward to a full book as this was a prequal.