The Girls from Alcyone

De: Cary Caffrey

Narrado por: Kristin James

Excerpt:

Sigrid stood in the center of what had once been the academy grounds on Alcyone. Now, all that remained were the burned and collapsed remnants of the school and dormitories. Smoke still wisped up from the blackened piles of lumber and debris. The stench was raw and acrid, threatening to overwhelm her sensors.

"There's no way Independents did this," Christian said. "It looks like a whole battalion landed here."

Frantic, Sigrid scanned the area again, searching desperately for signs of the girls, but nothing turned up in her sensory modes. She tried calling out with her comlink. If they were in range, they'd pick up the signal. But there was still nothing. Not even the orbital satellites showed any sign of the girls, or survivors for that matter. Whoever had done this had been brutal and thorough.

Sigrid knew she would kill them.

Synopsis:

Sigrid and Suko are two girls from the impoverished and crime-infested streets of 24th century Earth. Sold into slavery to save their families from financial ruin, the girls are forced to live out their lives in service to the Kimura Corporation, a prestigious mercenary clan with a lineage stretching back long before the formation of the Federated Corporations.

Known only to Kimura, the two girls share startling secret - a rare genetic structure not found in tens of millions of other girls.

But when their secret becomes known, Sigrid and Suko quickly find themselves at the center of a struggle for power. Now, hunted by men who would seek to control them, Sigrid and Suko are forced to fight for their own survival, and for the freedom of the girls from Alcyone.

©2011 Cary Caffrey (P)2016 Cary Caffrey

I liked it and I didn't

I feel like this was a fantasy or even urban fantasy writer attempting scifi. a lot of the science and tech feels like there wasn't a lot of thought put into it, and the military aspect was so blase that it irritated me. There is no sense of military structure and no dicaplin. I can't imagine, for instance, a warship allowing it's crew to get drunk on board not to mention providing copious alcahol as a matter of course. Plus, the girls don't display any real strategic or tactical training. I mean their first battle simulation there's no talk of what to do they just sprint off into the woods and at the first sign of trouble they panic and blunder.
I liked the idea behind this story however. the corporation run government and conspiracy makes for interesting thought. and if the main character had been an urban fantasy or even hapless scifi hero instead of a supposed supersoldier I would have enjoyed it much more thoroughly.

Space opera of growing into a trained mercenary

What did you like best about The Girls from Alcyone? What did you like least?

Like best: By the end of the book, it was exactly what I wanted from my space operas. I am curious to see if the next book keeps up the pace that this book ended on.

Liked least (but many will enjoy this): We see the girls grow closer as they are trained and suffer from the abuse of other girls bullying them. I found the beginning slow with this growing of the girls. The beginning is all about Sigrid and Suko at the academy and how others were cruel to Sigrid and how Suko came to her rescue. Other than Sigrid not wanting to be at the academy, I don't know what the direction of the story was. I guess that they are growing into and trained to be mercenaries? But things start to pick up after this.

Which character – as performed by Kristin James – was your favorite?

I do love listening to Kristin's voice(s). Each character truly feels as though they have their own voice and personality as I listen to her bring the characters to life in voice. Oh the music leading in at the title, wow. Seems to fit the image of the cover. I really liked it! There are a few accents in the story as the girls are from different places, a Kiwi one for Suko and Kristin voices it true. The little extras that are added to voice effects is a bonus for me. Kristin does this like when in water and water muffles talking as it covers a characters mouth.

Any additional comments?

I found the book a space opera with the direction of Sigrid living a life. It was a soft story as everything Sigrid comes across in troubles, she easily dominates and works through it. Things seem to be easy for her, like the bully in school and how she just disappears. Then taking over a small vessel that was trying to capture her. Sigrid is powerful, but it doesn't seem like there is a challenge out there for you. I didn't have the worry of danger going into these scenes and for that didn't feel invested with Sigrid.

When things start to go sideways for Sigrid and others like her, that's when the story became more interesting for me. There is a good bit of action in trying to take Sigrid and others along with how they react to stay free. This is the last third of the book. It feels as we get a lot of growing up and friendship and enemy bonds made in much of this book. For me, it's a bit slow in moving for all of this even though it's showing the world as a vast place and setting it up for the troubles that will come. I found the book moved better after the halfway point of the story.

amazing work

love the story and settings. this universe is so familiar and the characters are wonderful.

I absolutely Love it, I need more!!! Seconds plz!!

If you could sum up The Girls from Alcyone in three words, what would they be?

Compelling, Intoxicating, and very addictive!!

What did you like best about this story?

I love how the author set the mood in the prologue... In that moment, you feel as if fate itself grabbed the young heroin... But, watching that grip slowly slip away was all the more riveting... Or should I say "Blown Away", one climax after the next.

What does Kristin James bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She does such an amazing job bringing this book to life with her array voices for the characters... I couldn't image if it were a monotone reading of this book. she played a big role in me enjoying this piece so much I believe... Like icing on an already delicious cake.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"The Girls from Alcyone" - Breath Taking, not to mention Drop Dead Gorgeous.

Any additional comments?

The romance is nice and tastefully done. I really liked it to be honest, you get to actually watch or rather listen as a kindred bound grows between the two girls... First as an innocent love...eventually that love is re-discovered. I can't wait to read book 2 and 3, in fact I plan to read book 1 again. Why? I just feel as though I don't want to start any other novel untill I read book 2 and 3, In other words, "Hurry up, pay day" lol

These Girls Rock

I was pleasantly surprised by this story. The narration was very well done and I could not stop listening till the book was finished. If you like science fiction you have like this.

Fantastic!

What made the experience of listening to The Girls from Alcyone the most enjoyable?

The voice actor does a great job with distinguishing characters and bringing you into the middle of the action.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely. The world and characters have been crafted so well, the audiobook is nothing short of compelling.

A wonderful story

This book was such a surprise. Sci-fi can go wrong really quickly, but Caffrey managed to put me in the world quickly and keep me there. So many surprises as well. The characters are well developed and you empathize with them early on. It makes for an enjoyable read.

Kristin James did an excellent job narrating. There are so many women in the story and many of them have similar names. James managed to make them all unique so you could easily tell them apart. Plus, she had excellent pacing.

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

Good story

Any additional comments?

Read previously, now is listening to.High frequency pitch background is so uncomfortable. Just want to let everyone know.Will listen to all of this series definitely.

Fun Sci-Fi

What made the experience of listening to The Girls from Alcyone the most enjoyable?

A fun space opera with lesbians and romance, plus shit blows up. I can't complain - it was awesome.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Too long for that, but it was engaging and the narration was spot on, which makes or breaks audiobooks for me.

a lot of twists and turns to the story

The Girls from Alcyone by Cary Caffrey is the first novel in the series by the same name. In the 24th century on Earth, the world is controlled by corporations. Trying to escape financial ruin, many sell their children to mercenary companies, such as the Kimura Corporation. Sigrid is one such child. Her parents sold Sigrid to the Kimura Corporation for the money, but little do they know that Kimura sought Sigrid out because of her genetic make-up. This genetic make-up will allow them to alter her into an enhanced killing machine. Sigrid comes to Kimura scared and the runt of the group, leading to a lot of bullying. But as the girls at Alcyone develop and grow, they begin to realize that they are pawns in a greater war amongst the corporations. Sigrid and her friends must figure out a way to live as free women untethered to and unsought by any corporations.

This was an action filled story that followed the girls at Alcyone, the Kimura research facility, from the time they are girls to adulthood. Caffrey does a good job adding in parts throughout to highlight the relationships between the girls as they grow older. I especially liked the later parts of the story when Sigrid is on her own acting as a mercenary. That is the time that she is the most strong and smart and becomes her own self and a leader. There is a nice mix of getting to know more about the characters and action. However, even though the story had all the elements that I love in a story, somehow I didn’t love the character of Sigrid, I felt like there was still distance between the characters and the reader, and that I wasn’t completely engrossed in their lives. This might be because of how much time the novel covers. Additionally, the science aspect was glossed over considerably. Overall, there were a lot of twists and turns to the story and filled with adventure.

The narration by Kristin James was good. She was able to consistently capture the voices of the characters. There were some accents that I didn’t like, in that they felt a little off, but overall the characters were distinguishable and consistent. The production quality was good as well. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes stories about rebelling against the controlling population and a story full of powerful women.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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