The Lost Machine

By: Richard Kirk

Narrated by: Jake Ruddle

Length: 1 hr and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

In a wasteland ravaged by plague, Lumsden Moss steps out of a decaying prison. Armed with a satchel of yellowed notebooks containing the fragile memories of five murdered children, he is determined to track down and confront their killer. Lumsden, accompanied by a stranger, begins a long journey to the ancient City of Steps where he is forced to confront the horrors of the past and present.

©2010 Richard A. Kirk (P)2019 Encyclopocalypse Publications

Interesting World

I found the world and the fantastical things that the characters encountered to be one of the most interesting parts of the book.

A Beautifully Dark World, Short and Simple Journey

I was entranced by the way that Jake Ruddle weaves into your mind the images of this fantastical yet mysterious world that Richard Kirk has crafted. It is stunning, and mystical, and leaves you wanting more.

The plot does leave much to be desired. In all honesty, I do wish it was longer. The journey of Moss and the mysterious stranger is a good glimpse as to the entirety of the setting, the action scenes are the highlight of their journey, but the journey itself is too short and sparse and really does not satisfy my desire to learn more of this world.

The setting has so much potential for it and I would love to see more books found in this setting. Otherwise, The Lost Machine is an intriguing short story that is worth a listen or two.

Great Descriptions and Clear Imagery

The Lost Machine is a tale filled with great worldbuilding and interesting characters. Not heavy with dialogue, but plenty of vivid descriptions that gets the gears of imagination going. I am a fan of this especially with the fantasy genre. Narration is excellent, and there is a clear distinction in the voices of dialogue -nothing too flashy with sound effects or whatnot. This is a clean read with clear narration audio. I highly recommend this audiobook.

The Lost Machine

I thought this was a fun and quirky book. It was short and kept my attention. I expected the ending that I got, but I still enjoyed the journey so I'll take it.

Entranced in a Mystical World...

This piece has so many wonderful little quirks that really fortifies this unique world the listener steps into. I listen typically at standard speed to achieve the appropriate pacing for myself, and I feel it works rather well for The Lost Machine! The narrator is quite clear and engaging.

I feel like there was a bit of a slow start to Moss' journey with the first few chapters, but the rhythm quickly settles in afterwards. The narrative achieves balance with the way Kirk spaces out the high-intensity action scenes between the world building and more lull moments. In addition, Iridis, Buttons, and the Sisters all have really interesting personalities with behaviors that make them feel very lived-in to this reality presented to us. As this story searches for truth and closure, you can't help but be on your toes for all the twists and turns till the end. Worth checking out!

Pretty Nice

Jake Ruddle did a good job narrating this story. I generally listen at 2x speed and every word was clear as day even sped up. The audio isn't always this clear when at 2x so I appreciated how clearly Mr. Ruddle spoke.

As for the content itself I rate it 4/5. It was the classic character A with supplemental character B going on a journey together. Yes it's a tried and true trope, hence the 4/5, but I didn't feel as if there was anything added to the classic formula to put it just over the top.

Bazinga

This is an overall good listen. I was able to visualize everything that was happening. The author told a great story. The narrator did a great job as well. Overall an enjoyable listen. I liked the ending and would be interested in more of this storyline.

Disclaimer: I've been listening at 2x speed for so long anything else sounds like slow motion. My enjoyment of the narrator is based on my listening speed. I only leave 5 stars for books I've listened to multiple times. I'll update my review if I listen again.

I requested this book from the author, narrator, or publisher in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

An Adult Fairy Tale

Lumsden Moss escapes confinement after an outbreak of disease wreaks havoc in Brickscold Prison. He moves across a landscape outside its walls that seems infected with the decayed remains of magic. Along his journey he meets characters who are possessed by strange compulsions, and sometimes even stranger desires. Undeterred he moves onward on his own quest.

Somewhere out there in the broken world is a man Moss seeks. A man Moss blames for the disappearance of children. A man that requires justice to be dealt upon him.


Richard A. Kirk creates an adult fairy tale with The Lost Machine. He weaves a series of strange encounters together as his lead character travels the alien world in his search for his foe. The landscape is littered with peculiar characters, and offbeat encounters. The almost abstract world is eloquently described, but becomes bogged down in its desire to be lyrical. As the story unfolds Lumsden Moss develops no real character, and he doesn’t evolve beyond being an avatar for the audience. In itself this isn’t a problem, but the strange encounters he faces begin to blur and when this happens there’s nothing to anchor the reader and keep the momentum moving.

The Lost Machine is well written, but the overall structure becomes muddled and this weakens the denouement. Ultimately I felt The Lost Machine to be an empty experience despite all the pretty prose. This is not to say I didn’t enjoy it, though this seems a contradiction, but my enjoyment was more academic than entertainment. It was an enjoyment of the moments the novelette presented rather than the story as a whole. I felt an underlying disconnection in The Lost Machine, as if the book was written by a hermit who only had vague impressions concerning social interaction. This does add sadness to the work, a bleak kind of beauty. It also adds a perpetual feeling of disquiet. Unfortunately it also adds the disconnection, and allows the prose to act as much a barrier as a carrier of the story.

It’s an interesting piece, this is certain, and a certain type of reader will probably get a lot out of the tale, but whether this is “entertainment” is questionable to me. But then, entertainment is merely a matter of taste, and your taste probably varies considerably from my own.

Life is a series of nested prisons.

Moss, a teacher imprisoned for killings he did not commit, escapes from his confinement, travelling through strange countryside to search out and destroy the one he knew was guilty. For much of his journey, Moss is accompanied by a bizarre stanger who also protects him.The
And the above in no way conveys the visions and colours, the 'taste' of the story. Visual and imaginative, this is an odd, rather gruesome beautiful, tale, as before the gorgeous cover art.
Narration by Jake Ruddle was well performed, c!early bringing the text to the reader in a. Inclusive way.

My thanks to the rights holder of The Lost Machine, who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy. An unusual short story with some loose ends, but well worth reading

Brilliant Short Story

Richard A. Kirk renders an engaging short story about confronting the past. Lumsden Moss undergoes a pilgrimage to find the culprit of the violent crime of his past. Over approximately 2 hours Richard A. Kirk and Jake Ruddle take you on a slow and methodical journey through a dark and mystical world with plenty of interesting characters.

The narrator (Jake Ruddle) does a fantastic job of bringing this story to life with good pacing and rhythm. Characters' voices are distinguishable without being over the top (Something that can very easily ruin a book for me). Ruddle's voice is relaxing allowing you the listener to become fully immersed in the story.

Overall it was a great short listen however I found the ending slightly disappointing thus:
Overall: 4/5
Performance: 5/5
Story: 4/5

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