The Moon Dwellers

The Dwellers Saga, Book 1

By: David Estes

Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Will Damron

Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the Earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms. After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, 17-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family while being hunted by a deranged killing machine named Rivet, who works for the president. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of who has dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the president and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to follow Adele mysteriously as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents' true past. In their world someone must die.

©2012 David Estes (P)2015 Podium Publishing

Fantastic Dystopian!

I started reading this as an ebook and just couldn't get into it. But on audio? It's a different book entirely!

This is one of those books that would make a fantastic movie. The action gets going and never lets up; there are chases and bombings and shootouts and escapes and outlaws and even a cannibal! Oddly, none of these situations are out of line with the plot, which is just a girl trying to put her family back together. They've been arrested and split up between prisons and an orphanage, and she's determined to break everyone out and reunite them. In the process, she picks up a couple of friends and crosses paths with the President's son and his right hand man.

The characters here are all well-developed and even endearing. Adele starts out seeming like a total badass, but her compassionate and sensitive side quickly emerges. Tristan is just a likable guy. He's not too pretentious or overly noble in his view of his father's politics. I think the best part for me was that neither of these two characters took themselves too seriously. When reading this previously in print, some of the dialogue and inner monologues seemed forced, like the book was trying too hard to be funny. But on audio, Julia Whelan and Will Damron are able to give such personality to the characters that they translated as having somewhat of a wry wit. Rock, who is Tristan's sidekick and best friend, has some of the best lines. This isn't a funny book at all, but there are occasional moments when things are a bit lighter. And that's good, because with all the serious action going on there needed to be some high points.

Rivet, the big bad guy, was somewhat underdeveloped. He was evil - but why? We really knew nothing about him other than he was the head of a goon squad and a brief physical description of him. What was his motivation? There was also a band of outlaws who were never really well-defined. They popped in and out of the story very briefly and it seemed a shame, because the leader had a lot of potential to be an interesting side character - maybe one that could have been morally gray. Maybe we'll see him again in the sequel.

Overall this was a great read, made even better by the narrators. They gave the story presence and atmosphere - I was right there in the damp caves with hard stone floors and utter darkness. The audio was really, really well done.

These two narrators also do the sequels in the series. I can't wait to move on to the next book.

Really Enjoyable Listen! Fabulous Narration!

Narration - Julia Whelan, Will Damron - Kick Ass! Both really good narrators. Great Pace, Great Drama, Loved it!

Really enjoyed this book. It's a dystopian society, futuristic, complex, has lots of suspense and danger at every turn. There's a bubbling romance and a whole lot of unanswered questions!

We're also introduced to a bunch of interesting characters that I really enjoyed getting to know. Adele is our heroine and she's strong and sassy. Tristan, the son of the president is a skilled fighter and he's drawn to Adele (even though he's never spoken with her) but you have to listen to the book to get all the deets about that!

I can't wait to move on to the next book in this series to get answers to more of the unexplained happenings.

A really great listen!

That is all!

Great!

Where does The Moon Dwellers rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Dwellers Saga by David Estes is a great twist on the popular dystopian genre where a group of teenagers must save their world from a destructive civil war. The story takes place in the unnamed future, following a disastrous catastrophe that left the surface of the earth uninhabitable.

The series begins with two main character who have never met: Adele, a young girl in the Moon Realm who has been sentenced to life in prison because crimes committed by her parents; and Tristan, the eldest son of the President of the Tri-Realms. After just a passing glimpse these two knew that they had an instant attraction, but how can a prisoner possibly meet the most popular young man in the Tri-Realms? All Adele knows is that she has to escape the prison and find her family who was separated at the hands of the authority. She does not even know if her parents are alive.

After a series of events, the two teens find each other along with some other trusted friends – Tawni, Cole, and Roc. They set out to find Adele’s family – a difficult task as the Moon Realm is being attacked by the Star Realm. Plus they are being hunted by the authorities since they escaped from the prison. Will the authorities capture them and sentence them all to life in prison, or even death? Are the rest of Adele’s family members still alive? Can she save them?


Meanwhile, Tristan’s father is up to his usual evil antics, creating havoc and disparity throughout the Tri-Realms. He sends the military out to capture Tristan and Roc while also creating unrest between the Lower Realms. Will Tristan’s father completely destroy the Lower Realms? Can Tristan escape the armed men that were sent to capture him?

If you like series like Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), Uglies (Scott Westerfeld), Divergent (Veronica Roth), or Unwind (by Neal Shusterman), you should definitely read the Dwellers Saga! David Estes has created a great new series with original characters and an addicting plot that will leave you wanting more. Fortunately there are several books in this series including Moon Dwellers, Star Dwellers, Sun Dwellers and the Earth Dwellers (to be published later this year) all tell the story of the brave young teenagers who fight for the good of humanity. Additionally there is a sister-saga called the “Country Saga” which ties into the Dwellers series.

Falling in Love All Over Again

This review can also be found here: Confessions of a Bibliophile

Reviewer: Caedy Eries (aka. Martha Devnew)
Title: The Moon Dwellers
Author: David Estes
Format: Audio
Publisher: Podiium Publishing

Narrator(s): Julia Whelan, William Damron

Overall: 5/5
Performance: 5/5
Story: 5/5

Review:

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I have fallen in love with this book by David Estes, and to be able to get a chance to hear one of my favorite books performed I jumped at the chance and was honored to be one of the ones selected for a free copy of this book. Adele and Tristan are two of my favorite characters.

Listening to Julia Whelan voice Adele, I feel she is absolutely the perfect fit for this spirited young woman. The life she brings to Adele, from the very beginning of her story, to the fight and her interactions with her two friends Tawni and Cole has me riveted. It only further cements that Adele is by far one of my favorite female leads.

Listening to William Damron as the voice of Tristan, my heart beats a bit faster. He is very, very close to the voice I imagine Tristan having (I've read the book on Kindle as well) and fall in love with him all the more. Strong, dedicated, and at the complete opposite social spectrum from Adele, yet he fights in the war between the tri-realms just as Adele does.

Tristian and Adele are tied together from the very beginning and their backgrounds are different, their stories unique. One fights to get out of the Pen and ultimately learn the truth about her parents past...the other seeks to make something good out of his troubled life, leaving the lavish lifestyle of a sun dweller and the President's son.

I highly recommend reading this book in audio, together Julia Whelan and William Damron bring a new dimension of life into this post-apocalyptic dystopian tale spun by David Estes. Decidedly a five star read.

Incredible Story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this series and author whole-heartedly to readers of all ages because it is a compelling and poignant story.

Which character – as performed by Julia Whelan and Will Damron – was your favorite?

David has created so many wonderful characters for this series that it is next to impossible to pick a favorite.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

and risk revealing a spoiler?

Any additional comments?

This is one of those series where you almost dread finishing it and having to say goodbye to the characters as they have become almost like good friends that you will sorely miss.

Narration fell flat.

I like the idea of the book, it seemed like a great story. As I got into it the plot was "ok" (said with a shrug) and the narration was seriously lacking. When there are two Narrators I anticipate one person to do certain characters and the other narrator different characters so the the voices are the same. Instead the woman made voices for all the characters when she was reading and the man did the same, which made the already struggling story hard to get into.

The male narrator sounded bored and oddly too old to read for Tristan. In my mindI know he was supposed to be late teens, but his voice keep making me picture a much older man.

The female narrator was better, but still didn't put much life into the characters. When characters were supposed to be upset, heartbroken, it was still just read in an almost whisper.

Some parts of the book were brilliant, but others just had you thinking "really?". Everything was too coincidental and explained away as fate.

I stopped listening with 1.5 hours left, I was so out of tune with the book that it was just becoming background noise.

Great double performance!

This audiobook was so adictive! I absolutely loved the double performance and thought both Whelan and Damron were great, with pleasent tones, dicerning voices for each character , and a wonderful storytelling hability. The first person narrative used the best of those traights too.
The story itself was also very good. This is the second David Estes book I read. His incredibly fast paced and unique stories and his fantastic hability to balance humor, action and heart wrenching moments make for a delicious read.
Ok, there are some problems too. Sometimes there are inacuracies in the plot, and not everything that happens seems possible. But I love his characters (mostly because his teenagers never annoy me), and if you can get past that I bet you will too. There isn't a single character I don't like, as a matter of fact. They are equal parts funny and deep. When they do something stupid, they know it. When something implausible happens, they know it too. They are smart and sensitive, and they made me root for them the whole way through.
The world building was done beautifully (although in the first chapters I got slightly confused with the amount of information), and I thought the idea was incredibly original. If you enjoy Dystopia and Urban adventures, you should definitely give this a try.

Amazing... Enough said!

I loved reading this book as an eBook, but it was even more amazing as an audiobook! I could have easily sat and listened to this for the entire 10 hours, and found it frustrating every time I had to switch the story off to go and do something else.

David Estes does an amazing job of creating a world you can easily imagine yourself in, with fantastic descriptions, and characters that will make you want to fight by their side, hold them while they cry, and laugh with them when something good happens. Add to that the way the narration brings those characters to life, and you have the recipe for an amazing listening experience.

Dystopian Tale

I bought this on sale maybe six months back and finally got around to listening to it. I didn't realize this was a YA book. The sweet spot is 12-14 year old girl. Although middle school boys will enjoy it as well. But its a slog for adults. Its simplistic and predictable. I upped the speed to 1.4 to get thru it.
Narration was perfect as well, presenting the teens realistically.

Wow

I got this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much when it came to this book. I thought it was just going to be yet another Hunger Games, Divergent, or and I have to say I was really pleasantly surprised. When it comes to young adult books it seems that most of them miss the mark and simply copycat story lines but this was a great book. It does borrow elements from other stories but it twists them in new and refreshing ways. I loved how well written the characters were and the emotions that were portrayed.

As to the audiobook portion of my review: The narrators of the book were amazing. I usually end up finishing the audiobook by reading the last few pages (I read faster) but the narrators kept me coming back for the story. I could really feel the characters come to life through their voices. I'm definitely going to have to find other books narrated by them.

David Estes created a great book that combines young adult, slight romance, and adventure all in one. I'm definitely going to have to recommend this book to everyone looking for a fun new read. I only wish that it was available at Barnes and Nobel (not through the market place) because this would definitely be my next staff recommendation.