Uncaged

The Singular Menace, Book 1

By: John Sandford, Michele Cook

Narrated by: Tara Sands

Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

Number-one New York Times best-selling Prey author John Sandford and Michele Cook debut a high-octane young adult thriller series.

Shay Remby arrives in Hollywood with $58 and a handmade knife, searching for her brother, Odin.

Odin’s a brilliant hacker but a bit of a loose cannon. He and a group of radical animal-rights activists hit a Singular Corp. research lab in Eugene, Oregon. The raid was a disaster, but Odin escaped with a set of highly encrypted flash drives and a post-surgical dog.

When Shay gets a frantic 3 a.m. phone call from Odin - talking about evidence of unspeakable experiments, and a ruthless corporation, and how he must hide - she’s concerned. When she gets a menacing visit from Singular’s security team, she knows: Her brother’s a dead man walking.

What Singular doesn’t know - yet - is that 16-year-old Shay is every bit as ruthless as their security force, and she will burn Singular to the ground, if that’s what it takes to save her brother.

©2014 John Sandford and Michele Cook (P)2014 Listening Library

Should have left the YA knock offs to Patterson

What disappointed you about Uncaged?

This could have been yet one more James Patterson junk novels where a great author lends their name to another writer to push out commercial tripe for young adults. Teens unite to save the world from evil corporations. Oh come on, hasn't this been done to death. Sandford is one of my all time favorite writers. May be that's why this apparent sell out was so hard to swallow.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Kevin J Anderson's Dark Between the Stars

What didn’t you like about Tara Sands’s performance?

Voice has the quality of nails on a chalkboard. After getting used to the irritating tenor, Sands does to a good job of "telling" the story instead of reading it. Maybe its just the teenage girl screaming and wanna be hip team talk that rubs me the wrong way.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Is spite of everything else, the book did take a worn out plot and move it along at a Sandford worthy pace and it is well written. I just wish I hadn't known where it was going before I got half way through the book.

Any additional comments?

I hated it when Patterson decided to franchise his creativity to turn out mediocre dime store novels. I hope this series is Sandford's only venture down that path.

Nothing like typical Sandford

What disappointed you about Uncaged?

The narrator is terrible. Sandford's other books have great narrators who improve the story line.

What was most disappointing about John Sandford and Michele Cook ’s story?

Since they are a married couple, I thought the book would have much of the type of story he writes, however this looks like a book she wrote and he put his name with her to sell it.

What didn’t you like about Tara Sands’s performance?

She is one of the most irritating readers I have listened to.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The reader was so terrible that I didn't finish the book.

Doesn't read like a Sandford book

Very disappointed. The tone of book and writing didn't feel like Sandford had much to do with writing it. Maybe he just sold his name.

Very Disappointed

What would have made Uncaged better?

It was over the top. A little less constant animal cruelty (And human) and a little more story would be more what I expect from John Sandford.

What was most disappointing about John Sandford and Michele Cook ’s story?

I like John Sandford. His books usually have a little humor, some good one liners and a compelling story. If his name hadn't been on it I wouldn't have bought it. This just didn't measure up.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was good.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Uncaged?

That whole part with the beached whales. It added nothing except to make you feel bad. She could have found her brother another way.

Any additional comments?

I know he is newly married, but John Cook needs to keep writing on his own.

Incomplete ending requires second book

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Finishing the book instead of requiring me to buy the sequel and not informing me this was part 1 of a two or 3 part series.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Part 2 if if ever comes out

Would you be willing to try another one of Tara Sands’s performances?

Yes, she was great

What character would you cut from Uncaged?

None

Any additional comments?

Yes, let us know next time that this is the frist part of a 2 or 3 part series. And that the story does not resolve itself in part 1.

Good but not great - it takes awhile to get into

Any additional comments?

Seems geared towards a younger audience than the Davenport series but it was pretty good once I got into it. I will get the next one when it comes out.

Yawn

I just couldn't get into this story or the reader. I gave it a good shot. I'm deleting 😂

SANDFORD AND WIFE TEAM

What would have made Uncaged better?

MAKE IT MORE FOR ADULTS - SANDFORD STYLE - READ BY FERRONE
LET THE WIFE WRITE FOR TEENS - UNDER HER OWN NAME.

Would you recommend Uncaged to your friends? Why or why not?

NO IT'S FOR KIDS - NOT HONEST TO USE SANDFORD REPUTATION ON SUCH A BAD PIECE OF WORK HOPE SHE CAN COOK BETTER THAN SHE CAN WRITE

How could the performance have been better?

ITS FOR KIDS AND SOUNDS LIKE IT

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

DISAPPOINTMENT - EXPECTED SANDFORD QUALITY. MISREPRESENTATION.

Any additional comments?

SEE IF TEENS LIKE IT.

Great

Loved it. Was upset when it ends so abruptly. Now I have to get the next one.

good story

finished this book. it was good - a YA story. it more young people were the main charaters rather than YA -

I stopped in the middle - thinking I would wait to the next one so I could go straight to the next book. But decided to finish it.

I enjoyed it worth a read. though I would not call it YA

Just not up to John Sandford's usual quality

Hugely disapponting. The plot is predictable but padded out with awful gratuitous animal cruelty. I wonder if this is aimed at a teen readership because it so juvenile in its character, improbability, and development. The narrator is very fluent but her voice has a jarring quality which makes it hard to listen to for any length of time.