Uncommon Purpose

The Hope Island Chronicles, Book 1

By: PJ Strebor

Narrated by: Keith Michaelson

Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Following the bloody war between the Athenian Republic and the Pruessen Empire, an uneasy peace has settled over the region of space known as The Tunguska Fault.

The Telford family's independent trading vessel, the Belinda, is captured by Pruessen slavers and the crew forced into a life of brutal servitude. Their desperate bid for freedom succeeds but a tragic price is paid.

Years pass and Nathan Telford, fighting the nightmares of his past and yearning for revenge, joins the Athenian Navy. His first posting is aboard the warship Truculent, patrolling the northern quarantine zone beyond which lurks the Empire.

Answering a distress call from a beleaguered freighter, the routine mission becomes a desperate fight for survival. The Pruessans are once again testing the defenses of the Republic and this time they have technology far in advance of the last war.

It is left to Nathan, three untried middies, and a disgruntled petty officer to try and avert a looming disaster.

With their high-tech weapons rendered useless and facing overwhelming odds, Nathan risks everything on a brave, hastily conceived gamble.

©2015 Tickety Boo Press (P)2015 Tickety Boo Press

Slow start worth it!

Slow start developed into a good listen. Looking forward to the next one.


This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Excellent Military Scifi

If you could sum up Uncommon Purpose in three words, what would they be?

Just totally awesome

What was one of the most memorable moments of Uncommon Purpose?

The time Nathan had growing up on the "ranch" or whatever were actually some of my more favorite parts

Have you listened to any of Keith Michaelson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, Keith did a wonderful job of maintaining a balance throughout the narration - he managed to match and evoke the emotional content of each scene while continuing to engage the listener

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Uncommon Purpose: The Hope Island Chronicles, Book

If you could sum up Uncommon Purpose in three words, what would they be?

It is, as if, this book was written by two different authors. The first sixteen chapters or so, read like some “Space Opera” series of the late 60’s. DANGER! WILL ROBINSON! DANGER! “, tune in next week same time same channel. It is full of hyperbole with two dimensional characters and every cliché imaginable. It is certainly not difficult to tell the “Good Guys “from the “bad Guys”, the White Hats, from the Black. A little of this holds for the remainder of the book, but not much.
The main issue, that detracted from my enjoyment of the book were some labels that were used, perhaps quite innocently, that have emotional and political impact for many. For example: Athenians for the Good Guys, Pruessens for the bad guys, Franco for the grey, ambivalent, in between, the ambiguous reference to “The Family”, etcetera. It is as if we carried all the mistakes and conflicts of human history to the far reaches of the universe. The good guys have no faults and cannot tell a lie, whereas the bad guys have no redeeming qualities, and are the epitome of EVIL. (sigh)
The plot and story line are formulaic, but as they say, if it a[n’t broke don’t fix it. The book is fun and entertaining and worthy of a read. I am looking forward to the further adventures of Nathan Telford and the gang.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for
an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com."

Fantastic!!!

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

He really brought the story to life.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

This book is really a 4.5. I wish we could do half ratings. Love books that can bring out all the emotions while including tons of action. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

Best SciFi I've come across in awhile

I can't understand why some thought this book started slow. I was hooked immediately. Held me rapt from start to finish. Brilliant SciFi/Action. Fell in love with the characters and the story. Space battles, a villainous enemy, military and political battles. This book has it all.

This narrator has become one of my favorite. I think I'd buy a book just knowing he narrated it. One of the best I've come across. Wonderful performance.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

A little of everything

Ok, so I need a love story in a story. I was so relieved there is one here. Makes it so much more human to me rather than just a bunch of action. There's tons of that though! My husband and I listened to this together on a couple long drives. Fantastic narrator! Wow! Gave me chills at certain parts. I don't know how many different voices there were but I recognized them all when they came on. Kinda like a scott brick, but deeper voice and more expressive.

Don't buy this book if you like, long, boring, slow plots. BUY THIS BOOK if you want a great narrator to bring an awesome story to life, fast plot, multiple climaxes, and depth.

Military, Revenge, Patience, Awesome Listen

If you could sum up Uncommon Purpose in three words, what would they be?

Exciting, Tactical, Brilliant

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nathan was my favorite character. He came alive through the listening, he was fearful. The telling of his story at the end just made him more human. Loved this character and the risks he was willing to take.

Any additional comments?

I truly enjoyed this book and was sucked in immediately. I will be looking forward to listening to this again as well other books. Thank you for sharing.


“This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”

Hard-core military SciFi

I received a free copy of this audio book in exchange for a honest review.

I'm about half way through the story and enjoying it immensely. It's classic "battle against the evil empire" SciFi. Our hero is a boy whose space-faring family is enslaved by the Austrian Empire when he is seven. Some of his family stage an escape, only to crash land on a plague planet -- he is the only survivor. Now he's training as a soldier with vengeance on his mind.

If you like the military SciFi genre, I seriously recommend this one.

Worth your time - really good story

Any additional comments?

.5 stars
Interesting, Entertaining and Enjoyable

Revenge, redemption, secrets, guilt, family honor, hate and love, along with action, suspense, good vs evil, space battles and so much more all woven into a pretty darn good story.

You can tell the story was well thought out and is well written. While I enjoyed the story overall there was just something missing for me. At the same time I would definitely read the next installment.

Large cast full of a variety of characters, which in the beginning was a little confusing.

You can't help but love Nathan considering his age when the story begins and his maturing during the story. At the same time a little more personal back round on the Nathan and the major characters would have been nice. What Nathan went through is basically just alluded to, it doesn't have to be graphic but scenes into his life while he was a slave or on the planet or in the hands of the Dr. would have helped develop his character more.

Nathan has an extra sense that he calls "prep" . What is it? Is it from his immunity to the disease? From his time on the plague planet?
The reference to times at the beginning of each chapter meant nothing to me, it
would have been better if it had given the date and then said 3 years later, 4 years later etc.

Keith Michaelson did an fantastic job with the narration. Nice pleasant voice. Even pacing in the narration. There were so many characters and he conveyed a fantastic voice for each one. As well as the emotions of the characters. Well done.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom

A great science-fiction thriller

What did you love best about Uncommon Purpose?

I loved the pace of the story and I loved the world building. I was really surprised at the direction it took after the first few chapters. There were hints of Star Trek, hints of Starship Troopers and hints of Ender's Game in this book which was really interesting.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nathan was definitely my favourite character for his strength and purpose. I liked the way he grew and developed over the course of the story.

Have you listened to any of Keith Michaelson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to any before, but I will again. I thought the narrator handled the story and all of the characters incredibly well.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom