Unrelenting

By: Mike Shepherd

Narrated by: Dina Pearlman

Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

The aliens attacking the planetary system of Alwa are an enemy unlike any Admiral Kris Longknife has ever encountered before. She doesn't know who they are, only that they worship a being known as the Enlightened One and are unafraid to sacrifice themselves against her fleet. But Kris faces more than just the fanatical behavior of an alien armada. A saboteur has infiltrated the military's medical facility and unleashed an epidemic that has spread throughout the fleet without warning. Seventy-two career military women are down with something not even the aliens could do to them - including Admiral Kris Longknife....

©2015 Mike Moscoe (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Held me for 13 Books SO FAR!

I SHOULD *Hate* this WHOLE SERIES *SO* Badly.... But I just Can't! I keep buying the next book, Listening to them STRAIGHT THROUGH each time, and then waiting until I see the NEXT Book 'Coming Soon', Pre-Order THAT book... Wash/Rinse/Repeat...

I SHOULD *HATE IT*... "Hold me Jack..." "Do you feel me Shivering?" "The Fluffy Chocolate Souffle smelled good enough to DIE FOR... Dare She???" "Rub my feet Jack", "She floated in bliss as her hair was washed..."

THAT Stuff alone is going to get my "Man Club Card" REVOKED if anyone finds out I listened to it! But the combination of Mike Shepherd (or whatever he's calling himself this week) and Dina Pearlman ALWAYS seem to make those parts "Survivable" Somehow...

"And then a Miracle Happens"... OH I REALLY *HATE* THAT kind of thing, and this Series is dang near BUILT on the Concept!! 'The Magic Trunk' ALWAYS has that 'Newly Developed Particle Beam Gravity Inversion Evasion Reversion Conversion Diversion Device' That MUST BE HAD RIGHT AT THAT CRITICAL MOMENT because NOTHING else is working and ALL hope is lost! ... And AGAIN, Shepherd and Pearlman manage to pull it off somehow.

AFTER I listened to Kris command the battle AND defeat "The Bug Eyed Monsters", while Pregnant, and eating supper at a fancy cafe that Nelly whips-up out of smart metal, AND she runs the entire complicated battle more as "a topic of dinner conversation while eating with her Officers", Something in the back of my mind said, "Wait! Did I just REALLY listen to *THAT*, and not only NOT Smash my iPhone 6+, but I didn't even seem to notice how ABSOLUTELY OVER THE TOP that whole scene was until 20 minutes LATER????" ... And AGAIN, Shepherd and Pearlman manage to pull it off somehow.

And I kept getting the feeling that SOMETIMES Shepherd is writing like his 10 year old children are reading over his shoulder... and then a few pages later he's writing the story like it's Saturday Night and he's got the house to himself. For about 30 minutes it's "Lady Parts", and then suddenly he gets VERY descriptive about those "Parts" and what they're doing with them... One page seems to be "Young Adult", and the next is "ADULT"! I don't mind either writing style, but I *HATE* it when authors switch back and forth... but, AGAIN, Shepherd and Pearlman.... Well, You know the rest...

I have NO IDEA why I'm hooked on this Series, but I am, so I've quit complaining and I'm just going with it now.... "We need a Bionic Radioactive Cyborg Elephant out of 'The Magic Trunk', at the Dinner Table, to save the Galaxy??? Yeah! Seems Legit! Whatever...".

ALL of the really GREAT Writers seem to have a Style all their own that allows them to do "That ONE special thing that ONLY THEY can do to you, that you HATE... and make you like it". Brandon Sanderson is a MASTER of THAT art, But Shepherd is pretty good at it also, and Dina Pearlman brings his work alive... I don't see how anyone else could read this Series and make it work for me!

My Wife says 'Great Writers' get people out of their 'Comfort Zones' and prove to you that THEY can make you like things you DETEST... Then she said, "Sorry... forgot who I was talking to... Google 'Comfort Zone'... most of the rest of us have them..." (I *THINK* that was Sarcasm! I know what a 'Comfort Zone' is! I've stayed at a few of them while I was away on business and the Hilton was booked-up! They have a Free Continental Breakfast in the Mornings with TINY boxes of 'Sugar Coated Sugar Chocolate Sugar Puffs Cereal', and stale 'Kraw-SAWNTS' at one in Atlanta ;)

NEXT BOOK?!?!?!?! HELLLOOOOoooOOOO???? Been finished with THIS Book for SEVERAL HOURS now, and #14 isn't ready YET???? Don't ya hate it when Authors start making some REAL money, and they get all Uppity and decide they DON'T have to Publish a new book EVERY DAY any more?!?!?! ;)

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

OMG - Kill me now

Would you try another book from Mike Shepherd and/or Dina Pearlman?

This series is over.

Would you ever listen to anything by Mike Shepherd again?

Not from this series

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

Boredom and irritation about wasting my time on this book.

Any additional comments?

This book is meaningless drivel. There's no excitement, no hook. Just blah, blah, blah. Smart Metal dining room, produce stuff, kill a few things while waiting to eat and make more smart metal dining rooms. and babies...isn't that when you know the series is about over. Babies. Revolutionary.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

a transitional book.

This series has not "Jumped the Shark" yet. But; it is close. so far in this series our intrepid protagonist has killed the big bad BEM's, made friends with Cats and Chickens, has had a FTL raise in Rank from Ensign to full Admiral in 6 years, and now faces the scariest thing in the Known universe... "Parenthood"

Ms. Pearlman's narration is spot on and the story lines flows quit nicely.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

This one feels a bit tired

Having read (and enjoyed) the entire series, this one was a little bit disappointing. While the overall plotline does progress, it feels a bit tired. Nothing all that innovative, even the interpersonal relationships are pretty routine. I don't regret continuing with the series, and will likely read the next one, but I can't say I felt much satisfaction when I finished this one.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A bridge story

I love the Kris Longknife books but this one feels like it was written to simply move us from where were to where we're going without really telling much of a cohesive story to get there. Just a bunch of short stories strung together to make a longer book.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

like listening to an accountant recite tax codes

a great series overstressed for the franchise. this story has little in plot and less in substance. it falls into listing stats of battles that are impossoble to follow. the main characters become administraters and the story reads like the spreadsheets they argue about.

Slow

Too much of the story was devoted to sex and the baby! All prior and into a major battle!

Just one long battle

There was nothing special about this book. The story continued but it seemed to me to largely be just a sequence of space combat. There are plot developments that could make the next story quite interesting and I look forward to the next in the series to see if the story arc can get out of the funk.

Narration excellent.

not as good as the other books

I generally love the story lines and liked the twist here, but this was way too cheesy and cliche. No fight back from the aliens, just here kill me so we can keep talking about the little problem. I had to rush thru the book just so I could say I finished it. I hope the next book is better or that is the end off that.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Action packed adventure

Kris and crew are still on Alwa and the war continues in book 13 of the series. Kris not only has to deal with the enemy she also is having problems with her own command and with the ability to manufacture war supplies. A new problem is added to her already loaded list of problems. The contraceptive implant that was provided to the women spacers is defective and many women are pregnant including Kris.

Each episode of this space opera is getting better. The book is well written and loaded with nail biting action and suspense. Shepherd adds his usual humor and the characters are growing with each episode. I can hardly wait for the next episode.
Dina Pearlman does an excellent job narrating the series.

2 of 5 people found this review helpful