Zoo

By: Phil Price

Narrated by: Hannibal Hills

Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

In Middle-England, a sleepy village is preparing for its annual fete, pumpkins and scarecrows adorning the houses and shops that line the winding streets.

Meanwhile, in a far corner of the cosmos, a planetary attraction is preparing too - for its new inhabitants. Among them, the residents of a sleepy village in Middle-England.

Their new home, a replica of the village that they were abducted from, is where the Earthlings are expected to live out their lives for the amusement of others, under glass domes that reach up towards the stars.

But nearby, a bitter war is raging, as a rebellious leader looks to destroy anything that her enemies create. Soon, their worlds come crashing together with cataclysmic results.

©2019 Phil Price (P)2019 Phil Price

Voices *ALL* Sound the Same

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Every voice sounds 100% the same. I really could not get past how bad all the women sounded.

From a story perspective, it was a little confusing. There are tons of switchbacks between chapters rapidly switching back between a man on earth, the space ship crew, the captain's GF, rebels, and the people in the zoo. I had a difficult time following all the plot points and feeling invested in the world. Towards the end there is a certain amount of tension that gets built up.

A lot of talking felt fake or cheesy, (the "pet" names felt especially forced) and I was able to predict several times what people were about to say. Also some unnecessary descriptors were in there, like "she sounded surprised"

The aliens were also extremely human, even clearly showing a preference for the word humanoid.

The author did a great job thinking about the mechanics of a multi planet themed zoo, especially with thinking about atmo and gravity. I also enjoyed the parts from the aliens point of view.

Final rating
Default 5
poor dialog - 1
poor narration -1
confusing plot -1
cool premise +1
Final score = 3/5 would recommend to fans of this kind of book, not the enfranchised.

Aliens meets the Truman Show

So I feel the need to start with my parental morality rating - PG13-R. There's a lot of language (in just the first 10 mins. there was an f-bomb and several others thrown in for good measure), there's a bunch of sexual references and language. I honestly couldn't get into it because it was all too distracting. I love the movie Truman Show and was honestly quite excited about seeing it revamped into an alien sci-fi... Just wished the author had kept it cleaner. It is definitely an 18+ only read due to the writing style. The narrator is good, although some of the voices sound the same, he has a nice voice and is easy to listen to.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Enjoyable Book... Fun Story

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

This book was quite interesting for me, it was a fun listen that I enjoyed a great deal. Certainly there is a lot going on, and a number of perspectives being shown, but I liked that aspect. I enjoyed the characters and felt that several were really fascinating. If anything, I’d have enjoyed this more in a series format, which would allow for more character development. The writing was quite good.

Narration was good, as was editing. There may have been an opportunity to have a pair of narrators, a male and a female, to add another dimension; but I imagine that may not be as easy as said. Regardless, the narration was fine from my perspective.

Aliens!!!

Great story and narration!

Most of the inhabitants of a small town are abducted by aliens and there is nothing that they can do to get back home to their families. Will they receive aid from an unlikely source?

This was a fun listen. It makes you stop and think how people and governments would react if such a situation actually occurred.

Zoo

I really liked this book.It had a few flaws that could have been explained more,but it was good.Hannibal Hills was the perfect narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'

Highly enjoyed this sci-fi!!!

It isn't often you get to read an alien abduction story from the point of view of the aliens and I found it highly enjoyable!

Very realistic and great characterization and the story kept you enthralled at ever turn.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.