Excellent continuity with a healthy dose of uncertainty makes this sequel about the life and times of Gallagher a must read for anyone who has read Fatal Gamble. Keep the books coming, JP O’Donnell. The plot flows well with just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. I thought I had the story line figured out early but was happily surprised I was incorrect. A great fun listen just what you need to distract you from the drive home.

Now for the audio quality: very poor, because you can hear very easy stuff to cut out like turning pages and others. There are a few parts where it is like he tapping a pencil on the table. 

Deadly Codes by JP O'Donnell

Deadly Codes: A Gallagher Novel is the award-winning sequel to Fatal Gamble. Daniel Cormac Gallagher, Jr., a Boston private eye, is hired to investigate the death of Jennifer Clark, tragically killed in a car bombing in her own driveway.

Gallagher has been commissioned by Jeanne Campbell, Jennifer’s twin sister, to find a mysterious woman–Jennifer’s secret lesbian lover who vanished immediately after the bombing. While the authorities continue to pursue their suspicions that the terrorist act may have been intended for Jennifer’s husband, Bill, who holds a top-secret position in the counter-intelligence division of the National Security Agency, Jeanne reveals intricate details to Gallagher that intrigue him enough to take on the case. While Gallagher begins searching for the missing woman, he has no idea that a bounty has been placed on his own head. Two hired gunmen are plotting to kill him. Gallagher’s search takes him to Washington D.C. where he discovers that the car bombing is only a backdrop to a complex, treasonous scheme to sell code-breaking formulas to a hostile enemy nation.

As the violent mystery unravels, Gallagher finds himself under deadly attack from two shocking but powerful forces — one he knows and another he never expects.

That said, this author really is a good storyteller characters are vibrant and realistic, the pace is good, and for the most part the story is engaging. I would like to see more from this author as he definitely has a lot of potential. The reading is fast paced the narration is clear and the story is refreshing and had me hooked.

Iron Dragons: Book 1 - The Saramond Quests by Derek Gilbert

Iron Dragons: Book 1 – The Saramond Quests by Derek Gilbert
Science Fiction

Click the arrow below to listen to the first episode of this free audio book:

Dragon pee really stinks.

With that bit of cautionary advice, master dragonslayer Davian begins his tale.

Davian is a Third Level Master of The Order, a group of men who alone have the power to battle the most fearsome creatures on all of Saramond. For thousands of years, the brothers of The Order have protected their world.

Now something has upset the balance of power between man and dragon, and Davian must face what appears to be a dragon that cannot be seen.

But Davian is losing his grip on reality — and the fate of the world rests with a stable hand, an underfed priest, and a gardener from beyond the stars.

But Davian is losing his grip on reality — and the fate of the world rests with a stable hand, an underfed priest, and a gardener from beyond the stars.

Nathan Lowell, your writing is truly masterful and your voice is perfect for these podcasts. Thank you so much for sharing your gift with the us.

An amazing series. I have gone through Quarter Share and all the available episodes of Half Share twice in the last week or so. I find myself going home so i can listen to the whole book and then relisting to it on my drive. I am Loving these books.

But mostly, I’m impressed by how real these characters are coming to be. The chapter introducing Sarah really brings this out suddenly, we’re not seeing characters speak their lines, but people interacting with each other in real ways.

Half Share by Nathan Lowell

Science Fiction

A Trader’s Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper : Book 2

After Ishmael Wang is promoted to the environmental section, he’s caught in a swirl of mystery, doubt, belief, lust and a really nice fitting pair of jeans. He has to come to grips with what it means to be a spacer while he’s still trying to figure out what it means to be a man. Join Ishmael, Brillo, Pip, and the rest of the crew of the Lois McKendrick as they help the newest member of the crew adjust to life in the Deep Dark.Half Share is the sequel to Quarter Share, also available at Podiobooks.com.Note: Some scenes in Half Share involve adult themes, nudity, sex and references to religions not based on Judeo-Christian traditions. Read at your own risk.

I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in a long time. This book doesn’t become some heavy, with evil plots no overdone space battles. WOW. I like how the events flow smoothly. It gives a nice feel to the story. It charts the everyday lives of these people. Really, there is plenty of drama in our real lives that we don’t need Star Wars or Storm trooper haunting our daily existence, and this book delivers that. I just enjoyed being among these characters. I like the nonchalant cohabitations of the sexes without everyone acting like each other as a sex object. I like the notion that being on a ship isn’t really different than being on a planet it has the potential to be pretty boring. the only antidote to that is to get involved and work hard.
There are a number of really good podiobooks and other podcast stories that I’ve listened to. But it is extremely rare for me to listen to any of them more than once. I’ve listened to Quarter Share more than once! There is a natural quality to the way that Nathan Lowell reads the story so it never seems like the story is being read, but like Ishmael is actually telling the story to you.

Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell

A Trader’s Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper : Book 1

When Ishmael Wang is orphaned by a flitter crash, he must make some hard decisions about how to survive in a Company-owned universe. With limited time and fewer options, he lands a job as the newest hand on the Solar Clipper Lois McKendrick and learns there’s more to life than making coffee. Join Ish, Pip, Big Bad Bev, and the rest of the Lois McKendrick’s crew as they sail the galaxy in search of profitable trade.For more information on the book and the Golden Age, see http://www.durandus.com/golden

I don’t buy vampire books, but my mom happened to give me this trilogy last year. I finally decided to listen to them when I had nothing else to read. By the end of the first chapter, I was HOOKED. Quite a different Nora Roberts in this trilogy. It is full of vampires, dragons, shape-shifters, witches, and wizards.

For anyone who doesn’t want to buy this trilogy because they are “vampire books,” don’t let that stop you. The story isn’t about vampires roaming the earth – it’s about so much more. Friendships. Love. Courage. The ultimate fights between good and evil and being willing to sacrifice everything for the better good.

The book deals with the final days leading to the big battle in the Valley of Silence on Samhain. Moira pulls up the legendary sword from the rock and is declared the queen of Geall.

The circle of 6 consisting of the sorcerer Hoyt, Hoyt’s vampire brother Cian, the witch Glenna, the warrior Blair, the shape-shifter Larkin and Larkin’s scholar cousin Moira the Queen, all plot and strategize as the final day approaches when the humans must meet the vampires in a final battle that will either save or destroy the rest of the world. Posts are set up by both the people of Geall and the Vampires. Both the humans and the vampires use dirty tricks to sabotage the other’s things and kill each other.

I absolutely loved this series and was saddened when it ended.

Morrigan’s Cross (The Circle Trilogy, Book 1)

Morrigan's Cross

Dance of the Gods (The Circle Trilogy, Book 2)

Valley of Silence (The Circle Trilogy, Book 3)

The same can be said of Hutchins’ performance. The Beta Clones and as the sole voice talent in a book with a huge cast of characters, the author still manages to project something unique with each of the clone’s voices. It’s one thing to shift accents and drop octaves while jumping between massively different personalities but this is masterfully done.

7th Son: Book Two - Deceit

7th Son: Book Two – Deceit

Two days ago, seven human clones — John, Michael, Father Thomas, Dr. Mike, Jonathan, Jack and Kilroy2.0 — were torn away from their “normal” lives to stop a ruthless plot created by their progenitor, a man code-named John Alpha. Their quest was a descent into conspiracy, violence and death.

The clones were successful in their mission, but victory was not without its price.

As 7th Son: Book Two – Deceit begins, the Beta clones are demoralized, reeling from their loss … and about to learn that John Alpha’s plans are far from over.

To prevent the next phase of Alpha’s plan, John, Kilroy2.0, and the others must unearth more dark secrets about the government project from which they were spawned. They will experience the horrors of betrayal, and race cross-country to track John Alpha.

And they will finally realize the scope of Alpha’s wrath — the bloodshed the clones have witnessed is merely a prelude to the world-rending destruction to come. Unless they can stop it first.

Deceit is the second novel in J.C. Hutchins’ 7th Son thriller trilogy.

7th Son: Book Three - Destruction

7th Son: Book Three – Destruction
As day four in the 7th Son adventure begins, John Alpha’s quest for anarchy and genocide enters its final stage.

At every turn, the global terrorist has been triumphant. The world is reeling from a nuclear attack. An unprecedented energy crisis is upon us. Alpha himself has exclusive access to the White House, and secret weapons primed to propel his conspiracy into the endgame. The goal: planetary chaos.

Amidst this turmoil, the 7th Son’s four surviving Beta Clones — John, Father Thomas, Kilroy2.0 and Jack — must defy their creators and hunt Alpha on their terms. Their mission: to stop the greatest assassination plot in history. The secrets John and his brothers discover will press them toward a final battle with their progenitor … a battle in which the clones are outgunned, outnumbered and out of time.

Alliances will be made. Heroes will die. The end is nigh.

Great job Dave all the way through to the end. It is a prime example of your creativity. Having cousins in the Jehovah’s Witness I can see how some of the Witness would get their panties in a wad. What a fresh idea to come from the Jehovah’s Witness perspective in a vampire novel. The ending I had in mind was push aside by the author’s character building skills. It is not easy to fool me, but I didn’t see the major cliffhanger coming that would change every thing for everyone. This is one book that will leave you desperate to read the sequel. I listened to him on podioracket.com interview and he did mention that he might be considering of a sequel in the future.

Blood Witness By Dave Hitt

If you’re looking for action, adventure, sex, violence, blood, gore, horror and humor, you’ll find it all in Blood Witness, a Podiobooks.com presentation written by Dave Hitt.
Catherine is a 1500 year old vampire. (She’s really 1800 but she lies about her age.) Chris is a high school senior. She is a blood sucking creature of the night. He is a Jehovah’s Witness. Together they uncover a danger that threatens the existence of every vampire, and the only solution is to break the One Law that binds them all.

Let me start off by giving a standing ovation to the author P.G. Holyfield and the full cast of talented voices for a job well done on one of the best audio books I have ever consumed. I put this book in the same category as Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, just to name a couple of profoundly successful authors.

This story was so good I didn’t want it to end but like all good things the end must at some point come. I just hope Holyfield has a lot more books to make this a very long series. With all that said back to the story.

The way P.G. puts together the story line with half orcs, elves, vampires, and moon-beasts just to name a few, took this listener by storm with its lightening strike plot. Yet, his story is not, “about” magic or unearthly beasts. Murder at Avedone Hill is about a human detective, who happens to be sensitive. not only to the land and its mystical currents, but also to the nature of the humans.

Brother Arames will need all his logical, diplomacy and magic-sensitive skills to solve a Murder at Avedon Hill. So Arames and his appertance Arrin can go through the pass to get to the other side of the mountains. The obstacles the author uses jettisons these characters into confronting all kinds of problems, while trying to solve this murder.

His website is full of additional information including art and maps. I also understand that there is a print release deal signed with Dragon Moon Press.

http://www.pgholyfield.com

Lord Avedon has a problem. Generations of Avedons have watched over Avedon Hill and controlled the only pass through the Lantis Mountains. Traditions are important to the Avedon family, but one tradition has tragically come to an end. Gretta Platt, Housemistress of Avedon Manor, has been murdered. A member of the Platt family has always served the Avedons as Housemistress. until now. Only a handful of people live at Avedon Hill, and most are suspects. Arames Kragen, retired Aarronic Advisor and scholar of prophecy, arrives at the gates of Avedon Hill, hoping to gain access to the mountain pass. Lord Avedon is not in a giving mood, however.

This is the story of Arames Kragen and his attempt not only to discover who killed Gretta Platt, but also to uncover the truth about a town that apparently has more secrets than inhabitants.

The Land of Caern: It is a world where the gods, the Children of Az, can choose to be born as mortals to directly affect events in the world, and often do. It is a world where the Priests of Caern frantically search for the mortal incarnations of any of the Children, in order prevent the Prophecies of Iberian from coming to pass.

Welcome to The Land of Caern. Welcome. to Murder at Avedon Hill, the podcast novel by P.G. Holyfield. 

Lost Gods

Kweku Anansi is just another member of the African diaspora, trying to make a place for himself in his adopted home of Toronto, Canada. He dreams of better days, of a time when he could be stop running small time cons just to make the rent. He dreams of the life he used to live, centuries ago when he was revered as a god.

A chance encounter with a fellow con man with a dark and secretive past of his own, plunges them both into the dark world of the lost gods, gods who would do anything to be worshiped again. Including destroying the world, if necessary.

How far will Anansi go to reclaim his godhood? What will he give up to have true power again? The answers can be found in “Lost Gods”, a new weekly podcast novel from author Drew Beatty.

Former spy Nicholas Bryson, now a college professor, is lured back into his old profession by a CIA official’s story.The story is full of twists & turns. It is very exciting throughout, no bordom in this book. The only drawback is the ending where Ludlum seems to loose the plot a little. That is however made up with some excellent characters like Nick Bryson (The Central Character), Layla (The Enigmatic Woman)& Bryson’s wife Elena.
All in all, The Prometheus Deception is worth checking out once because its has all of vintage Ludlum in it which any diehard Ludlum fan (including myself) should enjoy thoroughly.

robert-lunlum-the-prometheus-deception

If you have never read Ludlum or listen to Frank Muller before, you will be blown away. If you are a long-time fan, his unique talent will be reinforced in your mind. This book will deliver everything that Ludlum and Muller is famous for.