Firefly cranked up on Meth plus a Space Wizard!

Wowza. This is one huge book collection. 87 hours is three and a half days. That is like starting on Monday and finishing on Thursday with no breaks. That alone makes it worth the singular credit that you spend on this massive tome of excellence. Oh, did I say excellence? Yes, indeed I did.

Let me Start off with talking about Naramore's narration. I've gotten to know him pretty well from the Sensation series by Kevin Hardman. I have long respected his work, and to be frank he is the reason that I found this book. I was looking through other books he had narrated, and found this baby. I was interested when I saw it was a complete collection, then I read the description and thought, "Holy Crap, this is right up my alley!" Then I saw how frikkin long it was was and realize what a steal I'd be getting. I said, hmmm cool story, Naramore, and days worth of listening. So I couldn't pass this up. Naturally, Naramore lives up to my expectations. He brings each character to life from the wiseacre captain to the drunk mechanic. You will really get to know them by the end of this book. When they are gone you will wonder where your friends have gone, because you will have logged some serious time. Enough time that you will feel like an honorary member of the crew.

Now as for the story, Morin brings this to life to a point that you will feel like the crew and their exploits really happen in a galaxy far far away. Of course you'll feel that way when you see they have a space wizard. That not withstanding this has more of a Firefly feel to it than anything else, since they are smugglers but in the same breath I could call this the extended crew of the Millenium Falcon sans Han and Chewy. Every character is interesting, and has a great back story that comes out during the series.

I will say that the writing is great, and there is action aplenty, and many a close call for the crew to narrowly avoid (sometimes not so unscathed). The plots are fast paced, and riveting in that they will really hold your attention. My problem was I had to keep shutting down, and not wanting to do so. It was hard to find a break or lull that I could happily quit for the night and not wonder what was going to happen next.

This is a wonderful series, and it is well worth the single credit it takes to buy it. I can't stress how fun and exciting the series actually was for me. If you like sci-fi or have the smuggler's blues then this is the series for you. This is for fans of Firefly, Star Wars, Star Trek, and even BattleStar Galactica. You will not go wrong with this series. Don't miss out!!! Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.


If this review helped, please press the YES below. Thank you immensely!!!

796 people found this helpful

Far more than I expected (and not just the 80+ hr)

Before I picked up this 80+ hour behemoth, I read a lot of reviews. Even the ones who claimed that it was substandard, said it was a great deal because they got 30 hours into an 80 hour series.

I'm going to go against half of this.

It's an amazing deal, even if you only get 30 hours into it... this is true.

But I'm going to go on record by saying that although this isn't A+ material, and I say that with all love because I really did enjoy this story, it averages at B+ (which isn't bad!)

Even better, that's an average. It does start off a bit awkward (but better than a lot of other audio books I picked up over the years), it has a small slump, in my opinion, around the 30 hour mark, the last half (and this is a FORTY HOUR HALF) is white good.

The author is an amazing world builder, and his characters are truly worth rooting for... even the not-so-friendly ones. ;-)

The narrator put so much life into these characters, it's hard to believe it's actually one person playing all those voices. Every character is extraordinary individual, and the voice acting is incredible.

My advice to you:. Get this. If you stay for the whole 83 hours, you will agree with everything I said above. It was well worth the ride.

if you only get half way through, it's still the best deal for an audio book I've ever seen.

And if nothing else makes a difference, I have listened to well over 200 audio books in the past 5 years:. this is the very first review I've ever written. It mattered.

284 people found this helpful

85+ Hours Of Grand Galactic Outlaw Hijinks!

And YOU think that you've got problems? --- Try having your three time ex-wife and former Marine as your ship's pilot, an oversized cat who's always looking for a fight as your security officer, a four handed alcoholic as your engineering officer trying to keep your patched together ship running, a naivete former priestess out to reform you and your crew of their evil ways, and the galaxies most notorious and wanted WIZARD as your not always so loyal crew who really don't take your position as Ship's Captain all that seriously. All as you just try to FINALLY latch onto that Big Payday while avoiding not only The Authorities, but the nefarious Major Corporations, Alien Empires, Crime Syndicates, Space Pirates, Wizard Assassins, and your own conman parents! = A Whole LOT of fun filled action packed adventures with a host of interesting characters in a very well imagined universe.
JS Morin has created one GREAT series, and Mikael Naramore does an EXCELLENT job of bringing it all to audible life!!!

DO NOT PASS THIS ONE UP!!!!

133 people found this helpful

Believe some of the other reviews, but not all

Ok lets start with the true. This story is, like many have said, basically a light snack. There is no real meat from either character or plot development here. However, it is an easy listen when you dont need to devote your entire attention to it, easy to miss or skip parts and really not mind it.

Now to the untrue. Comparing this story to Firefly is like comparing a Goldfish to a Shark.

74 people found this helpful

Firefly but better

I really enjoyed this series. During the 50+ hours of these stories I kept thinking this is just is as good if not better than the Firefly series. At the end, the author even states that these books came about due to the abrupt end of that fantastic tv show. Even with some minor editing issues, I still give this 5 stars. The worst part of this book is that its over for me and now I have to find something new...

61 people found this helpful

An example of things that could have been.

What do you get when you combine a talented voice actor, an excellent premise, and a Firefly-esque atmosphere?

A book that should have been a lot better.

Don't get me wrong, it's not bad. There are parts that are genuinely good. Some amusing, some touching, some entertaining... but not as many as you'd expect. Of the 85-odd hours this book (series?) spans you're going to genuinely enjoy about a dozen of them. There are some likeable characters, there are some interesting characters, and there are some silly characters. Some of them grow and progress, others simply exist to fill out roles in the story. The characters all have that well-worn feel of familiarity however, and that isn't necessarily a good thing.

The pacing is odd, some parts get glossed over with little regard to events. Others draw out endlessly for no real reason. If you watched Star Trek: The Next Generation and thought the plot was complex and well thought out, you'll find this just to your liking. If you thought the plot was thin in spots with plot holes you can get lost for a fortnight in and as predictable as a Japanese train... well you'll find more of the same here.

All this may sound harsh, but the point is there was such a possibility here. The universe and concepts in it are excellent (if you ignore the giant holes and accept things as they are) but the big issue is that there wasn't more done with it. It's like entering a cooking show where the goal is to make the best macaroni and cheese and you make the box stuff and throw it on a plate in front of the judges. It's not bad, and will certainly do in a pinch... but it could have been much better with just a bit of effort and originality.

54 people found this helpful

Okay story

Any additional comments?

So far I've gone through 20 hours of this audiobook. I hate to disagree with other reviewers, but, this is not "like" Firefly. The ONLY thing it has in common with Firefly is: it's one ship with a bunch of misfit crew stuck together. That's IT. The story is okay, and I always enjoy listening to Mikael Naramore. If you can get past the one sanctimonious religiosity bulls*** character it's... okay.

48 people found this helpful

Nice try

First, get rid off all the sound effects its just not needed. The stories are not bad and some are somewhat entertaining, but I felt there was little imagination when it came to alien species. I wasn't apposed to a mix of magic and science, but I do wish the magic had a Law System.

30 people found this helpful

Epic episodic adventure, over 80 hrs of fun

Although inspired by the TV show Firefly, this space opera isn't a knock-off or fan fiction, it's an odyssey in space, full of characters to love and loathe, annoy and entertain through scores of adventures. It's the most value in hours of entertainment that I have ever gotten out of a single credit. My only advice would be not to binge listen too heavily, although the story as a whole progresses throughout all 83+ hours, it is a slow progression and if you listen to too many missions in a row it may seem a little repetitive in themes and character reactions. That aside I enjoyed the ride immensely and the only reason I noticed the repetition is because I didn't want to stop listening until I reached the end. So spend that credit, it's worth it (and no one is paying me to say that or anything) and then strap in and get ready to embark on an epic journey across the galaxy.

26 people found this helpful

Just Eh.

This series has been recommended by other reviewers to those of us suffering Firefly with drawl. In premise and style it's very similar, in content it falls far short. I just struggle to care about any of the characters. And the magic business is tiresome.
So I would recommend this to folks who have NOT seen Firefly but like an easy light listening sci-fi series that feels like it will go on FOREVER. The only book in my library longer than this is Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Overall the stories are well written with decent plots and character descriptions. The characters are just uniformly unlikeable and without any redeeming features. It's hard to see how they remain a "crew" for more than one voyage other than by sheer necessity.

22 people found this helpful