Outstanding thriller with a some history

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It is full of excitement and has references to the ancient world that merge well.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Herculean?

When they were successful in fending off the attacking birds.

Which scene was your favorite?

When the villain was left standing awaiting his doom.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Old world previews the present

Any additional comments?

I was provided this book in expectation of a review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was full of excitement from start to finish. There were times when the good guys seemed a bit too gullible but they always seemed to work their way out of the trap they had been caught in.

The book was not predictable in any way and brought up points of historical myth and used them to weave a tapestry that explained many things about the modern world. The author did a fantastic job of this.

The narrator was outstanding. He did a great job with each characters voice ranging from female to elderly male. He added a lot when he expressed the excitement of the particular scenes also.

4 people found this helpful

Herculean

This was a good,action b packed book.The Herculean group ws set up to protect the history of Hercules.When the Cerberous group find their way into the labrynth to steal relics for a long lived mad man,someone has to defend them.A fine twist of myth and history.Jeffrey Kafer was a good narator.

3 people found this helpful

all I can say is where is the next book!

It's awesome! well worth the read or in this case the listen! I have become a fan boy of jeremy robinson and his books! To be honest it been hard to find a series that can hold my attention and cause me to remember each character and its history. Jeremy has done it and he blends characters from his other series together in new books seamlessly!

3 people found this helpful

Sounds like 2 writers competing!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Generally speaking, thriller/scifi audiobooks are a good expenditure of time. This one, well, not as much as others. It is messy, in need of editing ( it truly is overly long and convoluted ) and sounds like an effort to cram as much research as they have done into one offering.

What could Jeremy Robinson have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Edit, edit and edit. This offering is not up to JR's usual standards in this one area. It sounds unpolished to me.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Characters were consistent and logical, so I liked that. I liked some of the ambiguity of them as well.

Too much yelling and unusual choices, which added to the overall confusion of this book.

Do you think Herculean needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Most of JR's offerings are designed with a follow up in mind, and this one is no different in that arena.

Any additional comments?

I wanted to like this offering more than I did, frankly. It is messy, yet oddly interesting and entertaining in places. Unfortunately, not enough so to get my overall endorsement. I suppose if you are into JR, this works, but not recommended in my books.

6 people found this helpful

Couldn't Finish - It was that bad!

Normally soldier on even if a book is less than stellar, but this was just too much to take.

The story, characters and plot were a jumble of muddled cliches that didn't seem to get any better. While the premise seemed, initially appearing interesting , never came together.

The narrator didn't help in that he made everything the main character said and did sound like an urgent (or frustrated) crisis. He has a good voice when modulated properly - for example the female characters. Otherwise the consistent urgency of his delivery was stressful to listen to.

I do not recommend this book.

2 people found this helpful

A Fast-Paced High-Action Thriller

What if Hercules wasn't a mythical figure but an actual man who lived three thousand years ago and was a scientific genius, who learned how to modify his own genes to allow him to live for centuries, and to combine the DNA of different life forms to create new animals and monsters?

What if the Labors of Hercules, as told in the myths, in which Hercules encountered and fought various monsters, actually told of his interaction with some of these new, manufactured species?

And what if Hercules had created the Herculean society, a group of scientists, historians, and military experts with the express goal of hiding the secrets of history and science he had uncovered and make sure that they would never fall into the wrong hands?

And what if now, an international criminal organization called Cerberus, led by a maniac intent on learning the ancient secrets, was on the cusp of attaining control of the very secrets Hercules strove to hide, secrets that would give it control over life itself, allow it to create new strains of viruses and disease, to lay waste to much of humanity, if it so wished?

That is the premise of this fine adventure novel, written by Jeremy Robinson and Sean Ellis, and narrated by Jeffery Kafer.

The novel is a fast-paced, action-packed sci-thriller, full of gun fights, villains, monsters, biology, history, mythology, and history, all blended together into one hell of an enjoyable tale. The book made me feel like learning more about Hercules and Greek Mythology. And Kafer's narration was solid and fit the narrative well.

This isn't great literature, but it is well-written, it moves very quickly, and I had a very good time with it.

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

4 people found this helpful

Good story, bad narration

I liked the book and if I had read it vs. listened to it, I probably would have liked it more. The narrator isn't exactly monotone, it's more than his inflection and pace NEVER CHANGES regardless of what is happening. The best books have narrators that vary their speed and volume when the story is being exciting and relax when the story calms. Kafer never varies. It's like being read a story by your mom who would rather you just fell asleep already so she could escape. Also, he sounds exactly like Charlie Sheen when he's doing a movie voiceover but with less pizzazz.

1 person found this helpful

couldn't finish

I've enjoyed listening to Jeremy Robinson's books in the past but this was going nowhere. it just didn't keep my attention. I was disappointed.

Crossover

An entertaining and educational series involving characters and situations from other novels and series by this prolific author. Start with Chess Team and the prequel.

Good story. Suffers from unprofessional narration.

The story is fairly solid if a bit "tropey". The narrator needs to look up the pronunciation of words he doesn't know, e.g. Hipolyte, Echidna, chthonic. This is especially true for words that are an important part of the story and are repeated dozens and dozens of times. It made me cringe every time and pulled me out of the story. Proper pronunciation is an important part of the job. Bad pronunciation seems embarassingly amateurish to me.