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Occupation
- Rise, Book 1
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Twenty-five years ago, the Overseers conquered Earth and enslaved humanity. The time to fight back has come....
Alec works in the Detroit Overseer-factories, building a mysterious alien device. When three strangers appear, he's provided an opportunity to escape after years of servitude.
Cole, a Freeborn loner, encounters Lina after her village is destroyed by the alien Occupation. Together, they make the arduous journey to a fabled safe-zone, trying to stay one step ahead of the enemy drones on their trail.
Dex is a Hunter, working for the Occupation to track down escaped factory slaves, or Roamers, at all costs. But his latest hunt uncovers a massive secret and threatens his loyalty to the Overseers.
All their fates are bound. For the first time in decades, a secret enclave of alien resistance fighters known as the Reclaimers prepare to make their move.
What listeners say about Occupation
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jas P
- 05-24-20
Exceptional Character Driven Alien Invasion Story!
This is a Post-Apocalyptic Alien Invasion story, one in which the Aliens have come, destroyed most of humanity (there was a brief fight back but it didn’t go well), and we are now an occupied planet. Humanity is being kept as slave labour, the Aliens need us to complete tasks for them so that they don’t have to do things (why bother doing manual labour when you have an entire slave force that can do it for you? Even better, they can make their own food, clothes, you have enforced breeding camps to only breed strong humans, dispose of anything that has any sort of defect (there are no new humans needing glasses for example), and you have no issue.
Control is managed through layers, Seeker Drones that find you, Tracker Drones that hunt and kill you if you go missing or do something wrong (Trackers are intelligent machines with their own AI), and if they don’t work, you have the worst thing of all, Hunters, but these aren’t drones, these are something far more insidious. These are Humans who have decided to work for the Aliens, and not at gunpoint, or in slave labour camps, but as mercenary bounty hunters, tracking, finding, killing or returning these rogue humans as needed, commonly known as ‘Roamers’.
This is a brilliant, detailed and intricate book, with multiple layers of world building that have been carefully put together to allow each of the main characters to tell their stories in this incredibly creative, and captivating story that once you start reading, you will not be able to put it down. There is even a part 2 right around the corner!!
The story is told from numerous points of view, Lina, a young Navaho woman who ends up alone after drones separate her from the rest of her people. Cole, a Freeborn (freeborn gets explained in the book), young man, who runs into Lina, as they are on the run from some drones, they also have an interesting companion.
There is Alec, a factory worker, who works as a slave, who is sick of how he is forced to live, and wants something better, not just for him, but also for his best friend, Beth who works at the same location.
You get a real feeling for how humanity is only just barely surviving from these people, the character writing is exceptional, incredibly powerful and gritty, very emotive in parts, and in others, kind of terrifying. The lives we take for granted now, even in the midst of the COVID pandemic, are nothing compared to what these people have to endure.
Then we meet Dex, one of the vaunted ‘Hunters’, working to track down humans, his own kind, who have run away from their labour camps. Dex is everything you can despise about someone who turns on his own species as a traitor.
One of the most extraordinary and fascinating characters in the book, is one of the trackers, SW-18, an old tracker unit. These units hunt like a canine, on all fours, using enhanced techniques and algorithms, as well as a complex AI program to allow it to track Humans with incredible ease. Its story is interlaced throughout the others as it hunts various characters some major, some minor, but regardless, it is fascinating to understand how this thing operates, and the alien intelligence at work behind it.
As each of these stories unwinds, you learn a bigger picture, and realise just how impressive the scope of this story actually is. This is going to be one of those books that you will read once, and then later, when parts 2 or 3 come out, you will read them again, to refresh the story and just because they are so good, or if you are an audiobook listener, one that will go in the favourites list to listen to on long road trips. Regardless of your genre, Alien Invasion, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Mil Sci-Fi, Contemporary, or even a bit of Space Opera, this has something for everyone.
Don’t miss this exceptional story, it is just too good to miss!!
Ray Porter is just a pure genius when it comes to doing Narration, with exceptional character voices that are clear and easy to understand, for both male and female voices. He gives such a great rendition of the story he is telling, with such great character voices, with so much passion and emotion, you know what each of the characters is going through, their individual struggles, as well as their happy moments, and he lets you feel these to. One of the great things about reading a book is that you get lost in another world, with imaginary people and places, and a good Narrator doesn’t lose that translation between the words on the page, and you hearing them, a great one, you get so lost in the story, you don’t realise that you are actually listening to someone telling a story you are so wrapped up in the world they are weaving for you. This is the magic of Ray Porter…
63 people found this helpful
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- Willis Burns
- 03-11-20
love, love, love
I’m one of those “Has Ray Porter released a new book today” kind of people. I will devour every single Porter book, good or bad. This one happens to be in the good category. I’d even say pretty great. I’d actually read both of these authors before (well, listened to) and it was fun to see them together.
Highly recommended.
42 people found this helpful
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- Paul Augustus
- 03-13-20
It's worth a listen if you like Ray Porter
I'm drawn to books narrated by Ray Porter as his voice, cadence and style have become quite familiar to me over the years. If you've listened to Ray's fictional reading choices over the years, I think you will enjoy Occupation as the first in a series; and I'm already looking forward to listening to the next book.
30 people found this helpful
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- Katherine
- 03-14-20
Is anything ever going to happen?
Dull, slow, boring. The story just meandered while using ALL the cliches/tropes of “occupation “ and throughly running them into ground with endless repetition. Even the usually awesome Ray Porter sounded as if he was half asleep or drunk - excruciatingly slow narration with nary a nod to differentiate the characters; but then, maybe Me. Porter was right to make them indistinguishable- they were written that way. Just bad all around.
29 people found this helpful
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- Paul Warner
- 04-16-20
For Nathan this is light years better.
Given the bar was low anyway for Nathan. This I attribute to his coauthor. There’s still plenty of Nathanisms. Such as “She bided her tongue” No Nathan, it’s either bite (bit) or held her tongue. His other books, which cried out to be edited by at least his middle school English teacher, had a few Nathanism a chapter. Actually they really became funny and you just had to roll with them.
For the record there really isn’t a gun called a AK-45. Not one someone in the 21st century could find in America. It was a precursor to the AK-47, which I am sure the authors were “shooting for”. The 45’s were never produced for use. Not a one.
Ray Porter did his usual fantastic job. Ray is one lucky dude for not having to suffer through narrating Nathan’s Survivor Series. Luke Daniels who did, must have kept thinking how much of a fool he was sounding like reading what Nathan wrote.
If you think I am being harsh, please don’t. I’ve purchased nearly all of Nathan’s books. I’ve written several reviews asking him to get someone to at least proof his work. He must know he’s needed an editor considering the level of his writing. Hell, great writers use them. It’s a bit insulting to the reader to not go to the trouble of using one. Maybe he just can’t afford one. That being said, his books are really fun and have the bonus of free comedy thrown in.
Thankfully this book is not filled with the characters ruminating over their inner angst the same way in each chapter so as to take up space or time to make the book longer. Of course Nathan would put it “Reiterating in their mind”. My favorite Nathanism!
If you found spelling, grammar or punctuation errors in my review I ask you to be kind. As you didn’t have to pay anything to read my review. I had to buy Nathan’s books to experience his.
Congrats on the improved effort, Nathan. In the future have your coauthor here proof your future work.
27 people found this helpful
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- Alex Sumner
- 03-19-20
Starts out strong then the characters devolve.
I'm about halfway through Occupation and I'm not sure if I can make it to the end. The story is comprised of several tangents featuring a main character and their experiences in occupied Earth after aliens invaded the planet twenty-five years ago and enslaved most of the populace.
The storyline that's featured in the audio sample is interesting. The character is intelligent, realistic, practical and believable too. The other character's storylines, not so much. Initially there are hints they are being dumbed down to suit the storyline's plot devices as the book progressed. I hate when authors do this. My fears were realized with a cringeworthy section of inconsistencies. The character's intelligence regresses to a toddler's, unable to fend for themself, everything is an unknown, gorging on food with negative results, etc, and the whole time the listener is subjected to cumbersome kludgy descriptions of what they discovered and how they overcame impediments, then in the next sentence, and sometimes even in the same sentence, they're polished and sophisticated, able to manipulate equipment like a pro...or at least an adult, anyway. I chalked it up to that character's storyline, but the next transition had that character who had defeated a security system to escape, unable to add 2+2.
I stopped at that point to give my rolly-eye muscles a break.
Ray Porter does a terrific job on narration, illustrating the story and making it vivid, but he can't make up for the authors writing skills. On the other hand, the other character's storylines are not dumbed down and riddled with inconsistencies...yet. So you might give it a try. I'm still on the fence whether I'll continue listening.
17 people found this helpful
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- Josh R
- 03-15-20
Has a Fallen Skies feel
This is an entertaining apocalyptic alien invasion and occupation novel. Humans were by and large annihilated, leaving roughly 10 million people in the US. Most of which are being forced to work in camps on the alien’s behalf and very few free people huddled in small camps throughout the US. There is a fairly large cast, which can be tough to keep track of initially, but most of the characters end up getting fleshed out, and you really get to know them. Ray Porter does an amazing job with this book, as always. Overall, this book is worth a listen, especially if you enjoyed the TV series Fallen Skies. I’m looking forward to book two.
I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
17 people found this helpful
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- Joshua
- 03-10-20
Awsome Book.
Love it cant wait for the next the auther is the best in the post apocalypse genre. Devon C Ford and Ray Porter is an awsome match.
16 people found this helpful
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- Lonnie-The GreatNorthernTroll-Moore
- 03-27-20
Wow! I'm glad I picked this book up!
Dystopian future stories are not necessarily my cup of tea, however, I'd read another book by Nathan Hystad and it was pretty good. In addition, Ray Porter is one of those narrators on my "Insta-buy list", and the price was right... and Aethon books produced it... so yeah, all good reasons to get this one! And WOW! I'm glad that I did!
This book was the AwesomeSauce that am always looking out for, when I start reading! I Loved It!
The story gives us a handful of character perspectives, and Ray Porter really does a great job giving each their own identity, and keeping the listening audience on track!
I found that the writing was tight (something that I always wonder about when authors collaborate), and the story and world building was exceptional, as each character has a different background, and it helped having their worldview! The story is also action-intensive, but without feeling cluttered or chaotic. Again, I Loved it! So grab this book, and slip away from the current reality of pandemics and political machinations for a few hours, and into another world!
11 people found this helpful
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- Jeff
- 05-06-20
Great Read
This is my first read from this author and I really enjoyed it. I knew with Ray Porter as narrator it would be good. Plenty of action and suspense with a mind boggling end along with a great story of alien invasion. I hope the rest of the series goes as well. Highly recommended.
9 people found this helpful
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- Simon
- 03-11-20
Ford Swaps Zombies for Aliens!
Having loved Devon C Ford's previous post apocalyptic series this one was always going to be on my list as with Nathan Hystad he ditches the tired zombies for some fresh aliens. Written a quarter of a century after aliens invade the Earth and wipe out most of humanity, enslaving the rest this is a fast-moving tale set in the US. The two authors have us following multiple points of view with characters on both sides ranging from a remorseless, if slightly whimsical, alien drone to "freeborn" humans trying to eke out their lives in secret away from the alien factories.
It's a clever mix and the action doesn't pause often or for long with Ray Porter the man charged with bringing it all to life as narrator. I've normally very much enjoyed his performances and he has a good range of voices but at times in this one he just sounded tired to me, pepping him up to 1.05x speed seemed to help considerably though.
Personally I would hesitate to say that this ever quite hits the heights of 'After it Happened' but it's still a really enjoyable high action start to the series and I suspect I will be back for more.
10 people found this helpful
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- S. Smith
- 04-08-20
Fantastic start to a new trilogy.
Really enjoyed the first book, so much I have purchased book two before I even finished this book. I will be buying book 3 as soon as my credits come in.
Ray Porter does a really good job at giving each character their own voice.
The book has chapter names. I have listened to books by Devon C Ford, but haven’t, before this book, listened to any of Nathan’s, now after this book I am will have to have a listen to Nathan Hystad.
5 people found this helpful
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- Norma Miles
- 03-13-20
They will rise!
Twenty five years ago the Earth was conquered by the Overseers, an alien race which killed most of the population, enslaving those left to be breeders or work for them. Most can no longer remember a time before the aliens arrived. But there are still some freeborn, living in hiding, trying not to be found by the roaming drones, and there are some amongst those wearing the Overseers identify chip in their wrists who want out, to escape from the daily drudgery serving the alien masters. And there is one tracker drone, SW18, who has been there since the alien arrival, diligently searching for runners from the Overseers camps, who doesn't want to be recycled like most of it's peers. It was experienced and had begun to think.
Told from several different perspectives including that of a worker in one of the alien factories, a freeborn healer who's community has just been destroyed, and a hunter, who's job it is to find and bring back runners from the camps, the book vividly builds a picture of this dominated Earth, setting the scene for revolution against the aliens which hopefully, is to come. There is drama aplenty, and growing characterisation evolving from the action. And there is Ray Porter, helping to bring it all to life through his excellent narration and individual voicing of each of the protagonists. A fine performance which enhances the reader's enjoyment of the novel.
I was very fortunate in being freely gifted with a complimentary copy of Occupation, at my request, by the rights holder through Aethon. Thank you so much. I thoroughly enjoyed this post invasion starter book for the new series, Rise, and am really looking forward to book two. Congratulations to authors Ford and Hystad for together writing a fresh and exciting new post invasion novel which should appeal to all science fiction fans.. Recommended.
5 people found this helpful
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- J Smith
- 06-23-20
Can’t go wrong with Ray Porter
Ray has such a pleasant storytelling voice, I don’t think there’s anything I wouldn’t enjoy if he narrated it and this is no exception. Well paced, with lots of feeling in it, but it’s his character voices where he really excels.
It also helps that it’s a really well thought out, interesting story. I like the way it’s told from the different character’s viewpoints.
Can’t wait for the next in the series!
This is my honest opinion on a free review copy.
4 people found this helpful
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- Paul
- 06-04-20
Brilliantly Executed
The old trope of alien occupation is given a fresh re-work by Devon C Ford and Nathan Hystad.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was well written and the characters were described so that you cared about them, even the bad ones :-)
The narration by Ray Porter was spot on too. Buy it and enjoy it. Recommended
4 people found this helpful
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- Darren Matthews
- 06-01-20
Wow what a story
I loved this book. I am a huge Devon c Ford fan. Once I worked out who the characters were and their view of the situation. I love that it doesn’t give you a full view of what’s happened at the start and gradually gives you the back story as you go along. Ray porter is excellent and I will definitely be listening to more of his work in the future. I just really hope the next book comes out soon so I continue the story.
4 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 05-10-20
create a movie in your head!
Good, well thought out story, with lots of descriptive text. Narration was very good. more!
4 people found this helpful
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- Morris
- 04-25-20
Survival what!? Rise fight survive, thrive!
This is book is all about survival, it really made me think what I would do in that scenario. The author does a fantastic job creating vivid images and realistic reactions. It amazes me how gripping a post-apocalyptic story can get.
I cant wait for the next book.
4 people found this helpful
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- Neville Townsend
- 04-21-20
Good start
A good start to the Occupation series well worth a listen, would recommend if you like space opera
4 people found this helpful
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- Richard C
- 04-09-20
Scattered humans with insurmountable aliens?
The book was written by two authors that are very strong on their own. They have joined together for this series to make a fantastic beginning to what seems to be a very interesting concept. I can't wait for the next book. There are no spoilers in this review.
They build a world in your mind that picks up the story the seemingly disparate threads of scattered groups of humans. The amount of exposition is thankfully limited, you pick up over time the big picture. I felt for them and rooted for their survival. I hated others for their betrayal to humanity and selling out. There are no great cliched characters to this, there are shades of grey. You had to ask yourself if you faced an invader as powerful as this, what would you do to fight and/or survive?
The book built this world slowly and carefully. Then with the accelerator slowly building up as I followed the big picture, suddenly it let the clutch out on a plot supercharger with a whooph! The plot accelerated up to an ending that almost came up too fast. I would have enjoyed a little bit more build and picture building personally. This is where the craftsmanship of a great pairing of authors I think is apparent. This actually makes me want to reread the book again shortly to enjoy the buildup and I know I'll get more out of the book the second time around.
The bit above is from my Kindle review, below covers the audio book
I got the audio book and listened to it as my 2nd reading as it were. Yep Ray Porter did a fantastic job. Yep he does sound a bit weary to answer another reviewers view. I suspect that's the view he's taken on the characters. This book happens nearly 2 decades after the invasion. The people within have been knocked about, some used as slaves and others as bounty hunters. Yes some of them are despicable but you get to read how some of them found the role and that they are viewed as vermin by the aliens with not much offered back to the humans assisting the aliens in rewards once they have been in the role for a few years. I liked this approach to the book. The second reading also helped with bringing together a few deeper understandings about the flow of the book and some of the people presented within. Normally I'll reread/re-listen after a year or two esp with a series but the book didn't seem to grate or slow down much because of rereading it so soon.
4 people found this helpful
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- John - Brisbane
- 07-13-20
Good sci-fi
I really enjoyed this book, the story is similar to other alien invasion stories but different enough to make it engaging, it moves along at good pace and I found the characters interesting especially the real and robot dogs. I had the audible version so can listen whilst I exersize and found the person telling the story easy to listen to. Going to grab the next one right now. :-)