"The Dragon Factory" by Jonathan Maberry

"The Dragon Factory"
by Jonathan Maberry
Read by Ray Porter
Produced by Blackstone Audio
16 hours and 11 minutes

I love it when an author creates a character that is so strong that it constitutes a revisit or even a series based on the character.  But only when it is a Strong Character.  Jonathan Maberry has created a Strong Character in Joe Ledger.  In the first book, "Patient Zero," Ledger is a Detective wanting to get into the FBI, what happens is Ledger is recruited to join a new branch of law enforcement called the DMS (Department of Military Science) in which he leads a team to fight off terrorists who have devised a disease that creates zombies.  The DMS is the branch that keeps the country and the world safe from evil that is beyond the scope of reality.  

The second novel in Maberry's Joe Ledger series starts very soon after "Patient Zero" left off, with Joe visiting the gravesite of one of his oldest and dearest friends. The problem is, the DMS has suddenly been targeted by all the other alphabet soup agencies with the search and seizure order issued by the Vice President of the United States. All the DMS offices and teams soon find themselves under attack from their own government.  Forced to fend off NSA and CIA agents alone, ledger escapes and eventually regroups with the DMS to find that while the President is getting open heart surgery the Vice President is officially in charge and has taken this time to shut down the DMS.  The V.P. as it turns is really a puppet and a mysterious group pulling the strings wants 2 things, 1.) The DMS shut down long enough to institute their plan to destroy the world, and 2.) Mindreader, the DMS computer system that can find anything anywhere. 

The DMS soon learns that the evil afoot is 2 groups of genetic scientists that have genetically created mythical creatures, Dragons, unicorns, centaurs and more.  One of the 2 groups creations are a fighting force which are called Berserkers due to their complete loss of control and destructive chaos the creatures go into when a battle begins.  The Berserkers are super strong, and have a very unique body armor that just cannot be real.  The real threat runs throughout the book in the form of a countdown clock known as the Extinction clock which counts down to when a group of genetic diseases which are prevailent in certain races have been turned into viruses which when released will destroy 6/7ths of the world population leaving most of the Earth's inhabitants to be whites only.

From the first word spoken in this book the action begins and never lets up creating a super action story mixed with some horror and some psychological horror.  For the most part the book is told in First person and Ray Porter owns the role of Joe Ledger.  He also creates the voices of the other characters that not only keeps it clear who is talking but he is able to create through superb voice acting a complete persona for each person capturing perfectly their personality and history.  Porter rocks this book, as he did in the first book, "Patient Zero."  I don't think I could listen to these books read by anyone else.

Maberry writes the perfect action/horror novel.  Really! with Nazi clones, genetically created mythical beasts, the perfect evil mad scientist and his 2 mad scientist children (albino twins) (who are pretty creepy in their own right), ethnic cleansing and a race against time this novel will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout every second of the book.  On the good side a team of soldiers that are too cool for words and a young boy hero that shows what pure goodness is all about.

Now let's see if I can find the next book in the series "The King of Plagues."

"Immortalis - Part 3 of 3" Book 7(of 7) of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore

"Immortalis - Part 3 of 3"
Book 7(of 7) of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R.A. Salvatore
Multicast Performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours.


It is a bittersweet thing to come to an end of any good saga; When I finished the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien I was happy to come to an ending of an adventure but saddened that I was no longer hanging out with my hobbit friends. When Jim Butcher finished his "Codex Alera" series It was cool to see how it all ended but again, sad that I was no longer hanging out with the fury masters. The same goes for "The Demon Wars Saga," by R.A. Salvatore. Through seven books in the series, the adventures in the land of Corona, between the countries of Honce-the-Bear and Behren and all the surrounding areas, The Demon Dactyl, Bestesbulzibar, awoke, tainted the land of the elves, was destroyed, possessed the leader of the Abellican church, was defeated, and then possessed the body of a baby that became king. It took 7 books to get through the adventure but was it ever worth it.

I was introduced to this adventure through the excellent production of audiobooks from GraphicAudio. GraphicAudio's slogan is "A Movie in Your Mind" and do they ever deliver. Every audiobook I've heard from GraphicAudio is phenomenal with excellent voice acting, super realistic sound effects and incidental music that moves you through the story while reflecting the emotion or action of the moment.

The cast of actors not only bring the story to life through their craft of acting, but when an interesting accent is needed they deliver. For example, what accent would you use for an Alpinadoran mountain man? an elf from the Touel'alfar or Doc'alfar? an Abellican Monk were-tiger? There's not really any manual for this but the cast in GraphicAudio's production of this series may have created one.

The special effects also push this story along with superb fluency. The effects are just as difficult to create here, after all what is the sound of an elven arrow piercing the eye of a giant? what does a centaur sound like while running. None of the effects were stock, or at least were produced to be original to the story. Once again the movie in your mind is a reality through all these production elements. When it comes to audiobooks GraphicAudio will put you in the story and you'll never want to leave.

One final aspect of the GraphicAudio production of this saga, is that they split up the seven books to where they averaged three 6 hour parts per book. This made the saga easier to digest in smaller lumps, although I'm looking at purchasing the entire series as a boxed set package for a gift for a friend

Here's how the final book plays out:

Self-proclaimed King of Honce-the-Bear, Adryan, son of Elbryan the Ranger and Jilseponie the warrior/ranger/former Queen, has been sweeping the land conquering those that oppose his rule. Adryan's expertise at the magick of the gemstones of the Abellican church also puts him on to the path to destroying the church and placing the evil Marcalo De'Unnaro as leader of the church. De'Unnaro is the one responsible for killing Adryan's father.

To the South of Honce-the-Bear, in the land of Behren, another Ranger has just won freedom for her people, the To'gai from years of slavery by the Behrenese. The Behrenese church was destroyed in the process. Adryan decides to use that turmoil to conquer Behren. When his plans include conquering To'Gai, the ranger Brin Dahryelle, decides to join the battle defeating Adryan.

So now the peoples up against Adryan include, his mother, another expert of the gemstone magicks, Brin and her Dragon, Agradeleus, the elves of the Touel'alfar and Doc'alfar, the mountain men of Alpinador and their ranger, and Prince Midalis, the rightful heir to the throne of Honce-the-Bear and his army.

The battles all lead to the Abellican Church at the center of it all St. Mere Abell. The battle ensues and Adryan ressurects his father to join with him against his mother. The dragon, Agradeleus, recognizes the Demon Dactyl possessing Adryan's body and alerts the others. This could either mean the way to defeat Adryan or the hopelesness of the battle. How the warriors look at it will change the outcome.

The final battle and the epilogue to the story bring about a great close to the series with a bit of an opening in which R.A. Salvatore could write some more stories with some of the main characters. A great adventure comes to a close but in a way that leaves the reader/listener wanting more yet happy if that is the end.

"Eldest" Inheritance, Book Two by Christopher Paolini

"Eldest"
Inheritance, Book Two
by Christopher Paolini
Published 2005 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Christopher Paolini continues to amaze me. After reading "Eragon," the first book in what is book one of the Inheritance series (three books have been written and it is rumored there is a fourth book on the way.), I was totally sucked in to the fantasy world where dragons, elves, dwarves and magicians exist and an evil king has tried to destroy all Dragon Riders. Now with book two I just couldn't hardly put the book down. When finishing the first book I looked up information on the author and found out the book was written when he was only 15 years old. An amazing feat in and of itself, but to be able to create this fantasy world with many depths that's a serious job for any author,no matter what the age. This second book was published when the author was in his early 20s so now that he's got his style and his world created the books can only get better, as this one does.

In book one, "Eragon," the reader was taken on a quest in which Eragon and his Dragon, Saphira, learned of the reason behind their bonding and the development of their skills as Eragon sought revenge on the Ra'zac for the killing of his uncle. He eventually was taken to the Varden, both to save Arya (the elf that sent the dragon's egg to Eragon, and to escape King Galbatorix's wrath. Along the way Eragon learns his travelling companion, Brom, is a former rider. They also are rescued at one point by Murtagh who joins them on their trip to the Varden, although he says he cannot complet they journey to Farthen Dûr, the home of the Varden. When they arrive in Farthen Dûr, Eragon is led to the leader of the Varden, Ajihad. Ajihad imprisons Murtagh after finding out that he is the son of Morzan, Galbatorix's right hand man.

"Eldest" begins three days after the events of the preceding novel, "Eragon," in the dwarf city of Tronjheim, inside of a hollowed mountain of Farthen Dûr. Farthen Dûr is in the southeastern part of Alagaësia, the continent in Paolini's world where all this action takes place. Eragon must complete his mission and be trained as a dragon rider, to do so he must journey to Ellesméra, the elven capital city located in the forest Du Weldenvarden, on the northern portion of Alagaësia. Before he leaves,Eragon must attend the funeral for the fallen leader of the Varden, Ajihad. Ajihad is ambushed and killed, with Murtagh while Ajihad's other guards are assumed dead. At his funeral, Ajihad's daughter Nasuada is elected to command the Varden. Eragon travels to Ellesméra where he meets Oromis and his dragon Glaedr, the only dragon and Rider secretly alive besides the Eragon and Saphira and Galbatorix. Oromis and Glaedr, however, are both crippled, and so cannot fight Galbatorix and must hide instead to avoid Galbatorix hunting them down. Eragon and Saphira are taught the use of logic, magic theory, scholarship, and combat, among other things.

Back in Farthen Dûr, Nasuada chooses to move the Varden from Tronjheim to Surda, to mount an attack on the Empire. The Varden suffers financial troubles, so Nasuada decides to fund the Varden and the war with Lace. The lace is magically produced and they can sell it cheap. One night when Nasuada is in her room, Elva saves her from an assassination attempt. Elva is the child which Eragon and Saphira blessed, the problem is that this was before Eragon was adept at the ancient language used in magic and accidentally curses her to BE a shield rather than TO BE shielded. Elva locates the assailant, who is killed after unwillingly surrendering information to Varden magicians about a subversive group based in Surda called the Black Hand, who is plotting to kill Nasuada. Nasuada later attends a meeting with key figures in Surda's government to discuss a potential upcoming battle against the Empire. They learn that the conflict is coming sooner than they initially suspected, and mobilize forces to attack, as well as sending for help from the dwarves.

Eragon continues his training, but is discouraged when the scar on his back, caused by the Shade he killed, causes him to have seizures. At the ancient elven ceremony, the Agaetí Blödhren, Eragon is altered by a spectral dragon. The changes alter his senses, and enhance his abilities, as well as healing all of his wounds. Reinvigorated, Eragon continues training until he learns that the Empire will soon attack the Varden in Surda. He leaves without completing his training, to aid the Varden in battle, much like Luke Skywalker left Yoda before his training was finished. I just found this a very neat similarity.

Meanwhile, Roran, Eragon's cousin, is hunted by the Ra'zac in Carvahall. He eventually persuades the entire village to attack the Ra'zac in the night, and succeeds in driving them off. After more conflicts with the village, the Ra'zac manage to kidnap Katrina, Roran's fiancée. Roran then stirs the village to mobilize, departing on a journey to join the Varden in Surda. He leads them to Narda, and then by sea to Teirm. In Teirm, they meet Jeod, who helps them pirate a new vessel from Teirm. Pursued by sloops from the Empire, the vessel manages to escape through a whirlpool, and eventually makes it to Surda, arriving just as the Battle of the Burning Plains is about to begin between Surda and its allies, and the Empire.

When conflict begins, Eragon is able to repel the opposing army using magic. Eventually, a Dragon Rider appears in favor of the Empire. The hostile Dragon Rider kills the dwarf king Hrothgar, and soon begins to fight with Eragon. The Dragon Rider is soon unmasked by Eragon and is revealed to be Murtagh. Murtagh tells Eragon that he was kidnapped and forced into loyalty by Galbatorix after a dragon hatched for him. Murtagh outmatches Eragon, but shows mercy due to their old friendship. Before leaving, Murtagh reveals that Eragon is his brother, and takes Eragon's sword as well. Ultimately, Galbatorix's army is forced to retreat after the arrival of the dwarves and the departure of Murtagh and Thorn. In the end, Eragon and Roran decide that they will seek out Katrina together.

Lots of adventure, lots of excitement all very well portrayed and with some magical storytelling that will suck you into this alternate world.

Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1) by Christopher Paolini

Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1)
by Christopher Paolini
published by Knopf Books for Young Readers 2003

I've always been fascinated that young readers have some of the best literature written for them. The authors that cater to these youth seem to have an inside feel toward what will keep a generation of youth entertained and interested. J.K. Rowling did well with her Harry Potter books, Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) did well with his "Series of Unfortunate Events" and Stephenie Meyer (although I didn't like those books) kept the teens entranced with the "Twilight" series. The fascinating thing is that adults, myself included, can read these books and be entertained as well. But these are all adults writing for a younger audience, so they know how to include the adults as well. But with the "Inheritance" series featuring the new dragon rider Eragon the books have a little extra to offer. These books are written by a member of the audience he is aiming for. Christopher Paolini wrote this first book when he was only 15 years old. In "Eragon," Paolini not only created some fun fiction for youth but as with most good fiction it branches out to all ages. I found this first book very enjoyable and wondered why I hadn't read the book sooner.

The story begins with a young farm boy, Eragon, out hunting for food for his family and just as he is about to down a buck there is an explosion that frightens the deer away and scorches a part of the forest. Eragon goes to find the source and instead finds a a blue and white streaked stone. The stone has to be man made so with the unsuccessful hunting trip he decides to take the stone into his hometown of Carvahal and trade it. After learning the local butcher wants nothing to do with the stone the local blacksmith comes to his aid and purchase the food for Eragon to take back to his family. He also tells Eragon to hide the stone.

Soon a traveling band of merchants come to Eragon's hometown and Eragon and his uncle decide to try to sell the stone. One merchant is known to deal with rarities but even he has never seen such a stone. During the celebration, of sorts, that surrounds the travelling merchants, Brom is introduced as an old story teller. Brom tells the audience, which Eragon is part of, a tale of the Dragon Riders of Alagaësia and how King Galbatorix wanted all the power and killed all dragons and kept the eggs to himself.

After a few days the stone soon reveals its true nature when a dragon hatches from the egg. When Eragon touches the newly hatched dragon he becomes marked with what is later learned to be the Gedwëy Ignasia, or "shining palm", a white/silvery oval of skin located on the hand with which the Rider touches a hatchling.

Two of King Galbatorix's servants, the Ra'zac, come to Carvahall looking for the egg. Eragon and Saphira manage to escape by hiding in the forest, but Eragon's uncle is fatally wounded and the house and farm are burned down by the Ra'zac. Once Garrow dies, Eragon is left with no reason to stay in Carvahall, so he goes after the Ra'zac, seeking vengeance for the destruction of his home and his uncle's death. He is accompanied by Brom, who insists on helping him and Saphira.

Eragon learns how to be Dragon Rider through his bond with Saphira and the training with Brom. On the journey, Brom teaches Eragon sword fighting, magic. Their travels bring them to Teirm, where they are able to track the Ra'zac to the southern city of Dras-Leona. Although they manage to infiltrate the city, Eragon encounters the Ra'zac in a cathedral and he and Brom are forced to make their escape. Later that night, their camp is ambushed by the Ra'zac. A stranger named Murtagh rescues them, but Brom is gravely injured. Knowing that he is about to die, Brom tells Eragon that he used to be a Dragon Rider. His dragon's name was also Saphira, but an evil Dragon Rider named Morzan killed her. Brom then avenged Saphira's death and killed Morzan. After telling Eragon this, Brom dies.

Murtagh becomes Eragon's new companion. They travel to the city Gil'ead to find information on how to find the Varden, a group of rebels who want to see the downfall of Galbatorix. While stopping near Gil'ead, Eragon is captured and imprisoned in the same jail that holds a woman he later discovers is an elf and has been receiving dreams about. Murtagh and Saphira stage a rescue, and Eragon escapes with the unconscious Elf. During the escape, Eragon and Murtagh battle with a Shade – a sorcerer possessed by evil spirits – named Durza. Murtagh shoots Durza between the eyes with an arrow, and the Shade disappears.

After escaping, Eragon contacts the unconscious Elf telepathically, and discovers that her name is Arya. She tells them that she was poisoned while in captivity and that only a potion in the Varden's possession can cure her. Arya is able to give directions to the exact location of the Varden: a city called Tronjheim, which sits in the mountain Farthen Dûr. The group go in search of the Varden, both to save Arya's life and to escape Galbatorix's wrath. When they arrive in Farthen Dûr, Eragon is led to the leader of the Varden, Ajihad. Ajihad imprisons Murtagh after finding out that he is the son of Morzan. Ajihad tells Eragon that Durza was not destroyed by Murtagh's well placed arrow, because the only way to kill a Shade is with a stab to the heart.

Eragon is able to get a short rest, but a new invasion is imminent. As the battle begins, the Varden and the Dwarves are pitted against an enormous army of Urgals, deployed by Durza and Galbatorix. During the battle, Eragon faces Durza again. Durza, having gravely wounded Eragon's back, is about to capture him but is distracted by Saphira and Arya. Durza's attention is diverted long enough for Eragon to stab him in the heart. After Durza's death, the Urgals are released from a spell which had been placed on them, and begin to fight among themselves. The Varden take advantage of this opportunity to make a counter-attack. While Eragon is unconscious, a stranger contacts him telepathically and tells Eragon to come to him for training in the land of the elves.

Some great excitement in this introductory novel. Now I HAVE to read the other books.