about the same

still waiting for the story to change but it's still the same good guy and bad.

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Just Excellent!

Annihilation, the seventh book in the Star Force series from author B V Larson steps things up to the next level being a rather more riveting read than perhaps the previous two books. This is not to say that the previous titles were not in themselves a decent and enjoyable read but Larson has managed to find another gear with Annihilation which is just astonishing when you consider just how consistently good an author he is. I have praised Larsson's work in both this series and the other "Undying Mercenaries" series which I recommend by the way and I cannot say that I have read what amounts to a poor story from him so far. I would have to say, rather ironically perhaps, that the first book that kicked off this series entitled "Swarm" was in my view the overall weakest. Having read that book I was left in two minds as to whether I should carry on with the series or call it a day on it. I was very pleased that I did carry on with the series and can definitely say that Larson has developed and weaved a clever saga thus far which is of high quality. Each book can be read in a stand-alone format if the reader so decides and Larson does do some minor background exposition in order to fill in a new reader on the key elements but as the series progresses I think it becomes more and more necessary to have read the series thus far.

Interestingly, the publishers notes on Audible state that this story is the longest one yet in the series but it comes in at a run time of under 13 hours which does not make it the longest so far so I am puzzled how this claim was come by. Had the narrator been different and perhaps read slower then the claim might be justified in some way but wisely the publisher sticks with the excellent Mark Boyett who has read at a consistent speed throughout the series. Anyway, a very minor observation and not one that impacts the story in any way.

Larson keeps the reader or listener in this case engaged at all times and I can honestly say that I never found my mind wandering from time to time as has been sometimes the case with other authors works. Larson's prose are straightforward and efficient and moves the narrative along in a flowing and natural way which I really like.

For those of you that have read the series so far, I will not go into any plot detail here but suffice to say that things are not good for our hero, Kyle Riggs and events in Annihilation leave him emotionally scarred. One plot element I did feel was sort of clear to see from the readers perspective as to how it would turn out and the old axiom of "Trust no one" perhaps rings true in this story. let's just say that one of Rig's major weaknesses is that despite his age, his judgement is often influenced by a pretty face.

As briefly alluded to above, the narrator, Mark Boyett does an excellent job as ever and his range of voices is both wide and superb in quality. Larson has a particular knack of portraying alien species in a way that does not try to bestow human personality or cultural traits upon them and succeeds brilliantly in depicting a truly alien mind that works very differently from our own. I did spot some minor errors during the reading of this book and I don't know if they were errors of narration or writing. In one chapter we encounter what sounds to me like a "Commander Becker" who promptly becomes "Commodore Becker" on two subsequent occasions before returning to her rightful rank of Commander once more. Later, unless I heard the name wrong originally, it sounds like the Becker character has become Decker. I think I spotted just one other minor error where I heard the word "turned" instead of what clearly should have been "tuned". Again, very minor and as I said, it could actually be the writing or proof reading process that was in error and not the excellent narration.

Annihilation packs a lot of punch and is a story that never slows down. As ever with a series of books from Larson, we are left in an interesting situation that just begs the reader to come back for the next instalment. This seventh book in the Star Force series is an excellent read and will not disappoint.

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3 people found this helpful

Very good book 📙 😁 👌 👍

Great book love the series great narration and story I am looking forward to listening to the next one I highly recommend listening to this book series 👍 😁 📙 ☕

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Good but....

This is without doubt a strange book to review. The story moves along at at good pace keeping the listener engaged in the story. The series of books also keep you hooked so you want to know what happens next.

The problem I have is with the main character Kyle Riggs, he must be the most arrogant pillock I have ever come across. As long as you can resist putting your fist through your speakers it's a good listen.

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7 people found this helpful

The tory is getting better again.

The story got a new push as it was a bit slowing down. the characters are still in a bit of a need for more growth after what they experience.
The next book herr I come.

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Unconvincing science or character decisions and a bit misogynistic

The performance was good, but the book lacks a convincing plot. I can’t write, but I’d dare to say the author might have been too idealistic. Letting this get on the way of proper story telling and character development.

Also I find poor the relationships with women in the book. I’m all for sex and attraction but there are much better ways of doing this. With better depth of characters.

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painful

the main character has become stupid arrogant sexist and painful not in a good way.
that's enough now.
shame I was really enjoying this.

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3 people found this helpful