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  • Beyond the Gates

  • The Starborn Redemption, Book 1
  • By: Jason D. Morrow
  • Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
  • Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)

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Beyond the Gates

By: Jason D. Morrow
Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
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Summary

The Containment Zone is a 500-mile radius surrounded by mountains and closed in by gates. No one can leave, and anyone who tries will die. Within are lawless bandits, corrupt soldiers, and once-human greyskins that hunt down people to spread the virus. Some say the Containment Zone is where the greyskin virus originated. Others say the people inside are little more than lab rats being studied by the nefarious Screven government.

When 12-year-old Skylar and her father, Liam, are caught trying to escape, they are taken to Vulture Hill, a government prison camp no one has ever left alive. Inside the prison, Skylar learns that the facility is little more than a testing site for finding people of a certain bloodline - the Starborn. These are people with special powers that manifests in various spectacular ways, and Screven wants to exploit them.

Skylar has always known there was something special about her family. For years, her father has had the ability to completely numb pain with just a thought. Lacerated skin, broken bones, they can all be ignored with enough concentration. Learning that her father is a Starborn means Skylar is probably one too, placing them both in extreme danger.

Now, father and daughter must do the impossible and break out of a prison known for killing so many. But Liam has leverage the government may be willing to buy - the cure for the greyskin virus.

The first two books of The Starborn Redemption are set 40 years after The Starborn Ascension and 17 years before The Starborn Uprising. Each Series can be listened to independently.

©2019 Jason D. Morrow (P)2019 Jason D. Morrow
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    5 out of 5 stars
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enjoyable book

Enjoyed this audio book very much from start to finish great story line too
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

zombies or prison - tough choice

Note: While this is Book 1 of the Starborn Redemption series, it is also Book 7 of the larger Starborn series. It’s works pretty well as a stand alone novel.

This story combines two elements very well – prison survival and zombies. In this case, the zombies are called greyskins. They act pretty much as normal zombies do. They shamble around scratching or biting living humans, which then infects them and when those humans die, they rise again as greyskins. However, the majority of this story isn’t so much about the zombies as it is about surviving this plague of zombies (and horrible humans who just have to make life harder).

Skylar and her dad Liam have both been captured, though they are smart to not let the guards know that they are related. At the prison, they are separated along with all the other new prisoners – men to one side and women to the other side of the prison. They each go through their own traumas, and each does their best to feel out the other inmates, hoping for allies.

Blackwell, the guy who runs it is quite brutal, but it seems that his off-site boss is even worse. Initial entry to the prison means a harsh cleaning by power hose, removal of hair, and also taking a blood sample. The boss isn’t shy about letting it be known that they are searching for Starborn, those that have special abilities. Right away, both Liam and Skylar know they have a limited amount of time before they are discovered. So lots of delicious suspense and ramping intensity throughout the story just for this little plot line alone.

I enjoyed the short flashbacks as they told the story of Liam and how they lost Skylar’s mom. Liam is certain he has discovered a cure for the greyskin virus, and that is their only bargaining chip. Both guard is closely until it looks like it’s the only thing that will keep them alive.

Nine is a great side character. She’s full of mystery and I wouldn’t be surprised if her back story is told in one of the other Starborn series. As it stands, this story does end a bit of a cliff hanger and I want to know what happens next for these characters. It’s an engaging story and I will be adding other Morrow audiobooks to my wishlist! 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Stacy Gonzalez had a great voice for Skylar. She sounded just like a kid stuck in a horrible situation. I also loved her old, hushed, worn out voice for Nine. Her male voices could use a little more masculinity. Sometimes they were spot on (like for grouchy Blackwell or young Hutch), but sometimes I had trouble distinguishing Liam from his daughter Sky. The pacing was perfect and there were no tech issues with the recording. 4.5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Stacy Gonzalez. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Trust your gift

Forty years before, society was devastated by a virulent virus which killed quickly then restored a sort of life to the bodies. These creatures became known as Greyskins. Life continued, some areas more contaminated than others. One particularly badly over-run area was designated a containment area with No one allowed to leave without permission. But there is something suspicious about the military control which seems almost to favour Greyskins over survivors.
The ongoing story is told from the perspective of Liam and Skylar, rather and twelve years old daughter. Caught in the containment area, they are bussed to the notorious Culture Bill Prison Camp, from which no one is known to have returned, and follows their lives inside and the treatment endured. Because Liam has a secret: he has invented a cure for the Greyskin virus, or rather, an antidote which kills it completely. Will this be enough to secure their escape from the prison life?

The dual points of view allow the reader to be shown different areas and happenings within the prison whilst still keeping the story intensely personal..And this works well. What would have been welcomed, however, was a more fulsome accounting of the preceding forty years, how the virus first developed and spread and the country became divided into desperately sectioned areas ( presumably!).
The reader knows even less of the geography and history than the twelve years old girl. It is almost as if they exist in a vacuum prior to their delivery to the prison apart from a couple of brief incidents mentioned retrospectively. And almost nothing is knkwn, either, of the Greyskins themselves: zombie-like, they infect the healthy by biting, foam around in large flocks but, well, they have been around for 40 years, surely a little more information was possible. This reader would certainly have enjoyed more background information to better set a scene.
Characterisation was pretty good for the two main protagonists - one a frightened young girl, the other a father determined to keep his only child safe - mostly provided by the introspective monologues each holds in their heads. Other characters, well, not so much but adequate. Narrator, Stacy Gonzalez, did a fine job of interpreting the father and daughter and also gave individual voicings for the other characters met along the way, even if they mostly all sounded like mentally defective ancients. It was a good attempt for one whose voice did not have the timbre to portray the depth of male speech.

This, part one of the two part Starborn Redemption series, and with the definite invitation to continue on to book two, ends with an immediate resolution but still a cliffhanger. My thanks to the rights holder of Beyond the Gates, who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy, via Audiobook Boom. It was a gripping post apocalyptic tale, rather different from most, including other zombie stories, and more horror than S.F. It also heavily hints at far more of interest in its background than is displayed - the mysterious Jeremiah, the growing hordes of zombies even after forty years, the strange way that the containment area was policed and closed: all was far more intriguing to this reader than the immediate story, though it was pretty good overall. Of course, this was my first Starborn book and it is quite possible that some of my queries have already been answered in other series, but, it so, a synopsis would have been appreciated.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

thoroughly enjoyed

the narrator was fantastic Four this book there were two different narrators for both characters and it keeps you on the edge of your toes definitely worth a listen

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beyond the Gates

Beyond the Gates is book one in The Starborn Redemption series, and I was gripped from the start. The beginning reads a lot like the Nazi concentration camps with eerie striking similarities, with our main character – 12 year old Skylar and her father, Liam, who have been caught trying to escape the containment zone and are being taken to Vulture Hill, a government prison camp. This is the type of camp you will die at – there is not hope of escape of release.

There is not a whole lot that happens throughout the book other than Sklyar and her father trying to survive and look for possible means of escape,all the while getting snippets of the greyskins. It is told from the duel perspective of Skylar and Liam, allowing you see how both are reacting and coping to their circumstances. There is not a whole lot of back story as to what happened 40 years ago to make the greyskins take over so I hope that is covered more in the next book and believe me there will be another book. this does end on a bit of a cliffhanger.

The story was good and held my attention, I loved the build up as the book went out and I can only imagine what is in story for Sklar and Liam in book and I can not wait to find out!

The Narration:

Stacy Gonzalez brought this story to life, alternating between characters flawlessly and smoothly. The audio was crisp and clear with no background noise or static. She did a great job at the character emotions and I hope she narrates book 2!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

Easy to listen to. Not ridiculously out of the realms of possibilities. A few twists and turns. Interested to see what happens next but I wouldn't listen to this again. Characters lacked depth and I found myself not caring too much what happened.... which isn't the sign of a page Turner. But the story has me intrigued....

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