Lynn's Romance Enthusiasm: Audiobookworm Presents: Salvage Rat by Larry N. Martin; #AudiobookTour, #NowAvailable, #OutNow, #TBR, #Review

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

Audiobookworm Presents: Salvage Rat by Larry N. Martin; #AudiobookTour, #NowAvailable, #OutNow, #TBR, #Review

Author: Larry N. Martin

Narrator: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 8 hours 56 minutes

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Released: Sep. 9, 2018

Genre: Military Science Fiction

Rating: 5 Stars

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

Star Force pilot and hero Wyatt McCoy left his medals and career behind after the Rim Wars, disillusioned and bitter when he learns the truths behind the conflict. He takes his converted gunship, the Nellie B, and heads to the Near Fringe, salvaging derelict ships and abandoned stations and mining colonies.

Dr. Beth Parker is a space archaeologist, documenting the history of planetary expansion and colonization for Kalok Enterprises and the Interplanetary Mining Guild. A piece of alien technology embeds itself in Beth's arm, giving her the ability to see the energy impressions of long-ago people and events. When Beth uncovers proof of genocide that could bring down the big mining companies, she's the target of assassins.

Wyatt makes a split-second decision to intervene, launching them both into a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game with some of the most powerful organizations in the system. They can prove Kalok and Interplan killed millions - but can they live long enough to tell their story?

This was a case of taking a chance. I’m a romance snob – yes, I admit it. I’ve lived for romance since my grandmother put my first Harlequin in my hand. Then the chance to listen to this book came across my desktop. If someone had put the book in my hand I probably would have wrinkled my nose and said no thanks. I do like science fiction and I like action & adventure – and yes it usually has a romance theme. But this time I really didn’t mind not having that – although I could pick up a hint or two along the way.

One reason that I even thought about listening was due to the narrator, Jeffrey Kafer. He has a great voice and it was a perfect way to get me lost in a world with Wyatt and Nellie. He reminded me what I loved about watching Star Trek when I was a kid. Thankfully he didn’t try and imitate a female voice. That would just have made me laugh. Even though the book isn’t told in the first person, I felt as if Wyatt was telling us the story.

Make no mistake though, just because I loved the show doesn’t mean that I’d ever pick up a book by Mr. Roddenberry – not my thing. And that would probably be the same here. I loved listening about our characters and the world that Mr. Martin has created but would probably have turned my nose up if someone put a copy of the book in my hand.

I thoroughly enjoyed building his world in my head. Our author made it very easy for me to picture every scene as it developed. Even if I did read the book, I don’t know that my mind would create the same pictures. And I don’t think it would have left me wanting more. When you can get out of your comfort zone and try something new, sometimes you’ll find an unexpected gem. But if you never try than you’ll never know what you might have missed.

Larry N. Martin is the author of the new sci-fi adventure novel Salvage Rat. He is the co-author (with Gail Z. Martin) of the Spells, Salt, and Steel/New Templars series; the Steampunk series Iron & Blood; and a collection of short stories and novellas: The Storm & Fury Adventures set in the Iron & Blood universe. He is also the co-author of the upcoming Wasteland Marshals series and the Joe Mack Cauldron/Secret Council series.

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Jeffrey Kafer - Jeffrey Kafer is a full-time SAG-AFTRA audiobook narrator. He has narrated over 450 books in almost every genre for such authors Clive Barker, Steve Alten, Maya Banks, Gregg Olsen and many others. He has 2 degrees in cinema and broadcasting and spent the first part of his career as a video game tester for Microsoft before following his true passion of acting. He’s been on stage since he was 13 (his mom still has the bellhop costume she made) and currently lives in Los Angeles with his family and dog.