Description
For a week, Brek Trigan has left behind the frigid nights and icy days of life on the mining colony he calls home. He’s on holiday to his ancestral planet, and he finds a sparkling, welcoming world of riches and warmth.
But the longer he remains, the more he begins to see cracks in the glistening façade. When civil unrest erupts, Brek’s plans for a peaceful getaway are dashed. Suddenly he’s drawn into a conflict that will change the fate of his people, whether he wants to be or not.
Leah Brock –
This review is also posted at Audible.
‘Catalyst’ is the first book of ‘Tribari Freedom Chronicle’. While it is short, it does a great job of setting up the universe in which the following books exist. The author has drawn contrasts between the harsh, dangerous and cold conditions of the mining colony and the warm, opulent luxury of the planet it supplies. But is everything as it seems? Brek Trigan, on a long worked for vacation from his icy moon, inadvertently gets involved in a worker protest on the planet. Will he start to see things in a different light? Maybe things don’t have to just be ‘status quo’.
Rachel Ford has created a good base for her universe with this story. It is well-written and well-conceived. The narration by Megan Green is a nice compliment to the story. I liked it despite its short length. It still feels like a complete story. Recommended.
I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request. This is my voluntary review.
Krystal –
I should note that the main reason I picked this up is because I listened to Ford’s T-Rexes and Tax Law and absolutely loved it. Though I still got Ford’s writing style, this book definitely has a different, darker feel to it.
This was a really short audiobook and left me desiring more from it. Luckily, this is a series, so I hope Rachel Ford expands more upon … well, everything. On one hand, I can understand writing something short to whet the appetite for readers to continue the series. On the other hand, this may have been too brief. Aside from this being incredibly short, I think there may be great potential here. Ford merely hinted at what’s to come and I think (or hope) that we’ll see a big change coming to Brek’s story arc in the series.
I don’t know if Megan Green was the best narrator for this series. I think her posh British accent does work well for citizens in Brek’s ancestral home, but I really didn’t like her voice for Brek himself. It’s slow and makes him seem sort of stupid, when he’s merely a bit naive when it comes to what is really going on in Red Central. If Brek remains the central figure in this series, I wish that they the author or publisher had selected a male narrator or someone who is really good at male voices.
I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.