N.T. Jenks's Blog

Dragon Clive Cussler, author of over twenty consecutive New York Times bestsellers, brings back beloved hero Dirk Pitt in this electrifying, edge-of-your-seat thriller.

Japan, 1945: Two US bombers take off with atomic bombs. Only one gets through.

The Pacific, 1993: A Japanese cargo ship bound for the United States is instantly, thunderously vaporized, taking with it a Norwegian vessel. Japanese fanatics have developed a chilling plan to devastate and destroy the Western powers. From the ocean depths to the discovery of cache of lost Nazi loot, Dirk Pitt is untangling a savage conspiracy and igniting a daring counterattack. While Washington bureaucrats scramble, a brutal industrialist commands his blackmail scheme from a secret island control center. And Dirk, the dauntless hero of Sahara and Inca Gold, is taking on death-dealing robots and a human-hunting descendant of samurai warriors. Pitt alone controls the West’s secret ace in the hole: a tidal wave of destruction waiting to be triggered on the ocean floor!My Thoughts
I love me a good Clive Cussler novel. In this one Dirk Pit must defeat a group of Japanese supremacists who have plans to defeat all other nations. There was one element from this book that inspired my upcoming book, Dutchman Found. One of the weapons that the villains planed to implement was a bacteria that ate oil while in the ground, thereby starving the oil reliant nations of energy.
I wondered what this bacteria turned the oil into. Since things don't just disappear into nothingness, the bacteria would have to convert the oil into something else. What does oil degrade to naturally?
The answer was natural gas. A large part of which is methane. Methane is an even worse green house gas than carbon dioxide...
​Now you can see where a plot for a book formed from this one idea.The Jungle Juan Cabrillo and the Oregon crew mercenaries are hired to break a wealthy Indonesian businessman's son from the influence of the Taliban in this #1 New York Times-bestselling adventure series.

Jungles come in many forms. There are the steamy rain forests of the Burmese highlands. There are the lies and betrayals of the world of covert operations. And there are the dark and twisted thoughts of a man bent on near-global domination. To pull off their latest mission, Cabrillo and his remarkable men and women must survive them all.

A devastating new weapon unleashed in thirteenth-century China . . . a daring rescue in the snowbound mountains along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border . . . a woman gone missing in the jungles of northern Thailand and Myanmar . . . for Cabrillo and company, all of these events will come together—leading to the greatest threat against U.S. security that the country has ever known.My Thoughts
Oh no, another Cussler novel?
Yep.
Okay here's the thing about this book, I have no idea what ruby crystals have to do with making a quantum computer, but I suppose they made a good mcguffin for the story. the big deal for me was that after the good guys destroyed both the quantum computer and the bad guys, guess who gives them a phone call? Yep the quantum computer. I was so looking forward to seeing that little plot device work it's self into future storylines. Guess what. It didn't. 
Well guess who makes an appearance in my next creation. Don't worry this quantum computer is completely different. Atlas Shrugged  Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand’s magnum opus: a philosophical revolution told in the form of an action thriller.

Who is John Galt? When he says that he will stop the motor of the world, is he a destroyer or a liberator? Why does he have to fight his battles not against his enemies but against those who need him most? Why does he fight his hardest battle against the woman he loves?

You will know the answer to these questions when you discover the reason behind the baffling events that play havoc with the lives of the amazing men and women in this book. You will discover why a productive genius becomes a worthless playboy...why a great steel industrialist is working for his own destruction...why a composer gives up his career on the night of his triumph...why a beautiful woman who runs a transcontinental railroad falls in love with the man she has sworn to kill.

Atlas Shrugged, a modern classic and Rand’s most extensive statement of Objectivism—her groundbreaking philosophy—offers the reader the spectacle of human greatness, depicted with all the poetry and power of one of the twentieth century’s leading artists.
My Thoughts
When I read Ayn Rands book, about a dystopian world where equality for all lead to nothing for anyone, I wondered what someone who had resigned from civilization, like the characters in the book had done, would think about the world today. Would they get sick of waiting for the apocalypse and just come out? Or would they just continue to wait patiently until the world appreciated capitalism and stopped punishing success? Or maybe there was a third option... 
What if they wanted to make their point about socialism but also wanted to rejoin society. How would they do it?

The Chemist She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning. 

Now she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They've killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon. 

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it's her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous. 

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.My ThoughtsSo I read the first Twilight book, (meh) and I read The Host, (really enjoyed it actually) and when I heard that Stephany Meyer was coming out with a new book I was expecting a sequel to the Host, but when I read the synopsis I saw that it was something completely different. A spy thriller? By Stephany Meyer?
It sounded good in the synopsis though, and I am always willing to listen to something new.
Fast paced, filled with suspense, and a whole lot of tech! I enjoyed it a lot. There was the obligatory romance, which is not something I shy away from in my reading material, but gives me my favorite elevator pitch for the book: woman kidnaps and tortures man- they fall in love.Inferno In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces . . . Dante’s Inferno.

Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust . . . before the world is irrevocably altered.My ThoughtsI normally try to post only positive reviews here, and I'm sorry this one is not positive. I am posting it because it says more about me than it does about the book. 
I really enjoy Dan Brown books usually, but this one hit me in the tenders. At the time I listened to this book my wife and I were in a difficult and painful place in our lives. We were trying to add to our family. We had already had one child, my daughter, and we were trying to have another. The problem was my wife couldn't seem to stay pregnant for more than four months. In the beginning we got excited every time she got pregnant. We made plans, came up with names, looked at baby clothes, all the normal parental preparation and pining. When the miscarriage happened we were devastated, but still hopeful. 
We got pregnant again and we were leery. We didn't want to get excited over nothing. This time the loss was somewhat less painful but we were still hopeful. 
At about number five the hope was disappearing. And this is about where I listened to Inferno.
I was enraged! These people were openly sabotaging people's fertility, and no one even blinked at the idea. That and the math was wrong. Making one third of the population infertile doesn't make one third of the population infertile, it makes half of the population infertile. Think about it what are the chances that, even if you are fertile, you fall in love with someone who is infertile. I could imagine the pain this would cause people who wanted a family.  And what about the lucky people who were not effected by the virus but didn't want a family? Would they be forced to make a contribution?
The book irritated the pain I was already experiencing, but since then my wife and I have had two other children. It turned out after eight miscarriages all she needed was a D&C, something that doctors apparently don't readily give when asked.
I have thought about listening to the book again now that the pain is not so tender, but...

Extreme Makeover Lyle Fontanelle is the chief scientist for NewYew, a health and beauty company experimenting with a new, anti-aging hand lotion. As more and more anomalies crop up in testing, Lyle realizes that the lotion's formula has somehow gone horribly wrong. It is actively overwriting the DNA of anyone who uses it, turning them into physical clones of someone else. Lyle wants to destroy the formula, but NewYew thinks it might be the greatest beauty product ever designed--and the world's governments think it's the greatest weapon.My ThoughtsExtreme Makeover
I am a big fan of Dan Wells! I started reading his stuff with partials and that launched me into a game of catch up with his I Am Not A Serial Killer series and Blue Screen. 
In this book one random change in one DNA sequence leads to a breakthrough beauty product... and the end of the world. 
To tell the truth I like the book because it reminds me of the problems that happen in my book Lazarus Coleps and its sequels. It also has some similar consequences.

A billionaire has created a technique to clone dinosaurs. From the DNA that his crack team of scientists extract, he is able to grow the dinosaurs in his laboratories and lock them away on an island behind electric fences, creating a sort of theme park. He asks a group of scientists from several different fields to come and view the park, but something goes terribly wrong when a worker on the island turns traitor and shuts down the power.
​My ThoughtsIf you have read my profile you know that Jurassic Park had a huge impact on my writing life, but as a Jr High kid I read that book over and over again. It fascinated me. That is the kind of science fiction that I love; supremely practical, and written by someone who knows what they are talking about. Something familiar that has been turned on its head, and includes a sense of wonder.
I was extremely disappointed when Michael Crichton passed away, everything I have read by him kept me enthralled on to the end, even the stuff that I have read from his pen name. I wish there were more authors like him, so I want to share the books that I have found that near his level of craft. In this powerhouse of suspense—as brilliantly imagined as Jurassic Park and The Ruins—scientists have made a startling discovery: a fragment of a lost continent, an island with an ecosystem unlike any they’ve seen before . . . an ecosystem that could topple ours like a house of cards. 

The time is now. The place is the Trident, a long-range research vessel hired by the reality TV show Sealife. Aboard is a cast of ambitious young scientists. With a director dying for drama, tiny Henders Island might be just what the show needs. Until the first scientist sets foot on Henders—and the ultimate test of survival begins . . .

For when they reach the island’s shores, scientists are utterly unprepared for what they find—creatures unlike any ever recorded in natural history. This is not a lost world frozen in time, an island of mutants, or a lab where science has gone mad: this is the Earth as it might have looked after evolving on a separate path for half a billion years.

Soon the scientists will stumble on something more shocking than anything humanity has ever encountered: because among the terrors of Henders Island, one life form defies any scientific theory—and must be saved at any cost. International Thriller Writers nominee Best First NovelMy ThoughtsWhat would the world be like if crustaceans had been given the evolutionary advantage instead of mammals? Short answer: you don't want to know. Long answer: read this book to find out. The prospect is both fascinating and terrifying. This book is well within the realm of awesome contemporary science fiction.
A moon rock missing for thirty years...
Five buckets of blood-soaked sand found in a New Mexico canyon...
A scientist with ambition enough to kill...
A monk who will redeem the world...
A dark agency with a deadly mission...
The greatest scientific discovery of all time...
What fire bolt from the galactic dark shattered the Earth eons ago, and now hides in that remote cleft in the southwest U.S. known as Tyrannosaur Canyon?
My ThoughtsThis is the first Douglas Preston book I ever read, probably because it fit in with my fascination with dinosaurs. It is a murder mystery with a science fiction twist.
The thing that killed me though was that the author introduced the idea that it was a space virus that actually killed the dinosaurs by making them transform into something else. Great right? No, there are scientists studying that virus in a secure location and they talk about how wonderful and strange it is, but the book ends without ever telling you what the virus actually does. It is still driving me crazy. I have listened to everything Preston has written, disparate to find out what that virus does. Still nothing. I will probably  search every book that comes out searching for that one answer.Make Listening Easy With Audible

For centuries, historians have speculated that the Queen of Sheba is nothing more than a seductive legend; but when undercover agent Omar Zagouri finds a tomb in a tunnel beneath Jerusalem, he unearths cryptic clues that may lead to the queen’s final resting place.

This discovery, if authentic, could throw into question the governmental claim to the Holy Land—and prove the Bible false. Wealthy collectors, ruthless archaeologists, and officials from Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, and Yemen scramble to find and lay claim to the secret site.

Dr. Richard Lyon of Brown University, the world’s leading expert on the queen, is found murdered in his office, setting off a chain of deadly events. Omar desperately works to piece together the puzzle to locate the queen’s burial ground, fearing another assassination will take place. He teams up with one of Lyon’s protégées as well as with his ex-girlfriend, agent Mia Golding, in order to unravel the truth about the queen, expose a murderer, and reveal a timeless story of love, revenge, and sacrifice.My ThoughtsFinding Sheba has some fascinating insights into the cultures and religions of the Middle East and surrounding areas. It also has a great conflict for Sheba herself as she decides what to be in her own life. This is not the first book I have read by this author and I have enjoyed most of the books I have read by her. This one is wonderful because it is in one of the genres that I seek out most often.
Narrated by Bon Shaw. A power kept secret for 2000 years. A woman who stands to lose everything.

India. When a nun is burned alive on the sacred ghats of Varanasi, and the stone she carried is stolen, an international hunt is triggered for the relics of the early church.

Forged in the fire and blood of martyrs, the Pentecost stones have been handed down through generations of Keepers who kept their power and locations secret.

Until now.

The Keepers are being murdered, the stones stolen by those who would use them for evil in a world transformed by religious fundamentalism.

Oxford University psychologist Morgan Sierra is forced into the search when her sister and niece are held hostage. She is helped by Jake Timber from the mysterious Arkane, a British government agency specializing in paranormal and religious experience. Morgan must risk her own life to save her family, but will she ultimately be betrayed?

From ancient Christian sites in Spain, Italy and Israel to the far reaches of Iran and Tunisia, Morgan and Jake must track down the stones through the myths of the early church in a race against time before a new Pentecost is summoned, this time powered by the fires of evil.

The first in the Arkane series, Pentecost is a fast-paced thriller that explores the edges of faith against a backdrop of early Christian history, archaeology and psychology.My ThoughtsJ.F. Penn sews together action suspense and some wonderful locations in her books. This is the first in a series and a great introduction to the psychologist, ex military, kick butt Morgan Sierra, as she rescues her family and battles her inner demons.
I like the that she uses her knowledge of psychology theory to solve problems. While scuba diving in Tanzania, Sam and Remi Fargo come upon a relic belonging to a long-lost Confederate ship. An anomaly about the relic sets them off chasing a mystery-but unknown to them, a much more powerful force is engaged in the same chase. Mexico's ruling party, the ultranationalist Mexica Tenochca, is intent on finding that artifact as well, because it contains a secret that could destroy the party utterly.

Through Tanzania and Zanzibar, into the rainforests of Madagascar, and across the Indian Ocean to Indonesia and the legendary site of the 1883 Krakatoa explosion, the Fargos and their ruthless opponents pursue the hunt-but only one can win. And the penalty for failure is death.

Filled with the dazzling suspense and breathtaking action that are Cussler's trademarks, Lost Empire is a stunning new novel from the grand master of adventure.My ThoughtsClive Cussler is one of my favorite authors, and I am fairly sure I have listened to everything he has ever written and cowritten. This one though really caught my attention as it followed an ancient civilization in reverse in their migration from the Middle East to Mexico.
The Sam and Remmy fargo adventures is my favorite of the Clive Cussler series' because the main characters are a happily married couple who's connection is inseparable. They fight through obstacles and villains to discover and protect historical artifacts and treasures.Make Your Listening Easy With Audible

​If you tried to read this post before the eleventh of October, I'm sorry. I was so overwhelmed with revisions to Lazarus Coleps, that this post went by the wayside. I appreciate you sticking with me.

Jack would rather be at sea than fixing the mistakes of his grandfather, the late Earl of Stansworth. Instead, he finds that inheriting his grandfather's wealth and title and securing the welfare of his sister and mother means joining the ranks of high society and living with the aristocracy. Luckily, Ivy Carslisle, the granddaughter of a dear friend of Jack's late grandmother, is willing to teach him etiquette and properly introduce him into society. Jack soon learns that his challenge isn't surviving his new lifestyle, but surviving the conspiracies against him as well as keeping himself from falling madly in love with his new tutor.My ThoughtsMy fair gentleman, as you can probably tell from the title, is a role reversal from my fair lady. Jack doesn't want to be an Earl, but must in order to secure a comfortable life for his family. Ivy writes a newspaper column for money, apparently a bad thing for a lady to do back then. Ivy must train the reluctance Jack to be a gentleman.
I must say that as an aspiring writer/diesel mechanic, I can feel for both of the main characters. My situation is a bit different though, in that the diesel mechanic part of my life is what provides for my family, and has done a great job of doing so for more than ten years. Writing has been part of my life for more than that, and it is my passion, but has not been the practical thing to support my family with. And like ivy, I do get some gentle ribbing from coworkers for isolating myself to write at breaks.
This book is narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld. The electrifying new thriller from New York Times bestseller Stephen Hunter takes you deep inside the mind of the most notorious serial killer of all time: Jack the Ripper. 
In the fall of 1888, Jack the Ripper slaughtered five prostitutes in London's seamy Whitechapel District. He did not just kill - he ripped with a butcher's glee - and then, after the particularly gruesome slaying of Mary Jane Kelly, he disappeared. For 127 years, Jack has haunted the dark corners of our imagination, the paradigm of the psychotic killer. We remember him not only for his crimes, but because, despite one of the biggest dragnets in London history, he was never caught. 
I, Ripper is a vivid reimagining of Jack's personal story entwined with that of an Irish journalist who covered the case, knew the principals, charted the investigation, and at last, stymied, went off in a bold new direction. These two men stalk each other through a city twisted in fear of the madman's blade, a cat-and-mouse game that brings to life the sounds and smells of the fleshpot tenderloin of Whitechapel and all the lurid acts that fueled the Ripper headlines. 
Dripping with intrigue, atmosphere, and diabolical twists, this is a magnificent psychological thriller from perennial New York Times bestseller Stephen Hunter, who the San Francisco Examiner calls "one of the best storytellers of his generation."My ThoughtsI love Stephen Hunter books, but this one is different from all the other stuff that I have listened to from him. This one follows a reporter and his pursuit of Jack the Ripper. There are also diary pages inserted in from the hand of jack himself.
A content warning here. Because we see some of the story from the point of view of the murderer, and he is murdering prostitutes, those squeamish about either of those things should avoid this one. I push skip if things get to steamy, and I did push skip.
The thing that really got me was the unexpected, and quite disturbing, tie in to the play My Fair Lady.
Yes this post is themed:)
This book is Narrated by: Michael Page. 
In 1607, three ships arrive on the coast of Virginia to establish Jamestown Colony. One girl's life - and the lives of her people - are changed forever. 
To Pocahontas and her people, the Tidewater is the rightful home of the Powhatan tribe. To England it is Virginia Territory, fertile with promise, rich with silver and gold. As Jamestown struggles to take root, John Smith knows that the only hope for survival lies with the Powhatan people. He knows, too, that they would rather see the English starve than yield their homeland to invaders. In the midst of this conflict, Pocahontas, the daughter of the great chief, forges an unlikely friendship with Smith. Their bond preserves a wary peace - but control can rest only in one nation's hands. When that peace is broken, Pocahontas must choose between power and servitude - between self and sacrifice - for the sake of her people and her land
My ThoughtsThe most disturbing thing that I found in this book was how inferior the white man's weapons were to the Indians bows and arrows. With your single shot musket you shoot once then drop the heavy contrivance and run as fast as you can, ending up with ten arrows in your back. If it weren't for the endless supply of replacement white men and their diseases I'm sure the native Americans would have retained their land.
Once again, the theme of this post is My Fair Lady, and this book fits the theme by making a Native American woman into an English lady.
This book has a full cast of narrators: Angela Daw, Scott Merriman, Luke Daniels
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“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”


In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable--something impossible.


Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.LessMy ThoughtsThis book gives a whole new meaning to the word infinite. Imagine seeing every possible differentiation of the world, which one would you want to stay in? Jason knows which one he wants.
Jason's desparate quest to reclaim his family is what I liked about this book. The way he had to control his emotions in order to actualy succeed will probably resonate with any parent, or spouse.
The worlds he reaches where things are different are heart rending. The world where his wife and child are victims of a horrible plague. The worlds where his wife does not even know him. Then in the end he must battle himself... literally!
Jon Lindstrom narrated this book. In the first full-length biography of Alexander Hamilton in decades, Ron Chernow tells the riveting story of a man who overcame all odds to shape, inspire, and scandalize the newborn America. According to historian Joseph Ellis,  Alexander Hamilton  is “a robust full-length portrait, in my view the best ever written, of the most brilliant, charismatic and dangerous founder of them all.”

Few figures in American history have been more hotly debated or more grossly misunderstood than Alexander Hamilton. Chernow’s biography gives Hamilton his due and sets the record straight, deftly illustrating that the political and economic greatness of today’s America is the result of Hamilton’s countless sacrifices to champion ideas that were often wildly disputed during his time. “To repudiate his legacy,” Chernow writes, “is, in many ways, to repudiate the modern world.” Chernow here recounts Hamilton’s turbulent life: an illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the Caribbean, he came out of nowhere to take America by storm, rising to become George Washington’s aide-de-camp in the Continental Army, coauthoring The Federalist Papers, founding the Bank of New York, leading the Federalist Party, and becoming the first Treasury Secretary of the United States.Historians have long told the story of America’s birth as the triumph of Jefferson’s democratic ideals over the aristocratic intentions of Hamilton. Chernow presents an entirely different man, whose legendary ambitions were motivated not merely by self-interest but by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build the foundations of American prosperity and power. His is a Hamilton far more human than we’ve encountered before—from his shame about his birth to his fiery aspirations, from his intimate relationships with childhood friends to his titanic feuds with Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Monroe, and Burr, and from his highly public affair with Maria Reynolds to his loving marriage to his loyal wife Eliza. And never before has there been a more vivid account of Hamilton’s famous and mysterious death in a duel with Aaron Burr in July of 1804.
Chernow’s biography is not just a portrait of Hamilton, but the story of America’s birth seen through its most central figure. At a critical time to look back to our roots,  Alexander Hamilton  will remind readers of the purpose of our institutions and our heritage as Americans.MyThoughtsI did not not know much about the creator of the American financial system until I listened to this book. Once again, I love history, especially the stuff we look back at and think, "what were they thinking?" There was plenty of that in this book. And by the way it only increased my dislike of Thomas Jefferson that I acquired when I read John Adams' biography. I guess I need to read a Thomas Jefferson biography so I can hear his side of the story, maybe I will understand him little better.
This book was narrated by one of my favorites: Scott Brick.
Meet John Milton. He considers himself an artisan. A craftsman. His trade is murder. Milton is the man the government sends after you when everything else has failed. You wouldn't pick him out of a crowd but you wouldn't want to be on his list. 

In this dip into his case files, Milton is sent into North Korea. With nothing but a sniper rifle, bad intentions and a very particular target, will Milton be able to take on the secret police of the most dangerous failed state on the planet
My ThoughtsThis book is a prequel to The Cleaner. It is a fairly short book, but it had everything that I expect from an awsome thriller. Gut clenching action and plenty of tight spots for Milton to wriggle out of.
Narated by David Thorpe
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Try it free today!Update on Lazarus ColepsI am still working on revisions on my first book Lazarus Coleps. I have a deadline of October 1st to have this draft to my editor. I am looking forward to sharing it with you.

RemakeNine is the ninth female born in her batch of ten females and ten males. By design, her life in Freedom Province is without complications or consequences. However, such freedom comes with a price. The Prime Maker is determined to keep that price a secret from the new batches of citizens that are born, nurtured, and raised androgynously.

But Nine isn't like every other batcher. She harbors indecision and worries about her upcoming Remake Day -- her seventeenth birthday, the age when batchers fly to the Remake facility and have the freedom to choose who and what they'll be.

When Nine discovers the truth about life outside of Freedom Province, including the secret plan of the Prime Maker, she is pulled between two worlds and two lives. Her decisions will test her courage, her heart, and her beliefs. Who can she trust? Who does she love? And most importantly, who will she decide to be?My ThoughtsWhen Nine was introduced into the rebels daily life, one not scrubbed clean of pain and consequences, she was so out of place. It was so alien to her. I really felt for her and her predicament, all of her plans and expectations disappointed, then as she spent more time there and became integrated into the family she became far more attached. Falling in love distanced her from her old life even more.
A great story, with a main character I both felt for, and loved.
Kirsten Potter, the narrator, really brought the story to life with some wonderful accents. I will have to find more books narrated by her. TimeboundWhen Kate Pierce-Keller’s grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is delusional. But it all becomes horrifyingly real when a murder in the past destroys the foundation of Kate’s present-day life. Suddenly, that medallion is the only thing protecting Kate from blinking out of existence.

Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and Kate’s genetic ability to time-travel makes her the only one who can stop him. Risking everything, she travels to the Chicago World’s Fair to try to prevent the killing and the chain of events that follows.

Changing the timeline comes with a personal cost, however—if Kate succeeds, the boy she loves will have no memory of her existence. And regardless of her motives, does she have the right to manipulate the fate of the entire world?My ThoughtsOkay I have to admit that ever since I watched Back To The Future when I was a kid, I have been fascinated by time travel. I think it's the interaction with history. I love history and the idea of actually seeing, and interacting with the people and actual events gets my attention very quickly.
Time travelers stuck in the past and having to make a life there while trying not to change the past is a fascinating concept to me. The whole fish out of water thing. Although being historians they were prepared.
Kate on the other hand is less prepared. And less enthusiastic about the idea.
The story is narrated by Kate Rudd. Off to Be the WizardMartin Banks is just a normal guy who has made an abnormal discovery: he can manipulate reality, thanks to reality being nothing more than a computer program. With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.



What could possibly go wrong?



An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin…and not, y’know, die or anything.My ThoughtsAs the owner of three Fieros in my life, I have to say that the idea of an indestructible one driving around mid evil England gave me the giggles. In fact the entire book was the cause of many laugh out loud moments, which can cause some awkward situations when working around others while listening.
Okay, so, my favorite character in the book was Jimmy, aka Merlin. I love the way he can justify anything. It made for a very sympathetic villain.
FYI I listened to this book, and the previous one with a free trial of Kindle Unlimited.
This Book is narrated by Luke Daniels.Make your listening easy with audible.
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