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Metamor City #9
Things Unseen
In the Year 1974 CR, a team of explorers vanished at the mysterious Telvari Rift. 25 years later, a new group of adventurers has braved this forbidden zone. Some sought power. Some sought answers. None expected what they found. Now a trail of death follows them from the jungles of the Rift to the towers of Metamor City, and only police detectives Kathryn Kitaen and David Silverleaf can stop it.
METAMOR CITY is a futuristic urban fantasy series popularized by the award-winning Metamor City Podcast (www.metamorcity.com). Since launching in September 2007 the series has garnered over 3 million downloads and two Parsec Awards for outstanding audio fiction.
METAMOR CITY is a futuristic urban fantasy series popularized by the award-winning Metamor City Podcast (www.metamorcity.com). Since launching in September 2007 the series has garnered over 3 million downloads and two Parsec Awards for outstanding audio fiction.
691 pages, ebook
First published June 25, 2013
3 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Chris Lester
32 books47 followersHi there! I'm Chris Lester, and I tell stories. I've been doing it for as long as I can remember; whether the audience was a playmate, a classroom, a parent, or a room full of strangers, I've always had a soft spot for a tale well told.
I grew up on stories of places that never were, of science fiction and fantasy, heroes and gods. I was captivated by ideas of transformation and transcendence, of people who passed out of the world of the ordinary and into a world where the impossible could happen. While it was the spectacle and wonder of these stories that gripped me first, as I grew older I came to appreciate them for another reason: by taking us out of our mundane context, these authors could tackle ideas and quandaries that would otherwise be too close for the reader's comfort. Authors like Tolkien and Heinlein and Card may have written stories filled with impossible things, but the stories were ABOUT ideas and problems at the heart of human experience. They were stories about people -- and whether those people were hobbits or Martians or nine-year-old military masterminds, there was Truth to be found in these stories that could be of value to us today.
It's my hope that my own stories inspire you to think about these deeper issues, as well -- and give you a rollicking good time in the process.
If you'd like to say hello, come check out my Discord server: https://discord.gg/PFHVVNp
I grew up on stories of places that never were, of science fiction and fantasy, heroes and gods. I was captivated by ideas of transformation and transcendence, of people who passed out of the world of the ordinary and into a world where the impossible could happen. While it was the spectacle and wonder of these stories that gripped me first, as I grew older I came to appreciate them for another reason: by taking us out of our mundane context, these authors could tackle ideas and quandaries that would otherwise be too close for the reader's comfort. Authors like Tolkien and Heinlein and Card may have written stories filled with impossible things, but the stories were ABOUT ideas and problems at the heart of human experience. They were stories about people -- and whether those people were hobbits or Martians or nine-year-old military masterminds, there was Truth to be found in these stories that could be of value to us today.
It's my hope that my own stories inspire you to think about these deeper issues, as well -- and give you a rollicking good time in the process.
If you'd like to say hello, come check out my Discord server: https://discord.gg/PFHVVNp
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 4, 2014
Have you ever had a book take a hold of you so completely, so thoroughly, so utterly, that what I'm about to say will not surprise you in the least? Go back and read that sentence again at the end of the review. I'm putting a little whammy on you; putting it there in front, but trust me, it needs to be there.
I read this on the train to work. I read it while waiting in line at Starbucks, even if there was only one person in front of me. I read while walking into people on the way to the line at Starbucks. I shunned the invites to you-are-a-new-work-colleague-therefore-you-are-invited-to-our-lunch-group. I alienated people in the elevator, on the stairs, in the deli, and walking from the station, took my life in my own hands as I did NOT check my perimeter like a single woman walking alone at night at a sketchy as fuck train station parking lot should do. BECAUSE I WAS FUCKING READING DON'T EVEN TRY TO MURDER ME. I WILL HURT YOU SO MUCH WORSE THAN DEATH.
I resented everything that took me away from this book, including going to the toilet (I have a special toilet book right now, so I'm not "allowed" to read the Kindle there-who makes up these rules? Oh, that's right, I do. Stupid past Me!)
And the worst part was when I would, for the fraction of a moment, entertain other conversations with people, and they asked me to describe it, I would blubber like a winner on Ellen. I couldn't possible, POSSIBLE narrow down this world for you into a snippet. You will have to take my slack jawed, drooling, hand flapping, air channel wheezing, hair standing up on end word for it. Because really. IT'S THAT.FUCKING.GOOD.
I'm ashamed to say I actually know this man, he's a close friend of mine. I went to his Thanksgiving dinner. He makes great turkey.
I'm whimpering at the idea of the other stories in his menagerie; clearly I'm some sort of sadist to keep coming back-but this is the very thing that keeps my blood pumping and my heart racing, and my legs bicycling. I'm a crazed optimist: always seeing the good in people. Always looking for the way we can turn this lemonade into more than lemonade but into sweet nectar.
And yet.
And yet.
It's the arcane, the struggle, the soft erotica that revs me.
It's the decisions-the TOUGH decisions that come to each of us, fictional and real.
It's the company we choose.
It's the purpose that drives us. (Sorry, drifted into the speech from The Matrix)
But it is! and the best part of Things Unseen, is that the purpose changes.
People do. Change.
I'm not a fan of writing reviews that cover the story. I'm not about to summarize for you my best parts or the scary parts. I'm not even going to try and explain that because I know him, it's sweeter. Because it's not.
It's that direct purity of seeing straight, and I mean STRAIGHT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
into an author's soul and knowing what resides there.
He gives you that.
Whether or not you like it as much of me is none of my business. Truly!
I'm not here to sway you, I'm just here to praise. It's rich, it's leveled. it's funny. It's people. It's events. It's honesty. It's lies.
It's a Russian nesting doll.
ok, there's my close. I'm closing on that.
Cheers.
I read this on the train to work. I read it while waiting in line at Starbucks, even if there was only one person in front of me. I read while walking into people on the way to the line at Starbucks. I shunned the invites to you-are-a-new-work-colleague-therefore-you-are-invited-to-our-lunch-group. I alienated people in the elevator, on the stairs, in the deli, and walking from the station, took my life in my own hands as I did NOT check my perimeter like a single woman walking alone at night at a sketchy as fuck train station parking lot should do. BECAUSE I WAS FUCKING READING DON'T EVEN TRY TO MURDER ME. I WILL HURT YOU SO MUCH WORSE THAN DEATH.
I resented everything that took me away from this book, including going to the toilet (I have a special toilet book right now, so I'm not "allowed" to read the Kindle there-who makes up these rules? Oh, that's right, I do. Stupid past Me!)
And the worst part was when I would, for the fraction of a moment, entertain other conversations with people, and they asked me to describe it, I would blubber like a winner on Ellen. I couldn't possible, POSSIBLE narrow down this world for you into a snippet. You will have to take my slack jawed, drooling, hand flapping, air channel wheezing, hair standing up on end word for it. Because really. IT'S THAT.FUCKING.GOOD.
I'm ashamed to say I actually know this man, he's a close friend of mine. I went to his Thanksgiving dinner. He makes great turkey.
I'm whimpering at the idea of the other stories in his menagerie; clearly I'm some sort of sadist to keep coming back-but this is the very thing that keeps my blood pumping and my heart racing, and my legs bicycling. I'm a crazed optimist: always seeing the good in people. Always looking for the way we can turn this lemonade into more than lemonade but into sweet nectar.
And yet.
And yet.
It's the arcane, the struggle, the soft erotica that revs me.
It's the decisions-the TOUGH decisions that come to each of us, fictional and real.
It's the company we choose.
It's the purpose that drives us. (Sorry, drifted into the speech from The Matrix)
But it is! and the best part of Things Unseen, is that the purpose changes.
People do. Change.
I'm not a fan of writing reviews that cover the story. I'm not about to summarize for you my best parts or the scary parts. I'm not even going to try and explain that because I know him, it's sweeter. Because it's not.
It's that direct purity of seeing straight, and I mean STRAIGHT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
into an author's soul and knowing what resides there.
He gives you that.
Whether or not you like it as much of me is none of my business. Truly!
I'm not here to sway you, I'm just here to praise. It's rich, it's leveled. it's funny. It's people. It's events. It's honesty. It's lies.
It's a Russian nesting doll.
ok, there's my close. I'm closing on that.
Cheers.
March 7, 2014
Things Unseen is a nice blend of urban fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery. It has an intriguing plot and fascinating characters. Metamor City is one of my favorite series and I can't wait to read the next book.
February 10, 2017
This review applies to the audio version. A previous fan of Metamor City, I listened to the long-delayed podcast of the novel which ran weekly for almost 13 months.
The characters didn’t leap out for me the way some have in Mr. Lester’s earlier work, particularly the primary POV, who I didn’t find very consistent. Some of the parts of the story seemed as if they were primarily designed to show that she was something more than merely a police officer by putting her in situations where she magically has other skills which are only necessary because of those situations. The flying motorcycle race comes to mind. Pushing her into a serious case of PTSD near the end of the book was a nice touch, though it came out of things very suddenly with not enough groundwork for me to find it believable.
Most of the secondary characters don’t really do a lot to advance the narrative or get in the way of things, but some of them have personalities that conflict with previously told tales. Not an issue if you haven’t read those, but harder to handle if you have.
It’s a nice twist that the character we think is the big bad for a good chunk of the story is really just a misled idiot, but then we’re left with the absence of a true villain, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but sort of pulls the rug out from under any sense of urgency in what remains. The villains who remain are really just surrogates, obstacles to temporarily get in the way of the heroes taking care of the original victims of what was essentially an accident.
The writing is pretty solid. The author has had enough practice putting his work in front of people that the prose is polished without a lot of extraneous wordage getting in the way of what’s going on. Similar, the narration: strong, consistent, clear.
The story itself is less convoluted than the first Metamor novel, Making the Cut, which had too many competing major storylines, but it’s also less interesting. In fact, it’s rather linear, filled with inside references and guest appearances that only really work well if you’re familiar with earlier stories.
Overall rating: 2 stars. Recommended for long time Metamor City fans, but not a place to start. You need too much background for it to be a real stand-alone story. Based on certain presented events, it’s the first book in a major narrative arc so is intended as a jumping off point, but a lot of the short stories found in previous podcasts will probably help you get a better foundation in the world.
It’s possible my overall impression of the book was flattened out to two stars just due to the length of time it took to podcast. Weekly with the occasional interruption for almost thirteen months may have dragged things out for too long for me. A lot of episodes had nearly as much commentary and feedback as they did actual story.
The characters didn’t leap out for me the way some have in Mr. Lester’s earlier work, particularly the primary POV, who I didn’t find very consistent. Some of the parts of the story seemed as if they were primarily designed to show that she was something more than merely a police officer by putting her in situations where she magically has other skills which are only necessary because of those situations. The flying motorcycle race comes to mind. Pushing her into a serious case of PTSD near the end of the book was a nice touch, though it came out of things very suddenly with not enough groundwork for me to find it believable.
Most of the secondary characters don’t really do a lot to advance the narrative or get in the way of things, but some of them have personalities that conflict with previously told tales. Not an issue if you haven’t read those, but harder to handle if you have.
It’s a nice twist that the character we think is the big bad for a good chunk of the story is really just a misled idiot, but then we’re left with the absence of a true villain, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but sort of pulls the rug out from under any sense of urgency in what remains. The villains who remain are really just surrogates, obstacles to temporarily get in the way of the heroes taking care of the original victims of what was essentially an accident.
The writing is pretty solid. The author has had enough practice putting his work in front of people that the prose is polished without a lot of extraneous wordage getting in the way of what’s going on. Similar, the narration: strong, consistent, clear.
The story itself is less convoluted than the first Metamor novel, Making the Cut, which had too many competing major storylines, but it’s also less interesting. In fact, it’s rather linear, filled with inside references and guest appearances that only really work well if you’re familiar with earlier stories.
Overall rating: 2 stars. Recommended for long time Metamor City fans, but not a place to start. You need too much background for it to be a real stand-alone story. Based on certain presented events, it’s the first book in a major narrative arc so is intended as a jumping off point, but a lot of the short stories found in previous podcasts will probably help you get a better foundation in the world.
It’s possible my overall impression of the book was flattened out to two stars just due to the length of time it took to podcast. Weekly with the occasional interruption for almost thirteen months may have dragged things out for too long for me. A lot of episodes had nearly as much commentary and feedback as they did actual story.
June 17, 2017
This book was intriguing from the first sentence and kept hold of me all the way to the end. In mysteries, I tend not to see a lot of character development, but there was some real intense growth in our main protagonist. In fact, every single character brimmed with life (or death, in the case of vampires--just trying to be fair here). Metamor City is rich, deep, and full of stories to tell. This was only one of them, and WHAT A STORY!
I always seem to go months or years between reading Lester's works, and when I invariably come back, I'm always awed at how great they are. His words are captivating, the plots detailed but not over-complex, and the characters ridiculously real. I'll be back to Metamor City soon (hopefully not months or years from now).
All in all, this is simply a fantastic book.
I always seem to go months or years between reading Lester's works, and when I invariably come back, I'm always awed at how great they are. His words are captivating, the plots detailed but not over-complex, and the characters ridiculously real. I'll be back to Metamor City soon (hopefully not months or years from now).
All in all, this is simply a fantastic book.
December 27, 2017
Metamor City is wonderful on the page, but it really shines with the author's narration. As a longtime fan of the podcast, I've been waiting for this book for years and it does not disappoint. It's great to get a closer look at Detectives Kitaen and Silverleaf, who have appeared in other Metamor stories more briefly. I think even a new reader would enjoy it, although I definitely recommend the rest in the series.
December 21, 2016
Fantastic book. Review forthcoming!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews