The fourth book in “The Clockwork Chimera” series is one that takes the storyline in an entirely new and interesting direction; think the fourth direction. In “Chasing Daisy”, things begin to get more fun, more interesting, and more complex as Daisy and her team not only battle aliens who are intent on taking over the Earth, but also struggle to master time travel. Yep, you heard that correctly. In this latest installment, we get to see the team hop around in time and try not to disrupt to many past events. Scott Baron (author) and Vivienne Leheny (narrator) keep the excitement of the story pushing forward in this wonderful science fiction series. If you have not yet started the series, I would say this is a good time to jump onboard. All four of the current books are exceptionally written and narrated which for me is a great combination, and they are all currently available on Audible for your listening pleasure.
As the story begins to grow even grander, I find the author’s ability to provide prologue details at the start of every book, either via flashbacks or character conversations, important. It is a rather simple way of bringing the listener into the story without much extra effort. And for this audiobook, this background is important as we begin to deal with time travel. For those of us who are old enough to remember the movie “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” or like a good “Doctor Who” episode, you will understand many of the nuances of traveling thought time. Often such traveling comes with more negative consequences than what is attempted to be modified. Here in this audiobook, we are reminded, not only of the initial consequences of an event or action, but additional consequences which can occur trying to rectify them.
Even though we have had many different types of artificial intelligence (AI) systems way back in the first audiobook, here we begin to see more blending of human skill with technology. Each has their own strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. Because of this, both Humans and machines have to depend on each other if they hope to succeed. One system seems to be learning and advancing much more rapidly than the others the team has experienced. Yet, this AI seems to be the least confident in their own abilities compared to the others. I find the research from Mr. Baron to be more realistic when it comes to the AI systems along with technology in general. However, these AI systems are more intelligent than what we have today and that becomes obvious as the book progresses. Even with this power, the AI systems are still not overpowered compared to their human counterparts.
In this part of the series we have most of the characters returning from previous installments, but we are introduced to a newer character which seem to have an aura of mystery around him. Will he help the crew, or will his timely appearance be their demise? As with the previous stories, we also have the alien rebels and loyalists along with the quite powerful enemy the team is attempting to defeat. Sarah also has some things happen to her that gives her the ability to not only feel more human, but also be tied in with a few of the AI systems along the way. I found that the characters in this book started to solidify more for me, which is a good thing. I’m growing more attached to some and less to others. I just hope the author does not decide to kill off one of my favorites as things progress in the story.
The narration by Vivienne Leheny is very well produced and her voice seems to fit the main character just right. Much like with the “Dragon Mage” series and Charlie, I would not want to have another person voice Daisy going forward. She does a great job of not only voicing the other humans in the audiobook, but the AI systems and the aliens as well. The audio levels were consistent and there were no noticeable audio artifacts I noticed while listening. A narrator I would listen to other audiobooks she has produced.
For parents and younger listeners, like with the other audiobooks in the series, this audiobook also contains a fair amount profanity. There are a few scenes of graphic violence along with some adult crude humor and innuendos which may not be appropriate for younger listeners.
In summary, this book is another winner in the series and each audiobook only get better and better. Aspects of the story are becoming clearer and more solidified. Throwing in the twist of time travel caught me off guard a bit, but I like where it is going. The audio itself was clean and clear of any issue and the writing remains detailed and well thought out. There is plenty of adventure here including having to deal with some paradoxes along the way. I have not stated this in previous review of this series, but I do have to give credit also to the cover art as it is very well done. Again, if you are looking for something new to jump into, I would recommend you give this audiobook, and the series, a listen.