Europa

De: Greig Beck

Narrado por: Sean Mangan

The first mission to Europa – Jupiter's enigmatic moon – has landed, and humanity’s darkest fears are about to awaken.

For years, mankind has speculated that this frozen world harbours a hidden ocean twice the size of all Earth’s oceans combined – an ocean potentially teeming with life.

Driven by this tantalising mystery, they venture forth to unlock its secrets. But what they discover in the abyssal depths is far beyond anything they could have imagined.

Nearly 400 million miles from Earth, their search for life has succeeded. But in their triumph, they overlook the most terrifying truth: what they have found is something far older and more horrifying than they ever could have conceived. Something has been trapped in the dark for eons – watching, and waiting, for them.

Now, the crew stands at the threshold of unimaginable terror, realising too late that Hell, in its purest form, is cold.

©2025 Greig Beck (P)2025 Bolinda Publishing

Is the narrator using AI?

The story is entertaining, even though the twist at the end is predictable from very early on.
My main issue is with the narration. Sean Mangan is fine and I've listened to many books narrated by him in the past. This one bothered me, though. He mispronounces common words like "skeletal" and often reads number in a non-realistic way (Two Forty degrees instead of Two Hundred Forty or Two Hundred and Forty).
It makes me wonder if the narrator is utilizing AI voice technology to generate the narration in a synthesized version of his voice.
It's not an accusation. Just a concern as I assume that he is a native English speaker and has heard other humans speak before.

I prefer Arcadian stories!

This was mildly suspenseful and interesting and was somewhat saved by the ending. But then the epilog was dumb beyond words. I will have to read any future Beck books as this narrator drove me crazy with his pronunciations. Laaaaugh. Craaaaft. Shaaaaft. I found it very distracting. Others might not notice or care. Anyway, I look forward to the next Alex Hunter novel.

Another epic journey

The journey keeps you wondering what is possible and next, so many more books could come from just a few branches of this story. H g wells style of a journey with the Beck spice.

Ok, story, but characters are not very bright.

Story was cool, but the characters make very dumb decisions considering that they are supposedly scientists and astronauts.

Beck should stick to Earth monsters

Let me begin by saying that Beck does his usual creative job with the monsters and world building.
However, that having been said... if you're going to write science fiction, then you might want to at least get some of your basic science right. Also, I agree with the other reviewer about the narration. It sounds like a CG Sean Mangan.
Now... on to the stuff that's really irritating and would, with a simple edit and 5 minutes of research, have cleared things up.
1. Beck repeatedly refers to Europa as a moon of Saturn and not Jupiter.
2. he insists, in several scenes, that one can simply depressurize an airlock and change the gravity!
3. He seems to forget that Europa has a gravity of 1/7 of Earth. Thus, the 80 lb explosives would weigh 11 or twelve pounds, that when calculating how fast something falls, it is not at a rate of 9.8m2 or 32ft per second... but about 1.4m2 - y'know, on account of they're on EUROPA.

Okay... not to belabor the point. But one more thing, and this especially drives me crazy - in order for this plot to move, the characters have to act as stupidly, thoughtlessly and blindly as possible.
Aren't these the 9 best people in the space program? Hand picked for the greatest scientific mission in human history? And they go around grabbing stuff, picking up stuff, ignoring danger signs and even the most superficial procedures - like nobody goes anywhere outside alone? C'mon Greig... this could use a rewrite.

Equal parts Lovecraft and Carpenter

One of the best sci-fi reads of the year for me so far! Equal parts Lovecraft and Carpenter. The non-linear approach to telling the story was inspired. It was the perfect approach to a tale unfolding over a protracted time period, spanning locations on Earth, space, and Europa.

Another great book

Thank you Mr. Beck for writing such fantastic books. Please keep them coming. Wonderful stuff!

Plot

I’m really Look forward to a sequel and anything else the author writes. Job well done.

Excellent story but couldn't get past the narrator

I made it half way and gave up. I love Becks stories and own many of his audio books. However, this time I couldnt get past the narrator, Sean Magnan.

For most of Becks books that he narrates, I can. He always mispronounces words and always speaks in that droll manner. But he usually makes it work and I get wrapped up in the story and characters.

I love Europa's story line and it's what I've come to expect from this writer. Maybe it's me? I have been on a Space Opera streak and have spent my last 10 books listening to R.C. Bray narrate.

I definitely recommend the book. Please try it. For me, I will get the Kindle Edition to finish it.

Horrible performance

The only way listening to this story is bearable is if you run the playback at a minimum of 1.5x speed. 2x is even better.

Story is fun. Frustrating at some points but a good listen (save the narrative) on a log drive.