Fisherman's Hope

The Seafort Saga, Book 4

De: David Feintuch

Narrado por: Vikas Adam

Nick Seafort returned to Earth expecting a court-martial, but instead he's tapped by the naval academy. This is no ordinary desk job.... Luck has always run in both directions for Naval Commandant Nicholas Seafort. While he has managed to save the Hope Nation colony from alien attack, he and his friends have paid a heavy price. Most recently his exploits have earned him a dignified position as an instructor at the United Nations Naval Academy. But as Seafort suspects, trouble isn't far behind. A return to Earth means a return to his roots, some of which he wishes would remain buried. He's uncomfortable with fame and can't always restrain his temper as the political machine shifts around him. But when the fishlike aliens mount an attack, Seafort is the only man Earth can count on. Now he must decide whether he has the courage and fortitude to make a terrible choice....

©1996 David Feintuch (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Difficult but Rewarding

As a technical matter, this series is a brilliant exercise in writing an unreliable narrator, showing the world through the eyes of the protagonist, while also demonstrating through other cues a more neutral viewpoint.

On an emotional level, the story is a very difficult one, presenting a set of impossible problems for the protagonist to navigate.

The immediate comparison that comes to mind is with Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant. But unlike Covenant, Seafort manages to be both tremendously flawed and sympathetic.

Unfortunately the narrator here is quite weak, both in his voicing and in his narration skills.

Recommended if a deeply flawed protagonist is not a red flag.

Each subsequent book get worse and worse.

This book is not worth the effort. You can skip it complete and not miss anything.

Wonderful riff on the Horatio Hornblower theme

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have many times over, along with the admonishment to first read C.S. Forrester's Horatio Hornblower, and then Weber's Honor Harrington after this saga. For this particular volume I had them a proper pronunciation guide as well (see below).

Outside of the basis in Naval tradition, standing for what is right at any cost, this saga elegantly provides us with an exemplification of the qualities we all want to see in our heroes. Setting aside, word for word this is ripping good entertainment.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nick, of course. It's the evolution of the character's story all the way through to Children of Hope that makes his saga that much more endearing.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Vikas does phenomenal work giving unique voice to each of the characters, and continues that throughout all of his narration of the Seafort Saga. HOWEVER: Good Lord Man, it's "[truh-fal-ger}" NOT "[trahy-fuh l] [gar]"!!!!11one Trafalgar is repeated so many times in this particular volume, hearing it mispronounced over and over caused many a shouting bout in the car as I drove to or from work. Whomever was in charge of Quality Assurance after the fact needs a drubbing too. And it's "[trip-uh-lee]" NOT BLOODY "[tip-oh-lee]". The Libyians would appreciate it if we could get their Capital pronounced correctly as well.I've heard after-the-fact voice overs in other productions, why not here? Someone needs to get on the ball!If it weren't for the repeated and frequent mispronunciations, I'd have given the performance 5 stars. Otherwise, capitol effort Vikas!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It has to be the climax near the end - not giving it away should this be published - when one commits to give all they have as well as the all of others for the ultimate in sacrifices and then to have the need swept away by circumstances. Numbingly good read that.

Any additional comments?

Do us all a favor - overdub the many mispronunciations so that we don't feel cheated for keeping these in our digital libraries.

Great read

Totally enjoyed this series , I think I will stop at this book.

I love the Seafort Saga, but this version...ugh...

I love these books for alot of reasons, mostly nostalgic. They turned my age 8 reluctant reader into a voracious bookworm. And I genuinely enjoy these stories.

But how did these recordings get past an editor and a sound engineer with SO many mispronunciations? Some are just annoying. But "Trafalgar" is not hard to pronounce correctly. And since it's shouted in the text 100 times in the climactic final scene, the error is incredibly distracting.

I waited a long time for audio versions of these books. I'm disappointed Audible didn't do it better.

Unbelievably good......

Without a doubt the best sci fi I have read since "Have spacesuit will travel" and that was just about the first science fiction I ever read (Heinlein of course In the 1950's). The story just flows and flows, never lagging and Proving the narrator's worth beyond question. Can't wait to start the next one......
But PLEASE tell your narrator that "BuPers" is pronounced just like it looks NOT "boo-pairs"! (Thanks... That is driving me nuts!)

Still hating Seafort.

Tried to give this series another chance. Seafort still whining and abusing subordinates.