Beyond Fear

By: Jacqueline Druga

Narrated by: George Kuch

Damien Rhyes has walked the earth for three hundred years. No one has dared to end his reign. He is a vampire who doesn't feast on blood. Instead, he drains the souls and life-force from his victims, feeding on their fears.

Samantha Evans has no idea what Damien is when she first meets and falls in love with him. She finally discovers the truth the day she gives birth to his son. That same day, Damien rips the child from her and vanishes.

For six years, Samantha searches and fails in her endeavors to find her child, and put an end to Damien's horrors. However, anyone who attempts to help her in this quest, everyone she cares for, loses their lives to Damien's vicious attacks.

Samantha carries this crusade alone.

Along the way, she learns that in order to defeat Damien and find her son, she has to find and enlist the help of another species of vampire. She has to locate one of The Chosen, a species of good rather than evil.

Unfortunately, time is running out and Samantha faces two choices: Find a Chosen to save her child, or give her soul to Damien for all eternity in order to be with her beloved son.

©2011 Jacqueline Druga (P)2013 Jacqueline Druga

This book could have been half the length...

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I liked the story and thought it was original BUT Oy! with the name repetition. I swear half the book is repeating Sam and Caine. The plot was good I just wish the author did not try and up the word count with redundant fluff.

If you’ve listened to books by Jacqueline Druga before, how does this one compare?

This was my first book by this author.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was fine. It did not detract and I liked the happy puppy sound of Caine's persona.

Was Beyond Fear worth the listening time?

This was worth half the listening time. Like I said if you take out the name echo this would be a fine book.

Any additional comments?

I think this author really has something original with the plot. The story was interesting enough. I cannot believe no one mentioned the repetitive calling of names as an issue prior to publishing. This might be one of those times when advice should have been heeded. If you are trucking around your life and want to listen to chatter with a good plot this book is fine. I had to stop listening for a few days to get past being annoyed by the name issue before I could finish it. Because I liked the concept I will give this author another shot. But I hope the same issues don't apply. Longer does not necessarily mean better however creativity can overcome sometimes.