Crimson Son

By: Russ Linton

Narrated by: Mitchell Lucas

Can the powerless son of a superhero do what his father couldn't?

Spencer Harrington is the son of the Crimson Mask, the world's most powerful Augment. Ever since witnessing his mother's abduction by a psychotic supervillain two years ago, he's been confined to his father's arctic bunker. Haunted by nightmares and tired of eating cardboard rations in the "Icehole", Spencer launches into his father's dangerous world to uncover his mother's fate.

With no superpowers of his own, Spencer stumbles through a web of conspiracies and top secret facilities armed only with his multi-tool and an arsenal of weapons grade smart-assery. Along the way he rallies a team of everyday people and cast-off Augments, but he soon discovers that his father's nemesis, the Black Beetle, isn't his only enemy or even his worst.

©2014, 2015 Russ Linton (P)2016 Russ Linton

An unique twist on a superhero book.

This is a good book. It has a different twist on a classic superhero. I received this audiobook for free and voluntarily reviewed.

5 Stars for a NOT so powerless superhero!!

I loved every second of this audible book! The story flowed flawlessly, the characters were likable, and the world is believable. The narrator, Mitchell Lucas, does a fantastic job with all of the characters. All I can say is Yes! Yes! Yes! I love it and I want more of the Crimson Son!!! Russ Linton & Mitchell Lucas and my new superheroes!

"I was incredibly lucky to have this audio book gifted to me by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

It is comic book fun

Spencer is the brilliant son of the Crimson Mask, an invincible superhero. The problem is, he is small, weak, overprotected and overshadowed by his macho father. His mother was kidnapped years ago and it seems the Crimson Mask has done nothing to find her. When his icy hiding place is destroyed, it is up to Spencer to solve the many mysteries surrounding her disappearance and all the other augmented superheroes.

Spencer has only his brain and infinite anger to help him. It is hard to tell who are the bad guys. Even his father is suspect. He may be able to trust his paranoid childhood friend, but who knows, no one is who they seem.

Crimson Son is the story of a teenager fighting the world. There is a lot of action, computer hacking, inept geeks, evil geniuses, flying killer drones and oh so many high tech gadgets. It is comic book fun. If you enjoy this genre of fiction, you should definitely give this book a go. There is plenty of over-the-top tech and super evil characters, as it should be. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and is a fast and lighthearted listen.

Mitchell Lucas performs the story superbly. Spencer’s sarcasm and self-deprecating wit come through perfectly. The many characters are differentiated wonderfully and clearly. It is a pleasure to listen to and Mr. Lucas adds enormously to the story. Great fit.

The sci-fi sub-genre of comic book superhero/supervillain fiction has been growing of late. Crimson Son does a good job of creating engaging characters and exciting action. Certainly, not every listener is right for this kind of story, but for those who enjoy this style should look no further.

Note: The main character is 19 and full of teen problems, which makes it a good choice for young adults. There is some swearing, and allusion to sex, but that is pretty mild and should be a good listen for teenagers, particularly boys.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Something for the teenagers

Would you try another book from Russ Linton and/or Mitchell Lucas?

Maybe

Any additional comments?

It was okay. Nothing really stands out. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

Great story with a comic book feel

A review copy of this book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I have a weakness for superhero stories that portray a superhero’s personal life instead of focusing just on the hero while relegating their family to the background. You’d think that their familial relationships would be some of the most important and intricate relationships in their lives, and often, it’s rarely touched on or touched on in a way that supports only whatever the hero has going on. These relationships have to be some of the most complicated relationships that heroes have, and this books explores this in its own way. Spencer is a likable, sarcastic kid (and just like a kid he can get really annoying at times), and while he may not have powers, he has skills that are handy, showing that a hero doesn’t always have to have godlike powers to be useful. Spencer’s father does seem to truly care for his son, but his work has left him distant and controlling, and it felt perfectly understandable that Spencer would resent his father, especially in the wake of his mother’s abduction. Situations like that bring about tough questions such as why can his father save others but could not save the most important person in their lives?

This book was infused with humor, angst, and action. Spencer is pulled in deeper and deeper into his father’s world and learns that things aren’t so simple as he once thought they were. There’s something always going on in this book, but it does manage to still give readers a good sense of the characters and various relationships are explored throughout the book aside from Spencer and his family’s. This book takes time to process emotions and thoughts rather than skimming over them, and it really capitalizes on Spencer finding personal strength. The book is told from other point-of-views aside from Spencer’s, but Spencer’s story is told from first person where the others are not. This may be jarring from some readers, but regardless, the other sections are well-written and absorbing. Spencer can read a little younger than he is. This feels like a coming of age story, but I would think that maybe Spencer is a little too old for that categorization. Then again, we can all hit a late spurt.

The narration didn’t work for me. Mitchell Lucas wasn’t a bad narrator, but I found him to be a bit monotonous. Emotions I was expecting from passages just weren’t there, and it hampered my enjoyment of the book because it took me a while to look beyond the narration and focus on the story. I don’t know if Lucas is a new narrator. This is the first book I’ve read by him, but I think with a little more time and practice, he could be just fine. And it could’ve just been his reading for this particular book. Sometimes, I find that one book isn’t representative of a narrator’s talent and have revisited my thoughts about certain narrators after hearing more of their work.

This is an underdog story filled with familiar emotions in a superpowered setting. Comic book fans that enjoy X-Men or Superman will probably get the most enjoyment from this. The story is familiar and it has that comic book feel that appeals to comics fans. However, lovers of genre fiction and people who aren’t particular about genre fiction can enjoy this story as well with it’s easy, engaging story line.

Believable characters, interesting story

If you could sum up Crimson Son in three words, what would they be?

super hero fun

Who was your favorite character and why?

All the old augments in the hospital place tie! They were great.

What does Mitchell Lucas bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voices were great - his voices made me feel like I knew the teenage boys.

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

I was touched by Spencer & Eric's moments reuniting.

Any additional comments?

I had a really hard time getting into this story at first. Spencer does a bit too much telling about the background/setting in the beginning. It wasn't really until he meets up with Emily that it felt like there was really a story to start following. For me, the flashbacks and memories (mostly of mom) just didn't work... maybe they were too long and drawn out, maybe they were too early in the book... I don't know - maybe a prologue with the scene where mom is taken might have been a way to pull the reader in better.

Once I started enjoying the story though, the plot really was quite interesting. The characters were incredibly realistic and some were pretty unique. Spencer and Eric were spot on portrayals of older teenage boys, and they spoke just enough techno-mumble jumble that I believed them without getting bogged down. The villain scenes were less enjoyable for me and really didn't add much to the book... at least in this installment.

The narrator did a great job. His voices were easy to tell from one another, and they definitely added to the "reading" experience. When he first started speaking I first thought that his voice was typed well to Spencer -- but after hearing all his other voices, it's possible that he just did that awesome of a job.

I received this free audiobook from aubiobook blast for an honest review.

Very enjoyable

Overall an enjoyable story. Narrator lacked color, and characterization, but his style almost fits the story being told so its excusable. The climax lacked some clarity and happened almost too suddenly, without a good enough lead up.

But the story had a good amount of originality to it, the characters were well crafted, and the Hero is frustrating and endearing at the same time. There are story twists that are fun and not expected, and the last half of the book is riveting and hard to stop listening to. Well done.

Not just for fans of superhero stories! :)

I love everything about superheroes, so of course a book about the son of one would interest me. It's done in a way that even if you aren't a lover of superheroes, you can still get into the story. Our main character ends up on quite an adventure, and it's a lot of fun to read about. There's a lot of technology, and at times it confused me a little bit. It didn't take long for me to figure out what was going on at these times though. The characters were all awesome, even the "villains." I love when an author can include sarcastic humor in the dialogue. Mitchell Lucas was the narrator of the audiobook, and he did a fantastic job with the voicing. He was able to make each character sound different enough that it makes the story easy to follow. I really enjoyed this audiobook, and I would be interested to see this become a series. I recommend this book to any fan of superhero stories for sure, but also anyone that likes a good adventure story as well!
**I was provided with this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. My opinions would be no different if this was not the case

Fast paced and fun.

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

Of course, it's a fun and well written book with an exciting storyline and memorable characters..

What was one of the most memorable moments of Crimson Son?

Spencer meeting Huricane for the first time. That part of the story really stuck out in my mind.

What about Mitchell Lucas’s performance did you like?

He's able to do various voices well, they all sound distinct from each other. I was never confused about who was speaking.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have liked to but I had to break it up.

Any additional comments?

I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of the audio book edition of Crimson Son by Russ Linton ; a book in my favorite genre, superhero prose fiction!

Crimson Son is the story of nineteen year old Spencer Harrington, the son of the world's last active superhero the Crimson Mask. Two years ago his father's arch nemesis the Black Beetle kidnapped Spencer’s mother and ever since that day he's been confined to his father's arctic bunker where he is primarily left to his own devices. Plenty of time to stew in resentment for his father and the Black Beetle. When at last an attack on the “Icehole” and an escape pod set him free he has only one thing on his mind; finding his missing mother, a task his father has failed at for two years. As he begins to delve into the world of Augments, as the super powered are called, other people begin to get caught up in Spencer’s story. There's Emily and her wealthy doctor friend Martin, Spencer's own childhood friend Eric; and a group of World War II veteran's once know as Force Zero.

Fast passed and exciting, Crimson Son moves at action thriller speed from beginning to end. Russ Linton's writing is concise and focused while maintaining the suspense of the story throughout. There are no wasted contemplations or dry parts, or thankfully cliched romance. While the story comes to a very satisfying conclusion there is certainly the opportunity for a sequel or prequel to this one. I personally would love to read more about the members of Force Zero and find out more about the world of the Augments.

Since this was an audiobook edition I'll briefly speak about the performance of narrator Mitchell Lucas. I'll be honest, I didn’t warm up to his voice right away, in fact I found it mildly annoying until he got to the part in the story where he was doing other character's voices and not just Spencer's voice. Then I determined that this was just the way he had decided to portray Spencer, as somewhat immature? Brat-ish? I always struggle to describe the influence of sound that a narrator brings to the table but it certainly had some influence of the way I saw the character. He certainly is able to portray a wide range of voices well, and have all of them sound distinct from each other. I truly enjoyed the performance though and felt that he made a real contribution to the excitement of the audiobook.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com."

"I'm already living in a morgue. What's the point?

When he was younger, Spencer used to watch his father's exploits with awe. Because his dad was the Crimson Mask, an augment, a superhero of the mightiest ability, "the strangest, the best". But once he reached nineteen, Spence was tired of all that, especially since he and his technologically challenged mum were locked up in their underground home in an icy waste land, forbidden to leave "for their own protection", against the threat of the evil Black Beetle. Then his mother is kidnapped and Spence is determined to break out and get her back....

Not usually a fan of super hero books, I nevertheless enjoyed this tale of teenage angst, courage and, yes, a bit of silliness. Great fun and very easy to listen to the voice of Spencer, as read by Mitchell Lucas. Well paced, the narrator also gave distinctive life to the other strange or geeky friends who assist Spence in his quest.
Interesting characters with depth, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always enjoyable and imaginative. A fun book for all ages.