Daimones

By: Massimo Marino

Narrated by: Jeff Hays

Dan and his family awake one day in a world where everyone is dead but no evidence points to a cause. Initial searches for survivors yield nothing and, in panic, the family turns their house into a stronghold. Eventually, they find Laura, a survivor who manages to win their hearts…and leads Dan to temptation. Laura reveals her panicking encounter with strange entities which Dan recognizes in his childhood hallucinations. He forces himself to find and confront them: An older power controls the fate of men.

©2012 Massimo Marino (P)2013 Massimo Marino

Starting the World Over!

Wow....this story was really amazing. The author Massimo Marino has written a different story unlike all the others you read about the world ending. I was immersed from start to finish. My first time listening to anything by this author but I'm not disappointed at all. I won't give out details about this story but will let you know it's worth a credit or the purchase. The author created great scenes that were sad, funny, even scary at times. Also, I found myself thinking, what I would do if I was put in that type of situation. I think the author did a great job with research to writing this amazing story.

Jeff Hays, he absolutely blows me away everytime I listen to a story he narrated. He's becoming a favorite narrator and I can tell you he's really talented as you'll learn once you listen to this story. He kept my on the edge of my seat and anxious to find out what would happen each day. He brings this story to life as if you're there. He even freaked me out a few times along with the author and what was written. Perfect story and I highly recommend you give this one a listen. Overall, a perfect 5 🌟 rating.

I did receive this audio free from the author and or narrator in exchange for an honest and unbiased review through Audiobook Blast.

Intelligent Story

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

I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a gripping suspense type of story. It starts off ordinarily enough but then you get to a place where chaos unfolds. Where he is searching for people online an there is no one out there...where did everyone go? Amazing award winning story here!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I really enjoyed Dan, his character as a scientist a guy that tries to do the right thing and figure it all out.

Which character – as performed by Jeff Hays – was your favorite?

The narrator did a great job with the lead character here, really getting across the emotion here.

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

Would say when things are going crazy and his family is freaking out.

Any additional comments?

Very enjoyable listen.

Good story

I received a free audiobook for an honest review.

Diamones starts out slowly and at first I wondered how I was going to be able to listen to it without my mind wandering. It did get interesting pretty quickly, though, when they woke up to a changed world, and it kept my attention throughout,.

The way that Massimo Marino described what Dan, Mary, and their daughter were going through made me feel like I was there. I could feel their frustration when they couldn’t find another living person and their joy when they did find someone. I did think that there was a little too much detail at times. For example, I didn’t care to hear a list of all of the items in their neighbor’s desk drawer.

I didn’t like the way Daimones ended but I am pretty sure (I hope) that was intentional by the author. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

I definitely recommend Daimones for all readers especially if you like post-apocalyptic stories without zombies (yay).

Very good story and narration, but...

I enjoyed both the narration and the story in general, but I'm surprised that most reviews I read before I listened to this book gloss over, or don't even mention the fact that the female characters in this book are reduced to their reproductive function of the human race. I'm surprised at the lack of angst from them, both main female characters are there to mainly nurture in body and mind the main male character and do so without any reluctance or resistance to play such a role. If I were in their shoes, I'd be resentful and angry, I'd ask more questions. In that sense, the daughter is much more realistic.

Interesting post-apocalyptic

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed Jeff Hayes’ narration. Finally, someone who can read a book and keep me interested in the story without unnecessary flourishes to the voice. The only times I found the inflexion odd was when Hayes would read a foreign name, like a Swiss street name, for instance.
His voices were impeccable, to the point where I often wondered if he was actually doing the female ones or whether it was all computer generated. They were all very clearly different from one another, even the ones in the third part, where there were many more characters. I could always tell who was talking which, to me, was a breath of fresh air.
There were a few glitches production-wise though, like words cut out or repeated.

Overall, I had a great time listening to Daimones. The author managed to take a theme which has been extremely explored and make it new because everyone can relate to bits and pieces of the world and characters. They may not be the most exciting ones but, hey, neither are most of the people I know, myself included.
Both the story and the narration were a great experience, and I thoroughly recommend it.

Disclaimer: I won this audiobook in a Rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Audiobookreviewer.

Please check my blog Ana's Lair for the full review.

Unexpected Masterpiece

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

Absolutely!


To say that Daimones is an exceptional work, is an understatement. To say it is unusual, even more so. While it lacks the action most science fiction thrives on, Massimo Marino maintains tension almost from the story’s outset and doesn’t let it drop until the story’s unexpected conclusion. With a clarity of language and style few writers achieve, his elegantly painted scenes transport the reader straight to Geneva where, after a windstorm throws the protagonist out of his everyday existence into a surreal but believable one, the reader is compelled keep turning pages to learn the reason why.

Marino blends renditions of recent news stories with science and mysticism into an explanation that will give the reader reason to question mankind’s current state of affairs. Just as The Matrix gave one plausible explanation to our existence, Daimones offers another.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dan was immediately believable and identifiable. His reactions to the predicments the author placed him in were highly credible.

What about Jeff Hays’s performance did you like?

Mr. Hays has an easy reading style that, except of an occasional mispronounced word (e.g.: the initial consonant of chasm as a "ch" rather than a "k", or the "a" of acrid as a long "a"), did not interfere with the "reading" experience.

Really really not very good.

What would have made Daimones better?

I thought the set up was interesting, but it just didn't go anywhere.
And the payoff was both predictable and in my opinion kind of a cheap trick.
I was really hoping the author wasn't going to push the whole Biblical/spiritual connection to the aliens thing.

As far as Science fiction goes, I prefer a more objective approach when it comes to the characters.

Also, the whole polygamous subplot was just silly and unrealistic. Not because it can't work, but how easily accepted this massive life change was and how quick it came about. Not to mention how far ahead it was telegraphed. It, like large chunks of the rest of the book felt like it was the author working his own agenda in, rather than allowing the characters to act in realistic ways.

Also, while the performance as a whole was ok, the treatment of the different characters voices was distracting. They sounded as if they were recorded at different times and then edited together. Or that there was subtle pitch shifting to make the voices seem more "female," but it ended up sounding detached.

What could Massimo Marino have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I honestly don't know. It would take a pretty massive rewrite.

What three words best describe Jeff Hays’s performance?

Adequate at best

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment.

Unrealistic Dialogue killed this book for me

What disappointed you about Daimones?

The unrealistic dialogue. The author seems to dislike using contractions for when people are speaking, even when most people would use them. A character saying "I do not like that" over "I don't like that" makes them sound wooden in many cases.The characters themselves are somewhat unbelievable too.
Lastly there are typos that make it into the narration. "She moved graciously" for example.

Which scene was your favorite?

The set up at the beginning of the story was very interesting. I enjoyed the idea but couldn't get past the halfway point.

What character would you cut from Daimones?

Not cut so much as re-write. The main character should make more logical choices or at least take less logical ones for emotional reasons. The female characters should do more than just stand in the background while the male character does everything.

Any additional comments?

There's better end of the world fiction out there.

I thought the narrator was good and did what he could with the subject.

Overall a horrid book to try and get through

Pretty much, bad writing, so-so narration, and unfinished. I tried to get through the book, but it was so bad.

Shockingly bad storytelling

The characters are completely flat, the women are cardboard cutouts of real human being. This is just a primitive wish fulfillment by an inept writer. There's more masterful storytelling done by 12 year old hp fanfiction writers.