Dead Energy

The Alex Cave Series, Book 1

By: James M Corkill

Narrated by: Paul J McSorley

Alex Cave is leisurely cruising his sailboat in Puget Sound when a hysterical voice on an oil tanker begs for help on the radio! He sees the behemoth ship through his binoculars an instant before it is engulfed in a brilliant flash of white light, and when he responds to the mayday and arrives before the Coast Guard, he discovers the crew and 80,000 tons of crude oil have mysteriously vanished without a trace!

Alex Cave is just a geophysics teacher for a university in the town of Bozeman, Montana, USA, but he is also ex-CIA. The Director of National Security, Martin Donner, is his friend, and asks him to help the Coast Guard in solving what starts out as a small problem of stolen crude oil.

Initial thoughts are of a major oil leak, but none is found. When the bodies of the crew are found frozen to death on a mountaintop 150 miles away, Alex realizes there is more going on than just stealing oil.

Things go from bad to worse as more tankers are attacked and their crews killed. The few witnesses all claim to see a bright light and a rainbow effect surrounding the tankers, but how did it happen? The Alaska pipeline and west coast refineries are suddenly empty! Transportation of basic necessities cannot reach the cities!

Alex teams up with the supervisor for the All Alaska oil Company in Valdez Alaska, a man affectionately known as Bull by his crew, and Christa Avery, a physicist working with oil samples from the Alaska pipeline. Together they try to discover why all the oil is disappearing, and the mastermind behind the theft and murders. The only clue the trio has is a strange crystal that was found in the hold of one of the empty oil tankers. Under closer inspection, it seems the crystal is alive.

Meanwhile, people in the northwestern states are trying to survive, which has now become the one rule. The AOS, Army of Survival, initially recruits people who wish to learn the skill of survival. Now that skill is becoming a fact of life, and the army starts keeping people against their wills, and training them to become soldiers. John Everex, the new leader, is a man on a mission. He rules without compassion and kills without mercy. As one would expect, Everex and Alex's paths cross, with dire consequences for one of them.

Harold Woolley is a meek man, with a demanding wife and two teen age children. He becomes caught up in the struggle to survive, and mistakenly ends up at the AOS camp. When his lack of courage threatens his family, he tries to become the brave man needed to get them out of their desperate situation, but after being a coward his entire life, he doesn't think he can change.

Dead Energy has many different characters, and many different parts of the basic story, which all come together in the conclusion.

Each episode has one common thread tying each story into a series, but each episode is a new story, and can stand alone.

©2014 James M. Corkill (P)2016 James M. Corkill

Prestantious!

What did you love best about Dead Energy?

Omgoddess! This was an incredibly fast paced, well written thriller sci-fi book! The characters were deep, educated, and held fast convictions of individual belief, however wrong or immoral some could be.
The characters dealt with pains, grief, unrequited love, and hope. Even the villain didn't lose sight of their goals.
The book had inklings of typical chaos, but the similarity ended at that aspect. The climax was unexpected and could not have been guessed. It was unique and tied up all of the clues.

Which character – as performed by Paul J McSorley – was your favorite?

Paul J McSorley did a fabulous job with the dozens of characters in this book. His accent was perfect for the storytelling of the settings in this book.

Any additional comments?

I wasn't crazy about the rush of instaloves in the final chapters. It was not realistic and failed to complete this epic book. But a simple disappointment in this otherwise flawless and stay-up-all-night book.
For that reason, I'd DEFINITELY recommend this as a book to read on lazy days sans a To Do List deadline or the night before work or school!

Politics and Sci Fi always make a great mix

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the concept of something vaporising all the oil in the world - as an environmentalist, this concept alone was intriguing. The story keeps you guessing and I couldn't predict the ending: I appreciate a book where I can't predict how it's going to turn out and not all achieve that!

Any additional comments?

It's been a while since I've listened to, or read much real Sci-Fi, but this story reminded me what I used to enjoy so much about the genre. The book is well-rooted in a reality that we can all readily identify with, so the leap to the sci-fi part is easily made and that makes the book engaging. The book also has good characterisations

Yikes and Wow! Did not see that coming!

A frighteningly plausible crisis with an out of this world explanation. Great action and twists to keep you entertained along the way. Well worth a listen!

Great Story! Great Narration!

Typically I stay far away from books that are classified Sci-Fi, but was attracted to this one due to the narrator. I am so glad that I listened to this book! I would classify this listen as a thriller, with small amounts of Sci-fi. James M Corkill really impressed me with the character of Alex Cross and the vivid imagery in this book. I can't say enough good about it. Paul J McSorley performs this book spectacularly. He gives the various characters distinguished voices, so I know exactly whom is speaking. Also, his emotions and expressions are very realistic, and add to the enjoyment of the book. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I will definitely listen to more books by this author and narrator. I am so glad that I tried something outside my listening genres.

Open mind and it’s a good book

If you can take a leap of faith and combine sci fi fiction with an end of days saving the world story it’s a good book.

The narration is great.

How Fast Can Society Disintegrate?

I seem to read in clumps: first a few westerns, then a couple of horror stories (and I HATE horror stories but sometimes they are so well done . . .), a pair of romances, a cozy mystery or three, and now I'm in a techno-thriller phase. Of course, to make it more interesting, these days most authors ignore genre and just write the SciFi/Romance/Dystopian Western Thriller of their choices. Aptly narrated by Paul J. McSorley (AUDIO), the story bounces from Boseman, Montana, to Alaska, to Texas, Idaho and Nevada. (Author James M. Corkill apologizes if your state isn't mentioned and may endeavor to include it in his next literary offering.) <-- I *SO* made that up =o]

With the bulk of those states being in the west, we'll leave on the Western tag.

Next, the premise--oil supplies are being hijacked and western--no, GLOBAL!--civilization is crumbling fast as pack mentality sets in. Oh, yeah, Dystopian! Romance? Well we have a dead wife and not one but TWO lovely ladies vying for the attention of the hero. In mixed-genre, however, no promises of HEA (Happily Ever After). And that brings us to Science Fiction. Nevada. Need I say more?

Oh, almost forgot the original tag--Techno Thriller: he's an ex-CIA geologist. Note I left out Christian and Military. If I say Jim Jones and Survivalist will you agree I should leave them out?

I strongly recommend you suspend your disbelief and jump into the vivid imagination of Mr. McCorkill for a romp with possible destiny.

Riveting plot, friendly narration

I received this book as a gift, after having first read the fourth book of the series. Reading them out of order didn't give me too many spoilers for my enjoyment of this initial installment.
As with the fourth book, Mr. Corkill's storytelling skills in Book One remind me again of the early works of Michael Crichton. The plot has layers that come together nicely to the climax toward the end, leaving me eager to get into Book Two. The sci-fi technology that is central to the plot is beautifully described and explained, while not bogging down the flow of the narrative. Overall, the story runs along as a techno-thriller, with the bit of mystery to tie up by the end. The main protagonist Alex is introduced with a deep and believable past which drives much of his present as a relatable modern man.
In the Audible narration, I really enjoyed Paul McSorley's voice-acting skills, and the country feel he delivered, which fit the rugged nature of much of this story. He brought the characters to life in a most enjoyable way.

Excellent book, hard to put down

Excellent book, hard to put down. Can't wait to read the next one in the series. I understand each book gets better as you go.

Read the book

So I thought, heck why not I'll listen to it, it's been six years since I read it. Other than the narrator's voices sound about the same for the guys, I was really into the story. have to wait till mid December before I can get the next one.

Indiana Jones in the modern day

Dead Energy is not a by the numbers kind of book. In fact, it kind of shifts gears a few times in various genres; the book is almost a new genre for every third of it you read. The funny thing is, is that it works. Wild and weird this series is like Indiana Jones with a scientific bent, rather than the religious aspects.

Indy, or rather Alex Cave is the hero/protagonist. A humble college proffessor (hmmmm), who just happens to have worked for the CIA, is called upon to investigate some mysterious happenings regarding some oil. Oil that is gone, and what it could mean to the world. After a brief convo in D.C. he finds himself looking for a crashed plane. Cave then has to fight one of those crazy militias, and when he is done there he ends up at Area 51. I won't say more, because as the story progresses things get crazier and crazier and I do not want to spoil anything. Suffice it to say that there is plenty of action and that Dr. Cave is a cool charismatic character that you will enjoy.

McSorely is an awesome narrator, and he owns Cave. He nails the rest of the cast, too, but man is he ever Cave. His battle scenes are spectacular and you can almost feel the bullets zip by your head. I really appreciate his style and his work has never failed to impress. This cat can tell a story. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.


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