Doris Daring

Star Captain of the Spaceways

By: Chris Wichtendahl

Narrated by: Misty Layne

As they make their way across the cosmos, Captain Daring and her crew meet the last of an order of intergalactic superbeings, ancient aliens, a race of hi-tech bird-women and plenty of other surprises, including one they thought they'd left far behind them. Facing down external threats and their own internal demons, this crew of explorers race from one end of the galaxy to the other, desperately seeking something to save their world from an ever-growing tyranny.

©2007 Chris Wichtendahl (P)2012 Chris Wichtendahl

A good listen

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by this new author. I look forward to reading more of Chris Wichtendahl's work.

Don't waste your time

I generally like to write only mild reviews, but this book got to me. I was preparing for a short road trip and wanted an audio book that was more in line with the time, rather than the 10-20 hour books I usually favor, so I headed to audible and checked out the search feature. This book popped up by a new author, and after listening to the sample and checking out amazon for reviews of the story (all good), I decided to give it a try. I started the download to my audible app and as soon as it allowed me to play, gave it a go. What a surprise and disappointment. I didn't make it longer than 10 minutes due to the narrator and the text she had to work with. I am just glad I checked it before I hit the road. The road rage that would have ensued if this was all I had to listen to. :)
Here is a little taste...
The story plunges us right into a lab with a scientist working on a robot. The narrator seemed a bit young, more like a young adult narrator, but that's alright with me if it is appropriate. In walks Dash, and the scientist announces "hey, lover" ( or wait, was that "brother", hmmm I can't tell, even after backing it up and listening again). A dialogue occurs that has me wondering who is speaking at any given time, and what the HECK is going on. Who is the "she" here, whose father is that? (Another brother/ lover reference, I am still undecided...) Bad guys enter the scene and cause confusion, all the while the narrator is going on in a monotone voice that betrays no emotion for the scenes (think melodrama). A fight scene occurs and the two "lovers" ( ah ha, clarity!) head out, casually throwing their coats over their shoulders and melting the data behind them. And I realized at that moment that I was fed up with this narrator and this book.
I believe that this first book by a new author may be ok in print, where the lack of descriptions can be more easily overlooked, but the narrator didn't seem appropriate here and increased my confusion by not enunciating well (brother/lover?). The best scene was the sample on audible. Maybe the story is better further in, but I can't bring myself to keep listening. My advice is to skip the audio version, and, if you are really interested, check out the kindle or written version where it might be bearable.