Future's Orphans

Ouroboros Cycle Series, Book 2

By: A.K. Alliss

Narrated by: Anneliese Rennie

In an uncertain future, the truth can get you killed.

Cassidy Nolan is a drug addicted journalist, disgraced after releasing one of the most iconic images of the new millennium. Fourteen years later, the world teeters on the verge of ecological collapse. A chance encounter with a sociopathic street kid will send her on a journey into chaos that may lead her to uncovering the biggest story of her career. Pursued by a burnt out ex-military contractor determined to earn his reward, there are no guarantees that she will live long enough to reveal what she has found.

Blade Runner meets Mad Max in this action packed near-future thriller from the author of Frame.

Future's Orphans is a fast paced Cyberpunk standalone thriller set in the world of the Ouroboros Cycle.

Be sure to listen to the other novels in the Ouroboros Cycle, Frame and Gravity’s Truth.

©2015 AK Alliss (P)2018 Spectrum Audiobooks

Future's Orphans

This starts of slow and I have to admit that I stopped it and listened to something else. If it was a book that I was reading I would have not bothered reading it after reading the first few pages.
However, once that is out the way the pace actually picks up and we do have twist and turns with interesting characters.

Challenging

I was provided a copy of this audio book for purposes of review. However, I also purchased the entire ebook series on my own.

First off, I'd like to state that I'm not terribly fond of dystopias. I find them depressing. Even though this particular book is a stand-alone, it is also part of a trilogy, and some references in the story make more sense and have a greater impact if you have read the first book. I would recommend that you read the first book in the series if you have not. The event that has marred the life of the female lead, Cass, is from the ending of the first book; it will have less of an impact without that background. I don't want to give away spoilers. Ray Johnson, in another review, does a bang-up job covering the story elements. Near the end, however, there was one place where Cass. the female lead, decides to "talk about it later," and I found myself shouting, "No, talk about it now!" Was it realistic? Yes. But I hate that type of action in real-life and when I read about it -- or in this case hear it, it causes me to boil a bit.

Alliss has a lyrical quality to his writing. His writing tends to be slow and subtle, so it requires patience to get into the story. It wasn't until I was thirty percent into the first book before the story picked up speed. I found the written version the second book to be same way. I made it to twenty-six percent when I decided to see how the audio version compared. Much better.

If I had any advice for the writer, it would be to get with the hook to bring the reader in much sooner; then add to the world building as the story progresses. Alliss' dystopia is grim. There's no other word for it. Again, he's able to evoke imagery that is sometimes quite literate, and this is actually enhanced by the audio version. I'm a visual person, but I do have experience visualizing things; with some writers, the words on the page actually disappear.and it's like watching a movie inside my head.

I was really surprised -- and pleasantly so by the quality of the narration. Anneliese Rennie has a warm quality to her voice, like an aged single malt whiskey -- smooth, with a soft kick at the end that leaves you with a warm glow. Hearing her speak the passages that I'd previously read was a very different experience, and a good one. I found the narration clean and clear, and she made effective uses of short pauses on occasion to great effect. Sometimes those changes of pacing can draw attention, and when you're listening to seven and a half hours of story, that can be important to keep a listener's interest. She kept my attention such that I finished the audio story in one sitting, something I hadn't intended to do. I was very impressed with her presentation. The various voices were distinct and pronunciation was clear. I would definitely consider other titles narrated by her. The only surprise was hearing "burgeoning" pronounced with a hard "gee" sound.

If you like dystopia fiction, give this a run, but again, I'd recommend doing the first book and then this one. As for the narration, I think Anneliese Rennie does a stellar presentation with this book.

Story starts slow but develops and brings you in.

After listening to Future Orphans i have to say, that for the first couple hours i struggled to stay interested, i attribute this at least partly to not having read book 1 of the series, but it does start slow regardless. Being said after the main characters set on their "adventure" willingly or not, (no spoilers) the story became enthralling and hard to put down. This title, i listened to my first book completely narrated by a female, and i have to say she did a very good job. Her tones and voice worked so well for the characters and the story. The story was a bit out of my typical genre and flow but i did still enjoy it and would recommend it to someone looking for a gritty post apocalyptic world with both fragile and strong characters that are well hashed out, despite the book having a shorter listening time.

I hav received a free review copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. This being said its definitely worth the buy.

Thought Provoking

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

As I did not read the first book there were some parts I felt a little lost but other than that I really enjoyed the story. An interesting take on the effects of addicition and how depression and grief can effect us. The narrator did a good job of conveying the lack of emotion when necessary.

Very different but Really good!

We really enjoyed this novel! It was a very original concept that left me us pretty shook when we finished it. We would recommend this book to anyone who loves science fiction, drama, and great and complicated storytelling.

Mad Max meets Bladerunner was right

This is definitely the love child of Mad Max and Bladerunner. The dystopian world presented here comes alive as you take the journey. The characters were given life by the very capable narrator who I will have to check out in other projects. A.K. Alliss created a world of unexpected twists and believable characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to escape into a believable new world for a while.
I was given a free review copy of this audiobook for a voluntary review.

Interesting Twist on dystopian future

Disclosure, I was provided a copy of this book for free in exchange for my review.

The story takes place in a dystopian future where the government mandates drug patches to keep its citizens “stable” after a nuclear war. The main character is a washed up journalist who had her fame snapping the picture of the “big one” but has since gone into obscurity and can barely survive in a world on the brink of collapse.

The first thing to note is that this book is told in present tense. Cass goes into here, Diego thinks this, etc. I usually find that books written in this style are somewhat choppy and are difficult to listen to. However, the author actually did an exceptional job of making this story flow very well.

Overall I found the writing to be good but there are several dream sequences of things that happened in the last and the transition between present and past was sometimes confusing as a chapter may start as a dream but it reads like a character just jumped from one location to another until you realize this is another memory in dream form.

The narrator did a great job of character voices and did a great job with differentiating between the different people. What I found odd is while the conversations had great pacing, when the narrator was reading the descriptive parts between conversations she rushed through the lines like she was trying to hurry up and get to the next section of dialogue. This was more so at the beginning of the book but it was still there at the end.

Overall I enjoyed the book and the narration and will add both to my list of people to keep an ear out for.

Good Dystopian S.F

I really like the character Cassidy Nolan. Especially how one picture she took lead to her current path. Also, as someone whom has struggled with addiction, her pain seems very real. The story was action packed and full betrayal and conspiracy. The narration was pretty good with district variation between characters. Overall I enjoyed the story and want to listen more of this series.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great Narrator, Confusing Story

I received a free promotional code in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled with the story. The book has a great narrator but the story was very confusing. It starts slowly and it can be a struggle to stay interested. There is no clear defined timeframe and I couldn't get a sense for when the book was set. I appreciate that it's full of action and it features flawed protagonists but I wished it was a bit clearer. However, I did enjoy the narration and I would listen to more books narrated by Anneliese Rennie.

I might give it a re-listen or read and listen through Whispersync in case I missed anything.

Interested in the rest of the series

I have received this book in exchange for an unbiased review. That out of the way, this is probably my favorite pick up as a freebie. Given that it is the second book in a series I think I missed some subtle things, but I had no issue following along with the story. It's a dystopian future setting and follows many of the concepts from that genre so if you're familiar with that you shouldn't have any problem picking this up and following along.

I'll be looking forward to the rest of the series hitting audible and hope they'll get put into a sale (that's really the only time I buy more books)