Gather the Children

Chronicles of the Maca, Book 2

By: Mari Collier

Narrated by: Benjamin Fife

Two aliens are living their lives in 1860's Texas.

One is filled with rage against the world; the other drawn to return to his homeworld and reclaim his land. Before they learn to navigate a spaceship between the stars, they need to find trust in each other and stay alive in a hostile, dangerous land torn by civil war.

But after two strong-minded Earth women alter their plans, they must make hard choices about their future.

Is revenge more important than love?

©2015 Mari Collier (P)2020 Mari Collier

Wonderful

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Wish it wouldn't end with a cliffhanger! The narrator, as always, was magnificent.

Even better than the 1st book!!

Oh I am loving this Story and this Author's writing. Why couldn't I have found her early.
I can not say enough about this Story, Love the McDonald family and all the members except Daniel & Margerite. Narrator does one Heck of a Wonderful job with the characters and Voices and really brings the story to life!!

Amazing Series!

Book two of the series introduces new characters, the complex relationships of family, teenage rebellion, and growing up too fast. The first part of Gather The Children was narrated from Lorenz’s point of view (Anna’s son). He is such a well-crafted character! I enjoyed learning about him and eventually what was at the root of his rebellion. Watching his transformation is fascinating.

We also meet Anna’s other children and learn what happened to them after they were separated from her. Zeb and Anna work tirelessly to help the children deal with the Comanche attach and its effect on their lives. While this book primarily center’s on things that happen on Earth, Zeb never lets the children forget that they are part alien. His way of keeping their alien legacy alive is ingenious.

Don’t let me forget to mention alien powers! The children have a few tricks up their sleeves and keep Zeb on his toes!

Source: I received a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for an honest review.

Michele, AudibookLife.com

The Old West Mixed with Sci-fi!

The story of the MacDonald family in Texas mixes life in the old west with sci-fi. In book two of the series, Zeb MacDonald an alien living in the wild west with his wife Anna has a personal mission to find Anna’s children. The children were separated from Anna after a Comanche attack in book one “Earthbound”. That task is far from easy, the first half of the book is told mostly from Lorenz’s (Anna’s middle son) point of view. He is a very troubled boy who has been surviving mostly on his own and trusting anyone does not come easy for him. As the story progresses, we learn about the children’s alien heritage, Zeb’s efforts keep that heritage alive and along the way you experience how hard family life in Texas after the Civil War really was. The narration is again provided by Benjamin Fife who is absolutely pitch perfect with a variety of accents. Mari Collier is a superb storyteller with an amazing ability to smoothly mix the old west with sci-fi. I’m looking forward to book three!

I received this audiobook from the author at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

would you like a little sci-fi with your western?

Gather the Children, like the first book in this series, (Earthbound) is a science fiction western about the MacDonald family. Almost all of which are some form of Alien hybrid.

This is such an odd series. There are very small references to anything sci-f. For the most part it's just a western. The story follows the various family and friends of the main character Mac, as they live life. They get married and conduct business, worship and fight for their lives in the unforgiving and lawless Texas frontier.

This is a very character based story and I loved getting to know all the characters as they struggled to build lives for themselves. The best part was getting to see all of the children come home after being scattered in the first book.

I hate that I feel like I need to give a content warning since this is not erotica, but the author is not shy about the facts of life. It may not be descriptive but it was enough to make me feel uncomfortable. Also there is language.

This is the third book in a row I've heard that was narrated by Benjamin Fife. Man this guy is prolific. As always he does a great job reading and this story gives him plenty of opportunities to play with accents which he is incredibly good at.

A Great Listen

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request, and have voluntarily left this review. The 19th century was not an easy time to live, especially for an alien. Mac is happy with the life he's made himself while waiting until the time is right to return home. A chance meeting brings him face to face with his one of his wife's missing sons. Now he embarks on a new set of adventures helping his children grow. Interesting characters, suspense and lots of action will keep you listen until the very end. Looking forward to book 3.