Heart of Steel

By: Elizabeth Einspanier

Narrated by: Peter Reynolds

When Alistair Mechanus first sees his captive, ER doctor Julia Parker, it is love at first sight - for him. Although he eagerly sets aside his plans for world domination to woo her, 10 years of solitude on Shark Reef Isle have left his social skills badly rusted. When his misguided act of kindness goes out of control, however, Julia must overcome her fear and place her trust in the mad genius.

She has the skills to unlock his forgotten past - but discovering who he used to be might come at the cost of his remaining sanity.

©2015 Elizabeth M. Einspanier (P)2015 Elizabeth Einspanier

Robowolves, Cybernetic Limbs, Science-Folly Fun

Would you listen to Heart of Steel again? Why?

Certainly. In particular, the chapters that have more interaction with Mechanus's 'family' are my favorites. All of them are a little quirky and flawed in endearing, somewhat cute ways.

And the parts where Mechanus comes off as a creepy stalker are amusing too.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mechanus easily steals the spotlight from every other character in the story. The other characters make a fine catalyst to explore his goals, memories, and abilities, and that's where the tech-y science-y fun flows from.

What does Peter Reynolds bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The characters all come a bit more to life with their individual styles. The sound effects on the robotic characters makes it easy to remember which characters are and aren't human, even though I have a poor time remembering anyone's names.

Any additional comments?

The sciency bits are on the soft side of the spectrum, and are more on the whimsicle, implicative side than speculative side.You won't find any details as to which motors and which sensors and what software make characters work, and some of the details when it comes to computer and network use is dubious, but it's fun anyway.

Cliche, but fun.

Heart of Steel is a fun little romance novel, nothing to new or different really. Girl has guy she doesn't really like, meets new guy, drama ensues. Except the new guy is a mad scientist.

Don't expect the science or the geeky techy stuff to be all that accurate, the explanations for why and how are only enough to suspend your disbelief for the real meat of the story: the romance.

The epilogue doesn't satisfy too much, as the last few lines make the book feel like it was the entrance for a much larger story, maybe it is, but as far as I know this is a one-shot. One wonders what happens in the future and no answers are provided. Which is the entire point of an epilogue in my opinion.

It's the narrator that truly shines in this audiobook. The voices are all differentiated from the others, and the robots are all modulated, making them sound like machines. For the rest of the narration, the narrator's baritone voice is soothing and pleasant to listen to.

All in all, a decent book, one to add to the reading list, but not jostle any other books out of their position for.

River of fun

Would you listen to Heart of Steel again? Why?

Yes, even though the book is filled with a lot of cliches and references, it has a good passing to it. The narrator dose very well at making the characters stand out and gets into character well.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Heart of Steel?

The cyborg sharks that walk around the island.

Have you listened to any of Peter Reynolds’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

He has improved quite well takes his time much more this time.

A fantastic blend of Sci-fi and Romance

Where does Heart of Steel rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's narrated by one of my favorite readers, and Peter Reynolds knocks it out of the park once again. He can really give authenticity to dialogue, rather than sound like he's just reading it from a textbook like many readers do. It's because of him I decided to give this book a read, and I was not disappointed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Heart of Steel?

The flashbacks and other moments of revelation as the mad scientist struggles to regain his past and humanity were really powerful.

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't want to give anything away, so I won't say what happened, but there was some intense fighting near the end of the book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, and I did. The author kept a good pacing through the entire story, and the narrator's performance really brought it together.

Any additional comments?

I'm not a romance novel person, so me saying this book impressed me is really saying a lot.

A heart of steel and a soul of gold

What did you like best about this story?

Hung up on the shelf of romance and sci-fi literature is a book that strangely met the 80s movies’ rhetoric and kitsch. The love triangle narrated by Ms. Einspanier is an enjoyable read bound by the rules of the aforementioned genres. It is a light-hearted, though with its relatively grim moments, fiction that offers an enjoyable fill-up for a week-end in peace in your house.

And if you don’t enjoy the free-time necessary to read through this novel but still shows interest into it, I can only recommend this audiobook.

Have you listened to any of Peter Reynolds’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This read is simply magnified by Peter Reynolds’s voice whose acting of the story’s main characters –especially Dr. Alistair Mechanus when his heart of steel slowly strips itself of its lead lid– are praiseworthy beyond measures for a first production on Audible.com.

Any additional comments?

Heart of Steel is a good audiobook to listen to while you attend to other tasks. It indeed doesn’t require a deep listening to be enjoyed and Peter Reynolds’s vivid voice acting will keep you awake throughout.

Quick, sweet, and fun!

I was looking for just a quick, fun romance novel to listen to, and this hit the spot! I really liked the unique premise--the "evil mad scientist" falls in love--and it's hard not to love Dr. Mechanus. :)

On the downside, it would have been nice to dig deeper and get more character development, and overall it's a bit cliché. The ending was just a tad bit of a let down, or else I probably would have rated it 4 stars. It's also a bit clean for my taste, but there are a couple of sweet kisses.

Narration was solid!

Kind of a Mad Scientist meets Beauty and the Beast

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

After coming off a steady diet of Neal Asher and C.J. Cheeryh I needed something little on the lite side for a trip and this fit the bill perfectly and it had some good reviews on GoodReads so gave it a shot. A bit of romance, a bit of action, and a bit of humor. As one person on Amazon put it it was like the Island of Dr. Moreau meets Beauty and the Beast..which is pretty accurate although I would throw in a dash of "The Terminator" as well. One interesting thing is there were a bit of special effects used as well. Not a lot but just Mechanus's voice and other bits here and there, which I thought was a nice added touch that you don't often hear in Audio books outside of radio play type stuff.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Heart of Steel?

I really liked the kind of clueless puppydogness of Mechanus, gave me some good chuckles as he fumbled his way around his rusty social skills.

What about Peter Reynolds’s performance did you like?

I've been an Audible member since 2003 so I know my Narrators. Seems he's new but he did a really good job IMO, expressive, good range of voices (Given that there were really only 4 or 5 characters who talked) and great at conveying emotion.

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

I would say the big reveal by Mechanus, Reynolds actually had me getting a bit choked up myself.

Amazing performance, mediocre story

Would you consider the audio edition of Heart of Steel to be better than the print version?

The audio version puts quite a bit of life into the text. Most of the lines when read seem fairly flat.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting bit of the story is when Mekanist's transformation of the antagonist comes back and makes things miserable for the main characters. The least interesting bit in the story was the contrived bit of romance between Mekanist and the other protagonist.

What does Peter Reynolds bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He brings a lot of emotion into the text. As well as the ambiance that is very fitting for the scenario. It actually reminds me of many of the MCP narrations, so if you're interested in that then you'll like this audio book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, partially because the narration is stellar but also because the actual story bit is a little forgettable and you'll get lost quickly if you break it up into smaller parts.

Any additional comments?

The story is fairly okay, they're aren't any glaring problems, but it isn't something i'd want to read again. It certainly wasn't a waste of time, but you should listen to this for the performance of Peter Reynolds, not the story itself