Life Sentence

Forlani Saga, Book 1

By: JMR Gaines

Narrated by: Andrew Thacher

Convicted of three murders, whistle-blower Willie Klein finds himself transported to a penal colony on Domremy where his unlikely job is to kill fellow colonists before they fall into the clutches of insectoid locals.

His gruesome task is only relieved by the growing affection of Entara, an alien pleasure worker from a matriarchal world.

Until, that is, their brief happiness is destroyed, as Entara is called home to an arranged marriage and Willie discovers he is still being stalked by the conspirators he tried to unmask.

It turns out the fearsome claws of the locals are not the main danger either of them will have to face.

When Entara’s priggish husband joins forces with the shadowy Earth corporations, the perils multiply, for the couple must learn whether they can trust belligerent space-going octopi, a primitivist human farmer cult, a mysterious medical team made up of robots and extraterrestrials, or even the bone-chilling locals themselves.

Sacrifices have to be made all around, from planet-to-planet, as humans and non-humans define what the dignity of life means in an ever-shifting future threatened by war and personal exploitation.

©2016 John M. Gaines (P)2019 John M. Gaines

Better than expected

I didn't know what I was getting into when I got this book, but it turned out to be very very good. It has everything you could want in a book, aliens, love, romance, killing. I won't give any spoilers so don't worry. Just know it's worth your time to listen or read this book.

Epic story and characters.

Is Willie Klein a villain or a hero? His epic journey keeps you guessing. Klein anchors this journey from plagued earth (sound familiar?) to space and world's that are both exotic and relatable. Highly recommend. Narrator presents an excellent performance.

Does it ever end?

Honestly, it started out great. Fast paced action, a love story, some drama... then tragedy strikes and there is angst everywhere... which then just seems to never end! How many bad turns can one guy get?

Sadly, I skipped ahead to the last chapter, and so I missed what I’m sure is a big redemption and uplifting part of the story.

But I found it was all just too depressing to see it through. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood these days for a story that is a tragedy instead of more upbeat? That could be.

The narrator really added to the character. And was well spaced. I do listen at about 1.2x though.

I received a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for a review.

To pay for your crimes!

Good si-fi, I enjoyed this story! What would you do being in a different country! You become a hitman! Narrator was good!

Good but a little graphic

I received a free credit for this book, its not my usual genre. While I did enjoy it, it is a little graphic in the descriptions of the alien species deaths and a little hard to understand everything going on.

Interesting change of standard idea

I found this story as a different way of thinking of breaking the law in a foreign country.

The characters were interesting and brought the action along well.

The narrator told the story well.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, narrator, Audible, and/or publisher.

I voluntarily left this review.

A lot going on

Overall I did like this book. It’s a little dark and depressing. I liked the characters and the narrators performance. There’s a lot going on but you don’t get lost in the details.

Wonderful Story!

The writing and narration are both equally excellent in this science fiction tale. Very enjoyable.

Great story

Loved the premise. Narrator was meh.
I wouldn’t not buy another title from the author, but not seeking it out.