Malfunction Junction

A Military Sci-Fi Series (Waymaker Wars, Book 3)

By: Rachel Aukes

Narrated by: Scott Aiello

A war is here, and it’s unlike any that came before…

Humanity has much to rebuild in the aftermath of the star snakes. But before they can even get started, the Waymakers return, bringing their interstellar war with them. With the Waymakers and Glimmers battling it out across the solar system, humanity is caught in the middle. Colonies are put under lockdown. Any ship caught flying is destroyed.

Millions starve. Even more die in the attacks. With humanity on the verge of annihilation, old enemies unite and prepare for war.

If humanity is to survive, we must beat not one but two technologically superior races. It'll take a crazy plan and someone even crazier to carry it out. And that makes it exactly the kind of job for Captain Jack Hale and his crew aboard the Cabrón.

It's Harlock: Space Pirate meets The Expanse in Book 3 of this pulse-pounding Military Sci-Fi series from Rachel Aukes, the bestselling author of Black Sheep, Rebel's Run, and 100 Days in Deadland.

©2022 Rachel Aukes (P)2022 Recorded Books

Great Story

I loved that the story line and length of books and that I could listen to each book in about 2 to 3 days at at my leisure.
There was a few voices I did not like but was not overwhelming.

The uniqueness of the story

My only problem was the actor doing the voices didn't create different characters. He just assigned different dialects to each person.

How a young girl, who has never been on Earth can talk with a Brooklyn accent? Is BEYOND me...but?

Over all? This is a good series of books

Just a good listen…

The trilogy was worth the listen. I enjoyed it more than I anticipated. Likely check out more from the author and re-listen in the future.

Epic Conclusion!!

Malfunction Junction picks up approx. 5yrs after the events of Freezer Burn, with the Cabron having become hunter more than salvager. At the start of the book, the crew are just finishing off the last of the Star Snakes, and making Sol a safe place to live again, after the reign of Glitch.
Things aboard the Cabron have become a set routine with their ‘5’ person crew, now with the addition of Heddi. Heddi has become part of the crew since her “upgrade” with Veda’s nanites, after she became terminally ill in Freezer Burn when they left the system to find a solution to stop Glitch.
However, even though the crew has found the end to one problem, and it looked like there might be some hope for humanity for a while, the Waymakers make a sudden reappearance into the Sol system, after having left, stating they would never return, and humanity was on its own. Worse still, they are setting up on each of the major stations, just camping out on top of bases, waiting. At the same time, the Glimmers return to the system as well. If the two meet, they immediately attack each other, and anyone caught in the path of the two entities is destroyed.
As both the Waymakers and the Glimmers settle into the system, all passenger traffic, and all transport traffic is stopped, meaning that there is no food or vital supplies moving between the stations.
As the situation becomes more dire due to some stunning events (I don’t want to give away spoilers, but the start of this book is just brutal!!), the crew of the Cabron is left with no alternative but to come to the aid of humanity once again, or leave them to die.
There are things that unfold in book 3 that have a profound impact on the crew, and leave them with a resolute determination to see the end of the Waymakers and the Glimmers. Even though the other books in the series have been pretty intense, graphic at times, book 3 steps it up to a whole new level, as full-on war comes to the Sol system between multiple combatants, and this time, Jack and his crew are in the thick of it. The death toll in this book (including major characters), is very high!
The galaxy building in this book continues to be beyond exceptional, Aukes has created this stunning universe to play in, with intricate detail of the Sol system that she has taken the time to research incredibly well. It really brings the story to life, adding so much additional depth to the story. The ships, the stations, the aliens (as in the Glimmer), are all just outstanding.
However, it is the characters that really bring this story to life, as they tell us their individual stories. The story Is told mainly for the point of view of the crew of the Cabron, but we also get to see several other major characters in this third evolution of the story, allowing us to get a full understanding of events as they unfold from one end of the Sol system to the other. It is fascinating watching the dynamic of the Cabron crew after over 200years they have been together, and how each of them have developed their own distinct very unique personality traits to be able to survive psychology with living that long. Veda has to have a physical release through violence, Burn through affection. Kana needs to remain confined and have her time alone, whilst Jack wears different personalities so that no one can see the true him. Jack is really intriguing though, in that he has aspects of all of the major characters, and this can be seen in his relationship with Heddi, in which he takes on an almost Fatherly role. Heddi meanwhile has become a capable young woman, and although she is physically frozen at around 22yrs of age due to the nanites, she is around 26-27yo. Heddi has some really great relationships in this book as well that expand on her character and it is great to see her grow.
Overall, this is a brilliant third book in the series, as we see not only the evolution of the characters to their next stage (which Aukes has done so well), but we also get to see what happens to the Sol System and humanity, which was left kind of up in the air at the end of book 2. This book is done really well, and without spoilers, provides a really satisfying ending. If you have read the first 2 books then you will love this one!
Scott Aiello is one of the True Masters of storytelling, and it is an absolute joy listening to him tell this story. He is a beautiful Narrator, with a voice that is able to deliver a clear and concise version of the story. He is also able to create a multitude of different voices, both male and female, for all the different characters, with different accents and different ages. These are done so well, and so easily, that you can tell the different characters by the tone of their voices, you don’t need to be told who is talking, you can just tell.
Even more importantly, The Narrator is able to convey the emotions of the characters, you know when they are happy, or sad, tired or grumpy, allowing you to understand the emotional state of the characters as the story is being told
This just adds so much extra realism to the Narration, and the storytelling, and the experience of the Audiobook,
This is one of those times in which listening to the Audiobook is a far better experience that reading the actual book, as the Narration is so good, you will get so much more out of it – Exceptional Job!!

Really Awesome!

I loved the writing the narration is top tier, and just the story and character growth even came to a good ending endings are hard but could potentially be more and that would draw me in instantly so fingers crossed this Duo comes together again in a continuing story line we anyone who has read this series can only hope do yourself a favor get this series you can't go wrong!

Loved it

It was a good space story. It doesn't include the authors political or social views. It was just good fun.

A good story told well

It’s hard to find a story that hasn’t been cloned or isn’t a clone of another story. This story has some of the same ideas used in probably a hundred other books, but the author has added a new flavor to an old recipe. Actually, to multiple recipes, served in a unique way. Bon appétit

Good listen to pass the time

I liked the Characters and story throughout the 3 books in the story. I like the Narrator which helped.

conclusion

enjoyed the series. like how humanity keeps getting back up everytime were but down. smiled at the epilog. good job.

5 stars are for the perfect book,

Why do people give ratings of 4 and 5 stars for every book they read - listen to? When you do that it leaves no room for that rare jewel that truly deserves 5 stars. Seems like every time I check reviews before I purchase a book I see 4.5 star reviews, it cheepens the value the review system. PLEASE BE MORE THOUGHTFUL. Thanks MB