Masterminds

Anniversary Day Saga, Book 8 (Retrieval Artist Universe)

By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

The fate of the Alliance hangs in the balance as the masterminds behind the Anniversary Day bombings trigger the final stages of a plan decades in the making. A plan that will bring about the total destruction of every dome on the Moon.

As Moon Security Chief Noelle DeRicci struggles with the overwhelming scope of the investigation, former Retrieval Artist Miles Flint races to save the life of a man from his daughter Talia’s past. A man with vital information regarding the identity of the masterminds who planned the Anniversary Day bombings. And deep beneath the surface of Armstrong, a dome engineer makes a chilling discovery that could crack the investigation wide open.

If only he can get someone to believe him.

©2015 Kristine Kathryn Rusch (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"This deeply satisfying eighth entry...is a very strong payoff for the series." (Publishers Weekly)

Just as good the second time round

I love an update on all the characters—a chance to see where their paths led.

So sad the series is over!

I love this series and am so sad that this is the last book. I have enjoyed it since the beginning and love the way each small piece has woven together throughout it. The focus is all on the story and each book contains parts of it. If you love a well crafted tale, start from book one of the retrevial artist series and work your way through. Great narration as well. I just hope that there are more tales in this series waiting to be told and that they make it into print someday.

Excellent!

Masterminds is a good wrap up to Anniversary Day series. Be sure to read or listen to the previous books in the series before this one.

Great end to saga, but thankfully not the series

Gripping, suspenseful, satisfying. Now waiting impatiently for next Retrieval Artist novel -- can't get enough of these characters!

A fitting ending - but I'm glad it's over

I really like K.K. Rusch's stories in both the "Retrieval Artist" and the "Diving" universes, but this particular splitting of the "Anniversary Day Saga" into 8 different books hasn't been as satisfying. I would rather have seen three or four complete novels than eight of what are really each incomplete novellas.

That said, the writing is as good as usual, the characters we know are all here, and most of the loose ends get tied up. There's one long-term plot arc that I can think of that is still open at the end, but that may be a part of the background of politics and change taking place in this invented society and something we see progress on with each new novel.

This novella had one job - tie up the strings from the other seven. It did that, and now we can move on.

A good way to end!

This is a gripping story that, at last, brings this long-running saga to a close. A few surprises, desperation at the climax, and smart protagonists save the moon. The plot is complex, and it's not possible with audiobooks, to easily review a part of a previous book to refresh your memory. Nonetheless, the plot and subplots are usually easy to follow. I have enjoyed the Retrieval Artist series and the Anniversary Day spinoff, of which this is the final volume. Hopefully, the author is not done with Miles, Noelle, and Bernard and stories about the moon. On the plus side, good plotting, distinctive characters, and an interesting environment make the series a worthwhile read or listen. The narration is first-rate. On the minus side, I'm still not sure how domes section and I can't conceptualize the links. Everybody has so many, they must take up half their skull space. The author gives no explanation of FTL flight, or FTL communication. And I don't have a good idea of what constitutes the habitable universe. The characters ruminate and parse their actions excessively ending with, "I have to do it now," over and over to the point where the expression seems lame. Nonetheless, I think most listeners will like the series.

Complex and well developed series

Ms. Rusch gives us a set of sympathetic, even likable characters living in a truly horrid society. The Earth Alliance is an abomination - it has sacrificed justice and individual rights in the name of free trade.

But even in this environment, we find ourselves hoping that our heroes will survive and triumph. At the same time, we gain some understanding and empathy even for the terrorists. The terrorists are willing to murder millions, but it isn't without cause.

Flinty

Excellent narration and even better story telling... The only downside is that it ends one of the best SciFi series to come along in a while... Worth the credit and so much more... Striking is the topical similarity to the machinations and bigotry we see everyday in this modern messed up world of ours...

Cool!

A satisfying ending to this saga. I wonder what's next for Flint and the Alliance.

Love this author!

I haven’t a review on each of the books in this series cos I was too embroiled in the storyline of each of the characters. Each book is a pleasure; and the series is a treasure. Start with first book and I promise u, If you enjoy excellent character development and an intelligently written storyline with everything integrated into an amazing whole, u will love every minute you spend listening to this series. The narrator makes it even more pleasant.