Nightstalkers

Area 51: The Nightstalkers, Book 1

By: Bob Mayer

Narrated by: Eric G. Dove

Staff Sergeant Winthrop Carter only enlisted in the army for the steady pay. When he cheated on the Special Forces’ final exam, he never expected his actions would get him drafted into the Nightstalkers - an elite team with a mysterious mission and even more mysterious leader.

For decades, Rifts have been opening and unleashing bloodthirsty alien life forms into our reality. The Nightstalkers’ goal is to shut down these breaches and stop the beings that emerge from rampaging out of control.

While still integrating with his unusual teammates - including a sociopath, a Black Ops washout, and a contemporary MacGyver - Carter gets his first taste of interdimensional action when a Rift opens inside a gated community. With half a dozen deadly invaders threatening the residents, the Nightstalkers must hunt down and eliminate the aliens before they break through containment and wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world.

©2012 Robert Mayer (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Fun, Monster/alien hunting action.

The Nightstalkers are a special, elite team, with a mysterious leader and a mysterious mission. They draw from the best of the army and special forces, seeking those who are willing to commit to a team that puts their lives on the line every assignment. The Nightstalker team has to contain and sometimes annihilate supernatural enemies, creatures that most people don’t know exist. They do their best to minimize collateral damage but are prepared to use excessive force if needed.

The team opens with an action-packed mission to close a dimensional rift and in the process one team member gets pinned with cactus spines causing him to question why he is doing this work. When that injured member walks away, Staff Sergeant Winthrop Carter, is offered the opening on the team.

The team is led by “Moms” and under the direction of a mysterious woman who speaks with a Russian Accent. She has rarely been seen in person as she usually meets with the team in holographic form. The team consists of members who have unusual skills that work together: sharpshooting, troubleshooting, tech expertise, bomb specialist and communications.

Carter is just getting used to the strange team members when they are called out to a wealthy country club subdivision to eliminate the alien “fireflies” which inhabit inanimate objects. The team is setting up ‘undercover’ in one of the elite houses, but a smart, sassy teen from the house across the street is watching every move. “Scout” shows up at the door and offers her services since she knows the neighborhood and clearly the team needs some guidance to fit in.

While they are hunting the creatures to eliminate, they are also concerned about an important artifact that has gone missing and could be misused in the wrong hands. It is soon clear that someone who knows their protocols has brought an attack against the team.

This is just the sort of monster/alien hunting action I enjoy for a quick read. Neither the characters, nor the plot are deeply developed but they are sufficiently set out to make it fun. I totally enjoyed the action and the quirky characters. Scout makes a fun addition. I liked the 1970’s references – they worked for me. I recommend this as an easy read for readers who like monster hunting, military sci fi.

Audio Notes: Eric G. Dove does a nice job with the narration. He distinguishes the character voices, male and female. His voice fits the quick action. The narration added to my enjoyment of the story.

Just Love all Bob Mayer's books.

Just Love all Bob Mayer's books, I have been reading his Area 51 series books since 2000. I also have read his two newest Area 51 books, and I am just waiting for the third Area 51 (Interstellar) book due out in June 2019. I have read all of the Nightstakers books and the continuation of the Nightstakers Team in the Time Patrol series, I have enjoyed every one of them.

Not what I expected

What did you love best about Nightstalkers?

Bit disappointed with this story, since it was under the umbrella of the area 51 story I expected that is would be connected to the story line. Apart from thaw fact is based at area 51 it has no other connection to the area 51 series of books.

What did you like best about this story?

Saying that I enjoyed the story and characters. The premise is good. This is more of a military kick arse type of story

Have you listened to any of Eric G. Dove’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I had seen reviews criticising this narrator before. Found him very listenable and had no problem following his narration.

Any additional comments?

Will I buy the other books....... I might as I do like Bob Mayar story lines. I just feel this should not have been listed with the area 51 series

Short, But well worth it

If you could sum up Nightstalkers in three words, what would they be?

Believable, interesting, different

Who was your favorite character and why?

Scout, hey I am a sucker for the plucky comic relief who turns into a star of the show.

What about Eric G. Dove’s performance did you like?

Read it well and gave good voice to the characters, and not many stumbles that I could find

Any additional comments?

This was a "why not?" I think I'll keep following the Nightstakers Bill Mayer does a much better job on this book than in the other Area 51 books. I think this spin off is better than the mainline that launched it. But we shall see in book 2.....

Good and interesting

I liked the action In the story. It was a decent inexpensive audiobook. I enjoyed it. It did not leave me angry and frustrated like some of the more popular and expensive books. I rated this book because I wanted to and it was convenient at the time I finished the book.

"We don't need no stinking lawyers"

After reading some of the spotty reviews about the previous Area 51 books, I was hesitant to purchase this. But I was in a mood for some military scifi. Whereas this is in no way a John Ringo style military sci-fi book, it is a fun read. I listened to it in "one go". It is a bit slow in the beginning (delivering all of the necessary setup and background), but I found it fun throughout and especially loved all of the 70's pop references (e.g., Warren Zevon and M*A*S*H inspire 2 of the sobriquets of the team members.) In that vein, I liken this to an "A-Team" romp with aliens (or "fireflies" the entities making it through the rifts) and better guns (and an actual plot.) The book isn't as cheesy, but it had some amusing dialogue and one-liners and was just fun. Despite the female team commander (Moms) and the female teenager local asset (Scout), the book didn't have any romance thrown in -- which is refreshing! Besides, how creepy would it have been for romance to blossom between a fellow team member and one with the moniker "Moms"? And sure, Scout was a little too good to be true, but hey, they are fighting alien entities, so suspension of disbelief is in order. So, I just had fun with the character, which is unusual for me (I generally HATE the teenage/child "add-on" characters.)

The narrator differentiated the players well and did equally well with female and male characters, giving personality to them. And, continuing with the 70's theme, his voice reminded me a bit of Lee Majors at times (but in a good way, reminiscent of "6 Million Dollar Man" and not of his recent hearing aid commercials.)

I recommend this to anyone wanting a light military sci-fi read.

energetic and refreshing

This was a refreshing performance by the narrator. very fast paced. took some time to get used to his voice but once I did I found it highly entertaining

Odd beginning but enjoyable story.

The beginning starts with no hints of how the Nightstalkers got where they are. However, as the story progresses, it's okay. I liked the reader too.

Super fun story!

This is definitely just for fun but fun it is! Bad guys that aren't even guys. Country club super rich people setting which is fun because the team SO doesn't fit in! And the Cleaner has a really tough job in this one straightening up behind them! Enjoyed it for sure!

Character Info Dump During Action Scenes

There are several things I liked about the characters and the action, but it still felt like the story was missing something. While the Russian accents might have seemed more authentic, it made it hard to understand sometimes.
Although the conflict was resolved by the end, the story ended up being about highly advanced soldiers fighting things that are the size of fireflies (they also call them that). Sure they can possess certain things, etc., but at the end of the story all that I remember is a soldier destroying an excavator, or a laptop, etc. The story does not seem very memorable.
Also, I don't like it when an author does a character info dump during the action scenes. Sometimes it makes sense. For example, when the character is clueless and relaxed. However, a character in the middle of a firefight who stops to think about who they are and what their current task is? I feel like a few rewrites by the author could fix some of those things. There should be a better way to add tension than making me wait for the author to tell a funny quip about said character to find out what is going to happen.