The Forsaken

A Thriller

By: Estevan Vega

Narrated by: Steve Sherwood

Don’t let it in.

The first victim has no natural wounds. No prints left behind. No lacerations. But the life has been gruesomely drained from the corpse, and a broken cross is now imprinted inside the skin.

Left for dead a year ago by his former partner, reckless and medicated Detective Jude Foster now endures mindless therapy sessions in order to be given another chance at his life. When the chief of police discovers the first victim strangely killed in this sadistic fashion, Jude enters a dark world all-too-familiar. He knows he's seen this method of murder before, but he never caught the killer.

Could this be a copycat, or is it the one that got away?

Forced to take on a new partner for the case, Jude must come to terms with the fractured memories of his past, attempt to keep his younger brother safe, and chase down a ghost killer who is collecting human souls. But time is against him. How many more victims will there be before the killer is satisfied? And will Jude Foster be able to survive this new hell or in the chaos, will he risk becoming something else entirely?

©2012 Estevan Vega (P)2014 StoneHouse Audio

Depravity with a side of heavy-handed Religion

What would have made The Forsaken better?

It's unfortunate, but a story that was not utterly disjointed with plot points seemingly falling all over the place. The characters react to the situations around them in utterly unbelievable ways and they are just downright unlikable. There is really nothing redeeming about them and the main character's redemption has nothing to do with his evolution as a character so much as Vega's need to show more graphic depravity. Awful.

What aspect of Steve Sherwood’s performance would you have changed?

It's apparent Mr. Sherwood's attempts to provide uniqueness to each character are so far blown into the nether reaches of what melodrama has to offer that it detracts significantly from what otherwise could've been a solid reading.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Forsaken?

The non-sequitorial trip the main character makes roughly midway through the book. It was such an unnecessary sequence for plot elements that could've been included without breaking up the plot itself.

Any additional comments?

There are vastly better examples of wanton depravity and violence out there for anyone who wants them. The actual style and diction Mr. Vega employs are both quite good, but the overall plot is a train wreck, the characters are awful and nonsensical, and the narration was mediocre. This book is a mess, to say the very least.

Wow!

What made the experience of listening to The Forsaken the most enjoyable?

The way the narrator read each character

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Forsaken?

When the demon entered Jude

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

This is the first time

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I got creeped out

Couldn't finish

I rarely just stop listening to a book. Even if it's not good I usually want to see how it ends. I threw in the towel when I happened to see that there was 6 hours left in the story. Not enough story development to make each "scene" seem real. It was like listening to an abridged play with poor actors. The story didn't have any flow. Narration was not great either but maybe it was just the material. I wouldn't recommend this one.