The Know Circuit

The Bridge Chronicles, Book 2

By: Gary A. Ballard

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

Artemis Bridge can get you what you need no matter how immoral or illegal, no questions asked. With practiced detachment, he keeps everyone around him at arm's length. But when the city of Boulder is trapped in a mysterious dome, he must set aside his detachment to help his bodyguard Aristotle's search for his missing grandmother. Every step he takes towards the dome deepens the mystery, as he is compelled to seek out the source of the strange happenings. Flaming dragons, cars transformed into robotic golems, a corporate-military quarantine and disturbing visions drive Bridge to a life-altering conclusion.

©2010 Gary Ballard (P)2015 Gary Ballard

Te Know Circuit

So,I liked it mostly?I was a bit lost.There is Artimis,who can get you anything.There is Aristotle who just wants to find his grandma after a dome is put over Boulder.There are blips in time,is grandma dead?How about this dragon named Carl?Future,past,spells?
Joe Hempel is a great narrator.
I was given this book free for an honest review...

The Know Circuit

Any additional comments?

I didn't find this storyline to be as engaging as the first book. The whole "technomancer" thing was beat into the ground at the end like this story was merely a set up for future stories. In the end it was entertaining.

Cyberpunk Continues

Would you consider the audio edition of The Know Circuit to be better than the print version?

Definitely, the performance was my favorite part. Without that the drop off I noticed from the prior entry in the series would have been more noticeable.

Would you be willing to try another book from Gary A. Ballard? Why or why not?

Of course, I really liked the first one and 3 stars is still pretty good, just not great or anything. He could blow my socks off with something else just as easily.

Which character – as performed by Joe Hempel – was your favorite?

I'd have to go with Bridge because he is an interesting antihero and giving that kind of character life is one of the best parts of the ensemble.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really, but it's escapist fiction so it's not really meant to. That's not a knock on the book.

Any additional comments?

I received the code for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I rather enjoyed most of it but the end got a little odd for my liking, but that is more of a subjective thing. Recommended if you enjoyed the first for sure.

Kept me guessing

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Found this one to be very entertaining and a good follow up to Under the Amoral Bridge

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Know Circuit?

The bizarre events that occur just outside of Boulder had me thinking the writer had lost his mind and veered off into a fantasy novel. All explained in time and in an interesting and geeky way.

What does Joe Hempel bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This narrators voices and technical performance continue to improve. I am grateful for his consistency, as it helps keeping track of the characters. His voice is a good fit for the genre.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

He knows a guy...

Not as good as the first book

I had a hard time with this book. I read the previous book in the series and enjoyed it, but I had the hardest time following this one. My interest kept waning and I was unsure of what was happening. I listened to the Audible audio version of this book narrated by Joe Hempel. He does a good job giving each character a unique voice, but I think I was just kind of over some of them. I honestly think that if I didn't read the previous book, I probably wouldn't be reading more of this series. However, since I enjoyed the first one, I will continue with the series in hopes that this one was a fluke.

this follow-up as not gripping as the first

The Know Circuit is the sequel to Under The Amoral Bridge. It finds our antihero Artemis Bridge going on a road trip to Boulder, Colorado, in search for his bodyguard's grandmother. Following a huge explosion, a black dome has appeared over the city, and Aristotle fears his grandmother is trapped. The explosion also caused people with cyber implants to have a seizure, and Artemis feels strangely pulled towards the dome.

I didn't find this follow-up as gripping as the first book and found my attention drifting because of the amount of geeky science and technology talk and the topic of corporatized government and the philosophy of leadership.

Part of the story also shifted away from Artemis and dealt with a whole different set of characters in order to explain the events in Boulder. I couldn't really warm up to any of them. I would have liked to see more of Aristotle and Artemis' hacker girlfriend as I enjoyed those characters in the first book. At the end, I felt there were several things left unresolved, but I assume these may be picked up again in book 3.

Joe Hempel once again provided a solid narration for this sequel. The voices were distinct and consistent. Great job portraying the dragon! There were no issues with the production.

The story should appeal to cyberpunk enthusiasts and fans of dystopian technology thrillers.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

Awesome 2nd Book in the Series!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Know Circuit to be better than the print version?

I would have to say yes I truly enjoy hearing the audio performance they way Joe Hempel brings this story to life.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bridge is still my favorite character in this series. The way he thinks on his feet and his moral flexibility is really fun to listen to and travel along with on his adventures through this interesting world.

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

Mr Hempel does an awesome job in each audio book I have heard. He is always a solid and enjoyable narrator.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was really into the scene when Bridge, Stonewall, and Aristotle are stopped at the Colorado state line by the CLE Ranger. Things go sideways and the the CLE are turns into a transformer like mech and attacks the Ranger and allows them to escape. It was edge of your seat exciting.

Any additional comments?

“This audio book was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”

I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Know Circuit to be better than the print version?

I only do audio books...so yes...lol

Who was your favorite character and why?

I do like Bridge...but he is a tad shady...and not super scrupulous...

What about Joe Hempel’s performance did you like?

I like Joe' s narratives...he keeps me listening quite easily....

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Aristotle's grandma!! :(

Any additional comments?

** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

The city of Boulder, CO is hit with some sort of a mass energy field and gets enclosed into a bubble...people all over the USA are going into a semi coma sort of state...almost seizures and Bridge is at the center of it all...Aristotle his body guard's grandma lives in Boulder, do off they go to see what's up...well this dome thing is calling out to Bridge...and what he discovers is really kind of wrong...and he gets sucked right into the thick of it!

GOOD STORY..I CANT WAIT FOR BOOK 3!! AWESOME NARRATION BY JOE!!!!! I RECOMMEND!!!!!

Boulder under a dome!

Set in 2028, Los Angeles, Artemis Bridge is a wheeler and dealer. He makes his money on trading information and connections. Indeed, he believes in living life with as little work-related exertion as possible. Then an explosion over Boulder, Colorado is reported and Artemis finds himself caught up in a road trip.

Aristotle, who provides protection and some common sense to Artemis, has a grandmother in Boulder. So he is going with or without Artemis. But Artemis also needs some answers. When the event happened, some people (Artemis among them) collapsed into some kind of brief seizure. Only people with certain cyber implants were affected this way. Artemis calls in the assistance of another shady guy and together, the three of them take a trip to Boulder.

They set up with some back to nature survivalists just outside of Boulder. Artemis is awed by what they see – a giant, black, shiny dome has appeared over part of the city, centered over the university. Unfortunately for Aristotle, he fears his granma is trapped within that dome. Artemis’s implant seems to be tugging him towards the dome. Eventually, they head towards it only to meet with resistance from the corporatized Colorado police and then a fire-breathing dragon named Carl.

The cutting edge tech is all throughout this book and what Artemis finds within the dome is both spooky and fascinating. I never feel like the book has slipped back to 2015 because we have all this well integrated tech. In Book 1 (Under the Amoral Bridge), we had more cyberpunkian stuff with the full-body kresh immersion. That’s still mentioned here when Artemis calls on his girlfriend Angela to assist in creating fake credentials, etc. Still, we have the implants and then all the cool stuff going on within the dome.

There’s only a handful of female characters, though they are more than eye candy. Angela is this guru within the kresh and helps Artemis more than once. Anna Angst needs a favor from Artemis to get her news story. There’s a lady (Lydia) within the dome that also is a computer geek. Then there is Aristotle’s granma. Still, none of them are particularly plot integral.

I didn’t find this book as dark as Book 1. Instead, it had more of an adventure quality to it, exploring the cutting edge. I enjoyed both books even though they differed in this manner. I will say that this book spends a fair amount of time telling us how amoral Artemis is, but never actually showing that. His actions are to the contrary. Plus, we never hear of or see him doing truly immoral things like pimping children or enslaving the elderly. So his reputation on this front is mostly hype and after a while I did tire of being told how amoral he was, because that just wasn’t so. He’s self-centered and definitely looking out for himself, but he’s also doing more than just accidental or self-serving good along the way.

Through out the book, there is an ongoing strain of discussion about various ways to govern large bodies of people. Aristotle likes to get into the philosophy behind various historical leaderships. Also, there’s plenty about how state and national governments in 2028 are more and more corporatized, giving large companies control over government agencies and laws. I found all of this pretty interesting and they added something to the story instead of distracting from it.

My favorite part of the tale was what happened within that dome. Now it would be a big spoiler to chat about it in specifics, so I won’t do that. What Artemis finds disturbs him. There’s some cutting edge science that has inadvertently gone awry and there might not be a way to fix it. It was geeky and a little sad too since things and people were lost permanently. Since not everyone makes it out alive for one big hugfest, the story had weight, and I enjoyed that quite a bit. It showed that the story was taking itself seriously and there was, indeed, consequences.

I received a copy at no cost from the narrator (via the Goodreads group Audiobooks ) in exchange for an honest review.

The Narration: Joe Hempel did another fine job with this sequel. His voices were all distinct and easy to recognize. There were a few accents required, which he did fine with. I especially liked his voice for the dragon!

A great cyberpunk thriller

Would you consider the audio edition of The Know Circuit to be better than the print version?

I've not read the print version but personally I love audiobooks. I travel a lot and when I'm driving or walking or on the tube I can listen to an audiobook and this is a good example of one.

What other book might you compare The Know Circuit to and why?

I'm not sure what else I can compare this too as it feel a little different. I thought it was essentially a thriller with a cyberpunk wrapper. It was a good book. In The Know Circuit, the story is really firmly entrenched in that cyberpunk feel, and the technology is important in making the story move.

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

No but I really enjoyed the narration and hope to listen to other books by the same narrator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I enjoyed the book and listened to it in big chunks at a time.

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.