The Long Lost War

By: Jeff Walker

Narrated by: Jack de Golia

Far from Earth, in a distant solar system, clone soldiers are stuck in an on-going battle against colonial separatists. John 999801 must battle against an enemy that refuses to give up and dreams of a woman he feels he's seen before. The life of this low-ranking clone soldier is about to take a turn for the worst. Or is it going to open his eyes to the truth?

Can one clone soldier make a difference? And who is the woman in his dream?

Answers and horrors await him as he joins his fellow replicas to the surface of a planet called...Hell.

©2019 Jeff Walker (P)2019 Jeff Walker

Speculative scifi with humanized clones

I received this novella to judge for SFINCS. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team. I did also happen to purchase this on audible, as I am busy, and audiobooks are helping me keep up. The narration is very solid.

Right off the bat, this novella hits us with a group of clone soldiers. They’re used to wage someone else's war, never given a choice. And while there are many of them, it’s obvious that they come from only a couple of original sets of genes, only changing certain aspects based off desired jobs in the military. John, seemingly just another clone, gives us unique thoughts and personality. It makes me think of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and how it humanized and personalized the clones.

When wanting more is a death sentence, John might just find out that there really is more to life than what he’s been offered, but will he live to get it?

I just felt like it was lacking a little bit in lore, building and description of what the world is. This partially works because as a clone, John would not be privy to everything, but I do think there are ways that more could have been included.

Personally 3.5/5*, an enjoyable quick read!

Clone Wars

Centuries after a galactic war was lost, the survivors are clones used to fight that very war. Pitted against each other in a pointless struggle, a pair come out of it to "live." This is their story so no spoilers, but it is an interesting listen.

enjoyable story

Quite liked the concept and it went well.
Totally want to steal parts of this for my rp game.
will certainly look for more of the authors work!

Just loved it.

What a great story, the narrator voice matched the charter perfectly. The space battles were awesome with a nice twist. My only complaint is that it was too short. I wanted 6 to 8 more hours of this world that Jeff made. Just loved how it all turned out in the end. Happy Ending? Lets just say yes.

The Long Lost War

When John 999...oh whatever, Mech or Mech man as John is referred to, since all male clones are referred to as John, is sent to Hell, not that one, this is a planet in a far away solar system to fight a ruthless unwavering opponent. However his dreams of a woman take over and his life as a lowly clone grunt is about to change a lot. But can dreams come true, and do they come at a price?

This was a amazing book of love in the time of war, a war between two people that has gone on far to long. The writing is awesome, action packed, suspenseful, and has a few surprising twists, what's not to love. I had the audio version with narrator Jack de Golia who brings Mech alive and plops you down right in the middle of all that is going on in Mech's world as he paints you such a wonderful picture using his voice. I hope this becomes a series because I want to know more.

Just OK

I like the idea behind the story, there's a lot of good potential plot points. However the execution is mediocre. It alternates between a demonstration of the author's vocabulary (Which is very extensive, though there's a proclivity to use large words more than seems natural) and rushing the story, glossing over what could be dramatic moments and details to fit the novella description. This is one story that would actually have done much better being longer, and going into more detail and depth.

The performance was frankly jarring. The narrator's attempts at female voices was very bad. Since the book is in third person perspective it would have been better to not attempt them at all.

I regret how critical this review is, there's a world of potential here, but the execution just didn't work for me.

I received a copy of this book at my request in exchange for a fair review.

Action-Packed Romantic Sci-Fi

The Long Lost War by Jeff Walker is one of those unique stories that would only improve with length. Attention to detail, Walker tells the story of John 999801. John is a clone but a clone with questions and dreams. Relegated to the front line of the war, John discovers answers to his questions … questions better left alone. An action-packed adventure with unique and developed characters that bring the story to life.

This is one of those rare stories that would only benefit from being longer, as a novella it is too short. While it works ok, the story could have gone in many different places. And yes, Walker is a bit into the “big” words but that comes with the territory, I think.

Jack de Golia performs the audiobook very well. Like most male narrators his female voices sound less feminine but overall his performance was very good. De Golia is well versed in moving a story along with tone and appropriate emotions.
There were no issues with the quality of this audiobook or production.