Tolagon

Tolagon Series, Book 1

By: Gregory Benson

Narrated by: Gabriel Michael

Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

For Crix, a child born into war, his parents murdered and left with a hidden relic that bears a power he's forbidden to use, the world outside his adoptive land of Troika is a strange and foreboding place. Then he uses this illicit power for the first time.

An unlikely group embarks on a journey through a system controlled by the iron fist of a robotic army, the Marcks. Their primary directive is to recover the power source of the once heroic Tolagons, the lost orbs of Cyos.

However, the Oro system is dangerous where citizens disappear, and towns slowly transform into cold, soulless shadows of their former selves. Generations of war have left everything torn between the control of a cybernetic sociopath named Zearic and the killer AI known as the Queen of the Marcks.

As Crix discovers more about his father's fate, he realizes that the only path to surviving inevitable extinction is to become a Tolagon and restore their fallen order.

Learn more about the different species and locations in this story! gregorybensonbooks com/databank

©2019 Gregory Benson (P)2024 Gregory Benson

Excellent!

A cracking sci fi tale, which follows a child raised in secret with some pretty cool powers. Definitely worth a listen if you’re in the market for a new author and want to start a new series.

Action packed.

I’ve listened to both books. I enjoyed the ride so far. Looking forward to the third. The narrator was very good fit for the fast moving, action packed ride.

Great adventure sci-fi story & audiobook

Tolagon is the first book in the Tolagon series and is a space-opera sci-fi novel with elements of fantasy. In this story we follow Crix an orphan and the last Tolagon who possesses the blue orb, a source of extreme power. The majority of the book follows a trio consisting of Crix, Karriah and Krath as they escape a force of robots called the Marcks which are controlled by the power-hungry, would-be tyrant Zearic and are alerted to the orb’s power should it be used.

I listened to the audiobook version of Tolagon and enjoyed the adventure. It was quite difficult to get into in the beginning because of the use of jargon specific to this world and the sheer amount of worldbuilding that happens. However, the worldbuilding was one part of the book that I really appreciated, there was a lot of it, from the political system, the races, the monsters/robots and the magic that were present within this world. I think this book would have benefitted from being longer, to further explain and describe the elements of this vast world in more detail.

The narrator of the audiobook is Gabriel Michael, and I felt that the narration portions were overacted and should have been toned down. However, I personally loved the voices that were done for all of the characters, and this made it such an enjoyable audiobook. The unique voices really helped me to connect with the characters and know more about their personality, particularly Krath. He is a wonderful character, who made me chuckle multiple times and ended up being my favourite. I did really like Crix as the protagonist; He was a humble and focused character, and I genuinely felt like he cared for others. Some of the dialogue between Crix and Karriah felt a little cheesy and I didn’t feel any strong emotional connection to their relationship (however, this may be built on further in book two).

I had a lot of fun listening to Tolagon and would recommend it to fans of space-opera sci-fi novels, who like stories with adventure, strong characters, humour and LOTS of worldbuilding. Also, if you are like me and like narrators who go above and beyond with voicing different characters and added effects, I’d recommend checking out the audiobook on audible. I can’t wait to listen to book 2.

Thank you to Gregory Benson for providing me with the Tolagon audiobook, in exchange for an honest review.

Wild Ride!

This book was a wild ride with plenty of action and suspense throughout the story. For a Sci-fi book it was the perfect mix of different planets and different species that keep the universe growing. The trio that the story follows are relatable, likable, and funny. The voice actor did a great job making sure you knew who was talking by giving them all a district voice and the writing definitely made that possible. I can't wait to listen to book two. So awesome!

Action Packed!

Super action packed story with a great narrator. The only reason I didn't give it a perfect score is because it's almost too much information or too much happening to keep up with. Of course the author is preparing the reader for sequels.

Also it's written in omniscient point of view, meaning, the reader knows what everyone is thinking all at the same time. Personally, it kept me from connecting with any one character.

That said, the book is rich with vivid descriptions of scenes and the created world and creatures. All in all, I enjoyed reading/ listening to the story.

Thanks to the author for giving me a free review copy of this audiobook.