Under Dark Sky Law

By: Tamara Boyens

Narrated by: P. J. Morgan

Xero knows what she wants: absolute rule over Southern Arizona, a cure for the superbug that's killing her best friend, and a decent bar of soap. Some are easier to get than others. The dreaded Zaps are dissolving Trina's lungs, and only a rare medication can save her. No problem: Xero is an expert smuggler. As the ruler of the Tucson Exiles, she hustles supplies for the government and then pumps the desert full of illegal designer drugs on the sly. Catastrophe looms when Yuma goes kaboom, and Trina's cure is destroyed along with it. All that remains is a complicated web spun from Xero's biggest demons: money, germs, and drugs. As she struggles to dig up some Ketacillin, one thought stays with her: Who do you have to kill to get some soap and a hot shower? The body count climbs as Xero struggles to protect her friends and stay clean in a very dirty world.

©2016, 2018 Tamara Boyens (P)2016 P. J. Morgan

Good book but disappointing ending

The idea and concept of the story was captivating and kept you in grossed in the story until the last few chapters

Female Mad-Max

A very different post-apocalyptic book. Xero is the main character. She is a doctor, rock star, bisexual, and into drugs. She is out to get antibiotic to save her best friend. This story reminds me of female Mad-Max (action packed). This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom. Thank you

Worth the listen!

I started this book anticipating it to be mediocre at best, and I have to say that it actually really impressed me.

Normally I’m not keen on female leads nor female narrators, because female leads tend to be portrayed in a less exceptional light, and female narrators can sometimes come across as grating. I took a gamble with this book, and I’m so glad I did! Xero is really cool and oddly relatable given the circumstances, and P.J. Morgan's voice and diction is crisp and clear. What allured me to this book is the attention paid to trying to maintain cleanliness and the importance of finding soap, hot water, and antibiotics. Honestly, if I was in a post apocalyptic world I would be greatly concerned about these things too.

Xero (like the number zero) is smart and intriguing without being obnoxious and arrogant. The world in this book is vibrant even without the use of long and unnecessarily wordy descriptions; I’m so glad about that, as I cannot bare heavy handed employment of descriptions that ultimately take away from the story. Under Dark Sky Law is a fantastic take on the post-apocalyptic story-line, and the narration is very adequate, and a pleasure to listen to.

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

Mad Maxine???

What made the experience of listening to Under Dark Sky Law the most enjoyable?

The experience was not particularly enjoyable. The book was thought provoking and disturbing. It is a very good example of a dystopian world story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Xero, the main character, I liked in one chapter and cringed at her actions in the next.

What does P. J. Morgan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

P. J. Morgan bought the story to life.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

double agent drug dealer

Xero works as a double agent, getting medicines for the government, and as a drug dealer outside the civilized areas. Her main goals are making money through selling drugs and finding a very valuable antibiotic to cure her friend Trina of a fatal disease.

I decided to review this book because it was a dystopian novel, but it could have been a novel about wars between Mexican cartels set in our current time. There was very little information about the historical background and how the world worked. At least I would have appreciated a brief explanation about how the world became the one in the book. This made the novel fail for me.

The characters are archetypes, and the first half just shows how ruthless and efficient Xero can be. In a couple of occasions the text indicates that she has a certain age, but from her immature acts and her thoughts she does not seem older than a teenager to me. The same goes for her crew. The first goal from the beginning was finding the antibiotic for her friend, which had not been introduced to us. For the reader, this goal seems less urgent if we do not know Trina and how important she is for Xero. We will see this during the second half of the book, but in my opinion, their relationship should have been described way earlier, since the book felt quite pointless until then. Trina felt just an excuse to showcase Xero and her abilities.

On an occasion one of the characters was mentioned to look like a surfer. I am aware that outdated expressions could be something common, but this one felt completely out of place. From the few descriptions I don't think there was anybody practicing surf in the world, and I do not know whether there were surfers in Xero's lifetime.

I do not mind foul language, and I think it is necessary in some books to make them realistic, but it was just too much in this book.

The narration was quite monotone and P.J. Morgan needs to learn to vocalize, especially when making male voices. About female voices, the repertoire was small and they sounded the same (except for when there were different accents involved) and I had troubles to discern who was talking at some points.

Even though this novel feels a bit immature, it was still interesting enough to keep listening, and I hope Tamara Boyens will continue to write after doing the necessary research.

Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher.

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

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Dull read for a pretty good story

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Almost stopped listening to this recording at the beginning because of the lackluster reading, which sounded as if the reader didn't care about the material, or as if she was going for the less-si-more approach. Didn't work. Stuck it out, though, and glad I did, because the story is actually quite good and very well constructed.

What other book might you compare Under Dark Sky Law to and why?

This book would have been better served by a reader more used to a film noir or Raymond Chandler-esque style; it has that feel, just going by the rhythms of the speech. To be fair, the reader does wake up about a third of the way into the book and it improves from that point on.

Would you listen to another book narrated by P. J. Morgan?

Can't say I'd be interested in listening to another book by this reader. Almost had the feeling she hadn't read the book before the recording to get a feel for it. That could be the director's fault or the reader. Anyway, it didn't grab me. Ron Perlman's read on THE STRAIN audiobook is the less-is-more style, but is one of the best recordings I've ever listened to. Being generous giving this reader three stars.

Any additional comments?

I got this book free in exchange for writing this review, and am glad of that, because if I'd paid for it I wouldn't be happy. That said, am very interested in other writings by this author; will keep my eyes/ears out for more of her work.

it was good

if you like science fiction you might want to give it a try. not the best but worth a listen. the narrator was alright. she spoke well.

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

dystopian

Is there anything you would change about this book?

no

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

best part of the book is the world setting.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

yes

Was Under Dark Sky Law worth the listening time?

sure

Any additional comments?

story is for listeners who enjoy strong female leads and mad max type of action.

note: I was gifted this audiobook from audiobookblast. all opinions are my own

Do you root for the anti-hero?

Is Xero the ultimate anti-hero? Not for me. To me, a good anti-hero needs to have a depth of character that she sadly lacks. Having said that, I did enjoy the story quite a bit and found it a good listen. I thought it was well paced and for the most part, well written. I just couldn't warm up to the main character. She was far too much of a hypocrite for my tastes (as well as an awful leader).

PJ Morgan did a stand out job on the narration.

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