Virtues of the Vicious

By: Martin Wilsey

Narrated by: A. T. Shore

Elizabeth Cruze came to Earth for one reason: to buy weapons. She never counted on ending up in prison. Never fear, though, she's not planning on staying there long.

Special Investigator Neal Locke has made a career out of catching the most elusive and dangerous criminals. He's never failed to "get his man".

When Cruze escapes from prison, Locke is tasked with tracking her down. She should be easy to find...all he's got to do is follow the trail of bodies.

But Locke has been an investigator for a long time. It doesn't take him long to figure out that there's more going on than what he's been told....

©2017 Martin Wilsey (P)2017 Martin Wilsey

The cat has thumbs!

Wow, I loved this book!!! I swear it hit me dead center... Space Opera (✔).
Kickass protagonist (✔).
Well written (✔). Great mix of politics and action (✔).
Ship cat (✔).
... and coffee (✔).
Currently, this book appears to be a stand-alone, but I would seriously love to see another book or two following this small crew... And I'd love to see more of Bale the cat, did I tell you this cat is special? He's got thumbs!
A.T. Shore gave a Dynamite performance as she blew her way through Virtues of the Vicious...
If you love Space Opera like Nathan Lowell's stories, or Becky Chambers' books, I think your gonna love this Roundhouse story!!!

It's a Vicious Job But Someone Has to Do It

Elizabeth Cruze is a prison escapee with a dark past, dangerous skills and sociopathic tendencies, which of course makes her the perfect choice to start an intergalactic war. Neal Locke, the special investigator assigned to hunt her down, is far too good at his job or far too lucky, and the closer he gets to finding Elizabeth, the more the bodies pile up until he's in danger of joining them. Add to the mix Bale, a cat with thumbs and some secrets of his own, and you have a start of a grand space opera.

I loved this story from start to end. I thought this was going to be a "Catch Me If You Can" sort of story with Locke always one step behind, matching his wits with Cruze. What I got was a grand space opera full of interesting and sympathetic characters that grabbed me by the throat and refused to let go until I had seen it through to the end.

Cruze has to be my new favorite anti-hero. She's smart, dangerous and cruel when she needs to be and you can't help but root for her even as she's breaking the law. And Bale is definitely my new favorite four-legged character.

Unlike a lot of books I've listened to lately, this one contained a complete story and didn't leave me hanging. I've grown to appreciate that in an audiobook.

I loved the narrator. While her male voices all sounded the same to me, her characterizations of Cruze and Pots was spot on, especially when Cruze was doing her "helpless female" routine. The only thing I found off about the narration was the way that the narrator approached the inner voices - it sounded muffled as if she had put her hand over her mouth before reading the lines. I understand needing some sort of differentiation for inner dialog, but it was hard to understand in some places and really unnecessary in the context of the story. Regardless, I would definitely listen to more from Shore.

Here's to hoping that Wilsey writes more tales about Cruze, Pots and Ian; I need my Bale fix.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A Real Airlock Buttkicker

What did you like best about Virtues of the Vicious? What did you like least?

Our heroine, Elizabeth Cruze, reminds me of Lara Croft in outer space, armed with as many F-bombs and weapons as the guys she runs around with. I thought the technical aspects of the world building was rendered well, but I found myself getting lost between airlocks from time to time, and the profanity seems to function more for special effect. Would like to know more about Cruze's past.

Would you recommend Virtues of the Vicious to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book if you enjoy semi-hard sci-fi entailing futuristic set pieces, space ships, and gadgets, and hot chicks wielding deadly blasters.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I listened to the audio version, narrated by A.T. Shore. The voice acting and sound quality are as good as any audio book I've heard. I think a woman's voice works best for this story.

Could you see Virtues of the Vicious being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

This story could easily be translated into a movie or media streaming series. I think Martin Wilsey should make a cameo as one of the characters who browbeats Cruze.

Any additional comments?

Great hot-chick-with-firearm cover art. Could be a great merchandising tie-in with future episodes.

So Worth It!

Excellent audio!. It has intrigue, revenge, lots of action, a great female lead and mysterious AI's. I have to say I enjoyed all the characters, but love Cruz and the "cat" the best. All become bonded in their own unusual way as the fight to reclaim Cruz's homeland, with a surprise in the end. The narrator did an excellent job of creating these characters in my mind. I do so hope there's more from this team.
This audio was given to me free, and I voluntarily gave this review.

Intriguing and complex

Most the time I was trying to figure out what was going on. For me, that's something that I really enjoy. Complex character development and story line. Standard SciFi that brings you through a labyrinth of "what the...".

I look forward to more!

Worth a Listen!

A very entertaining science fiction novel. This had a ton of action and never felt like it slowed down. The authors portrayal of technology and how it affects society was intriguing and was one of my favorite parts about the book. The characters were also fleshed out and had me coming back for more.

The narrator did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life.

Fun sci-fi romp!

Great rollicking ride. Kept my interest the whole time. Great pacing and immersive world. Recommend!

The right woman for the job...

Elizabeth Cruze is a woman on a mission. Not just out to start a war, but to win it and kill all those deserving it. This is a story of a complicated woman with a past that has set her on the path to her future.

Neal Locke is a man on a mission as well. To stop Cruze. Not an easy job, and one that doesn't go as expected.

An excellent story, both in its writing and this audio reading. Adventure. Secrets. Twists. Well-paced sci-fi action. Perfect for passing the time on a long trip!

3.5

Much in the style of Leviathan Wakes, Virtues of the Viciousfollows someone going about their galactic adventure and an older, somewhat jaded investigator tracking behind them, slowly learning that there is more to his investigation than meets the eye.

I generally enjoyed the story. I liked the characters and Wilsey’s writing style. I liked that the main characters were older and there was some diversity in the cast. However, I also three separate times tried to check Goodreads, Amazon or Google to ensure this wasn’t the second book in a series. It completely feels like it must be. Characters are mentioned that aren’t introduced until much later, the political system of the universe is left for the reader to figure out, and there is simply a distance felt that I imagined was caused by a lack of previous books. From what I could discern, this is set in the same universe as Wilsey’s other books, but not connected.

There were a number of too convenient to be believed events that solved problems for the crew, Cruze seemed to find that crew willing to go to war with her without even trying (that could actually just be part of the previous point), and the villain was dispatched a little too easily. It was anti-climactic.

I also thought the pacing was inconsistent and dialogue needlessly formal at times. The farther into the book I got the fewer contractions I noticed, for example. I think Shore’s narration exacerbated this though. While I think she did a good job, some of the sentences that I felt needed contractions and didn’t have them felt even more stiff in her mouth.

All in all however, despite these complaints, I’ll be looking for more of Wilsey’s writing. I liked what I saw.

Note: I received and Audible code. However, I chose to listen and review it.

An intriguing Sci-Fi novel!

This one will keep you on the edge of your seat ! The main character surprises you with decisions that require a direction in plot not expected!
This one is a “Must Hear” audiobook!
I recommend this audiobook to ages 18 + due to explicit adult situations, even though they are tastefully written.