Really great story. Like the set up. Good in-depth world building with MC heading toward a satisfying OP without crossing over into unmoored power fantasy. I have a few nits — mainly, some oft-repeated mannerisms that start to wear out their welcome.
I like Jeff Hays as a narrator and appreciate that SB is on a multiyear journey to really dial-in their style of immersive voice acting. But I think the yelling and screaming in this one is over-the-top. There is no middle ground. We go from a very subdued soft Thomas Shelby style narration of the MC to top of your lungs shouting. It’s so jarring that it actually breaks immersion. The voice is capable of conveying the urgency of a yell without blowing out the listener’s ear drums. Moreover, some yelling in the story happens from a distance but is delivered at full volume as if right on top of the scene. And it happens a lot. Every exclamation point in this book was treated as high-decibel shouting. I hope the SB folks dial that back for the next installment.