It was fun. A decent start to a series. Charlie is a good vehicle to introduce us readers to this universe where science and magic meld. He’s almost non-descript, and at first, that was good because it let me focus on this new universe, all the aliens, the plot. But by the end, the most I can say about Charlie is that he’s the most polite gladiator in the whole universe. He’s not broken or arrogant or angry or a bleeding heart or snarky or goofy. He can fight but he’s always thinking about how to do so without hurting anyone too badly. He’s willing to fix a dozen space toilets just to prove he’s worthy to a space pirate. I would have liked Charlie to develop much more as a character. He’s very bland.
The assortment of aliens was pretty cool. There’s various cultures and careers, giving us some good guys, some bad guys, and some inbetween guys. And I do mean guys. There are almost no female characters in this book (I can think of 3 at the moment in a cast of dozens). The ladies are victims and/or romantic interests. How did the universe get so populated with so few females?
OK, so besides those two points, the plot is solid. Charlie goes from one adventure to another. First, it’s a big deal for humans to go so far in space, then getting swept up in something they don’t understand, crash landing, and getting taken captive by scavengers (and slavers). After some quality time learning some harsh lessons, it’s space pirates and eventually the gladiator school of hard knocks, but all done without cussing, broken bones, or forced sexual relationships. Yep, very polite group of gladiators we got here. Years go by until the Big Event, which involves a fight to the death. The tale ends with a hopeful note but with Charlie still unable to determine his own fate. 3/5 stars.
The Narration: Gary Bennett was great. He’s got the perfect mellow voice for Charlie but mostly I loved his various accents and voices for the aliens. He had to work at to get such a variety and knocked it out of the park. The few times Bennett had to employ a female voice, it was believable. The pacing was perfect and no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.