STORY: the story was well written and I was thankful it didn’t devolve into constant men-versus-zombies action. I.e. it was more thoughtful and more vividly described than I might have expected, though the author has some work to do in order to raise his bar to that of Michael Crichton. I would have liked to see more character development as all but a couple were pretty generic (despite different skills etc.) and there was little reason to care about who lived or died, with one notable exception. The chapter cliffhangers were more along the lines of “how will they get out of this life-threatening generic event” (I’m trying to avoid spoilers) rather than “what the heck is going on; I can’t wait to find out” that you would experience in a Crichton book. But I really enjoyed the story, I’m glad I read it, and I look forward to reading another technical thriller by this author.
NARRATION: the narrator is head and shoulders above most audiobook readers. He has a deep soft voice that doesn’t put you to sleep, because he reads the book as if it were being played out, rather than just reading the sentences. That said, he has a ways to go before he is in the same league as Ray Porter or Will Wheaton. Those guys are so good that I seek out books that they narrate. Ray Porter in particular has a different voice for every character which makes the story come to life and makes it easier to keep track of characters (which would have been especially helpful in this book.). This narrator has a few different voices, but in most cases the ladies sound exactly like most of the men. I’m only spoiled because Ray Porter and Will Wheaton are just so good at their craft, like comparing the author to Michael Crichton, it’s a little unfair.
I certainly won’t hesitate to read and listen to another book by this author and narrator.