We’ve come this far, as a family.

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

Jeffrey has to have fun while narrating these stories. He gets to let loose and put the manic into the crazy villains as he vocalizes them. I enjoy Jeffrey giving these characters a voice. He does it with such love as he seems to have absorbed the characters personalities. When he delivers some of these lines that are crazy and would make anyone smirk or laugh, he does it with the full feel of the character delivering it. Jeffrey is amazing at giving nothing away in his voice. Another flawless performance by Jeffrey.

Okay. I have a soft spot for 80’s and 90’s references. Oh heck, even current geek references. I’m one of those people that forgots them until I hear them in these books, and boy do they bring back the fun memories. It was an awesome time for movies, games, cartoons, comics, and so much more! And C.T. takes advantage of all that is available to reference. I never counted how many references to fight games (and movies) there were, but C.T. uses them here.

Oh. When Gary met Jane Doe and Agent G… I smiled the whole time. lol. I love these personalities and their reactions to each other. Jane Doe, Agent G, and Star Count are characters from C.T.’s other series. Yep, that’s right! This book has a character crossover. The cool thing, you DO NOT have to read the other books to read this one. It’s cool that you get to meet characters from his other books, so maybe you’ll want to check out their worlds after you are done here.

Even though I have fun and enjoy the quick quips, jokes, and references, there’s a serious side to Gary too. Gary has a lot going on with his family and friends. Gary takes it all in and goes with it as best he can, but his cares for them runs deep in his being. I enjoy seeing him react to the family he’s made around him.

Gary has a great group around him – Cindy, Diabloman, Gabrielle, Guinevere, Mandy, and more. They all add to the story. It’s great how C.T. juggles them all being together through the book. That’s hard to have a large cast of characters in one place, but C.T. makes it seem easy. They all add to what Gary has to do and the chaos of his mind and life. lol. Some moments I wonder how they all keep it straight when they get side railed in a conversation, but they do! And they come back to the topic at hand. Life gets sidetracked but it all works out for them having an “off the beaten path” feel to their thinking processes.

In closing I want to response to C.T.’s forward, I know there are people saying the formula is getting old. Here’s the thing, I enjoy these stories because of the geek references to books, movies, games, and so much more. Gary and his friends are a crew I enjoy with their banter and jokes and unconventional living. This is what I expect coming into the book, smile while I’m listening because of, and leave with a smile from.

The ending leaves me with hope for a next book, and more fun. This made me smile, for the request made and that I’ll get more time with Gary and his family.