Regularly a struggle to listen to.

Just when I think things are going to get better, there's another annoying scene, or phrase, or chunk of dialogue that brings it crashing down.

Spoilers - probably.

Why did the authors place this arbitrary and incomprehensible and (so far) unrelsoved restriction on the age of characters who can function in the fold? There are several characters which appear to ignore this restriction, and the idea of having vast battle fleets solely crewed by people younger than 25 (and some who are still teenagers and are, also inexplicably, experienced enough to be very high in the command structure). Yes there are savants, able to excel at one or two areas of expertise at a young age - but enough to fill out an entire space force? Bonkers. The average age of US soldiers in Vietnam was 19, I hear you cry. Being taught basic tactics and weaponry is a different kettle of fish to spacial fold calculations, piloting in space (and the fold), having the skills of a diplomat, being able to diagnose and fix a wild variety of mechanical and electronic devices and the software they use. All of these just break, when we're talking about human beings who are almost exactly like us, a few hundred centuries from now.

A million years, and suddenly two "chosen ones" within three years?! Unresolvably unlikely, no matter what rationalisation - if any - the authors use to patch this over with.

I hate (most) time travel, and this is HEAVILY hinted at - when a more likely scenario is that a date was spoofed in some software. Who jumps to time travel instead of some light hacking? Weirdos. Anyway, there will likely be time travel of some description in the following story, and I can practically guarantee that I will hate how it is implemented.

One of the main characters, with one relatively minor secret reveal, causes a wild shift in everyone's personality and motivation. But only for a chapter or two.

A character whose personality it turns out is due to trauma that has gone un-treated for TWELVE YEARS. This is not an enlightened society. Why couldn't their personality just be who they are, and they are learning new coping mechanisms and becoming more comfortable and confident, given these new circumstances and the respect of peers? I hate how this becomes a "friendship fixes everything." It's not the most egregious thing I dislike, but I do feel it could have been handled better.

A stealth ship that is able to hide from all sensors, but apparently can be spotted with the naked eye.

A ship speeding along in the fold, and the engines cut out 30 seconds before an impact. The ship just ... stops? Unless there is a section I missed or have forgotten that explains the physics of the fold is vastly different from normal physics (and the opening scenes of the first book heavily imply that most physics operates in a similar way to those we know and understand), then this is just a bit shoddy. I'm nit-picking a bit here, but my jobs requires that I understand physics quite well, and these sorts of things stick out to me.

What does the fold look like? Is there a light source? Did I miss the description to explain any of the weird behaviour? Radar works, but all photons become a single wavelength? Ships are somehow illuminated so that descriptions of them can be made? Fine, you can have whatever mad rules you want, but they have to be consistenly applied or there's no point in anything.

The "wonderous ancients" somehow won a war - but also didn't win a war - simultaneously, despite having exactly the weapons capability required to finish off a weakened enemy whose only plan was hiding at specific types of locations.

A "secret police". Ugh. I hate this so much. Every revelation about this organisation has the whole thing make less and less sense.

The timeline of the "main character"s father, and the planet he was living on - I'd love to see that plotted out alongside the events in the story.

I feel this series is one that I would have to go through with a fine tooth comb to point out all the things I hate about it, and I could write a book about them all.

However, I want to know how this ends. The basic premise and background arc IS an interesting one, that is slowly being revealed at a tantalising pace. It just gets clouded over with teenage trauma/angst/thirst/lust, a lack of personal agency among the main characters, trope-laden scenes and plot devices which crash through the narrative. The narration is generally very good - if it weren't I would not have made it this far.

This has to be the only book series I actively despise that I find somehow compelling enough to keep me interested. One that is so bad that it makes me want to pick holes in it. In my mind it's a movie that the Ryan George Pitch Meeting turns out to be almost as long as the movie itself as he eviscerates every nonsensical thing that happens. Indeed, there were moments where I practically heard his voice saying "Oh wow, it's going to be almost impossible for these characters to get out of this situation." (barely a chapter later) "Actually, it's going to be super easy, barely an inconvenience."

Maybe that's what's keeping me going.

2 people found this helpful

Love the Aurora series

I am never disappointed when it comes to Jay Kristoffs books being turned into audiobooks because the storytelling is always amazing and the narrators for each character are phenomenal! Not as awesome as the Illuminae Files but still hella good! If you haven't listened to these books I highly recommend them! You will not be disappointed!

2 people found this helpful

THAT Ending

After re-reading Aurora Rising I jumped straight into Aurora Burning. I love Squad 312. They are a bunch of misfits that wouldn't normally give each other the time of day. Being thrown together the way they were and going through all that they have, have made this squad very special.

One of the characters I was very excited to hear more from and about was Zila. In the first book, Zila has very little to say and she was the one character who's story I thought we needed. Well, Amie and Jay definitely delivered on that one! what a story Zila has. It was absolutely heartbreaking. With Kal's sister showing up we learn a lot about his childhood. We also learn more about the rest of the squad too. We get to learn more about some than others but that was the way with the first book. Each character tells their story at just the right time.

As with the first audiobook, the cast does an amazing job. The characters and voices are just so well matched. If you can listen to the audio of this book because these narrators really bring the story to life!

This book has a lot of mystery in it and I for one cannot wait to explore it even more! The ending was such a big cliffhanger that I am just dying for book 3 now. These two sure know how to break a girl's heart! What makes it worse is knowing that Amie and Jay have already written it and I can't have it yet. I mean I think it's in edits or something but I'd take it if I could!

1 person found this helpful

Such a fun listen!

Fabulous follow up to the first book, really enjoyable! Loved the full cast who all did amazingly, characters were easily picked out since there’s a lot. Highly recommend and look forward to the final book 👍🏼

Wonderful

Loved it so very much! Great full cast recording, perfectly cast - can't say anything better! (Of course, the novel is exquisite but I've reviewed that separately)

A must for Sci-Fi Fantasy lovers.

Thrilling and emotional from start to finish.
The narration brings this story to life and it plays out so vividly.
I’m so attached to these characters.
Those series keeps getting better.

4.5 stars

The best audio I've ever listened to

Youre in for a wild ride with this one!
Humoir on point and none stop action, and that cliffhanger at the end! just amazing

Whaaaaaaaaaat??

Just.
Idk.
I am so happy book 3 is already out, because BOY do I wanna know what happens next 😱🙈😍

Another hit

This book didn’t disappoint. Another great story with brilliant performances. Nothing like being left desperately waiting for the final book to come.

better than the first one

During the first book I found that I disliked all of the characters. Having now finished the second book I have to say they have grown on me a bit. They act less like annoying teens in this, which is nice. I wasn't sure if I would bother reading the last book but now I want to find out what happens...