Koban Universe 1

By: Stephen W. Bennett

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Here are four stories derived from the same universe as the Koban series. Listening to the series is not required to understand and enjoy these stand-alone tales.

Australian Krall: A fully gene-enhanced Kobani woman finds herself trapped in total darkness and underground, pursued by hundreds of slavering, semi-sentient, maniacally aggressive, and hungry aliens. Walk with her on the dark side!

"Batsof a Leather Flock Together" (short story): The wolfbat Flock Leader establishes a nest in virgin territory. The wily leader uses his cooperative experience with humans to try to forge hunting alliances with unfamiliar and aggressive native creatures. Not everyone wants to play nice.

Kobani Kiddie Cappers (novella): Howdo Kobani parents cope with children that are born with a contact telepathy gene, and have eidetic memory. Adults, who think teenagers act as if they know everything, never had an overconfident four-year-old super child, with a ripper cub as his partner in crime. Living to reach his teens might take superhuman luck.

TheSmuggler and the Crime Lord (novelette): When you land a known smuggler's ship in a ruthless Crime Lord's city using false registry, it's hard to convince a platoon of armed thugs that you're only shopping, and you don't owe the boss a cut of your action. If you're a Kobani captain, and buying drinks for friends in a spaceport bar, spoiling your evening and making threats is a bad idea, and a fatal mistake.

©2014 Stephen W. Bennett (P)2014 Stephen W. Bennett

Pretty good

too much background on some of the stories, plus it's not clear that they are short stories rather than one book

Collection of stories mssing from the main books

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This series fills in some- not all of the questions in the original series

Who was your favorite character and why?

baby Ryan in Koban Kitty Cappers --- I had children like that without the mods :) and some wild kitties (althought not several hundred pounds that thye got into trouble with.

What does Eric Michael Summerer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

reading the names of the people and places vs. my thoughts of how they would sound

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Koban -- The Missing Chapters - Part I

Any additional comments?

Wish the chapters were named, got the audio book for my ten year old (vision impaired-deaf -- cochlear implants) to listen to so he would know a little of what grandpa was reading Kiddie Cappers some of the material not suitable for that age.... and we could make up some stories about what he thought children and rippers can do.

A great set of Koban stories

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely, but with the caveat that one should read the first three books in the series first.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Koban Universe 1?

The whole anthology was most memorable. The world of Koban and the species inhabiting this world are brought alive even more thoroughly with these stories. This book allows us to learn more about life for Kobani and non human species, in a depth that could not be done in the series novels.

Which character – as performed by Eric Michael Summerer – was your favorite?

His performance is great for all the characters. This performance makes the books come alive on Audible.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

This would not be a good stand alone film. The books in the series need to be made into films first, then this one could fit in.

Any additional comments?

This series is great and I look forward to many more.

Another great book by stephen bennett

Absolutely loved the series so it was a must to own all the novelas too.

Not a novella fan, but....

I don't usually listen to novellas, but this one really pays off. These short stories help to enrich the universe and feels like it fills in some important gaps between books 2 & 3. The third story very entertaining for me, and found myself wishing it went just a 'little farther!'

World building and some good old shoot em up fun

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this set of 4 short stories to anyone that has already read/listened to the books in the main series. The 4 short stories gives us some understanding of the Kobani people and some of their furry friends.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Koban Universe 1?

By far the Smuggler short story was the best of the 4 stories and could become its own short novel. I loved seeing more of how the Kobani kick butt with attitude.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Once you start listening to each story you would put it down. Even after listening to all four stories I found myself listening to the Smuggler story over and over.

Any additional comments?

Another great installment. Would probably not make much sense to someone not familiar with the other stories. I can't wait for book 4 and for the audible version of book 3. Keep up the good work.

Loved the short stories.

I love this creation of greater depth in the universe, all those little things that make the characters come alive. Really enjoyed the short stories and the fun characters. Again very well written and entertaining.

Other Perspectives of the Universe

If you could sum up Koban Universe 1 in three words, what would they be?

Fun short stories

What was one of the most memorable moments of Koban Universe 1?

The fight scene that ends the book.

Have you listened to any of Eric Michael Summerer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

It holds up. He's especially good at getting the snark across without being obnoxious.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The teacher/student relationships in the 1st story are amusing.
The way that a Kobani in one story deals with a group of thugs also had me laughing.

Any additional comments?

There was only 1 weak story in the mix. The rest had me highly entertained. I was actually upset when it was over.

Adventurous revisit to the Koban Universe

After reading the Koban Universe series to date, I hadn't bought this little audiobook, the description didn't attract me. But, now I did and it is a lot of fun to revisit the same characters and settings. I hope there are other longer books in the works, and this was to just give the readers a little something in the meantime.

It was great.

The Koban universe is spectacular!

Any additional comments?

I've read all of Mr. Bennett's Koban books, and then listened to them on Audible recordings. I can't say which is better. They are both fantastic. I'm currently listening to the Koban: Universe 2 and am inpatient for book 7 in the regular Koban series. Great work Mr. Bennett. I love the world you have built!