Ark-13: An Odyssey

By: B.B. Gallagher

Narrated by: Kevin Gallagher, B.B. Gallagher

Length: 3 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

"We, along with the other 12 Arks, flying out to the far reaches of space are now the only remnants left of humanity. We are the chosen few for the world's only life rafts. We are Ark-13 and this is an S.O.S."

When Jake Hansen was selected by GENESIS for Ark-13, he didn't know what the new world would look like. He didn't that when he awoke from hyper sleep he would feel like a captive. He didn't know that GENESIS would remain on the bridge of the ship and in control of all resources. He didn't know that they would prosecute his fellow colonists for treason. He didn't know that his natural born rights would be abused. Jake didn't know that he would have to lead an insurrection to control the Ark - and the course of humanity along with it.

With constant intrigue and mystery, Ark-13 can best be described as Lost meets Interstellar. It carries a broad appeal, as the themes of the story center around the human condition, resilience, self-preservation, and technology's clash with nature.

©2016 B.B. Gallagher (P)2016 B.B. Gallagher

a really nice story wrapped up in a nice package

Ark-13, the final of Earth's last chance for survival.  There were 13 arks in total, and Jake Hansen is on the final ark.  He has also been given one of the esteemed positions on the ship.  After he does some digging around, he finds more than he expects to.

The narration was done by the author and Kevin Gallagher.  I'm not sure who was who, but one of the narrators was perfect (the one who narrates most of the story).  He was a wonderful storyteller who kept the book moving and used his voice to make the story better.  The other (I honestly don't know who was who, and I don't like making negative comments) narrated some of the journal entries.  They weren't bad, they just lacked some inflection and that "umph" that good books have.  Thankfully, most of the story is narrated by the better of the two narrators.  The production quality was good, and I found no problems.

The story was short and sweet.  Well, not sweet.  The story left me dumbfounded.  I'm still not really sure what to think of the ending. I liked it, but I was totally blindsided by it, and I think that's a good thing.  In an era where everything seems to follow the same script and same a + b + c = a good story -- this story took a nice turn.

The main character, Jake was also and interesting one.  Without much back story (just enough), the reader is able to follow and even root for Jake as he tries to figure out what is going on with the ark and with Genesis.

Overall, Ark 13 was a really nice story wrapped up in a nice package.  I'm a fan of novellas, and ones that can be written and tell a wonderful story will always be rated well by me.  Some people will think that the story was too short or lacked some character development, but I'd disagree.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Excellent!

What made the experience of listening to Ark-13: An Odyssey the most enjoyable?

I really felt like I was living through the experience as Jake.

What did you like best about this story?

The ending suprised me. Not what I was expectingat all.

Have you listened to any of Kevin Gallagher and B.B. Gallagher ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I have not.

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

Come, take a ride with us.

Any additional comments?

Excellent story. May I suggest a sequel???

Divergent meets Ready Player One

I enjoyed the plot but it definitely lacked details that could have made it better. It seems like there was a lot of build up and a very small amount of time spent on the payoff.

The narrator who reads Jakes diaries is very monotone. It made it extremely hard to get through.

Overall, an interesting read/listen.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The mystery science fiction conspiracy theory theme.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I like when authors read their own books.

Could you see Ark-13: An Odyssey being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I like when authors read their own books,
I know some don't have the time but when they do..

When I started reading this book or rather listening to it,
I thought about that tv show and book called "The 100".

The story has a mystery science fiction conspiracy theory theme.
There is no romance in the story line.

I thought it was odd how many character names started with the letter "J",
Jake, Jim, Justin, Junior...
Was that on purpose or an oversight?

Since this is a futuristic story, I'm surprised that there isn't a cure for cancer yet.

I did not understand why Jake's memory had to be erased at the end ??

Overall, an interesting and entertaining read.

Note:
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in
exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

The End of the World

Would you leave earth and let everyone you know and love die? When 13 ARK's are prepared and sent into space with a chosen few, that is the choice Jake Hansen must make. Once in space, Jake has to make the decision to go against the company that selected him when they abuse their power and the ARK begins to feel like a prison.

This was an interesting and entertaining listen. I have to admit, I saw where it was headed early on but stayed to listen to Jake's journey because I liked him. He is a well drawn character with real world family, career, and personal relationships. He is the only complete character, though.

Overall, I feel like this could have been a deeper, more nuanced listen with more twists, turns, and suspense but it is a good start to what could be a series. It was also a little short for my taste. I prefer a longer, more developed tale for this kind of adventure. I was never able to get into the story so completely that I could 'see' it in my head the way I do with more complex stories. In the end, if you have a flight to get through or a long drive to do, this book will get you through it.

The narration was OK for the men but left something to be desired for the female voices. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, either. It was definitely a 'reading' of the material.

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

Revolution in Space

3.5 / 5 for story

The description for this book mentions that "Ark-13 can best be described as Lost meets Interstellar". This is setting the expectations mark fairly high (at least in my opinion), something that I don't feel the book reached. I can see the Lost references to an extent, as the book has a mysterious corporation controlling things with the characters are trying to get answers from and is told both with the present and with flashbacks. But that's where the similarities end - there is no supernatural weirdness etc that is in Lost. This is one main mystery (around Genesis) not the perpetual strangeness and mystery of Lost. Part of that is probably due to length and what can be told in the short space of this book.

As for Interstellar... not so much. Unless you go with the bare minimum of they are in space and Earth is uninhabitable. That's about where the similarities end.

I could think of one very well known movie/book that this story is like, but even saying the name would be giant spoilers. So I won't.

The book follows Jake, who is part of the judicial system on Ark-13. The 13th of 13 arks used to save some of humanity from a destroyed Earth. When evidence appears that the ark controllers, GENESIS, are manipulating people and oppressing the population Jake investigates, while being pulled into a slowly forming rebellion.

The story is interesting and quick paced. The flashbacks - told through journal entries - eventually come to a point but for the majority of the book just serve to slow things and take away from the main story. There is pay off to them, but at least initially they are a drag (as much of a drag as a quick, short book can have - which isn't that much).

The story goes into a bit of discussion on the man/machine divide, with each person on the ark having a cybernetic implant. Are these being used to control people or report false data and thus convict innocent people? This is fairly interesting and weaved throughout the story.

The themes also touches on rule of law and rights of the individual. However with these there is no real discussion about them except that Jake takes the position of each person has right of x, y and z but never really questions where these rights come from. I would have been interested in seeing more of the "bad guys" side, where the opinion is GENESIS is not oppressing people but actually managing resources and looking after people. There is an automatic assumption that Jake's way is correct, that any sort of control is bad (ignoring the fact that GENESIS just saved them, when they didn't have to, and is likely continuing to work to save them) with any presentation of the other side of the argument being framed as "the bad guys".

If you are looking for a fun, sci-fi thriller then this is great.

If you are looking for a story on what it means to be man and what rights we should have etc - which is what I found both the blurb and the other reviews to suggest this book is - then I found it a little lacking in that department.

Narration by Kevin Gallagher is good. Initially I thought I was in for a rough ride, with the first minute or so being pretty monotone, but this is a journal entry and appears to be a conscious choice to speak that way for the section. Once we move off of the journal entry into the story Kevin does well, imparting emotion and energy into the narration. While not exactly having different voices/accents for all different characters Kevin does provide enough differentiation between character voices to make it clear different people are speaking (except, again, during journal entries where all characters are flat). Narration is easy to follow, enjoyable and full of energy.


This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of audiobookboom dot com.

Overall, an interesting listen

Would you listen to Ark-13: An Odyssey again? Why?

Yes

What about Kevin Gallagher and B.B. Gallagher ’s performance did you like?

I like when authors read their own books

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of audiobookboom dot com

Very Intriguing

I honestly never did not know where this book was really going until the end. This is one of those wonderful books that really makes you stop and think: What if I could design a society? I highly recommend this book if you love a sci-fi society-building book but make sure you have time to pay attention so you don't miss important parts. The narration was excellent!


This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Fast-paced, fun, and though-provoking

The story is about a group of people thrust into a survivor setting on a space ship and their attempts to maintain some semblance of the society that they left behind. The action is very fast-paced and moves the book along at a brisk pace. Even though it is a short book, the characters are well-developed and you become invested in them. I thought the narrator did an excellent job, my only criticism being the parts that were the log/journal portion of the book. It was a different narrator and his voice didn't have much cadence to it. Not sure why they did it this way, but it wasn't the best introduction to the book. I was worried I was going to have to sit through over 2 hours of it and that voice would put me to sleep. Luckily, the main narrator made up for it and I enjoyed listening to him. The ending of the book had a twist that I saw coming, but only because it reminded me of an episode of a television show that I watch which had a similar twist ending. I wish the ending gave us more of a glimpse into the future. I would have like a peek a few years into the future to see what has become of Jake. Did he live up to everyone's expectations? Truly, I enjoyed this book. The themes were simple to understand and the message that the author was trying to convey was clear. Though I received this book at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review from AudioBookBoom, I would gladly have paid for it.

Psychological sci fi

Post apocalyptic sci fi with a HUGE plot twist. Steve jobs/bill gates like tech company. Giant meteors. Spaceships. The destruction of earth. New society in space. Big brother is always watching. Well written and well read. Enjoyed it thoroughly. I received this audiobook from the author narrator or publisher for free via audiobookblast in exchange for an unbiased review