Nano

The Gift, Book 1

By: Marc Stapleton

Narrated by: Andrew Tell

Kris Chambers is a nobody.

A 24-year-old man with a dead-end job and no prospects—and, to top it off, a heart condition that forever keeps him on his toes—he spends his life trapped between apathy, self-doubt, and mortal fear.

As he walks down an unfamiliar alleyway, he stumbles upon the lifeless body of a stranger. Unbeknownst to him, this grisly discovery marks the beginning of an entirely new chapter in his life. Upon mysteriously awakening in the hospital, he learns that his heart now functions flawlessly, and he feels… different.

He soon discovers he has superhuman abilities—herculean strength, a marathon runner's stamina, and an extreme healing factor—as well as an ever-present assistant: a super-intelligent AI named Vega, telling him that his gift is the result of a network of nanomachines that he inherited like a virus from the dead body. And the dead man himself? A traveler from parts unknown, time unknown…

Empowered by his newfound abilities, Kris embarks on a mission to track down the Quiet One, a domestic terrorist wreaking havoc on his city.

In a fight spanning across continents, Kris must fight to learn and establish his true place in the world while uncovering the true nature of his otherworldly gift.

©2023 Marc Stapleton (P)2023 Podium Audio

Moronic Superhuman

This book was well written and full of good tension. The downside is that the main character is an absolute moron from start to finish. With newly found abilities at his disposal, instead of doing anything wise, without any experience, he throws himself into a war to try and make up for the fact that he’s been a loser who has made dumb decisions his whole life. The whole book my thoughts were, he could do so many better things for himself and the world if he had a brain and wasn’t riddled with insecurities. He doesn’t deserve the enhancements.

Give it a minute

This book was great overall my only complaint was the  naivety for over half the book, but once the MC’s emotional growth starts showing it turns into a fun listen! I’m pretty excited for the next one!

Good not great.

I wanted to like this more but the main character is so consistently stupid that it spoils a lot of the fun.

great story

great story, narration was really well done. highly recommended. sci-fi done right. if you like believable heroes this is your story

Good premise, dumb protagonist

Liked the thought of how and why he was given his gift. Dislike his lack of common sense

Stupid Main Character

I liked the premise of the book but the MC is incredibly stupid,

Spoiler Alert, Who gets amazing nano tech and decides to go to a third world country to fight for rebels, The idiot ignores the names recommendations constantly and darn near dies over and over,

So I'm over the book,

moroniclly illogical MC

Another book with stupid and illogical decision making that forced me to stop listening 2 hours in. According to the books own blurb the MC is "A 24-year-old man with a dead-end job and no prospects (my insert here, we also learn that the MC didn't go to college or learn any trade skills)—and, to top it off, a heart condition that forever keeps him on his toes—he spends his life trapped between apathy, self-doubt, and mortal fear.
He soon discovers he has superhuman abilities—herculean strength, a marathon runner's stamina, and an extreme healing factor—as well as an ever-present assistant: a super-intelligent AI named Vega, telling him that his gift is the result of a network of nanomachines that he inherited like a virus from the dead body. And the dead man himself? A traveler from parts unknown, time unknown…
Empowered by his newfound abilities, Kris embarks on a mission to track down the Quiet One, a domestic terrorist wreaking havoc on his city."

So, you have an MC in his mid 20's suffering from depression and bad health with no skills in fighting, criminal investigation, or tracking that decides to go after a terrorist that has actual skills in blowing shit up and clowning professional law enforcement. Naturally the MC is going to quit his job and dedicate himself to the cause of catching this terrorist. Does he take the advice of his new SUPER INTELLIGNET AI to find a better less violent and dangerous way to help the world? NO. Does he start training in the skills he would need to apprehend the terrorist? NO, we're doing quasi on the job training.

What really started off the check out for me was an interaction between the MC and his father. The MC tells his father he is quitting his job. Fathers asks What are going to do for money? MC says I know exactly what I am going to do and walks out of the room doesn't tell his father what he is going to do. This is when the MC decided to go after the terrorist which he is not being paid to do and still doesn't know what he is going to do to make money.

I have read and listened to so many books that my bullshit meter for stupid and illogic behavior is very limited. Maybe this book turns around, back to somewhat smart and logical decision making, however that has not been my experience. I don't want to power through stupid, to get to more stupid.

Written for teens

Struggling to get through. The main character is juvenile at best. 24 years old is laughable. Everything about him, from his awkward social bumblings to his lack of basic reasoning skills, screams teenage angst. His augments make things clunky and forced. The detective work is more Scooby Doo than Hardy Boys much less advanced AI enhanced policework. I keep hoping for some character development… advancement but nothing.