Dark Space

Dark Space, Book 1

By: Jasper T. Scott

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Humanity is defeated.

Ten years ago the Sythians invaded the galaxy with one goal: to wipe out the human race.

They are hiding.

Now the survivors are hiding in the last human sector of the galaxy: Dark Space--once a place of exile for criminals, now the last refuge of mankind.

They are isolated.

The once galaxy-spanning Imperium of Star Systems is left guarding the gate which is the only way in or out of Dark Space--but not everyone is satisfied with their governance.

©2013 Jasper T. Scott (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Fun story. Terrible reader.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

William Dufris wrecks this book. It was hard to get through.

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

Dark Space is a kind of Sci-Fi noir, which is, to me at least, more interesting than epic Sci-Fi. Very few characters. Simple narrative. This is not inherently superior, but with so much Sci-Fi writers aiming for epic status, it's a nice change of pace to read a small story. However, Scott commits the ridiculous Sci-Fi sin of replacing profanity with "space swears". Nothing wrecks an intense scene than when a character says "fracking". It's obtrusive and throws me right out of the narrative. Was this written for kids?

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of William Dufris?

Almost anyone. James Marsters springs to mind. William Dufris reads the book with a corny demeanor that destroys everything. Imagine Patrick Warburton doing a Barney Fife (Don Knots) impression. It's cheesy and annoying. I wish I had listened to a sample before spending money on this.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes, unless William Dufris were in it.

Great start to a great adventure

In Dark Space, humanity has been driven from its worlds by an enemy called the Slythians. They run to Dark Space, a place accessible only by a special gate, and previously reserved for criminals. Ethan is a smuggler who owes a debt to a crime boss. In order to repay his debt (and he doesn't have much choice), he agrees to infiltrate an Imperial carrier and he must decide where his loyalties lie.

I listened to the Audible version. The narrator was a bit rough and shaky at the beginning but quickly gained his stride after a few chapters. I think he did a fine job after that.

Story-wise, this is a non-stop page turner. I really, really enjoyed listening to this and was always waiting to hear more about how the story was going to turn out. The characters are pretty well done and have excellent back stories.

There wasn't much I didn't like about this. There is a twist near the end that I thought was maybe a little too unbelievable and there was many situations that resolved a bit too conveniently. But overall, the writing was very well done and I really look forward to the next book.

Picked it up on a whim now I'm hooked!

I picked this book up on Kindle because it was cheap. I Got a notification for a discount on Audible. I picked it up so I could listen at work and man is this book more than I thought it was going to be! I was skeptical at first but I have to say the story was fantastic and thoroughly held my attention. there were twists and turns I genuinely did not see coming and I didn't feel like there were too many cliche plot elements. the voice acting was phenomenal if a little cheesy at times. my only complaint is the overuse of the made up curse words but I will say I appreciate that they least made an effort to not have foul language. if you're looking for action and suspense in science fiction I would highly recommend this book!

Very entertaining

The Dark Space concept is extremely intriguing to me. The story is fast and fun with some surprising twists. I am moving on to the next book in the series.

a good start

A good start to what I hope to be a long and exciting journey, likeable well developed characters

Great story and reader, couldn't stop listening!

Would you consider the audio edition of Dark Space to be better than the print version?

Probably so since you get to hear the great William Dufris bring the story and it's characters to life!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Alara/Angel, I liked her fight to survive and how she handled her situation.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

Everything, he is a masterful story reader.

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

Yes! Which is rare for me, I couldn't stop listening to this book it was so intense and suspenseful and entertaining!!

Any additional comments?

This is great pure sci-fi goodness at its best, if you like space sagas you will love this book!

Mediocre with a sudden solution to all problems

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, I wouldn't.
Spoiler alert.......
The book was going along fine, not impressive or anything but passable and then suddenly all his problems are solved all at once in the course of less than 2 minutes of tape. It was an abrupt solution that totally ruined the book.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jasper T. Scott again?

I don't think so. If all his books end with an miraculous solution to the problem in seconds rather than a build or even a left turn, I don't think I will listen to more. I mean it was like he had a page count and suddenly realized he had to finish the book on this page.

Would you listen to another book narrated by William Dufris?

He was a passable narrator.

soft on science but long on potential

I wanted to sink my teeth into some strong, hard science fiction and Dark Space by Jasper T. Scott landed in my lap. My teeth looked it at and said, "I'll sink into that."

So I hit play on Dark Space, and sat back to enjoy William Dufris' reading of it.

For the most part, Dark Space is a very enjoyable (if thin and light) science fiction novella. Calling it a novel seems unfair as the audio clocks in at under six hours and the book itself is just 200 pages long. Comfortably I'd say it's a novella.

Perhaps Dark Space's greatest strength is clever concept of how humanity is hidden away in a galaxy surrounded by black holes. This 'dark space' has given our race a second chance after being nearly wiped out in a war against the alien Sythian race. People who have survived in the dark space region(previously a penal colony) are harder, darker and generally tougher because of the difficult times.

The main character Ethan Ortane is typical space opera fare. He's a down on his luck pilot with a debt to pay and when his debtor catches up to him, he's given an offer that will set his debt straight; sabotage the ship that guards the entrance to dark space. I don't think I need to spell out that messing with the line of defense of the last place humans are safe is a pretty bad idea, and that it won't be worth it to Ethan to do it.

Buuuut that's no fun, and if Ethan didn't jump into the convoluted plot there'd be no book to listen to. Luckily Dark Space starts out with an exciting space dogfight so you can get into it quickly and enjoy the tempo and forget about the fairly clichéd plot devices. One complaint I had was the lack of actual physics knowledge brought to bear by the author. Ships don't need rudders or stabilizers in a zero gravity environment to steer. Had the book been advertised as something other than 'hard science fiction' those little errors would be no big deal, but when you say you're hard on science, go hard on the science.

The book attempts a few twists towards the end to avoid what looks like the obvious, but in the end it does what I expected it to. It entertained me, but didn't blow me away.

WIlliam Dufris is a competent and pleasant narrator. He has great range of voice and reads at a very good clip. I didn't need to speed up the reading at all and felt like the book moved quite well. I'll check out other books he's put his voice to. I did experience a slight tinny quality to the audio, but messing with the levels fixed it easily.

Overall Dark Space is a short and entertaining listen that's soft on science but long on potential.

Excellent Story, but too short for my tastes

This story captivated you right away. The characters are well fleshed out, the story is interesting, and it keeps moving at a good pace. I really liked this story and want to read #2, but as short as this one was, I'll try to catch book 2 on sale.

space opera

This is nothing terribly original , and the author seems to like to trot out the same made up sci fi terms. This kinda hull, that kinda beam. The characters were ok but ultimately were not fleshed out enough for.me.to.care what.happens to them. Perhaps book 2 will be better. I will never know, I don't intend to read it.

fyi I listened to this on Audible, which can change the experience. it was good for the work commute but there are better choices, imho .