Earth's Ultimate Conflict: A Gray Guardians Series

By: Kathy Porter

Narrated by: Peter Jude Ricciardi

Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Earth's Ultimate Conflict is the Science Fiction Award Winner in the following: * National Indie Excellence Book Awards* Best Book Awards* International Book Awards

Rosa De Angelo and Ellen McCarthy are about to become two of the newest victims of SEAS - Severe Environmental Allergy Syndrome. Haunted by dreams of orbs in the night, they wake up to news reports of UFO swarms and alien abductions by the thousands.

Separated from their families, Rosa and Ellen are ushered into isolation tent cities established to prevent the public from having any further exposure to the growing number of SEAS victims.

Ellen, Rosa, and thousands of other victims of SEAS discover that they have been transformed to adjust to life on the alien Grays' planet. Worse yet, they realize they have been covertly used to create and give birth to the Grays' hybrid children.

Rosa and Ellen, along with all SEAS victims, are forced to make the gut-wrenching decision of whether to flee Earth with their love-starved hybrid children or fight for their freedom and escape, even if only to die with their human families.

With Earth headed on a catastrophic course, United States President Barbara Unger is searching for human salvation when she is contacted by two alien species, the Grays and the Guardians, both offering conflicting methods of action to save Earth.

The Grays offer to transport one million humans to their planet, Nuur, mostly women of childbearing age as a safety measure to save humanity. The Guardians insist the Grays plan to use humans to create a dangerous hybrid species that the diminished state of Earth is only temporary, and it will survive this crisis.

Knowing the Grays have manipulated us while the Guardians ulterior motives are unknown, President Barbara Unger will ultimately have to decide who is friend and who is foe. Will she place the fate of the human race into the hands of the Grays.

©2014 Kathy Porter (P)2017 Kathy Porter

Review of Earth's Ultimate Conflict

“This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”
I rate this a solid 4 stars because it was enjoyable and easy to listen to. The conflict was believe able the way Kathy Porter interwove the details of the characters lives Peter Jude Ricciardi performed this narrative with skill and with a flourish of audio technology that enhances the story.

Worth your time and credit

Any additional comments?

Never judge a book by it's cover. You never know what kind of story lies beneath. The story sounded interesting but the cover was nothing special just your typical alien were all used to seeing. Wow, was I pleasantly surprised. This was one of the most enjoyable books I have listened to in a while. If you enjoy this type of Sci-Fi story with Aliens interfering with life here on Earth this one is definitely worth your time.

The synopsis gives you the basic's of the story.

It took me a chapter or two to get completely pulled into the story in but once it pulls you in it never lets go for a second. While much of how the story was going to progress was predictable it was no less entertaining, engaging and enjoyable, there are also enough unpredictable events and several little twists that keep the story interesting. It's well written and flows smoothly. It also gives a very plausible realistic explanation for the events happening in the story.

Peter Jude Ricciardi did a fantastic job with the narration. Nice voice. Easy to listen to for long periods of time. His character voices were good. Even the Aliens. Of coarse his male characters are great. I like that he didn't try to do a high pitched female voice instead there was just enough difference to distinguish between male and female. Clearly spoken with a smooth even pace. He absolutely brought each character as well as the story to life. All the dedicated/hard work that went into this production is evident. This is one of the most entertaining narrations of a book that I have ever listened to. Very enjoyable.

You feel like you are watching a movie with all the different sound effects. The ringing effect did become a bit annoying at times. It's hard on the ears after a while. Especially if you have the volume turned up because your doing other things, when the ringing starts it jolts you a bit. Still though it was a great production. Very entertaining.

Some of the breaks in between chapters are too long. Long enough for me to check if my battery died on my iPod.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.

Looking forward to more

Would you listen to Earth's Ultimate Conflict: A Gray Guardians Series again? Why?

Yes, it was a great story, and I will re-listen when the next one comes out to refresh my memory of where the story left off.

What did you like best about this story?

It dealt with some of the culture of UFOs and the state of our world in a new and different way.

What does Peter Jude Ricciardi bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voices. He did a great job with the aliens and the different characters. The production value in general really drew me in.

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

It had some good laughs, but mostly it made me care about the characters, and want to know what was going to happen to them next.

Couldn't deal with the sound effects at the start

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

The story was good, the writing was too. The narrator's voice was really very good. I thought he did unique voices for each character and had a dynamic voice.

The BIG problem I had was with the ear-ringing sound effects. That sound... actually hurt my ears and degraded the experience for me. I actually had to skip ahead in the audio book to get past it. The rest of the sound effects were great and added to the story. I think I could have dealt with it if it wasn't done so many times in the beginning of the story. I'm honestly undecided if I would look for more from them.

Can't Wait For Next Part!

Any additional comments?

This is an epic book about alien invasion, a burgeoning sickness, and the attempts that are made to save planet Earth. I'm not a typical sci-fi lover; I stick mostly to horror and mystery/thriller genres, but "Earth's Ultimate Conflict" had me hooked right from the beginning. It has the feel of an old-timey radio show with sound effects and music sprinkled throughout. I really enjoyed this element, it added to the story in a satisfying way, but I can understand how some readers would prefer to just hear the narration.

My only qualm about this story is that it doesn't fit or makes sense for aliens to be talking about a mythical God. Humans in their final hour? Yes. Aliens who are so advanced that they can abduct people from Earth, travel across galaxies, enjoy telepathy... they would absolutely not be thinking in terms of theology. It rang very false to hear non-human aliens discussing God. That mistake *almost* ruined this book for me because it's just so very logically off. That said, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi story and isn't sensitive to some themes being nonsensical!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Good alien invasion story!

Any additional comments?

A very entertaining read from an imaginative author. It's one that I'd certainly recommend to fans of this genre. I would have given it five stars, except for three things. First, since this is a series, I think that this first book would have maybe been more effective (for me) if it had ended somewhat earlier. Not a whole lot earlier, but a bit earlier where there was a bit more tension in the storyline. Second, I liked the narration and it was a nice change to hear some background sound effects! However, when the audio editor inserted the buzzing sound (don't want to say what the sound is, it would be a spoiler), it actually hurt my ears. Ironic, I'd say! But it did give me headaches when I heard that sound. Finally, I appreciated the intention but didn't appreciate the effect of the voice distortion during 'thought bubbles' or internal dialogue of any character. It was like the voice of Oz and I thought that a more subtle effect might have worked better. Other than these little observations, I have nothing else to complain about. I'm glad I listened to the story and enjoyed hearing the author's vision of an alien invasion story!

I provided a review in exchange for a complimentary copy of the audiobook from the author, narrator, or publisher.

space fiction

good book. enjoyed the suspense leading up yo the end. I could see Netflix series

Terrific

Very well written and easy of listening on the go this is perfect. Super excited for the next chapter JZ-

Not just for Science Fiction Lovers

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

Although I am not a science fiction reader, I found this an amazing story with characters and emotions we can all relate to--even the aliens. The production brought you into the action from the creaks of a floor board to the mist of a crowd.

What other book might you compare Earth's Ultimate Conflict: A Gray Guardians Series to and why?

Since I read very little science fiction, I am unable to make a comparison. However, for those who are drawn to the conflicting emotions of motherhood, Kathy Porter's well developed scenes will draw you in.

What does Peter Jude Ricciardi bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Peter has an excellent voice for narration. He also did a phenomenal job of creating voices for the various characters and the sound effects brought you into the story in a movie like way.

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

The strong pull of Ellen between going with her hybrid children or staying with her husband and human child was compelling. The fate of aliens who had rediscovered their human-like emotions and were to become outcasts was heartbreaking.

Any additional comments?

The characters were believable, even when their situations were not. Porter was able to suspend, reader disbelieve and create an enjoyable story with many characters to root for.

Power Records for adults.

This was an interesting story about alien abduction and plots. the thing that drove me through it was the fun performance and great production values. this is not just a great reading with characters preformed with their own voice and personality, but there are also sound effects, audio manipulation and music added that doesn't distract, but pulls you further into the story. at times the subtle soundefects give you a real sence your experiencing what the characters are experiencing. I'm hoping to "hear" more from Peter in the future.