Hellhole

By: Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Only the most desperate colonists dare to make a new home on Hellhole. Reeling from a recent asteroid impact, tortured with horrific storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and churning volcanic eruptions, the planet is a dumping ground for undesirables, misfits, and charlatans…but also a haven for dreamers and independent pioneers.

Against all odds, an exiled general named Adolphus has turned Hellhole into a place of real opportunity for the desperate colonists who call the planet their home. While the colonists are hard at work developing the planet, General Adolphus secretly builds alliances with the leaders of the other Deep Zone worlds, forming a clandestine coalition against the tyrannical, fossilized government responsible for their exile.

What no one knows is this: the planet Hellhole, though damaged and volatile, hides an amazing secret. Deep beneath its surface lies the remnants of an obliterated alien civilization and the buried memories of its unrecorded past that, when unearthed, could tear the galaxy apart.

©2011 DreamStar, Inc., and WordFire, Inc. (P)2011 Audio Renaissance

Critic reviews

“This new space epic from the best-selling team of Herbert and Anderson is wide and complex…Audie Award winner Scott Brick's performance keeps the suspense elevated. Fear not, these authors will deliver the rest of the story on schedule. Fans of traditional sf fare will keep this, and future volumes, moving off the shelves.” —Library Journal, starred review

“[Scott Brick] manages to capture the fiery determination of exiled General Adolphus and the cold calculating cruelty of Diadem Michella while still allowing the listener's imagination to fill in the gaps. The book's many other viewpoint characters also find unique expression in Brick's capable hands…Hellhole manages to stand out as a science fiction novel that succeeds in all the areas that the genre should. It's cerebrally engaging, spiritually challenging, and yet emotionally powerful as a story in its own right. I'm very excited to find out what the next two volumes have in store.” —Azurescape

“[Brick] has a very versatile voice which is easy to listen to, bringing life to all the characters in his own special way…The dialogue is fast and furious, likewise the action, and it is a page-turner from start to finish. Space opera at its best…this audiobook is certainly recommended not just for its story but for the good quality reproduction of the narration. It's new and exciting and it will surely be well received.” —SFCrowsnest.com

kept falling asleep for ten last chapters.

Loved the story but I always set the timer for 30 minutes. kep falling asleep so had to keep looking for my place, but I finally stayed awake for the last chapters. it was great.

Aweful narrator ...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

the narrator ... cruel, just cruel ... and more direct approach to the main story ...

Would you be willing to try another book from Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson ? Why or why not?

Yes. For most part I like B.H. an K.J.A. ... K.J.A.s Star Wars Books are awesome or T.S.7.S (Saga of the 7 Suns). The story of this book takes a long time to develop ... (a bit) too long for my taste ... I would say too many sidelines not enough spotlight on the main plot.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Scott Brick?

Yes. Scott Brick was good in Dune for the parts he did there ... but his narration of this book makes me cringe and I have to stop every hour and put up something else to listen to for a while.

Euan Morton, Michael Kramer or Marc Thompson would have done a much better job. Maybe Scott Brick does a better job while mixed with others together.

It could be that I only dislike his voice. But also the style of his narration leaves something to hope for. I can't describe it very well. Also the different personas are very hard to distinguish.

Did Hellhole inspire you to do anything?

Cry and hope for another narrator ...

Any additional comments?

I stopped listening half way through. I could not take it anymore. Sorry for my bad English. My first review. Criticism is more than welcome.

Great story - just want more!!

Great story, with deep character development. Look at this book as the first installment. I would expect the next book to pick-up right where this one left off - in time and the sequence of events. I can't wait! Scott Brick did an outstanding naratation job!

It's a Herbert Novel

This is a good Story. Before you start reading you need to know it is a Herbert novel. You will need to keep track of multiple story arcs and do not expect a resolution. If you can handle that you are in for a good ride.

Outstanding Space Opera

A ripping good yarn. You will need to allow the story to unfold as there are many threads to be gathered together. How can you go wrong with Scott Brick narrating? You can't. Both the story and the presentation are top notch. Moving on to book two now :)

Started great, got predictable

First of all, Scott Brick did a great job.

Caution: This is part 1 of 2 or 3. Don't get this book expecting it to conclude.

The book started really well. Good character development. Good setup. And a bit of mystery and intrigue. But about half way through I found myself starting to get bored. It became a bit formulaic with the same sort of things you'd find in hundreds of sci-fi books. I suspect the two authors had some great ideas but when they got down the road the effort turned into a word-fest where they just needed to crank product out.

Kevin J. Anderson brags that he has written 156 books - about one book every 3 months. That is indeed quite an accomplishment. But can you really put that much creativity into a book that must be finished in three months? Most really good authors I know of can take years to produce a book. Maybe some can get it under a year, but can creativity strike on a three month schedule?

FYI Brian Herbert is the son of Frank Herbert who gained a lot of fame with Dune. Just because dad was a good author does not guarantee the son is. Witness Lee Child (Reacher) and his son.

I got this book as a low cost Audible incentive. You know, try the book out, love it, buy the rest of the series at full price. For a discounted book it was okay, but I don't think I want to spend the time or the money on the remainder of the series. Be sure to check out the comments for the third book before committing to this series.

There are a lot of really great sci-fi books out there. You know, the ones you remember forever. This isn't one of them.

Excellent visually entertaining.

On with book 2 in the series. .Great story with excellent plot. Should be easier now that the cast has been revealed.

Cliff hanger alert!

They need to be much clearer that this is the first book in a series that is not even going to try and make it so it stands alone.

I personally think this is sloppy… you have to resolve “something” to make it satisfying.

hellhole

Great book but horrible ending. How many years do we need to wait to find out what happens. I hate authors that use this tactic. Give a little closure will you!!!!

great story

If you could sum up Hellhole in three words, what would they be?

Many twists and turns just what you would expect from Herbert and Anderson

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

fantastic as usual