On Silver Wings

By: Evan Currie

Narrated by: Dina Pearlman

Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

When the Colony on Hayden's world went black, a team was sent to investigate. It was supposed to be a training mission: skip in, find out the Casimir Transmitter had gone dead, report back and wait for resupply from the Fleet.

By the time the only surviving member of the team made landfall, it was spectacularly clear that this wasn't a training mission. Now Sgt. Sorilla Aida has a job to do. She has to gather the local survivors, recon the enemy, train a militia, and take the war right to the enemy's doorstep. Just what she trained for. De Opresso Liber.

©2011 Evan C. Currie (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Excellent book .

well. written and well read. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes action/adventure.

so-so

Would you try another book from Evan Currie and/or Dina Pearlman?

possibly - the next one would by Evan Currie would need to be a better story or I probably would not consider any more.
Dina Pearlman was passable, so that wouldn't be a deterrent.

Would you recommend On Silver Wings to your friends? Why or why not?

probably not. the performance was just below average. Not bad by any stretch, but not what I've become accustomed to. The story was somewhat thin in spots with a lot of military process written in. I suppose for military fans, it's worth it, but for me it was just excess noise. The characters were also a bit thin. It seemed like there was a lot of potential for more character development, background, and story, but it was almost just glazed over.

What aspect of Dina Pearlman’s performance would you have changed?

The accents were pretty bad (especially the British). The Russian wasn't terrible, but they were almost distracting. Otherwise, not bad.

Was On Silver Wings worth the listening time?

barely. I have had books where I've asked myself if I even want to bother to finish it. I only asked myself that question once or twice near the beginning.

Good, A Little One Dimensional

The story fell comfortably into the military SciFi genre and the science aspects weren't irritatingly fantastical as some novels of this genre. I was pleased since I've come to expect nothing less from Evan Currie's writing.

Generally, I would characterize the Sgt. Aida as a female version of the Halo series Master Chief. Tough, battle-hardened, focused and cold. However, she came off as too aloof and condescending to those around her, even those with higher rank and more experience in their field of training. It always seems that those she meets are always a bit of a simpleton to her. As an example, near the end she "commands" the pilot of an escape shuttle to take an evasive maneuver due to an incoming threat that only she can detect and when the pilot is slow to react she, essentially, commandeers the shuttle and takes evasive action on her own.

Overall, it was still worth reading, thus my high rating, but not without flaws.

slow until the ending well worth the read

slow until an exciting ending. shows how a tough woman can tip rhe odds in favor of humanity will worth the money. i will be buying the rest of the series.

"Great Listen"

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoy Evan Currie's military sci-fi. If you like his other series you'll definitely like this one. I don't know how he keeps them fresh -- but this series has a number of interesting elements: multiple plot lines (one with an excellent female lead), interesting aliens and good battles. A fun, quick-moving read both in space and on the ground !

Have you listened to any of Dina Pearlman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Have not listened before. She does a great job

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

Yes

Any additional comments?

I was given this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Hardcore alien / military sci-fi

Evan Currie's On Silver Wings is the first installment in a longer story arc of alien first contact beginning on a colony world by invasion. The tale moves back and forth between a lone special ops sergeant on the ground who is the sole survivor of an insertion force and the space based battles against superior alien forces. Much of the tale revolves around military tradecraft with exceptional tactical skills on display. The alien entity is kept purposely vague with some degree of technical superiority, but with few clues as to their overall intentions or motives.

The sci-fi elements are fairly routine military themed examples of weaponry and sophisticated surveillance with unremarkable FTL drives. The alien encounters suggest a crude, but formidable drone / rudimentary AI presence. The focus is directed towards capable., competent soldiers doing their duty under extreme circumstances. In particular, Currie chronicles the exploits of a young female grunt who goes above and beyond the call of duty with a greater role expected for her in the future.

The narration is well done with a good range of voices and solid pacing along with mood matching the action. While not in the same league as some of Currie's other works, this series is still a good listen with the alien mystery the hook to continue the series.

sound quality "tinny"

Story was good and the read was fine also. But sound quality was abysmal. Curiously the last two books have been this way...

Ok book but not on that captured my interest

Was a bit difficult for me to follow this book at times. I think because it just didn't interest me in some if the less meaningful non action based moments.

Good story needs editing

Old school editing seems to be dead. Currie has good stuff here and I plan to
Listen to at least one more book. But there are so many as you know bobs and other info dumps plus point of view shifts that it was difficult for me to hang on through the whole book. I strongly encourage currie and editors to remember the greatness of dickens and aspire to that level of tell by show and consistent point of view. Also narration tries too hard for Gravity. Yes its military fiction but let up on the gravitas once in a while. Apart from that narrator was very good.

Serviceable Military Sci Fi

On Silver Wings is a decent story. Something has wiped out a colony on a planet and a military fleet investigates. Soon a lone sergeant is on the planet surface trying to figure out what happened.
In essence, this is a first contact with hostile aliens story. Its all action and has almost no character development. If you are looking for in depth military engagement using souped-up technology, this is the book for you. If you expect a little more from a writer (such as characters you can identify with) or (a writing style that goes a step beyond adequate), this book will leave you wishing for more.