The Disappeared

A Retrieval Artist Novel

By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Retrieval Artists help the lost find their way back home, whether they like it or not. Specialized private detectives, they investigate the most unusual crimes in the galaxy. But Miles Flint isn't a Retrieval Artist. He's just a cop, trying to do his job.

In a stolen space yacht, three people have been found eviscerated, the grisly signature of an alien vengeance killing. Moments later, the border patrol halts another ship launched out of the moon's orbit. Its passengers are two human children, kidnapped by the most ruthless aliens in the universe. Both ships are linked to a woman on the run: a Disappeared relocated to the inhospitable landscape of Mars. A reluctant outlaw with a bounty on her head and a detective on her case, she's about to teach all of them a lesson: it's dangerous to gamble with your life in a universe that rigs the game.

Listen to more in the Retrieval Artist series.©2002 White Mist Mountain, Inc. (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A masterful writer is at work." (Orson Scott Card)

"Top 10 Greatest Science Fiction Detective Novels of all Time." (io9.com)

"If you love puzzle mysteries, crime novels, well-invented sci-fi worlds or stories about characters you can believe in and care about, you owe it to yourself to give Rusch's Retrieval Artist novels a try." (Orson Scott Card)

Be very careful when you start this series

This is a highly addictive series. Ms. Rauch builds an excellent world with an excellent cast. The future amenities are things I wish we had now as they are not only very clever but possible too. Complex, well narrated stories. I have a love/hate with this series as not only is it the Retrieval Artist series but goes on into the Anniversary Day Saga series. This is a lot of books and none are in my local lending library. Oh my groaning purse. You probably know but if not: you can get the kindle books for a lot of these for 5.99 with an add on audible for 1.99. You will have to have them all.

A good story and well read

This story has a few surprises in it that you do not expect. A few twists and turns that keep you interested throughout. I like the way in which the story unfolds, slowly but, without boredom becoming an issue. So the plot is a good one, and it is well written without the plodding unimaginative prose that so often goes along with this genre. The narrator does a fine job with only one of the voices that does not quite fit the character in my humble opinion. That being said, the character only plays a minor part, so this isn’t a huge issue. Hence if you like this genre I would certainly recommend you buy this book.

Caught and Retrieved

I had for some reason, held off on listening to any of KK Rusch's books and feel like I've been holding out on myself. Well, no more, holding back!
This was a really interesting book. Rusch has really thought about this idea and developed it so that it sounds plausible. Sort of like witness protection with quite a twist. The alien cultures the she has created sound scary, but also plausible, and I wanted to know more about them. Why do they think the way they do, how did their sense of justice develop, what do their worlds look like, and how do they live? There are just glimpses of these races, a tantalizing taste that piques the curiosity.
Character development starts of strong and just builds as the story continues. You care about these people, you want them to succeed. Also, the issues that are the heart of the story are frightening and look to be unsolvable. There aren't any nicely packaged solutions that are applied here. Here are imperfect solutions, sort of like real life.
I also greatly enjoyed Jay Snyder's reading. He has a voice that is easy to listen to, and if you really must know, he sort of "disappears" into the reading. Its as if you aren't really aware that someone else is reading the story to you.
Excellent read, I am looking forward to my next KK Rusch book!

Good story but not thrilled with the narrator

Would you be willing to try another one of Jay Snyder’s performances?

Mr. Snyder has a smooth voice, in fact I found it way too smooth and dramatic for my taste. I was always conscious that someone was reading and couldn't lose myself in the story. I kept thinking about the over the top deep-voiced narrators of action-flic trailers that are now parodied for other commercials.

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

I was so happy to find a sci-fi series that I hadn't read yet and I am interested in the "world" that has been created by the author. I will listen to the next in the series and see if I can get over the narrator.

Entertaining

While it's not the best book I've ever read it's paced well, has enough character development and the plot is interesting enough to keep me listening. There a some pretty big holes in the premise the Disappeared is based on but if you can get over that you will be entertained. 3.7 stars would be a fair overall rating.

Fast paced space detective novel

This is a fast, interesting and well-developed novel with interesting aliens and a suspenseful plot.

There are some gaps where the story seems to jump and a major story thread gets concluded "behind the scenes" (i.e. we last see one character on the run from the police then at the end of the book we find out she's been relocated to Earth, but there is no indication of how or when this happened).

The narration is very good; the characters are distinctly voiced and I will certainly be reading more in the series.

Very interesting first novel of a new series

Kristine Rusch has developed a great hook with this series, and she's joined with Jay Snyder as narrator to come out with a great new story arc--at last-a NEW SiFi story line.

Rusch writes tight dialog, both human and alien and Snyder does a wonderful job of inventing the aliens speech patterns and voices. Together they have a intriguing new idea that caught my attention in the first hour.

Other reviews have covered the story line so I won't-I just have encourage those who love good tight SiFi thats not based in uber tech but reads like it's just the normal day except hundreds of years in the future, to check this first novel out. As for me, I'm on to # 2

I really look forward to hearing Book 2

STORY (sci-fi) - The Retrieval Artist series is set in a time where intergalactic commerce is in its infancy. Laws from other worlds are often broken by humans who didn't even know of the existence of the law. Alien enforcers come to collect human "criminals" and subject them to the punishment their world expects for those crimes. Thus, many humans decide to become "Disappeareds," seeking the help of agencies who give them new identities and new lives where they can evade alien law enforcement. Thus, the evolution of "Retrieval Artists," whose job is to find Disappeareds at the request of family members in emergencies or other special circumstances.

The main character, Miles Flint, is a police officer who has recently been promoted to detective. He is faced with alien enforcers from two different worlds who have come to collect their criminals. The only problem is, Flint and his partner aren't convinced that they've committed any sort of crime, at least according to earth standards, and decide to investigate for themselves. Everything about this book is unusual and interesting -- the aliens, the "crimes," the disappearances, the city on the moon under Armstrong Dome where the story takes place. It's all just a fresh new concept that's very well done. I look forward to hearing future books in this series.

PERFORMANCE - Good job. Reminds me a little of Scott Brick (another Audible narrator).

OVERALL (actual overall rating 4.5) - There's no sex, and I don't recall any profanity. There's not much violence and only one fairly grisly crime scene description. I'd recommend this book for adults, male or female, who enjoy sci-fi and detective work. It is Book 1 in the series, and you should definitely start at the beginning. The story can stand on its own, but there's lots of character development that will certainly carry into future books. (SLIGHT SPOILER: In the end Flint quits his detective job to become a Retrieval Artist, so I suspect Book 2 will begin his training in that profession).

The first of many

I chose this book based upon the reviews at Audible and they were right, it is a very good listen. Jay Snyder turns in a very good performance bringing the characters to life and giving each one a uniqueness that makes them come alive.

This is the first book in a series that is currently up to 9 books, there is a lot of good reading here and it is a nice step away from the John Scalzi books I have been listening to.

What I like most about this book is how clear the main characters motives are, they are driven by things that make sense to me, their emotions feel real and easy to understand. They are very human.

In this universe Human’s have agreed to respect and uphold the laws of many different alien cultures. This has created a lot of problems for the police and the court systems because many of the alien laws, punishable in amazingly horrible ways, are not obvious to the humans who regularly break those laws accidentally by doing things that are not considered illegal by the humans.

Those that find themselves in trouble disappear; they change their identities and their lives to escape the alien punishments that await them. They spend the rest of their lives on the run from both the human and alien courts.

There are bounty hunters known as "Trackers" who hunt down the disappeared to bring them back to the courts while "Retrieval Artists" who search for the disappeared to help them in different ways.

Lifetime Movies Network meets SciFi channel.

Not a lot of sci fi in this book, it's more about babies being abducted and mommies and daddies being sad. yawn. zzzzzz.