Not what I was expecting!

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

Yes, but this fourth book simply isn't as good as the first 3 books. It was much more repetitive introducing few if any new concepts.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Captain Weston remains my favorite character, but much, much, much more so when performed by Darcie.

How could the performance have been better?

Never ever change the narrator mid-series. I would like to know what happened to Benjamin L. Darcie? David deVries performance was "ok", but lack luster. I found many of his vocals to be actually annoying. By example Weston sounds like Batman. Disappointing.

Do you think Out of the Black needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I do. Many of the questions in book three were not answered. If Benjamin L. Darcie performs it I would buy it without question, however I would likely pass if performed by David deVries (nothing against deVries, but what I loved in Darcie's performance was lost here).

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Unworthy of Series

Would you try another book from Evan Currie and/or David deVries?

This book as a totally different vibe than the previous books in the series. Up until now, the characters seemed genuine and very real. Each book had some new and way cool technology weaved into the story line. This 4th book is just a rehash with way to much bravado and totally unbelievable dialog between characters and an annoying amount of repeated information. I get the concept that the old ship and the new ship are different, give it a rest!

Would you recommend Out of the Black to your friends? Why or why not?

I'm on the fence here. The 1st three books where excellent.

How could the performance have been better?

Never, ever change narrators.I'm might have been less critical if not totally annoyed by all the gravely barking voices and really awful Jersey-Texan accents.

Was Out of the Black worth the listening time?

No.

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What Happened?

Where does Out of the Black rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

AS far as the series goes this is a good book and I like it.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, the opening. It was someone's elses voice and someone who didn't even bother to listen to the books that were before it.

Any additional comments?

What happened to Benjamin L. Darcie? Nothing against David deVries but I miss Benjamin L. Darcie voice for this series. For one thing David calls Mia - Mila. Captain Eric Weston now sounds like Batman. I wish it would be a pre-requisite for anyone who takes over a series to first listen to the books before they takeover. I don't know who has the power to make decisions but they really need to take into account the listeners.

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Disappointing! Poor narration!

I had been really looking forward to this 4th installment of of Evan Currie's heretofore great story. The first 3 had the excellent narration of Benjamin L. Darcie but this one has a narrator that in comparison, makes the dialogue seem hokey and overly melodramatic, like a comical caricature that's supposed to be serious instead of funny. I had to try to ignore the phony tone of the narration and focus on the story. While the overall thread of the previous 3 parts continues logically, the part that involves battles back on Earth are often mundane and are chock full of the phony dramatic and cliched dialogue. Will look forward to the next part but only if Benjamin L. Darcie narrates.

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Why? Why? Why change narrators after 3 books? Why?

Would you try another book from Evan Currie and/or David deVries?

Yes from Evan Currie. Nothing from David deVries.

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

Action on Earth was incredibly dull. Characters were not interesting. Every character has a 'stereotypical' New York accent. Really? Also, is the National Guard that incompetent?
Best part was anything taking place not on Earth.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Odyssey books 1-3 had narrator Benjamin L. Darcie. Book 4 had different narrator. Changing narrator during a series changes the entire tone of the story and personalities of the main characters. I am a HUGE fan of Odyssey 1-3 and DON'T LIKE 4. As book 4 narrator reads, I just don't know who the characters are and It's like an entirely different series (sort of).

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Out of the Black?

Who is Captain Eric Weston in book 4? He sounds like a WWII drill sergeant with a half-chewed cigar in his mouth, barking out orders. Not the calm and calculating captain of Earth's first interstellar space ship in Odyssey books 1-3.

Any additional comments?

Do not like the change in readers. Bad move on the audiobook's production.
**I contacted Evan Currie and he said there was a problem that prevented continuing with Benjamin L. Darcie, so there was no choice but to bring in a new reader. I would have appreciated someone with closer reading / narrating style like Darcie.

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Change of narrators frustrating.

What did you love best about Out of the Black?

I enjoyed what I felt was closure of this chapter of the story. While the story continued to center, mainly, around Captain Weston the majority of the book was centered around the fight ON Earth and not in the stars.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Out of the Black?

Answering this would be spoiler laden. Suffice to say the Captain is at his best when he's on the desk of a ship.

What didn’t you like about David deVries’s performance?

David deVries gave a great performance. If this were the 1st book in the series or a new set of characters I'd have given it 4 stars. The problem is this is a series, one that I binged on and read all 3 books back to back.

The previous two books were narrated by Benjamin L. Darcie. I enjoyed his style and his take on the characters and frankly I became accustomed to them. Each character's personality (in my imagination) was largely defined by the choices he made in his performance. I don't believe David deVries (or the producers) took this into account when they recorded the 3rd book. The characters are all swapped around in their tone and manner and it's just jarring. Mr. deVries is obviously capable of the same range of performance as Mr. Darcie he just made different choices for how each character would sound.

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He went full on Michael Bay with this one.

I am sure it is in part due to the change from Benjamin L. Darcie's slightly austere reading on the first 3 books to David deVries more boisterous delivery, but I can't quite make the Weston in this book match up with the character that was developed in the first three installments. Combine this with a major shift in the setting and action sequences and the whole book feels like it is trying to be a summer blockbuster with kitchy one liners at every turn. Really kind of disappointed in this one.

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Left me wanting more

Would you try another book from Evan Currie and/or David deVries?

This was aan OK listen. the store was great but not what I was expecting. This book is just a wrap up from book 3 and adds almost nothing to the story. All the big questions you had after book 3 you will have after listening to this book.

Its not bad but not what I was expecting.

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Sad!

What disappointed you about Out of the Black?

Changing the narrator on the last book, nice move, NOT. He could not even pronounce many of the words right. This book seemed rushed and was not as fluid as the first three.

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Different narrator and worse writing.

What disappointed you about Out of the Black?

The narration was terrible, and I don't know that it was all the narrator's fault. The other three books were much better. While there were holes in the tech, it was still an enjoyable ride. That ride has now ended. It's seriously like someone else wrote this book. The characters are all Last Action Hero cardboard cut-outs and as been mentioned in many of the previous reviews, the main character went from Starbuck to Batman.

What could Evan Currie have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Thought through the storyline better. Not allowed them to change narrators. Switched to decaf. Take your pick.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator could have listened to at least one of the previous books. Even an hour would have helped him continue the pronunciations and cadence of the main character. He puts it so over the top, that combined with the shift in writing, I feel like I'm listening to a pro wrestling match. YOU WANNA SNAP INTO A DRASIN?

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Few. If was a poor finish to was was a promising series. It was like getting a C paper from an A student. you know that they could do better, and you wonder why they just seemed to place no effort in the creation.

Any additional comments?

I would really love to know what happened between book 3 and 4. And I would love to know if Evan Currie really wrote this one, or just farmed it out to a ghostwriter with a checklist and rough character sketches.

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