Grave Danger by James Grippando

On November 24, 2025 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Thriller2 Comments

Publisher: Harper Audio (Audiobook – 14 January 2025)

Series: Jack Swyteck – Book 19

Length: 10 hours and 53 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out 5 stars

One of the top authors of intense legal thrillers, James Grippando, returns with another outstanding entry in his long-running Jack Swyteck series, Grave Danger, which places the titular protagonist in the middle of a particularly captivating case.

Of the various crime fiction subgenres I have the pleasure of reading, one of my favourites is the legal thriller. There is just something exciting and addictive about well-written and thrilling books set around the courtroom, especially if they feature complex or life-altering legal cases. While there are several great authors who specialise in legal thrillers, one of the more intriguing ones I have come across in recent years is veteran author James Grippando, who has been writing compelling novels for over 30 years, with a combination of long-running series, including his main Jack Swyteck series, and other gripping standalone reads. I personally only started reading Grippando last year when I had the opportunity to read his latest Jack Swyteck novel, Goodbye Girl, a fascinating read that saw the titular Miami lawyer attempt to save a glamorous popstar from several music piracy-related lawsuits. Goodbye Girl was one of the more entertaining and memorable legal thrillers I read last year, and I was keen to try out the next book in the series, Grave Danger, especially as it had an intriguing plot behind it.

Plot Synopsis:

Bestselling author James Grippando’s legendary criminal defence attorney Jack Swyteck is back to defend a single mother accused of kidnapping her own child in a perilous case involving politics and international diplomacy that will test his legal expertise and his marriage.

Jack Swyteck’s new client fled Iran to Miami with her daughter, and has been accused of kidnapping by her husband. The seasoned attorney must not only plan a winning defence. To stop the father from taking the girl back to Tehran, Jack must build a case under international law and prove that returning the child would put her at risk.

But everything in this case isn’t what it seems, and Jack quickly learns that his client is really the child’s aunt and that the biological mother may have been killed by Iran’s morality police. But what role did the father play in his wife’s death, and why is Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, being pressured by her bosses to persuade Jack to drop the case?

Plunging into an investigation unlike any other, Jack must discover who is behind the legal maneuvering and what their interest is. As politics threatens to derail the case and compromise the best interests of the child, Jack and Andie find themselves on opposite sides—with their marriage hanging in the balance. For their relationship to survive, the couple must navigate a treacherous web of deceit that extends from a Miami courthouse to the highest echelons of Washington DC, and spells grave danger at every turn.

James Grippando continues to impress with this fantastic and exciting new legal thriller. Cleverly set around some unique legal circumstances and compelling world-politics, Grave Danger had an outstanding plot loaded with a ton of drama that is guaranteed to hook you all the way to the end.

I felt that Grippando pulled together a very interesting and emotionally charged narrative for Grave Danger, which quickly drags you in with its unique and powerful elements. The main story primarily involves protagonist Jack Swyteck choosing to defend Iranian refugee Ava Bazzi in a custody case around her daughter Yasmin, with the Iranian government backing Yasmin’s father Farid in the case. However, as the case proceeds, it becomes clear there are more angles to the story, mostly related to whether Jack’s client is Yasmin’s mother, and whether the real Ava Bazzi is alive or has been killed by the Iranian morality police. At the same time, Jack is dealing with deeper personal issues as his career has put a strain on his marriage with Andie, who once again is facing pressure from her bosses to influence Jack’s case. As the various trials continue, both Jack and Andie uncover deeper lies and conspiracies from all the participants in the case, including the United States government influencing events from behind the scenes, and Grave Danger’s narrative goes in some very interesting directions. Grippando wraps the story up with some excellent twists, which includes some tense action and danger, and readers come away satisfied with the conclusion and curious where certain long-running story points in the series will go next.

Grave Danger was another well-written novel from Grippando that provides readers will all the entertaining legal thrills and courtroom drama you could want. Serving as the 19^th entry in the Jack Swyteck series, Grave Danger works well as a continuation of the series, especially when it comes to the personal drama of the protagonists. At the same time, Grippando has an accessible style which allows new readers to enjoy this novel without any prior knowledge of his previous books. There are a lot of great elements to this new novel, although I personally enjoyed all the outstanding courtroom sequences, which prove to be a true highlight of the book. The author clearly puts a lot of care, attention and personal knowledge into all the legal aspects of Grave Danger, and you really get drawn into the complex aspects of the case and the protagonist’s attempts to help his client.

I personally enjoyed how Grippando featured a complex, international custody case in this book, which gave Grave Danger a very distinctive edge, especially as it features some obscure bits of law. The author’s intriguing dive into US-Iranian relations and how this would potentially impact a case like this was also very fascinating, especially with certain recent real-world events happening around the time I was reading this novel. Grippando covers all these events in a measured and thoughtful manner, and the underlying political and diplomatic elements of the plot added a lot of fantastic tension to the overall narrative and helped turn Grave Danger into a particularly compelling read.

One of the more interesting elements of Grave Danger are the compelling or relatable characters featured within the plot. Primarily focused on Jack Swyteck, a lawyer struggling with draining personal battles on top of his own legal case, the book has some interesting sequences with the protagonist, especially as he deals with the lies of his client and the emotional strain of the case on his marriage. The rest of the cast was quite entertaining or complex, including Jack’s client, Ava Bazzi, who has escaped from Iran with her daughter/niece, and who seeks to keep custody no matter the cost. Ava’s various secrets add some deep intrigue to the plot, and Grippando builds some intricate storylines around her, especially with the reveal of who she is and the greater history behind Ava’s treatment by the Iranian morality police. The opposing client, Farid, Ava Bazzi’s husband and the father of Yasmin, proves to be an interesting semi-antagonist in the novel, especially with his alternating motivations and a particularly vindictive lawyer in his corner.

While I enjoyed all these characters, I must say that I had issues with how Grippando utilised Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, in this novel. Despite being Grave Danger’s secondary protagonist (and the titular protagonist of another series), Grippando somehow manages to make Andie into one of the most annoying figures in the entire novel with her unreasonable requests around her husband’s work, constant combative nature, and sheer determination to get her way. The author compounds this further by portraying her in this book as being particularly naïve, constantly ignoring several obvious conspiracies and lies actively working against her husband, despite her status as an FBI agent. I honestly felt that Grippando’s portrayal of Andie was a real weak point of Grave Danger, and I struggled a little bit with her scenes. Hopefully the author will utilise her a little more effectively going forward, as her appearance here just added way too much unnecessary drama to an otherwise excellent book.

After enjoying Grippando’s previous novel on audiobook, I made sure to get Grave Danger on the same format, primarily because it once again featured the narration of Jonathan Davis. One of my favourite audiobook narrators, Davis is probably best known for his work voicing various Star Wars audiobook, including Kenobi by John Jackson Miller, Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber, Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray, Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp and Brotherhood by Mike Chen, just to name a few. This excellent voice work translates across to the Jack Swyteck series extremely well, and I deeply enjoyed his work on Grave Danger. Not only does he bring the perfect pace to the court cases and other high-intensity parts of the plot, but he also provides some great voices to the varied characters featured within. I ended up breezing through Grave Danger’s near 11-hour long runtime because of this great narration, and the audiobook version comes very highly recommended as a result.

Overall, Grave Danger was another excellent novel from James Grippando, who continues his excellent Jack Swyteck series in impressive fashion. Featuring a particularly compelling legal centre, as well as some great thriller elements, Grave Danger was an amazing read from start to finish, and I fully intend to read more novels in this series going forward. Indeed, the 20^th Jack Swyteck novel, the extremely interesting sounding The Right to Remain, is coming out in early 2026, and I cannot wait to read it.

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Darkside by Michael Mammay

On December 28, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Thriller2 Comments

Publisher: Harper Audio (Audiobook – 24 September 2024)

Series: Planetside – Book Four

Length: eight hours and six minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of my favourite science fiction authors returns with another fantastic and compelling military thriller in space, the highly addictive Darkside by Michael Mammay.

Back in 2018 I had the very great pleasure of reading the debut novel of new author Michael Mammay, Planetside. An intriguing science fiction thriller that sent a retiring military officer to an alien planet to find a missing soldier, Planetside turned into quite the clever and exciting read, and I really got attached to its complex narrative and maverick protagonist. Ending on a massive and well-written twist, Planetside was an exceptional read and was one of my favourite books of 2018. The series continued strong from that point on as Mammary released more cool additions to the Planetside series, each of which pit the protagonist against human corruption and corporate greed in the depths of space with Spaceside (one of my favourite books of 2019) and Colonyside (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021). I have been curious to see if Mammay was planning to continue this series going forward, and I was nicely surprised earlier this year to find out that there was a fourth book coming out with Darkside. One of my most anticipated books of 2024, Darkside was an intriguing entry to the series that once again forced the author’s protagonist to deal with old corporate threats on a distinctive new environment.

Colonel Carl Butler, former military officer turned genocidal fall-guy, has had an interesting life since his retirement from the military. Thanks to the machinations of both the government and powerful corporation, Butler has found himself drawn into multiple conspiracies, and his direct way of dealing with the resulting controversy has made him infamous throughout the galaxy, as well as making him some very dangerous enemies.

Attempting to live out a quiet life on a remote planet, Butler finds his retirement once again disturbed when a young girl tracks him down, requesting his help in finding her missing father. Finding it hard to say no to the desperate girl, especially when it becomes clear that something truly sinister has befallen her father, Butler reluctantly agrees to help, not realising the trouble he is about to find himself in again.

The missing father, Jorge Ramiro, had been working as the assistant for a famous archaeologist on the isolated moon of Taug. With no electronic trace of Jorge remaining on the planet, Butler and his team chart a ship to the mining operations of Taug to find him. However, Butler soon finds his investigation complicated by the fact that he has history with the two consortiums who control mining on Taug, Caliber and Omicron, as both have tried to kill him in the past. Determined to find the truth no matter what, Butler relentless follows the dwindling trail of clues before him, even when that leads to the dangerous dark side of Taug where secrets lie hidden, and the two corporations are free to act without repercussion.

Michael Mammay presents another outstanding and impressive science fiction thriller that drags the reader in with its elaborate tale of intrigue, secrets, and one determined man seeking to fight the system. Featuring a great combination of elements and a fantastically fun protagonist, Darkside was a brilliant addition to the Planetside series, and I had such an amazing time with it that it gets a full five-star rating from me.

I felt that Mammay produced another exciting and captivating narrative for his fourth Planetside book that ties in nicely to the rest of the series while providing readers with an excellent and entertaining ride capable of standing on its own feet. Once again bringing in series protagonist Carl Butler to investigate a mysterious case on a new planet, Darkside features a fantastic tale of mystery, corporate antics and deeper intrigue. The author does a great job of quickly setting the scene at the start of Darkside before dropping the protagonist right into the action as they attempt to find the missing father on Taug. Seeking information from both corporations on the moon, Butler initially starts a methodical and low-key investigation. However, things get tricky when Butler and his team discover evidence of a major coverup, and the protagonist is forced to pit the corporations against each other in his attempts to find the missing person. This complex first half proves to be an excellent start to the novel, and Mammay ensures that the tension, stakes and mystery rise at an effectively rate, keeping the reader’s attention the entire way through.

Things take a very exciting turn around halfway through Darkside, as Butler’s investigation provoke action from his opponents that results in some extremely dramatic and intense moments. While I had been enjoying the investigation and intrigue of the first half of the book, it was fun to dive into something much more action packed for the second half, and I really enjoyed the exciting direction that Mammay took the story. There are some great reveals here, and I love how complicated the various corporate lies and agendas became at times. Everything leads up to a very intense final set of sequences, as Butler finds his back against the wall and is forced to decide which devil to have in his corner. There are some great twists here, as well as a cool chapter told from the perspective of one of the series’ major supporting characters, and it leads up to a particularly intense and moving conclusion that perfectly fit the overarching anti-corporate message of the entire series.

Darkside has an excellent and addictive style to it that really draws the reader in. Told from the perspective of the cynical, but realistic, Colonel Butler, readers are presented an outstanding thriller novel expertly set in a futuristic setting. Starting off with a mystery of a missing person, the story evolves into a more elaborate game of intrigue as the protagonist attempts to outsmart two rival companies. Mammay hits the right blend of manipulation, investigation and action throughout Darkside, and readers are presented with a great story that thrills the reader while dragging them further in with the curious mystery. This story is well set by the moon of Taug, which proves to be an outstanding setting for this intense novel. Not only does Mammay provide some striking descriptions of this desolate moon, but the isolated nature of it, as well as more scientific elements like gravity and composition, are well utilised in the plot, creating problems and opportunities for the protagonists. Whilst Darkside is part of a larger series, for the most part it is a standalone novel that new readers can easily dive into, especially as there is an effective summary at the front to fill in some major details about the protagonist and his previous outings. I think I had a bit more fun having read the previous books first, especially as you appreciate how Butler’s relationship with some of the supporting characters has grown, as well as having a better understanding the protagonist’s adversarial relationship with the corporations on the moon. Darkside was such a great addition to this series, and I had an exceptional time powering through this novel in record time.

Another major element of Darkside, and indeed the entire Planetside series, that I come to really enjoy, was the outstanding characters who sat at the heart of the story and who add some real emotional depth to the book. This primarily refers to the protagonist and point-of-view character, Colonel Carl Butler, who is very fun to follow. A former career soldier trying to enjoy retirement, Butler has been hit by controversy, betrayal and the downside of duty, which has made him infamous and forced him to live on a remote planet. Despite this, he is still a cheerful figure whose desire to do good forces him into another adventure. Witty and honourable, Butler has a very eccentric personality that results in most of Darkside’s humour, and you have to laugh at some of his clever thoughts and responses to the dark events around him. Despite having a seemingly carefree, easy-going attitude, Butler is a canny operator at this point in the series, and it was great to see how he has finally learnt from his previous experiences of dealing with corrupt corporations. I also really enjoy how Mammay portrays Butler’s thought process in this novel, as you get to see him weighing the options and impacts of his various potential actions, and seeing the steps Butler takes to make his decisions makes him a little more human and relatable to the reader. As such, you really get caught up in Butler’s latest crusade, and it proves hard not to root for him the entire way, even despite his dark history.

In addition to Butler, Mammay also features a great supporting cast of characters in Darkside, most of whom play off Butler extremely well. This includes the returning characters of Mac and Ganos, Butler’s bodyguard and computer expert respectively, who once again saddle up to help. Mammay works these two characters back into the plot quickly and effectively, and it was great to see this team in action again. Mac and Ganos serve as an entertaining support to Butler, especially as by this point, they have learned to anticipate their boss’s likely course of action. I really enjoyed seeing the close camaraderie and support these three had together, and it there were some excellent and moving moments as a result. The rest of the case also worked well around these central characters, with several new members of Butler’s team providing some intriguing plot options. Throw in the usual collection of local soldiers who work with Butler, and a group of manipulative corporate officers who serve as the antagonists, and the cast of Darkside proves to be a fantastic part of the book, and I loved seeing them all in action.

I ended up enjoying Darkside on audiobook, which has been my preferred way of enjoying the Planetside books, primarily because of the inclusion of R. C. Bray as the narrator. Bray, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators, did another exceptional job voicing the characters in Darkside, and I love how well his gruff and rich voice fits Colonel Butler. Bray’s voice work perfectly captures Butler’s sarcastic, pragmatic and rebellious streak, and you really get caught up in this excellent narrator’s central performance. In addition to his excellent portrayal of Butler, Bray also brings all the supporting cast to life in fun and effective manner, with each character given their own distinctive voice or accent. I particularly enjoyed the fun voice he gave to Butler’s right-hand man, Mac, which was handy considering Mac got a lengthy chapter from his perspective that really popped in Bray’s voice. I honestly don’t think I would have enjoyed Darkside quite as much without having Bray read it out to me, and I have so much love for the paring between Bray and Mammay’s great writing. Coming in with a runtime of just over eight hours, most people will be able to power through Darkside very quickly, and I honestly found it very hard to stop listening to this audiobook, which comes very highly recommended.

Michael Mammay continues to impress with Darkside, a brilliant addition to his fantastic Planetside series that proves hard to turn away from. Clever, exciting, and featuring a well-written and intense story, Darkside is one of Mammay’s best Planetside novels yet, and I cannot wait to see how he continues the story in the future, especially as the rascally protagonists keeps making more and more enemies.

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Relentless by R. A. Salvatore

On February 16, 2021August 13, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy9 Comments

Relentless Cover

Publisher: Harper Audio (Audiobook – 28 July 2020)

Series: Generations – Book Three

Length: 15 hours and 9 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Legendary fantasy author R. A. Salvatore brings his latest trilogy of novels to an epic conclusion with his 2020 release, Relentless, the third and final book in the Generations trilogy.

War has once again come to the Forgotten Realms, as the Drow hordes of Menzoberranzan march to reclaim the soul of one of their own, the previously dead sword master Zaknafein Do’Urden. Centuries ago, Zaknafein sacrificed his life to save his son, Drizzt Do’Urden, allowing him to become the greatest hero the lands had ever seen. Thanks to the help of a mysterious Drow priestess, Zaknafein has been returned to life and finally reunited with his son. However, their reunion has been far from perfect, as Zaknafein has trouble understanding some of his son’s choices, including his unusual companions and his marriage to a human. Worse, Drow fanatics, utterly loyal to the dark god of Chaos, Loth the Spider Queen, have declared war on the surface, determined to capture and kill Zaknafein and Drizzt and everyone who stands with them.

A massive army of demons has invaded the dwarven kingdom of Gauntlgrym, trapping Zaknafein, the rogue Jarlaxle, Drizzt’s life-long friends and the legendary Companions of the Hall inside, while dark forces attack their allies on the surface. At the same time, the massed armies of the Drow city of Menzoberranzan have been forced to war and now occupy the tunnels surrounding Gauntlgrym, cutting off any chance of escape. However, all of this pales in comparison to the greatest tragedy that has occurred in the lands outside of Gauntlgrym, where a demonic device of great power tracked and disintegrated Drizzt as he tried to destroy the mechanical creature.

While things seem dire, the Companions of the Hall are far from defeated, and every man, dwarf, halfling and rogue dark elf is ready to fight. As Zaknafein, Gauntlgrym’s dwarf king Bruenor and their allies attempt to hold back the hordes besieging them by any means possible, the barbarian warrior Wulfgar works to reclaim the city of Luskan with a small force of warriors. As the battle begins in earnest, heroes will rise, empires will fall, and the world will change forever. However, the fate of everyone involved in this battle may lay in Zaknafein’s secret history, as demons from his past come back to haunt him once again.

R. A. Salvatore has produced another incredible and wonderful fantasy read that takes several of his most iconic characters on a dark and dangerous journey. Salvatore is one of my favourite fantasy authors, having produced an immense and awesome collection of novels over the years. While he has written several series, such the novels set in his Corona universe (including his other 2020 release, Song of the Risen God), his main body of work is set within the shared Forgotten Realms fantasy universe and primarily follows the adventures of the Drow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden and his heroic companions. Relentless is the third entry in the latest Drizzt Do’Urden trilogy of books, known as the Generations trilogy, which includes the preceding novels Timeless and Boundless. This series continues the adventures of Drizzt and his companions, but features an intriguing new angle in the return of Drizzt’s father, who died in the 1990 novel, Homeland. This has so far proven to be an impressive and exciting trilogy from Salvatore that contains an intriguing new narrative and pays homage to his earlier novels in the overarching series. I have been looking forward to Relentless for some time, especially after the really cool cliffhanger that Salvatore featured at the end of Boundless.

In this latest book, Salvatore tells a complex and action-packed story that makes use of multiple character perspectives to tell an epic and exciting tale, especially after establishing so many excellent plot points in the previous two novels. As he did in the other entries in this series, Salvatore features two distinct timelines throughout this impressive book. Relentless is broken up into four separate parts (not including the prelude), with two of these parts set during in the universe’s modern era, depicting the current day battle for Gauntlgrym and the lives of the author’s beloved protagonist, while the other two parts of the novel are set deep in the past. These two parts of the novel are set hundreds of years before the current events and follow Zaknafein, Jarlaxle and several other Drow characters during their younger days. Both of these distinctive storylines have their own appeals, and I had a fantastic time reading both of them.

I probably enjoyed the prequel storylines the most, as I really enjoyed the deeper look at Zaknafein’s past and its intriguing implications on the events of Salvatore’s earlier books. These prequel storylines are loaded with fantastic depictions of life in the chaotic and evil Drow city of Menzoberranzan, and it was extremely entertaining to see all the backstabbing, politics and brutal battles for supremacy that are a distinguishing feature of day-to-day Drow life. These prequel storylines also contain some of the best action sequences in the book, mainly because they focus on the character of Zaknafein, the greatest sword fighter in the world, and Salvatore always portrays his epic fight sequences in intricate detail, capturing the sheer majesty of the character’s fighting ability. I also quite enjoyed seeing more of the young, up-and-coming version of the Drow mercenary and conman, Jarlaxle, as he manipulates the entirety of the city, and all of his scenes are extremely fun. This earlier storyline in Relentless is a great continuation of the other prequel storylines that appeared in the previous entries in the Generations trilogy, and I really enjoyed how this entire expanded storyline concludes. It was fascinating to see how the events of Zaknafein’s past impacted the main storyline, and I felt that this was an outstanding addition to Relentless’s story.

While I did prefer the prequel storyline, the contemporary story contained within the other two parts of the book is still pretty epic in its own right, as it features a desperate fight for survival against the antagonists of the series. Salvatore goes big for these parts of the book, featuring massive battles for supremacy, major character moments and some universe-changing twists and turns. Like the prequel storyline, this main narrative thread flows on extremely well from the previous Generations books, and the author provides a satisfactory conclusion to the war which was set up in the last two novels. The author more strongly utilises multiple character perspectives in these parts of the book, which I felt helped to tell a richer and more exciting story, especially as you got to see the action unfold from the eyes of many established characters. A lot of the plot points established in the prequel storylines were masterfully exploited throughout these main parts of the book, and I think that the combination of time periods worked extremely well to create a powerful and memorable narrative. The major events that occurred at the end of Relentless were rather interesting, and it looks like Salvatore has some intriguing plans for any future novels set in this universe. Overall, this was an extremely enjoyable tale filled with some great action, well-established characters, and an incredible combination of compelling and varied storylines.

While I usually find all of Salvatore’s books to be extremely accessible to general fantasy fans who are unfamiliar with his prior works, Relentless is book probably best enjoyed by people who have read the rest of the entries in the Generations trilogy and who have some decent knowledge of the other Drizzt Do’Urden novels. This is mainly because Relentless serves as the conclusion to the connected storylines established in Timeless and Boundless, and the story has gotten quite complex at this point, especially with the prequel storyline focusing on the young Zaknafein, which was carefully cultivated in the prior two novels. While new readers can probably still follow and enjoy Relentless, fans of Salvatore’s work are going to be the ones who get the most out of it, especially as this latest book ties into some of the author’s earliest works. For example, the prequel storyline has some extremely strong connections to one of the author’s earliest books, Homeland. The Generations trilogy’s past-based storyline has primarily served as a compelling prequel to Homeland, and this latest book contains several scenes that shed new light on this previous book. Indeed, some of the best scenes in Relentless serve as a direct precursor to key events of Homeland or provide alternate viewpoints to them, allowing for some fascinating new context and information. I personally have always had a lot of love for Homeland, which is one of Salvatore’s best novels, and I really appreciated seeing this new take on the plot. As a result, this is a must-read for fans of Salvatore’s fantastic series and readers are in for a real treat.

Another great part of this book were the excellent characters featured throughout the various time periods. As has been the case with the other books in the Generations trilogy, much of the character development revolves around Zaknafein, as both time periods have a fascinating focus on him. Salvatore continues to explore various parts of Zaknafein’s character throughout Relentless, both in the past and present, and it was great to see how he has evolved throughout the course of the trilogy. I particularly enjoyed seeing Zaknafein’s development in the prequel storyline, especially as you get several extra scenes discussing Zaknafein’s conflicted feelings when Drizzt was born. Salvatore spends a lot of time establishing how Zaknafein became the person who would eventually sacrifice his own life for his son, and it was great to see this whole new side of this iconic and fantastic character.

Several other characters featured throughout Relentless really stood out to me. Foremost of these is of course the rogue Drow criminal and conman, Jarlaxle, who is a prominent character in both timelines. Jarlaxle is so much fun to see in action, whether he is manipulating someone or getting involved in a fight with his fantastic arsenal of insane magical weapons and tools. Drizzt, who is nominally the main character of this trilogy, and indeed most of Salvatore’s Forgotten Realms novels, was notably absent throughout this book, having been disintegrated at the end of Boundless. Salvatore works his apparent death into the story extremely well, creating some emotionally deep moments as his friends mourn his passing and try to work out how to move on. I think that Salvatore utilised his absence from the story to full effect, especially as it allowed other characters to have their moment to shine. Drizzt’s eventual resurrection, which was so predictable it is not even really a spoiler, was set up beautifully and I really liked how it tied into some of the more mystical events of some previous Salvatore novels. Aside from these Drow characters, the rest of the Companions of the Hall have major moments throughout Relentless, and each of them has a key storyline set around them. Bruenor, Wulfgar, Regis, Catti-brie, Artemis Enteri and more are all utilised throughout the story, and it was great to see all of them in action. Salvatore also focuses on several other side characters who have appeared in prior novels, and there are some notable storylines and character arcs scatter amongst them that will no doubt bear fruit in future Drizzt Do’Urden novels. Overall, Relentless continues Salvatore’s exceptional character work, and it was fantastic to see all these complex personalities come to life.

Rather than grab a physical copy of Relentless I ended up getting this cool fantasy novel on audiobook, which was a fantastic way to enjoy Salvatore’s latest release. The audiobook format of Relentless has a run time of just over 15 hours, which, while fairly substantial for an audiobook, is easy enough to get through once you become engrossed in the excellent narrative and is definitely worth the time investment. I really enjoyed listening to this great book and I found that it was the perfect way to absorb all the unique fantasy elements and Salvatore’s intriguing twists. Part of the reason why I enjoyed this format so much was the excellent voice work from narrator Victor Bevine. Bevine is a veteran audiobook narrator who has provided his vocal talents to a huge number of Salvatore’s previous novels, including the other two entries in the Generations trilogy. It is cool having the continuity of Bevine’s voice after enjoying so many Salvatore audiobooks, and I really enjoy the tone that he uses for this story. Bevine moves Relentless along at a quick pace, and the listener never finds themselves stuck in a slow part of the novel. I also quite enjoyed the excellent voices that Bevine utilised throughout the book. Not only did these voices perfectly fit the characters they were assigned to, helping to bring them to life, but I loved all the fun accents he used for the various races featured within the book, such as the Scottish brogue that each dwarven character had. All of this really enhanced my enjoyment of Relentless and this is a fantastic novel to check out on audiobook.

Relentless is another exceptional and epic read from the master of fantasy fiction, R. A. Salvatore, as he wraps up another amazing trilogy with a remarkable and memorable bang. Salvatore remains at the top of his game for Relentless, providing the reader with a complex, multifaceted storyline, studded with intense action, fantastic characters and some really clever story elements. I had an outstanding time reading this awesome book and I cannot wait to see what magic and mayhem Salvatore comes up with in his next captivating read. Highly recommended.

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Colonyside by Michael Mammay

On January 31, 2021August 16, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Five-Star Books, Science Fiction, Thriller26 Comments

Publisher: Harper Audio (Audiobook – 29 December 2020)

Series: Planetside – Book Three

Length: 10 hours and 4 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of the most impressive rising stars in science fiction, Michael Mammay, returns with the third entry in his outstanding Planetside series, Colonyside, a captivating science fiction thriller that sees Colonel Carl Butler return for another epic adventure.

After blowing up a second alien planet, former war hero and current “disgrace” Colonel Carl Butler is living a quiet life as a recluse on a remote planet. While Butler is more than happy to be left alone by everyone, he knows that it is only a matter of time before the government or the military attempt to draft him into another crazy adventure. This time, a powerful and rich CEO wants the maverick Butler to head up an investigation into the disappearance of his estranged daughter on a newly formed colony.

Knowing the pain of losing a daughter, Butler reluctantly accepts the job and takes the next ship to Eccasis. Working with old associates Mac and Ganos, as well as a new government-assigned aide, Captain Fader, Butler soon finds himself leading an investigation in a controversial colony where a dangerous and lethal jungle environment lurks just outside the bio-dome. The missing woman, a talented biologist, disappeared whilst on a routine research mission for her father’s company out in the jungle. While most people believe that her disappearance can be blamed on the planet’s predatory megafauna, her father believes that there is more to the case.

While everything initially seems on the level, Butler soon becomes convinced that something more is afoot when someone tries to blow him up. As he begins his investigation in earnest, Butler is forced to contend with corrupt and incompetent local politicians, a hamstrung military presence, a militant environmental organisation and a greedy corporation determined to cover themselves. Once more caught in the crosshairs of dangerous people with sinister agendas, Butler is forced to bend all the rules to have a chance of surviving. But has Butler finally found a problem that even he cannot blow his way out of?

Colonyside is the latest awesome science fiction thriller from exciting author Michael Mammay. I am a major fan of Mammay, having deeply enjoyed his 2018 debut, Planetside, which followed Carl Butler as he attempted to find a missing soldier, only to find himself in the midst of an alien conspiracy. Planetside was an incredible novel with an impressively shocking and explosive ending, and it was not only one of my favourite books of 2018 but it is also one of my favourite debut novels of all time. Mammay followed this outstanding debut with a fantastic sequel in 2019 with Spaceside, which saw the protagonist get involved in another conspiracy, this one revolving around military contractors, which proved to be another amazing read and one of the best novels of 2019. Due to how much I enjoyed the first two Planetside novels, I have been looking forward to seeing how the series would continue in the future and I was extremely excited when I saw that the third novel, Colonyside, was coming out (especially as it had the cool cover above). My strong anticipation for this novel was not in vain, as Colonyside proved to be another exceptional read that gets a full five-star rating from me.

This outstanding novel contains an epic and addictive narrative that sets its unconventional protagonists on the path to uncover a massive and sinister conspiracy. Like the previous entries in this series, Mammay brings several genres together in this book, with Colonyside blending science fiction, military fiction and thriller elements into one fantastic story. This mixture of genres works extremely well together as the protagonist, a former soldier with a penchant for investigation, finds himself attempting to find the final fate of a missing person who disappeared from the jungle of an alien planet. This awesome premise leads into a clever and compelling narrative as the protagonist attempts to uncover and disrupt a massive conspiracy with galaxy-wide implications while also ensuring his own survival from a range of deadly opponents. Mammay comes up with a really impressive story here, and I loved all the complex twists and fantastic reveals throughout the novel as the protagonist builds up his case and then deals with the consequences of his discoveries. While I did find the start of the story a tad slow, it does not take long for the story to heat up and you find yourself getting more and more drawn into the compelling web of lies, intrigue, politics, and the occasional firefight. I particularly enjoyed the fantastic connections that Colonyside had to the previous entries in the series, as the motivations of the antagonists are directly tied into Butler’s prior actions and their dramatic consequences. While readers can easily start the Planetside series here with the third book, those readers familiar with Mammay’s prior two novels will really appreciate the way in which the story becomes linked, and I felt that it was a clever bit of storytelling. All of this leads up to an amazing and exciting conclusion that contains both an incredibly deadly scenario for the protagonists and a series of final reveals, many of which were very well set up and quite enjoyable to uncover. This makes for an impressive overall narrative that becomes very addictive as you just cannot wait to get to the bottom of the story.

One of the best things about Colonyside was the fact that it once again follows the adventures of the retired maverick solider, Colonel Carl Butler, who serves as the novel’s protagonist and point-of-view character. Butler is a clever, damaged and calculating military figure who knows that sometimes the only way to get things done is to break the rules and go off book, even if it costs him. This amazing character has gone through a lot of stuff over the course of the first two entries in the Planetside series, including nuking two separate alien planets. While he did have good reasons for his actions, Butler is now unsurprisingly an incredibly infamous figure in the galaxy, with a huge number of enemies across the political and social spectrum (it takes skill to be simultaneously hated by both environmentalists and big corporations). While he has committed some atrocities, Butler is still an incredibly likeable character, mainly because deep down he is a good person who is mainly trying to do the right thing, no matter the consequences. Butler proves to be a fun character to follow, especially as he as a very smart-assed way to him, producing a number of entertaining moments. The character is also a competent investigator and a surprisingly effective master manipulator, especially of military personal. I also quite liked the way in which the character has grown and evolved since the start of the series, and there are several examples throughout the book which show him learning from his mistakes in the earlier novels. He also has a much greater appreciation for all sorts of people and various forms of life within the universe, particularly after his experiences with sentient alien life forms, and these new insights have helped to turn him into a much more well-rounded protagonist. As a result, you really want for him to survive and succeed throughout the course of the novel, and your heart breaks a little each time he finds himself in danger or he is forced to compromise his morals for the greater good.

While there are a range of intriguing aspects to Butler’s character and portrayal, easily the most distinctive part of his inclusion in this novel is his unique narration. Butler provides a first-person narration for the entire novel, which results in the reader being privy to all his thoughts and feelings. While this may seem like typical first-person narration fare, it is actually pretty distinctive in Colonyside as Butler is constantly analysing everything that he says, does or hears and immediately relaying that back to the reader. This includes in some cases evaluating each sentence that another character utters, and then thinking hard about how he wants to respond before uttering his next bit of dialogue. While this way of writing the character’s thoughts and perceptions does take a little getting used to and may seem a little excessive at times, you soon grow to appreciate all the character’s valuable insights and opinions about the people he is dealing with. Not only is it refreshing to hear a protagonist admit when he is in the wrong or just being an arse (both of which happen frequently), but hearing his thoughts on the other characters and events occurring in front of him gives you additional insights into the complex investigation and makes the overall investigation even more intriguing. I also loved the way in which the protagonist plans out how he is going to manipulate or outmanoeuvre his various opponents throughout the novel, especially when he is talking to them, and it is entertaining to see his schemes unfold, whether they succeed or fail. All of this helps to turn Butler into a unique and enjoyable protagonist to follow and I cannot wait to see what happens to him in his next adventure.

Colonyside is also filled with a great range of side characters who add a lot to the story. The other three main characters are Butler’s team of Mac, Ganos and Captain Fader, all three of whom have some intriguing and enjoyable interactions with the protagonist. Mac, Butler’s personal bodyguard, who previously appeared in Planetside, is a solid and incredibly likeable non-commissioned soldier who loyally serves Butler and tries to keep him safe, even from his own stupid decisions. Despite being outranked by Butler, Mac does not take any crap from him, and the two characters have a fantastic and enjoyable bond throughout the book. The other recurring character is Ganos, the tough, anti-authoritarian hacker who helped Butler in Spaceside. Ganos starts the novel off having some major issues with Butler, especially after the fallout from their escapades in the second novel. This requires Butler to try and rebuild her trust in him throughout the novel, and their struggling friendship becomes a dramatic and enjoyable plot point throughout Colonyside. This team is joined by new member, Captain Fader, a by-the-book officer who has been assigned to Butler as his aid, while also being ordered to report on his actions. Fader, an extremely efficient, organised and bright individual, becomes a key part of the protagonist’s investigation, and she serves as a useful sounding board for Butler’s various theories about the disappearance and overarching conspiracy. The clash of styles between the two characters becomes an intriguing part of the novel, as Fader struggles to deal with Butler’s rule breaking. Nonetheless, Butler and Fader form a great mentor relationship throughout the course of the novel, and it was great to see the various ways in which Butler influenced the younger officer. Aside from these three excellent written comrades for Butler, Colonyside is also filled with a range of compelling side characters, including some figures from the previous novels, as well as the various inhabitants of the colony. Mammay does a great job introducing the fantastic range of extra characters featured in the book and many of them become key suspects in the novel’s overarching mystery. This complex collection of suspects adds some great layers to the main story, and it proved to be quite entertaining to see Butler attempt to interact with them to get his way.

The great story and fantastic characters are backed up by an outstanding and unique science fiction setting that serves as the perfect backdrop to this amazing novel. The settlement of Eccasis is large bio-dome surrounded by a planet of harsh and inhospitable jungle. The jungle is full of dangers, including dangerous megafauna, poisonous insects and all manner of bacteria that makes going outside without a suit an unbelievably bad idea. Naturally, the protagonist spends a great deal of time out in this hostile environment and there are some great scenes set out there. While the jungle is extremely dangerous in its own way, it turns out to be a cakewalk compared to the main setting inside the colony’s dome. The inhabitable interior of the Eccasis settlement is a political powder keg filled with all manner of competing interests: greedy corporations, a radical environmental group, a corrupt civilian government and an understaffed military attempting to keep the peace despite their lack of equipment and manpower. This diverse group of competing personalities helps to enhance the intriguing story and it proved to be very compelling to see the protagonist attempt to get to the bottom of their various motivations and agendas. It was also intriguing to see how Butler’s previous actions have impacted the overarching universe that the series is set in. After his prior adventures where he nuked two separate planets with the intention of killing aliens, a series of strict environmental laws have been passed, limiting expansion and corporate interest. This leads to a bunch of clever storylines within the novel, and I really enjoyed seeing some fallout from the events of the earlier books, especially because it has such a major impact on this third book’s plot. There is also a real anti-corporation theme to this novel, mainly because the protagonist is a lot more suspicious of corporate organisations after the events of Spaceside, and it will be interesting to see if this will be a recurring theme in future books. I had a lot of fun with this cool science fiction setting and I really enjoyed the way in which the author worked into the plot, helping to create an excellent story.

I ended up listening to the audiobook format of Colonyside, which proved to be an excellent and fantastic treat. This format of Colonyside has a reasonable run time of just over 10 hours, making it an easy audiobook to get through quickly, especially when you get caught up in its intrigue-laden story. I found that this epic novel flew by for me in this format and I felt that I absorbed a lot more about the setting and characters while listening to it. Probably the main reason that I liked this format was the fact that the audiobook is narrated by the very talented R. C. Bray, who previously narrated Planetside and Spaceside. Bray, who has an impressive selection of science fiction and thriller narrations to his resume, has an awesome, deep voice that perfectly fits the protagonist, Carl Butler. I really liked the authoritative and confident tone that Bray used for this central character, and the listener ended up with a fantastic sense of who Butler is and what his emotional state is throughout the audiobook. While I did occasionally find it hard to differentiate between the protagonist’s dialogue and inner thoughts in this format, this was a particularly minor issue and I still had an incredible time listening to this book and I would strongly recommend the audiobook version for anyone interested in checking out Colonyside.

Colonyside by Michael Mammay is an incredible and deeply captivating read that pits an outstanding and enjoyable protagonist on a high-stakes, mysterious adventure. This latest novel from Mammay is an amazing third entry in one of the best science fiction thriller series out there, and I love the clever and addictive plot contained within this book. A highly recommended read, I cannot wait to see how the next entry in this fantastic series turns out.

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