“Faceless” is the fifth book in the “Tropical Adventures Series” of Audiobooks found on Audible. The series of tropical adventures often whisks one away to wonderfully scenic locations in the Caribbean while also keeping the heart-pounding action and adventure...
“Faceless” is the fifth book in the “Tropical Adventures Series” of Audiobooks found on Audible. The series of tropical adventures often whisks one away to wonderfully scenic locations in the Caribbean while also keeping the heart-pounding action and adventure front and center. Yes, there are planes, car chases, and much more. However, this fifth story in the series felt a bit less encompassing from the previous ones. The story was there, the adventure was there, but it just did not stand up to the previous ones I have listened to. It was good, but it also had a few flaws that made it a bit less enjoyable for me, more details below in the review. Faceless was authored by many people (A.J. Stewart, Nick Sullivan, Chris Niles, Nicholas Harvey), and each of these, I have listened and reviewed as least one of their works. A big shout out to Nick Sullivan for all he has done in the space, both as author and narrator. The audiobook edition is well narrated by Kim Bretton. She has amassed over a hundred and fifty narrated titles under her belt, but this is the first work of hers that I have listened to. Was it a good story, I have to say that I did enjoy it. Were there some characters and plotlines that did not feel as cohesive as the other stories in the series? I would say yes. The best way for me to describe my overall thoughts on this audiobook compared to the others was that it was different from the rest. Different is not always a bad thing, but change can drive one that likes the older formula to be a bit more critical when reviewing the new. If you are a fan of the series, I would say this is not one to skip. If it is your first dive into the series, I would say to pick another first and come back to this one afterwards.
The story opens as many others do with a mystery and some great background on the main characters. A whose who, yet there is a mysterious unknown character which we learn bits and pieces about as the story progresses. Right away you begin to understand that this is the Faceless person they must overcome to resolve the story. The ramp up on this audiobook takes a bit to get fully rolling. Much like a long coal train, the process of getting up to full speed is slow and laborious, this audiobook takes some time and determination to get things set before it gets interesting. I have to say that I did enjoy seeing Boone and Emily in our story. They always bring back such memories of past journeys. I would have like to have had more of them, but any amount was good enough for me. The story consists of plenty of beautiful locations which I’m sure I will only be able to see thought these tales, oh and there is also much that occurs in Florida, which I’m sorry to say is not as interesting in the grander scope.
There are boats, planes, and quite a few island jaunts that keep the story interesting and exciting. There are quite a few places where the authors throw in a few humorous references and pop culture pokes. Once things get moving, this seemingly unimportant event becomes the center of everyone’s attention. The flow is that of a Tom and Jerry cartoon. It is a real cat and mouse chase where the bad people are usually a step or two ahead of the others. That is until they team learns of their mysterious faceless perpetrator and close in on his greater purpose. Will they catch him? You will have to give the audiobook a listen to find out.
The narration of this audiobook was good. I did not make note of any audio issues or artifacts while listening. At times I was not sure if the difficulty I had listening was due to the writing or the narration itself. There were characters I did not click with and some of the accents did not seem to fit as well, but I can say that voicing was consistent, and the audio quality was very good. Being that this is the first work by this narrator I have listened to, I would like to listen to a few more to get a better idea of her style before passing any judgement. With the number of narrated works by her available, I would say she is a veteran to narration. Once things got rolling, I was able to settle in and listen to the end.
For parents and younger listeners, most of the story is exciting and adventurous without much that would need to be called out saying it is not for younger listeners. I can say that there is some profanity sprinkled in here and there, but it is far and few between. There may also be more graphic violence than most young listeners would enjoy. For this reason, I would say that teen or mature listeners are the best audience for this piece.
In summary, this tale felt a bit different from the rest. Even though it was placed in many beautiful locations, the characters did not feel as developed as I would have like. Along the same line, the narration took some getting used to, but in the end, I found it a pleasant and enjoyable listen. The series has been well received and this one may take a bit getting used to, but I’m sure it will find its special niche in the continued series. Thank you all for the adventure.