I downloaded this on a complete whim and I'm so glad I did. I've been Netflix-binging all nine seasons of The X-Files in anticipation of their six-episode return to Fox in January, so sci-fi stories featuring aliens is sort of my thing right now.

Fear the Sky was awesome. Just AWESOME.

Earth is a prized commodity to the universe. It is one that in a very short period of time, millions of members of another race, an alien race, will come to take Earth from humans and use it for what they want. Without even wanting to take the opportunity to generate dialogue with humans, the plan is to come, take and destroy.

Before this happens, alien reconnaissance is planned. With agents disguised as human, who supersede all human intelligence and technology, they infiltrate and learn and report back on potential challenges and plan the eventual destruction of all humans.

When one man identifies an anomaly on a visual report of space, the partnership developed within a small but high-level group of people within the United States covering all areas from the military to the government begins, one that must be kept secret even from the President. After all, who would really believe that aliens were going to come to earth, or even that some were already here?

As this small team of devoted and dedicated patriots to the human race begin to investigate, plan, and ultimately defend, Fear the Sky becomes a powerhouse of a sci-fi story that I could not stop listening to. I wanted more - I wanted all of the trilogy released at once.

It is a story a little heavier on the science and technical side than I'm used to, but it was a phenomenal story that I need more of. My only wish was that the word "ignominious" was used less. That's it.

The reader was R.C. Bray, and we all know and love his work anyway. The link to the sample audio is here.

FTC Disclosure: I downloaded this from Audible.com via my monthly membership fee.

About the Author (from Goodreads)

Stephen Moss was born in England, but spent time as a child in wildly diverse places, including several years in Brazil, Belgium, and Malaysia.

He eventually settled in New York, but still travels avidly, something he uses as inspiration and input to his writing. Stephen is a fan of Hard SF by masters such as Iain M. Banks, Peter F. Hamilton and Orson Scott Card and the many fantastic writers creating masterpieces every year. 

His first series, The Fear Saga, combines his passion for Hard Science Fiction with his passion for travel. The three-part series takes place across the globe, from London to Brussels, Africa to Antarctica, the Hindu Kush mountains to the back streets of Tel Aviv. The few places in the books which Stephen hasn't been to in person he researches avidly, wanting to put his characters into the reality of their surroundings, and knowing that the settings for a story are as important as the individuals you then paint into them.

Visit the author:

• On Facebook
• On Goodreads
• On Amazon

About the Narrator

R.C. Bray is awesome and has narrated several books, but my favorite will always be The Martian.

Visit the narrator:

• On his website
• On Facebook
• On Twitter
• On YouTube
• On SoundCloud

UPDATE [01/15/16]: An earlier version of this review incorrectly identified a different narrator for the work. This has been corrected - and my apologies for the error!

Sometimes it's better to not read a single review of a book, or any synopsis of it before you decide to dive in. Sometimes, when you see flurries of excitement of a book on Twitter and Instagram, you should just pick it up immediately. And then when an old college buddy recommends the audio, you just go ahead and stop procrastinating.

Here's one thing that I feel is fairly consistent with every review I've seen since I finished the book: you can't really give anything away. It wouldn't be fair to write about one piece, one thing that makes this story so very, very unique from all the other ones that have come out. You don't want to spoil it one bit. Instead, you have to just say that it's about a little girl named Melanie who is very, very smart and she goes to school every single day and loves to learn about the world and her favorite teacher is Miss Justineau. And then you throw in the part that there is also a man in the military who picks Melanie up from her cell every morning, who very meticulously straps her into a chair, following a process so specific as to keep him far from her, who then takes her to a classroom filled with other children similarly held down in their chairs. You should probably also add that there is a very ambitious doctor, a completely disturbing sociopath who evaluates them, one by one.

And then you just have to write that the story is engaging, absolutely perfect for those who like extremely smart and uniquely driven characters, who enjoy twists that are unexpected and who fancy a tale of a young girl who is smarter than your smartest human out there.

This is an adventure told by an author with an imagination who has taken our current culture of a dystopian society and placed an excellent spin to it, and is voiced through narration in the audiobook by Finty Williams, who is just powerful and PERFECT for every role. From Melanie to Miss Justineau to Gallagher to the Sergeant, this audio is one of my favorites this year, no doubt about it.

Click here to listen to a sample from Audible.com.

FTC Disclosure: I downloaded this book through my membership with Audible.com

About the Author 

M.R. Carey is an author of comics, novels, and films, according to Wikipedia. I couldn't track down a website for him, but it seems he's fairly active on Twitter.

Visit him:

• On Twitter

I was completely surprised by this thoughtful and unique post-apocalyptic tale of young teenagers in the world since a massive explosion happened, an explosion so impacting and devastating that the world and people living in it would forever be changed. The new normal has become one in which bodies fused to metal or wood, or even other people or animals, has now been born.

In the nine years since the Detonations, Pressia and her grandfather struggle to live and make a life. One of Pressia's hands fused with the doll she was holding when the blasts occurred and now the doll's head has become one with her fist. Her grandfather fused with a metal fan which is now in his throat. In this new world they live in, everyone around them has had their bodies blended to something, or has been left with scars incredibly severe. No one is without blemish, unless you live in the Dome.

The Dome is hidden, filled with those who were unscathed and untouched by the blasts, protected on the very day the Detonations happened. They are known almost as a myth of an all-knowing entity, overseeing those who live outside the Dome, and who one day will come back and help those who were hurt. One day this will happen, but it's unknown when. For these nine years, the inhabitants of the Dome, also known as the Pures, have never ventured outside, and those who are fused or scarred beyond recognition, don't know the Dome's location.

Partridge is considered one of the Pures, a body perfectly clean and free of scars and marks, or fusions to objects. He is surrounded by people like him, and he does not know what awaits him outside of the Dome, but he is prepared to search for his mother. His decision to leave the Dome is unheard of and when he escapes and enters into a world where his pure and untouched face and body are so easily noticed, Pressia is the one who helps him. Along with Bradwell (fused to a bird) and El Capitan (fused with his brother), the journey begins. With unsettling and startling characters who at first might be unexpected, their disfigurements became a part of the landscape of this new world, "normalizing" it and making it unique and part of each character's personality. What a beautiful array of characters with so many incredible characteristic advantages and contributions to the adventure, and this story will stay with me for a while. I'm excited that this is a trilogy, so I'll be downloading the second installment soon.

The narrators were phenomenal. I should have realized this was going to be a homerun audiobook when I saw the list: Khristine Hvam, Joshua Swanson, Kevin T. Collins, and Casey Holloway. Khristine Hvam is the narrator for Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight, and she was awesome, so Pure is in extremely good company with this team. Click here to listen to an audio sample.

FTC Disclosure: I downloaded this book through my Audible.com membership.

About the Author (from her website)

Ah, there's a lot going on with this author! Such cool stuff. For her complete bio, visit her at the following sites:

• On her website
• On Facebook
• On Twitter

I'll write a more formal overview on October 12th, but I wanted, nay, NEEDED to, check in very quickly to let you all know that The Quick by Lauren Owen is so completely engaging that I'm trying to sneak time in as often as I can to read this gorgeously written story. It is PERFECT for a spooky season. I'm only about 120 pages in, but I'm catching up. The secrets, the overall storyline, the disturbing reality of what's happening - it's right up there with some of my favorite books.

If you enjoy stories told in an epistolary or journal/letter-like format, this one would fit right in there, especially the section I'm currently in. Delightful, disturbing. These are the words I must use to describe it. Cannot. Get. Enough.