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Bridgers 1

The Lure of Infinity (Bridgers Series, Book 1)

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Bridgers 1

By: Stan C. Smith
Narrated by: Victoria Lynn Arbor
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About this listen

Some worlds are better left alone.

Infinity Fowler has been fighting all her life. As a kid, she fought to survive. Then, she fought professionally. When humans obtained the technology to bridge to alternate versions of Earth, she saw a chance for a new life. She signed up to become a bridger—an elite survival expert who protects tourists bridging to alternate worlds. Desmond Weaver is making a last-ditch effort to complete his PhD in evolutionary biology. He has booked the excursion of a lifetime, a data-collecting mission to a vastly different version of Earth. If he fails, his career is over.

Infinity is Desmond’s assigned trainer and bridger. She’s one of the best, willing to die protecting tourists. She’s also willing to kill. When the time comes to bridge, Desmond and his two college roommates feel well prepared. But they aren’t. Naked and weaponless, in an extraordinary world teeming with lethal predators, the team becomes entangled in a life-and-death struggle more terrifying than anything they could have imagined.

©2018 Stan C. Smith (P)2025 Stan C. Smith Adventure Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Technothrillers Thriller & Suspense Survival Exciting
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Listener received this title free

The issue with all audio books is that the story is only half of the mixture. Yes Bridgers is an intrguing concept and the story is well crafted with some amazing twists which I won't go into as they will cause spoilers. Stan Smith always writes a good story, but this was the first of his audio books I had ever heard, and I was delighted. First of all the narration was crisp and clear, with good voice alteration for different characters, but what really registered with me was that the main character as described by Stan in the story and as portrayed by the narrator matched perfectly. In this case I enjoyed listeing to an audio book more than the written word. I recommend it highly.

A PERFECT AUDIO BOOK

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I've read a lot of Stan C Smith's work, including the Bridgers series, so it's interesting to listen to this new interpretation of an old favourite.

As far as the story itself is concerned, Smith has a talent for dreaming big ideas to use as canvases for his stories, and painting them with interesting characters. There is something quite old-fashioned and wide-eyed about his optimistic vision of imaginary worlds, while the ideas and technical details of the plot lines are bang up to date. However, like many first books in a series, a lot of this book concentrates on world building, with the result that the story, while very good, is maybe not the strongest in the series.

As far as the narration itself is concerned, although the narration itself is very good, it took me a little while to settle into her voice. I can't give a good reason as to why this is the case, and it wasn't long before I was able to appreciate the richness of her narration. I hope she continues to narrate the rest of the series.

Very good start to an excellent series

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Listener received this title free

I first read this book around five years ago and was eager to listen to this audiobook version. It did not disappoint. The story features Infinity, a bridger, who leads tourists to alternate worlds to explore what Earth could have been like. The process is simple: pick a divergent point at which Earth could have turned out differently, travel there via some little understood alien technology and go explore. Of course, that’s over simplifying Stan C Smith's brilliant story but you get the idea. Right from the start Infinity's latest excursion is a disaster, with death lurking at every turn. The world they visit is brought vividly to life by the author and the action throughout is fast paced and packed with tension. Will Infinity and her tourists survive? Will she lose another bridging partner? Where will the story go after these questions are answered? The end of the book ramps the tension even higher but I don’t want to spoil it for potential readers. Overall, the author has given us something quite unlike anything I’ve read before with fascinating characters, vivid and strange landscapes and nail biting tension making for a truly breathtaking read. This is great fantasy/sci-fi/alternate reality/apocalypse writing. If a writer can mix all of those separate ideas and write a compelling and believable story then it’s going to be something special.
Victoria Lynn Arbor brings Infinity to life brilliantly. The narrations helps each tension filled scene come alive.

Breathtakingly Original.

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Listener received this title free

This story follows Infinity, a hardened world-traveller. Literally. She jumps to other worlds, taking thrill seekers on adventures and trying to keep them alive.

I love this series, its a perfect blend of parallel universes, alternative evolution and human connection with a good bit of foreshadowing thrown in. It's such a unique take on the concept I've not found anything like it, which pains me because I want so much more!! No one does alternative evolution like Stan C Smith. I wish the books also covered other worlds the Bridgers had visited.

Only things I didnt like was the very American narrator and Infinity's voice, I imagined her significantly less childish and whiney when I read the books. Didn't seem to fit her personality.

unique take on parallel universes

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Listener received this title free

Multiple universes aren’t new. Travelling through them aren’t new. But the treatment of this story? I’ve never come across it before. Well-written, it was paced well in prose as well as narration. And though the ending wasn’t exactly a twist, it’s a good vehicle to move the story onwards into a new book (or infinite possible ones!)

Specifically about the narration now… as a British listener, sometimes American accents can really grate on me in an audiobook. Victoria Lynn was very pleasant to listen to. Subtle changes were enough to differentiate the cast, and her style kept me engaged.

I’m looking forward to hearing the next book in the series!

A new concept

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