Extracted

8 hours of Awesome in a 12 hour audiobook

So first the positives...
I loved the premise of this novel, Haywood isn't the first to use the idea historical extractions, hell, Bill and Ted did it to help pass a high school class, but Haywood adds enough of his own little touches to make it work. I like that he didn't use existing historical figures but created his own characters from different timelines and created them well. His characters may have been built on existing action hero tropes, but those tropes exist for a reason. Haywood's action scenes were crisp, well choreographed and highly visual. The scenes just popped in your head and kept your heart pounding. Yet, my favorite aspect of the book was the wry, subtle humor. Haywood didn't go for the easy joke, but used tricks of timing and dialogue. It lightened some of the dark moments of the book, and endeared the characters to the listener. 
The biggest positive of the audiobook for me was the brilliant performance of narrator Carl Prekopp. Where other narrators would have muddled the humor of the novel, Prekopp enhanced it. His comic timing and ability to seamlessly switch from dark moodiness, intense action and witty banter kept the listener engaged even when the story itself sagged. As an American I sometimes struggle with British narrators differentiating characters but with Prekopp his characters were so vivid that this was never an issue. His pacing was fast and furious when needed to be, guiding the listener through intense actions, keeping them invested to the final resolution. It was one of my favorite performances in a while and proof that the right narrator can transform a book from ok to kick ass. 
Now the negatives...
This 12 hour audiobook was 8 hours of awesome broken up by a 4 hour chunk of frustrating. I tend to love those montage scenes of units training together, bonding, becoming a cohesive group yet in Extracted the author made an interesting choice with one of the characters that while understandable and perhaps even, if executed properly, unique enough push the book beyond the typical sci-fi actioner, here it just didn't work. A large chunk of the book revolved around a character falling into a state of self doubt and depression. While the author did a good job explaining why this happened, it just seemed to get the story bogged down in the mire. I went from feeling emphathy for the character to wanting to punch him repeatedly in the face to get him to stop whining. It felt like the emotional rollercoaster that caregivers go through, symphathy followed by frustration followed by shame. This could have been effective if done differently but it seemed to just drag on, almost making me want to fling the audiobook away and spend the rest of the day listening to Korean pop music. 
My other negative, and part of this is my fault. I should have known this was the first book in a trilogy, but I didn't and as I got to about hour 10 and realized we were no where close to even thinking about the ultimate resolution of the tale my heart began to sink. There are two kinds of trilogies, a large book cut into three smaller books, and three interlocking tales that have internal plot resolutions but feed into an overarching mythology. Sadly, this was more of the first kind of tale. By the end of the book, there's no true resolution and you feel no closer to understanding or resolving the underlying issue of the novel. Sure, there were resolutions between the characters, and some anticlimactic reveals but the book was mostly a 12 hour introduction to the players. Despite my issues though, I'm invested enough in these players to be willing to continue the ride. 

80 of 91 people found this review helpful

started well

good start but becomes bogged down with ben feeling has he tries to come to terms with his situation, this part took far to long in the story.

17 of 19 people found this review helpful

Had to listen

Couldn't put this one down. So well read and easy to listen to. Plot plausible for sci fi and lots of action. The personal tales of the characters were carefully plotted and believable. A definite 5star product.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Fantastic

I think this is the best book I have listened to so far this year.
Brilliant story, that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and listening to it when you shouldn't be! :)
I can't tell you how happy and relieved I was when I saw this was just part one.
Looks like it is going to be another series written by R R Haywood that I'm addicted to. Part One has me hooked.
Excellent Narrator too.
I never write reviews (as you can tell) but I just had to say a few words about how much I enjoyed this book.
Thank you R. R. Haywood.

20 of 23 people found this review helpful

Starts great loses it in the middle

This had a great beginning and so much promise, the middle with bens constant whining that take up far too many chapters and is basically the whole story for this first book means the book doesn't actually have a story.

The narrator is good but again on occasion the "he said, she said, he said, he said, she said" parts really do annoy and in parts is like listening to an inbetweeners episodes with the constant swearing.

If the second can live up to the first part of this it will be great.

20 of 23 people found this review helpful

Massively disappointing!

This booked started off with so much promise, it was brilliant and exciting and I became very excited at having finally found another amazing book, but, sadly it took a turn after the opening scenes and instead of being focused around a group of hero's destined to save the world, it became about Saffi's relationship with a very miserable Ben. I've stuck it out as long as I could, 3 hours to go and I just can't listen anymore. Narrator is very good though.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

WIsh I could time travel to book 2

If your looking for a book full of technical time travel jargon then you'll be disappointed. I was at first but the wonderfully breathtaking scenes imagined and described by Haywood soon had me hooked. Add to that the relationships grown and shared between three kindred

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

Perfection

From the get go I was hooked and the characters were believable and well written.

I can't wait for the next instalment and want to read it NOW! I need a time machine to take me forward to get it :D

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

Worth a listen

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand this started and ended really well. Very strong story line and great characters. There was momentum and intrigue. Then it sagged a bit in the middle and lost its way a bit.

It features three heroes who have to be extracted from their own timelines (yes! time machines!) in order to save the world. Their stories are brutal and human. But maybe one of them is a bit too human and the story drags as we follow Ben's emotional collapse and recovery.

I hope the next book gets a good edit!

Recommended with caution.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Rambling, repetitive & boring

Any additional comments?

This is one of a handful of audio books, for which utterly fail to understand the positive reviews and feel compelled to proffer an alternative viewpoint for some counterbalance.

The story begins by introducing the three main characters. Each of their stories move at a reasonable pace and help to raise a level of interest in their characters.

The story then seems to take an inordinate amount of time, detailing the spiralling depression of one of the protagonists. This continues through numerous chapters and is beyond tedious. The narrator almost sounds depressed reading it. The dialog between the characters is stilted and uninteresting and endlessly repetitive. The descriptions of their environment are littered with unnecessary & uninteresting detail that only serves to bring the narratives momentum to an almost complete halt.

I really tried to persevere to the end – but this is one of a small number of audiobooks that I had to just give up on – it was just draining.

I guess you could say this one wasn’t for me, but clearly many enjoyed it.

17 of 20 people found this review helpful