Classic adventure stories

These stories are sort of a cross between Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. They central character, Jade Ihara, is of course young and beautiful but also resourceful.
The stories all involve objects that have some 'magical' or mystical powers and Jade and her friend 'Professor' battle against other factions who either want the artefacts or want to destroy them.
Although the writing is exciting, I did feel the suspension of disbelief that is necessary for enjoying this type of tale was being stretched too far by the third book. It was just too far-fetched.
The performance is good with the characters being easy to distinguish and just enough excitement being injected into the narrator's voice to bring the story to life.

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There's more going on than anyone can think.

A three book omnibus of the Jade Ihara series, books 1 to 3: Oracle, Changeling and Exile. Each is fast and furious almost non stop action.
Oracle: A very intriguing opening to the book, with two conflicting reminiscences from one Gill Parez in 1593, each wondering what his life would have been like had he made a different choice about four years before, really excited this reader into thinking that this book would be something really special. And this feeling continued for another few chapters. before returning to a more conventional digging-into -the-past-for-lost-objects-of-power type of adventure book. It was an exciting read, absolutely packed with frenetic action, an Indiana Jones on steroids, and that was just the second protagonist!
The main story centres around Jade O'Hara, an archaeologist, whose main expertise is in pre-Columbian American cultures, hired to excavate a tunnel into the Pyramid of the Sun which had preceded the Aztecs, who took it over, by many hundreds of years. Almost nothing was known about the builders. With her was ex-SEAL, Peter 'Professor' Chapman (amongst others), a man she had known before and had hoped not to meet again since he had been a close friend of Jade's one time lover, Dane Maddock. The relationship had ended badly, for her, at least, and she still was filled with the what-ifs of their time together. This reader had not read any of the books in which they appeared together but this did not in any way affect the understanding of Oracle, although it explains the initial feeling of entering a series where other books have gone before.

One aspect which was very enjoyable, if sometimes difficult to understand, was a mix of the ancient cultures with very current scientific ideas of quantum mechanics and time itself, as explained by another of the team, Paul. It allowed for some very strange occurrences.

Changeling: Another very intriguing start to the second story in the Jade Ihara adventures; this one has Jade and Professor traveling around the world in search of the truth behind a theory advanced by an old enemy of Jade's, a man who was a leading light in the conspiracy theory concerning Phantom Time and aliens running the world. Sadly, there is very little archaeology to lighten the non stop action.
Although good fun, with a little enjoyable banter between the two main protagonists, for this reader they remain unsubstantial characters, perhaps proving part of the main concept after all.
For fast, ongoing action, this is a must read - aliens, religious terrorists, disappearing planes, a mysterious cave no one should enter...it has it all. But somehow it doesn't quite satisfy

Exile: 'You mean you've never seen Ben Hur?' For a fairly innocuous, if indestructible, archaeologist who rarely seems to get a chance to dig, Jade Ihara certainly gets herself, and her ex-SEAL companion, Professor, caught up murderous adventures and bizarre cults. This instalment finds her once more travelling the world in search of a relic, this one dating back to the time of Cassius and the Spartacus rebellion. Doesn't sound too intrepid but, along the way, she encounters, amongst other things, kidnap, human trafficking, Voodoo zombies, power crazies, lots of swimming, lots of tears and, of course, gunshots, gunshots everywhere. Lucky that she has Professor to protect her! It was positively exhausting just to read. One brief pause, in Rome, provides a quick glimpse at the marvels of the ancient buildings before she was on the run again.

Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer, the stories in the book swiftly move along, his easy to listen to voice moving in pace with the action with good intonation and articulation,. He breathes life into the characters as they hurtle from one danger to another, his differing accents for the various nationalities encountered nicely finessed. A good performance which kept me listening to the end.
My thanks to the rights holder of this omnibus edition of the Jade Ihara Adventures who, at my request, freely gifted me a complimentary copy, via Audiobook Boom.
Definitely a book for fans of non stop action. And it was enjoyable.
But if i were Jade, I'd try to hide away somewhere quiet for the next few years, pottering gently on a little dig somewhere non controversial.

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Jade Croft

It had highs and lows, but overall, a very good series. As others have mentioned, this is very Tomb Raider-esque/ Indiana Jones-ish. That's not a bad thing all either, it may just draw you in easier, being a fan of those. I recommend it. Great narration from Jeffrey too.

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Great adventure story full of action

i loved these books, I had a really good time listening to them. The stories were clever and links to the real world made them more realistic.

The narrator was excellent, the voices he used and drama he injected were perfect.

I would happily listen to more of these stories

This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

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Gripping mysteries

I loved listening to this omnibus edition. The stories were fascinating. Working out where truth ends & writers licence begins is always fun. Performed excellently as you would expect from Kafer, he kept me enthralled to the very last sound. You are in for some gripping mysteries if you pick up this set.

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Very enjoyable adventures...!

If you like the Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider type of genre, with a bit of Dan Brown mixed in, then this omnibus edition of The Jade Ihara Adventures is definitely for you.
Three separate stories (though there is a small element of continuation), following Jade and Professor as they race across the Globe, firstly in the Oracle - where she races to unlock the secret of mysterious orbs that allow a glimpse into the future. In Changeling, she faces a secret society that is hellbent on manufacturing their own version of history through very sinister means.
In Exile, a slave cult believe Jade is the incarnation of their goddess of Liberty, and it becomes a race against time for Jade to escape from their clutches and work out their true motives, and what they had planned for her.
Three different stories, all with edge of the seat action and adventure. The relationship between Jade and Professor is intriguing - and one that takes a deeper, meaningful direction as the omnibus progresses. It will be interesting to see where this goes in future instalments.
I'll definitely be on the lookout for more from this series and this author.
Very good, accomplished narration from Jeffrey Kafer.

I was given this copy for free, in return for an honest review.

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7 people found this helpful

I'm now in love with Jade

absolutely fantastic, I had to continue listening untill the end. I can't wait untill the next chapter.

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An enjoyable spin off series

This series of books was enjoyable, but each story got even more ridiculous than the last. I’m up for a fun adventure story but this did slip into the over the top category at times. If you enjoy the Dane Maddock series then you’ll probably want to spend the credit on enjoying more content from that world.

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