Audio Book Review: H.A.L.F. Origins

H.A.L.F. Origins

By:  Natalie Wright

Publish Date:  August 24, 2017, Audiobook Release November 21, 2017

Format:  Audiobook - 12 hrs 42 mins
Narrated By:  Dylan White

Genre:  Science Fiction

Series:  3rd in H.A.L.F. series; 1st Book ~ The Deep Beneath, 2nd Book ~ The Makers

Impression:  The informative conclusion to the H.A.L.F. series.

Synopsis:
A deadly alien virus spawns an epidemic. Predators attack Europe. And a clandestine organization conspires to profit from chaos and forge a New World Order.

In this heart-pounding finale of the award-winning H.A.L.F. series, Tex, Erika and the rest are in a race against time. They fought for their lives. Now they battle to save our species.

Tex and Erika are fugitives and running for their lives. But when Tex falls gravely ill, a Navajo healer is his only hope for survival. Tex emerges from the ordeal changed in body and mind and with vital information: how to stop the predatory M’Uktah from overtaking the human population and destroying those he has come to love.

Erika Holt seeks a respite from the constant threats to her life but she’s not about to give up. As she and Tex launch a mission to shut down the intra-galactic highway used by invaders who prey on humans, she grows closer to her troubled half-human companion. But what about her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Jack?

Jack Wilson, with his friend Anna Sturgis, is on a mission of his own. He’s determined to destroy The Makers, an illuminati-like organization behind the H.A.L.F. program. It’s time to put an end to their schemes for world domination. Complicating matters, an anti-viral that could save millions from an alien virus has been stolen. As both alien and human forces line up against them, the destiny of all mankind is hand the hands of these young warriors. And time is running out.

First Sentence:
Raindrops pelted the windshield of the rust-bucket truck Erika had borrowed from Ian's dad.

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My Thoughts and Summary:

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

We pick up where the second book, The Makers, ended with our characters. They are all still separate in a work of turmoil as a few major cities on Earth are attacked by a deadly alien. Erika, Jack, Ian, Tex, and Alecto learn what they must do to save the world.

Dylan voices the story with different feelings in his voice for the characters, even different tones for our characters. One thing that I struggled with though, the audio sounded as though there was an object that moved in front and away from the microphone, blocking it and sounding muffled from time to time. I always wonder if it's my iPod or if it's the actual audio when I hear these things. There is one small section that's repeated, missed in editing. But these are small if you are looking to listen to the ending of the series.

Everyone's in tough spots. They've all done things they aren't proud of, and still doing those things to survive. There are attacks in Europe - London and Paris - putting the area in darkness. The attack on Earth has started. The world feels to be falling apart and Tex, Erika, Jack, and others feel to be the glue to bring it all together and save the world.

We get a few POVs that tell us what is happening as information is gathered from different directions. We stay with our friends, all in different areas as they fight to survive. Erika, Jack, and Tex. We also get to see through William Croft's eyes. He's one of The Makers and has insight to what was created to save them when the attacks started. Ian wasn't as much a main character in this book as he was in the past. And we got a point of view for the captain of the M'Uktah who have invaded the Earth.

Our friends learn much about themselves as they age in feelings and mind through this book. They live through terrible tragedies and have to do things to survive they don't want to do, like kill. But through this they see things are changing, and so are they. They even find loves in their lives they never thought they'd find, and worry about what their dear friends would think.

The M'Uktah we see here learns much about his world and what was to happen to him based on those who were around him. I thought at the end that there's possibly more to the story with M'Uktah and on their world. But things care cleared up here on Earth for everyone.

We see Tex and our friends figure out what to do with the M'Uktah along with what happens to the The Makers organization that had plans in place for when the M'Uktah arrived. This was the reason all of this started, with Tex and Alecto, bring the story full circle for the reason Tex and Alecto and the underground city were created.

Tex grows as a person as well. He makes some huge discoveries but also learns what it's like to be a teenage boy in love. He has some huge decisions to make. Alecto struggles a little with not being commanded by Lillian Sturgis. Alecto feels she was created to take and follow commands, so this is something she needs to learn to work through, and become an individual.

The title of the book is true to the story. Origins. We learn where the human race along with others came from. This is a journey that Tex needs to make to figure out how to save the people he's come to care deeply about. In doing so, he learns of the origin of his people along with humans and other races in the universe. This is where the story stretched further than just aliens in science fiction fantasy.

There are lines in the story that feel as though they were lines the author wanted to use like others have. These lines are ones that feel to be said in about every other book. I would have loved these to be written differently. All I do and will do are for you, where one ended and the other began - in a love scene, emotions run high, they are a matched pair, she fits perfectly to him. Ugh. Put these in different words. It would have felt to have fit the writing style better for me if the author reworded these sayings.

These small sayings aside, the book came to a conclusion for the series. It all comes together as things tie up.



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