What if scientists almost destroyed the world... by bringing in magic?

I just finished reading Colliders a Sci-fi book written by BooksGoSocial Audio. I read the AudioBook published by Steve Foley. NetGalley gave me a copy of this book. I listened to this book on NetGalley. It is Book One of a series.

This book is a must read if you like: apocalypse, end of the world, and multiple points of view.

Scientists have pulled the world to the brink of a ""New Era"", which threatens to end everything we know. Follow a team of people as they navigate what could be the end of the world.

This is very stereotypical scifi. There are elements of fantasy, but the overall feel is a first contact or end of humanity scifi.

Overall I thought the book was well structured and well written. The perspective that it is written from (very tell, not show) is not my preference and that made it hard for me to get into. But that is the same reason I DNF Dune, so if that is what you like, it is probably a good thing.

I really liked the combination of scifi and fantasy. I felt it could have gone more into the fantasy, but that is my preferred genre.

I really loved the scenes of a particular scientist reaching out to the unknown instead of just destroying it. That is all I'm going to say.

I would have loved more descriptions of the villians point of view.

The narrator was great, but the editing made it difficult to tell where the chapters and points of view changed.

Overall, it wasn’t my cup of tea, but it was well done and I think I need to know what happens in book 2.

Content Warnings: Adult language, war violence.

Colliders by Steve Foley is such a great. The narrator, Hank M Stewart unique voice made it easy to distinguish between the characters and made the story engaging, moving it as a great pace and keeps the listener 100% engaged. Can’t wait to read/listen to more by this author.

Thank you, BooksGoSocial Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 5 stars
Pub Date: Oct 01 2024

Tags:
@ booksgosocialgroup
#Colliders
#HankMStewart
#YarisBookNook
#netgalley

Such an interesting summary:
Collider is a gripping tale of science and mysticism clashing on an epic scale, where the quest for knowledge becomes a fight for survival. Brace yourself for a journey through the looking glass of physics into a world where the past and the future collide, and reality is but a canvas waiting to be rewritten.

Colliders by Steve Foley is a Sci-Fi and Mystery story about a secret group of scientists that are part of the cabal and are experimenting on how to breach the boundaries between worlds. On the other side, some scientists think they are not placing enough security precautions in place and are working to stop them from going too far.

The plot was interesting and flowed well from the beginning to the end. The characters were well developed, and I liked that we got some back story on them as well, which helped me to connect to them more. However, with the audiobook, moving into different chapters was not clearly defined, and it took a bit to figure out which character's point of view we were listening to. The atmosphere was great, you could feel the tension and the urgency that the characters are feeling. The writing style was fairly easy to read, and I was intrigued to find out what was going to happen next.

I thought it was entertaining and read it from start to finish in one day.

Colliders by Steve Foley (Audiobook) Narrated by Hank M. Stewart

Author Steve Foley takes readers on a perilous journey through a futuristic world. Innovative technology known as a collider provides a portal into the existence of beings from the nether realm. Although this breakthrough is cause for excitement, Dr. Evelyn Shaw sees the downsides to such a discovery. In sharp contrast with society's constant desire for advancement, unleashing monstosities upon humanity may not be in the best interest. At the head of the project, Dr. Weiss has iniquitous plans for these creatures, causing a rift amongst the scientists involved in the project. A group simply known as the cabal orchestrates a master plan to seize control of the world, one nation at a time. The gateway to mayhem has begun; the only question now is, can the patriots, in pursuit of justice, turn the tides in a battle against these evil creatures?

There is a fair amount of backstory about the individual participants' lives and their disdain for the cabal. Their connection has a common goal: to seek out and destroy those at the helm. For some reason, I could not shake a feeling of a modern-day scientific A-team vibe. Scientists, journalists, and military combatants coming together as one.

The story reads like a Zack Snyder film, with CGI animation floating through the earwaves. The last third of the book passed with a frenetic pace. Laser rifles fired into the limbs of horrific anomalies as brave soldiers began taking the brunt of the punishment doled out. Mankind is thrust into the abyss, a sinkhole of eyes and jaws looking to devour every part of human existence.

I hit play on my app, and I was presented with a new experience. The voice. The monotone and gravelly voice of Hank M. Stewart, who narrates, echoes in your ears like your favorite Dodge Ram commercial. I ducked and rolled through this action-packed novel and was often distracted by the narration, causing me to pause several times. There is a uniqueness to the voice inflection that shines in small spots, such as the promotion of a product, but here in the long form, it grates upon the listener's mind. Detracting from the story at hand.

Meh! That is my thought. It was average. The cover art boasts something fantastical, and yet the book itself left much to be desired in the way of creativity. That isn’t to say there isn’t a good time to be had here. Readers who enjoy the free-flowing ways of an over-the-top, action-packed film may find happiness within this world. The narration did not do this story justice. The voice did not meet the same excitement levels warranted in such an offering. I am giving this 2.25 stars out of 5 stars and rounding down to 2 stars.

Many thanks to BooksGoSocial Audio through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.

A forbidden experiment has taken place at the Hadron Collider which will allow the boundary between worlds to open allowing anomalies to enter. Dr Evelyn Shaw and Marcus Flynn will work to stop this. The cabal wants these celestial beings to arrive.

Well written and well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Good characters in this very fast paced, action packed n9vel. The world is in danger so the military and scientists must work together to stave the world, enjoy.

2.5⭐ rounded up to 3⭐
This just wasn't doing much for me. It was just okay. It wasn't terrible, but at times I really struggled to stay engaged with the story. I liked the overall idea, but the delivery was lacking for me. Narrator Hank M Stewart came off super monotone to me and that didn't do the story any favors. Felt like there were some things that were emphasized and yet still needed a little more explanation. Maybe if this was your first ever sci-fi you might enjoy it but otherwise probably a skip for most seasoned sci-fi fans.

Thank you BooksGoSocial Audio via Netgalley for this ALC. All opinions are my own.

There’s always the fear that, in pushing the limits of science, we might unintentionally rewrite the course of humanity—or worse, unleash something beyond our understanding. Colliders taps into that fear, blending high-stakes science fiction, cosmic horror, and government conspiracy into an ambitious, adrenaline-fueled narrative.

When a forbidden experiment at the Large Hadron Collider tears a hole in reality, it exposes our world to ancient, powerful entities. While some rush to contain the threat, others—the secretive Cabal—seek to wield it for their own dark purposes. At the center of it all, a group of unlikely heroes—a physicist, a journalist, a soldier, and a hacker—must come together to stop the collapse of reality itself. There is intrigue to the very end, and ends in a cliffy of sorts but still gives you the feeling the story was complete.

The Pros:
-Enjoyable audiobook narration for the most part.
-Intriguing premise. The blend of science and mysticism is fascinating, and the idea of playing with the unknown at a quantum level is both exciting and terrifying.
-Should definitely be adapted and more suited to the screen. With global stakes, action-packed moments, and shadowy organizations, Colliders would work great as a high-budget sci-fi thriller movie.

Missed Opportunities:
-Audiobook misses: I wish there was variation of accents and inflection. The voice performances really do add depth to the characters which would have keep the tension alive.
- I feel the concept of the The Cabal is a little too obvious or predictable. The name of the organization itself lacks subtlety and could have been developed with more nuance. More creative.
-Character development is lacking. The protagonists are interesting, with a eclectic background for each, but they don’t grow much, which makes it harder to get fully invested in their individual stories. It was a lot of telling and not showing, so you couldn't really connect with them and feel the plight they found themselves in. A great developmental editor can expand this and enhance the depth.
-Missed emotional depth. There are hints of romance, but nothing substantial—if explored further, it could have added an extra layer of tension and stakes.


Final Thoughts:
Colliders has all the right ingredients—cosmic horror, high-stakes science, and a battle between those who want to control the unknown and those trying to save the world. But while the concept is thrilling, some of the execution falls flat. If you enjoy sci-fi thrillers with conspiracy elements, it’s still worth a read (or listen), especially in audiobook format. But if you’re looking for deep character growth and complex villains, you might find yourself wanting more.

3/5 Stars

Narrated by Hank M Stewart
Presented by BooksGoSocial Audio

Could not get past the awful narration.

Maybe the story was okay, but the narrator absolutely destroyed it.

The plot is basically about how some crazy scientists opened a rip into another dimension using the Large Hadron Collider. So a bunch of monsters escape and there's some secret spy stuff and honestly I can't say I paid much more attention than that.

I think it might have been an interesting story, but it seemed very basic and the narrator just had zero time for it. He spoke in a monotone, and even at 1.75x speed he was slow and pausing too much. But then he'd jump immediately into a separate storyline without a breath and I'd get whiplash trying to work out what character we were now following.

So unfortunately this was an ultimately painful experience, and I'll be going out of my way to avoid this narrator in the future. He honestly sounded like he was just there for a paycheck - no feeling or emotion to the story, all the characters sounded the same, and he mispronounced some very basic words. UGH.

Aside from the narration, it's kind of a meh story, with a bunch of different scientists talking about the same science and then monsters. I honestly stopped really paying attention because it was all so dull.

I think if you have the opportunity to read rather than listen, then don't take my word for it. My experience was absolutely coloured by the narration so on paper this may be a better story. But if you're after a fun sci-fi romp this is probably not the one you want.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

The audiobook was one of the first I have listened to by Steve Foley and it didn't disappoint. Well paced , and a really great narrator made it easy to follow the 'bad scientist' storyline and also made me ask a million questions in my head. Not my usual genre but I really enjoyed all the characters especially Zara the hacker who joins the team. It kept me listening on and definitely would be interested in hearing more.

I really wanted to like this book more. It’s about scientists and hackers, some good and some evil, and a threat to our world as we know it. Yet.
As a result of some experiments conducted using a large Haldron collider, a rift opens and a large, clawed appendage reaches through. What do the “good” American scientists do with this First Contact opportunity? Burn it to a crisp. The “bad” scientists are in a secret group actually called The Cabal (I listened to the audiobook, so it may be spelled differently but that’s what I heard). A little “on the nose” for evil group names. They believe they can control the rift opening and whatever lies on the other side to rule the world. Some seemingly obligatory hints at romance but nothing pursued or resolved. The author obviously did a lot of work building interesting characters, but there was little to no growth.
Here’s what did work for me: good narration, an inter-generational and multicultural cast, and scenes of the global Cabal movement gaining ground around the world. Now that I think of it, perhaps this would be better as a movie.
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for access to the audiobook of #Colliders for review purposes. The book is currently available.

I would like to say thank you to NeyGalley for this audiobook that was given to me for an honest review.


The narration was extremely good, I thought the narrator fit the story with all the characters and how he betrayed them. His pacing was very spot on, and the emotions that were needed for each character was spoken very well. The story that Steve Foley created, was exciting and kept me wanting to listen hour after hour to find out what was going to happen next. I loved how the story went into detail about different dimensions, and all the creatures that invaded the world due to scientists that were on the brink of finding new evidence of possible other life forms that existed out in the universe. This story will stick with me for some time thinking about what if this could really happen?

This was such an interesting read. It definitely makes you question the different things that our scientists are doing. I loved how action packed and suspenseful this book was. This was a book that makes you think as well as also just enjoy the story. I would definitely be interested in a book two.