The Secret World Chronicle, Book One: Invasion
Mercedes Lackey and Steve Libby present The Secret World Chronicle, Book One: Invasion:
Emerging mysteriously during World War II, metahumans became icons of the best – and worst – humanity had to offer. Yet sixty years later, the world still suffers from war, greed and madness. Worse, man’s nadir of systematic cruelty returns with bizarre new weapons. The metahumans of Earth must find a way to defeat this powerful foe and discover what lurks behind the scenes – a secret world hidden from our own. Mercedes Lackey, one of fantasy’s most beloved voices, and new talent Steve Libbey bring you a podcast series that catapults the classic superhero into the 21st century.
Book One: Invasion starts the series off with a bang – a set of coordinated attacks by Nazi warriors in futuristic battle armor. We meet our cast of heroes in the midst of chaos: Belladonna Blue, a young azure-skinned healer; Victoria Victrix Nagy, a geomancer fighting panic attacks; Handsome Devil, whose luck is metahumanly good; Red Saviour, strident leader of an anachronistic Soviet team; Red Djinni, the shapeshifting criminal; and John Murdock, a fugitive super-soldier. Watching over them all is the Seraphym, descended from the Infinite to protect humanity.
As the heroes fend off the blitzkrieg attack, they are left wondering what secrets have erupted from this hidden world, and whether, once unleashed, they can be contained. For there are clues that all is not what it seems…
November 11th, 2007 at 3:47 am
Great stuff, Steve and Mercedes! I have always been a fan of the silver-age superhero genre and this series is a great example of it. It is masterfully written and avoids the normal cliches that one might associate with the genre. I can’t wait to get through the first book so I can move on to the next – keep them coming!
November 12th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
This is the first time I’ve heard of Steve or Merecedes and there superhero trilogy. It’s fantastic, the characters are incredibly interesting, wrought with conflict and emotion. The story is fast paced, complex, and woven tightly together. The narration in the audio format is some of the best I’ve listened to.
I can’t wait to start on the second book in the series.
November 16th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Really enjoyed the story(s). I like the idea of taking comic book heroes and developing a solid narrative.
November 25th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Super fun comic book action, all the characters were compelling, the story was really, really big and it was filled with lots of great characters. Handsome Devil is, by far, one of my favorite Podiobook characters ever, one of the biggest laughs I’ve gotten this year was the bank scene and every scene afterwards. Great stuff, truly great stuff.
December 4th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
I absolutely LOVE this podiobook. The audio has a little static at times and there are a few places where the listener can tell the story was spliced due to repeated lines. But the story is just great. Handsome Devil is my favorite along with Mountain. I recommend this story to everyone interested in sci-fi or just a little action, or even good characterization.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:24 am
Okay, I’m having a LOT of fun listening to this book, far more than I would have thought. I don’t typically go in for the super-hero genre, but I like a well written story and “The Secret World Chronicle” is very well written. While there is some language, it is tolerable (certainly nothing along the lines of what some authors put out there and mistakenly think it is good writing).
Part of what makes this so good is that a single event is seen from several different perspectives. Each character brings a different level of depth to the story, based on their own personal histories, some of which are conveyed and others not. This just adds to the mystery that is the story.
This is some great entertainment. There are a couple of issues with the narration, but they can be quickly overlooked. I especially liked that most of the podcasts lasted for over an hour and the last couple were even two hours in length. Since I listen to these at work, I found myself really looking forward to getting there to just to find out what happened next. I’m looking forward to more of the same in Book Two. Keep up the good work Mercedes and Steve!
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:44 am
A good superhero story is always a thrill, and this is a sterling example of the genre. A colorful, eclectic array of characters, each with a unique story to tell, all at core human, with the flaws and blessings that go along with that. Really strong writing.
September 20th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I thought this type of story was called fantasy? How about something new and original for a change…not a lot of fantasy here. I have heard this story before 1000 times over. And the Nazis !! my god! when will you ever get over that boring old crap. It has been done to death. Books are hardly any fun any more. Always the same plot and story. Always happy endings. All the characters are boringly artificial shallow. Super heroes doesn’t always have to be one dimensional you know. And every story must not follow the “rules” of “How to write a book”…cos you see that has been done….millions of times already.
so despite finding it nice that people read their stories for us and put them up for free (thank you), I still think “podiobooks.com” (PB from now on) should try to raise the threshold for putting up a book or not. Maybe work more with the authors to develop the stories a little more like they do in the paper book world maybe.
That would be a good thing for PB, the authors and the readers.
I mean why shouldn’t the free audiobook world be about quality just as much as any other literary output.
Cos this is simply just good enough to waist time on. Especially not when there is SO much quality stuff to fill ones life with…..
Sorry about that…just my opinion.
POS
November 18th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
I know it is horribly old-fashioned of me, but I really do expect a book to tell a story from a start to a finish. It is permissible to sprinkle in hooks for sequels, of course. But this work does little but introduce a cast of characters. Interesting and complex characters, with problems and depth; not shallow cardboard cut-outs — but if I want to read a story that goes on and on and on and on without pause from book to book, I’d go to Robert Jordan. I will listen to the second installment in the series, but I feel cheated when I’m given something called “a book” and I find that it is just the introductory chapters of the complete work.