REVIEW: Virgins by Diana Gabaldon

Title: Virgins (Outlander #0.5)
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Narrator: Allan Scott-Douglas
Publisher: Recorded Books
Publication Date: April 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Mourning the death of his father and gravely injured at the hands of the English, Jamie Fraser finds himself running with a band of mercenaries in the French countryside, where he reconnects with his old friend, Ian Murray. Both are nursing wounds, both have good reason to stay out of Scotland, and both are still virgins despite several opportunities to remedy that deplorable situation with ladies of easy virtue.

But Jamie's love life becomes infinitely more complicated - and dangerous - when fate brings the young men into the service of Dr. Hasdi, a Jewish gentleman who hires them to escort two priceless treasures to Paris. One is an old Torah; the other is the doctor's beautiful daughter, Rebekah, destined for an arranged marriage. Both Jamie and Ian are instantly drawn to the bride-to-be - but they might be more cautious if they had any idea who they're truly dealing with.

My Thoughts: I was already a fan of this series but was happy to see this short story that features Jamie and Ian long before Claire arrives on the scene. They are in France serving as soldiers for a mercenary group tasked with delivering a woman to Paris for an arranged marriage. As a fan of this series would expect, where Jamie Fraser is concerned, things usually do not go according to plan and Jamie’s ability to improvise and his talent for quick thinking serve him well in this story too.

This story also highlights the events surrounding the death of Jamie’s father and Jamie’s cruel treatment at the hands of Black Jack Randall, which reminded me all over again how much I loathe that man.

This story contains hard to witness scenes that this author illustrates brilliantly as well as the tongue in cheek humor displayed throughout this series. The narration was expertly performed by Allan Scott-Douglas with the beautiful brogue as well as accurate pronunciations of Gaelic words and phrases that I would absolutely butcher were I to say them.

My Final Verdict: This story is a prequel to the events of the rest of the series and is not required to enjoy the series, but fans of the series will still enjoy the reunion of Jamie and his dear friend, Ian and the adventure they find themselves on.

REVIEW: The Passengers by John Marrs

Title: The Passengers (Dark Future #2)
Author: John Marrs
Narrator: Clare Corbett, Roy McMillan, Tom Bateman, Shaheen Khan, Kristin Atherton, Patience Tomlinson
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Publication Date: August 2019
Genre: Thriller
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: You're riding in your self-driving car when suddenly the doors lock, the route changes and you have lost all control. Then, a mysterious voice tells you, "You are going to die."

Just as self-driving cars become the trusted, safer norm, eight people find themselves in this terrifying situation, including a faded TV star, a pregnant young woman, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife, and a suicidal man.

From cameras hidden in their cars, their panic is broadcast to millions of people around the world. But the public will show their true colors when they are asked, "Which of these people should we save?...And who should we kill first?"

My Thoughts: Well, thank you John Marrs. Reading this book has clinched it for me. I will not be utilizing driverless vehicles now or in the future. This story was terrifying and riveting and also accurately describes the mindset of society in that we are glued to our electronic devices watching this horrific scene play out, being pulled in and unable to look away.

I honestly don’t know what disturbed me more…that eight vehicles could be hacked and the passengers inside are helpless to save themselves from certain death. Or…the government uses our personal information stored all over the cyber world to decide who is more valuable and worth saving should we find ourselves in a life threatening vehicle accident. Eight people all from different backgrounds, educations and lifestyles all make the decision to get into a driverless car one morning only to find their futures are now in the hands of a faceless voice telling them that they will be likely be dead in two and a half hours. I could only imagine the horror the passengers felt when they realized that they had no control over the vehicle, their phones did not work so they couldn’t call for help and the windows of the vehicles became opaque so people outside the car couldn’t see inside the vehicles.

John Marrs sets up this story brilliantly and expertly weaves a tale that draws in the reader as assuredly as the general public watching these events play out on social media. I couldn’t look away and as horrifying as the events are that play out, I had to know more. Who is behind this? Why are they doing this? Who will survive? The hacker is a master of manipulation and before I knew it, I started forming judgments and opinions on the passengers with the information I was being fed just like the characters in this story. This is fiction, right?

The story stands brilliantly on its own but I added audio narration and it only enhanced my enjoyment of the story. Six narrators expertly performing these characters added more depth and emotion to the story, which is amazing because when something is already fantastic, there isn’t much one can do to make it better. In addition, once the horror of the driverless cars is over, the story doesn’t end there. Finding out who is behind it all and why practically knocked me over with shock and surprise. I certainly hope this author gets plenty of quality sleep at night because he definitely needs it to keep his brain active with such riveting, intriguing and exciting stories.

My Final Verdict: I have to read everything this author writes. You should too. I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy twisty and suspenseful thrillers. The kinds of stories that you don’t want to put down, the kinds of stories that knock you off your feet in shock and surprise. The kinds of stories that will leave you breathless in anticipation of what is coming up on the next page.