Overload Flux by Carol Van Natta – That’s What I’m Talking About…
Audiobook review: Overload Flux by Carol Van Natta
After years of waiting for the latest installment in the series and not daring to get excited over each rumor that it was coming out, this is truly the year and my own copy will be arriving shortly. I wanted to revisit the series and re-familiarize myself with the world, characters, and that grand scheme of a plot. Plus, I loved it so it was a pleasure to dive into the Central Galactic Concordance world of suspense and intrigue in the future among the stars along with the sensational narration work of Nicole Poole.
Overload Flux introduced its main characters over a grisly murder scene. Neither are exactly what they seem with their psychic abilities that must be hidden particularly Mairwen Morganthur’s. She can’t be discovered, but the longer she acts as the clever and tenacious Luka Foxe’s security, she is in danger of him figuring out her secrets long before he figures out who is behind the killing of his friends and what they knew that got them killed.
Luka’s minder talent is a wild thing that he can barely control, but he has to if he is to function and figure out the truth. With Mairwen at his back and helping him learn to control his psychic talent, even the dangers of a deadly conspiracy, won’t get him off the trail.
Slowly, the pair make discoveries about the case and about each other even as someone races to stop them from discovering the truth.
This couldn’t have been any more up my alley than it was. Psychic gifts, a futuristic setting, murder mysteries, actions and a slow burn romance. I was so into the story that I barely shut it off to go about my needed business.
Luka and Mairwen were amazing characters. He is vulnerable because his “minder gift” (the name the series gives psychic gifts) is messed up, but he is dedicated and intelligent. He’s focused, but also kind. He is struck by Mairwen from the beginning when others overlook her. Once he knows the truth, he is not intimidated and completely respects her along with desperately hoping he can find a way to keep her with him.
On the other side, Mairwen is keeping a dreadful secret. She is an augmented human with lethal abilities that are off the charts. She was taken and forced to become a secret government trained killer (or hunter as they are called). She got herself out of that by faking her death and taking on a new persona. She’s hidden in the background terrified to draw attention to herself making it harder for the government to track her down if they come looking. Luka is like a colorful and bright star in her life and she can’t resist him even though she fears he’ll find out about her. Protecting him as he does his work tracking down the truth becomes more than a duty to her. He’s showing her how to live and she never wants to lose him.
There were some wonderful action scenes and I loved those tight spots moments. There were some good twists. The futuristic setting and world were well drawn. All the elements of the book really worked for me and I love how it ended and the way the rest of the series seems to be laid out for the future stories.
As I said, Nicole Poole did the narration work and I loved her fabulous talent bringing not just the main characters to life, but giving the secondary characters their own sparkle so that I felt no disengagement from the story. Pacing, tone, emotions, accents, genders- all were amazing.
All in all, this was a sci-fi romance winner that I can whole-heartedly push at anyone who loves the space opera genre particularly if you like a mystery and intrigue tossed in for good measure.
My Ratings
Story: A
Narration: A+
Sophia Rose
About the Book:
Brilliant investigator Luka Foxe must act fast if he’s going to save the civilized planets of the Central Galactic Concordance. For as a pandemic sweeps across the galaxy, someone is stealing the vaccine. To make matters worse, Luka’s hidden mental talents are out of control, leaving him barely able to function in the midst of violence and a rising body count. The convoluted trail leads to a corrupt pharma industry and the possibility of an illegal, planet-sized laboratory. In the face of increasing threats, he must rely on an enigmatic, lethal woman who has secrets of her own.
Mairwen Morganthur hides extraordinary skills under the guise of a dull night-shift guard. The last thing she wants is to provide personal security for a nova-hot investigator, or to be plunged into a murky case involving sabotage, treachery, and the military covert operations division that would love to discover she’s still alive. Worse, she knows that two more deaths won’t bother their enemies one bit. Their only hope for survival is to share their darkest secrets. With everything in their universe at stake, can they learn to trust one another?
Author: Carol Van Natta
Narrator: Nicole Poole
Series: Central Galactic Concordance #1
Genre: Sci-Fi, Space Opera
Audiobook Release Date: August 24, 2018
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Length: 10 hours, 46 minutes
Source: Purchased
Audio Speed: 1.2x
