Audiobook: Monsters in the Clouds by Russell James (Narrated by Chris Bellinger)

I started listening to this and quickly realized it was actually book 2, with Cavern of the Damned being book 1, so I went and read the first book and then dived into this one. While this can be read as a stand-alone, I do think reading book 1 first is best as it introduces our MC, Paleontologist Grant Coleman.

This one sees Grant being recruited to travel deep into the jungle, in a place rumored to be untouched by any human. A chance photo captures a creature long thought extinct. After the events in the cavern, he is a little wary of going, but this is too good to miss. I mean, what could go wrong??

The plot of this was such fun to read! It had all the requirements for a great creature feature book. Remote, jungle setting… check, plenty of man-eating animals… check, cannon fodder characters… check. What more could you ask for? The pacing too was fast paced and intense. You are brought into the action right from the start and it never lets up!! I will say that the plot is very thin, but that didn’t bother me at all. A book like this is read for pure entertainment factor in my opinion!!

I loved Grant. He just wants to make a name for himself and thinks this will be it for him. He is a paleontologist and gets so giddy every time he finds something new. It was awesome. He is snarky too, which added a little laugh every so often. The rest of the characters are just there, they aren’t the most fleshed out characters, but they don’t need to be.

In all, this hit all the right notes for me. It was fast-paced, entertaining and a blast to read. I’m really looking forward to more from Grant, especially after that ending!!

This is the first book I’ve listened to narrated by Chris Bellinger and I enjoyed his narration for the most part. He was clear and easy to listen to and did have a good few tones and voices for the different characters, I was able to follow who was talking, I just felt like he read the book and didn’t perform it. The right inflection at the right time can make a book, and Chris Bellinger didn’t emphasize the atmosphere. There was also a few mistakes throughout, once the narrator cleared his throat and repeated himself, other times you can tell when he left off recording and came back to it. Overall though, an enjoyable listen.