In the Wreckage by Hailey Turner

Narrated by Greg Boudreaux

I know what you’re thinking. “Huh? A military-themed, dystopian sci-fi novel about humans with superpowers set 250 years in the future? That’s not Caz’s normal cup of tea is it?” Well… no. And yes. I like sci-fi in movies and on TV, although I don’t read (or listen to) much of it; but I picked up In the Wreckage mostly because I’m on a narrator glom – and because I’m on a bit of a m/m military romance/romantic suspense kick, so this sounded like a good fit.

Set around 250 years in the future, In the Wreckage is the first book in the Metahuman Files, and plunges listeners straight in to the thick of things, introducing the central characters and the concept of metahumans in the course of an action-packed battle scene. In this version of the future, a deadly chemical agent called Splice – which kills 95% of the people it infects – has led to the creation of a small number of metahumans (the other 5%), changing their DNA and giving them enhanced powers. When recon marine captain Jamie Callahan was exposed to it three years earlier, almost his entire unit was wiped out, leaving him one of only five survivors; and now he leads the Alpha Team of the MDF (Metahuman Defense Force), the deadliest, most badass (and most efficient) team on the force. The powers exhibited by metahumans are diverse; telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, precognition and teleportation to name just a few, but they’re random and it’s impossible to tell what powers someone will have until after infection. Jamie – whose enhanced power is incredible physical strength and endurance – chose to continue to serve after he became a metahuman, in spite of the disapproval of his wealthy and influential family. His father is a powerful senator with presidential ambitions who wants Jamie to quit the MDF and be part of his campaign, but Jamie isn’t interested. He is dedicated to serving his country and his team is his family – and he’s not going to abandon them.

A particularly fraught meeting with his father is what sends a furious Jamie to a civilian bar looking to drink himself into oblivion – which, given his metahuman metabolism, will take a helluva lot of booze. He’s not been there long when an attractive guy slides onto the bar stool next to him and, in spite of Jamie’s insistence that he’s not interested, propositions him. Jamie doesn’t resist for long, and soon the pair of them head off to a fancy hotel to burn up the sheets. (And I MEAN burn!!) The next morning, they both find themselves strangely reluctant to say goodbye, recognising that there’s a connection between them they’ve never felt with anyone else. Still, Jamie has to get back to his unit and Kyle says he has somewhere to be, so they part, not expecting to see each other again.

But. This is a romance novel (of sorts) so we know that’s not going to be the case. No prizes for working out who the newest member of Alpha Team is. Kyle Brannigan and his adoptive brother, Alexei Dvorkin are seconded to the MDF from an elite (but ‘normal’) special forces unit because Team Alpha is below strength and in need of a sniper (or two). Jamie has always made it a rule never to mix work and pleasure and now he finds himself staring into the face of the man whose brains he’d more than happily fucked out the night before. And that’s not the only surprise in store, both for Jamie and for his team.

In the Wreckage is a fast-paced story, in which the suspense plotline concerns the hunt for a terrorist group intent on creating metahumans of their own and on shutting down any scientists attempting to create a vaccine against Splice. The world-building is strong, and the action sequences are gripping and well-written. Ms. Turner writes the relationships and camaraderie between the members of Alpha Team extremely well and has firmly established the complicated family dynamic between Jamie and his father, which I’m sure is going to come into play more as the series progresses.

I was less enamoured with the relationship between Jamie and Kyle, which is pretty much based on sex, and I didn’t feel there was much of an emotional connection between them. At first, Jamie is reluctant to pick up where he and Kyle left off, due to the non-fraternization policy in the MDF, but when a mission goes pear-shaped a few days later, he does a complete 180 and goes all jealous-alpha on Kyle when he goes out looking for some alternative action after Jamie continues to tell him no. And after this, when both Jamie and Kyle realise there’s no going back, Jamie just shrugs off his “we can’t be together because I’m your CO” thing and instead decides “there aren’t many metahumans and the MDF needs me so let’s go for it”. Jamie and Kyle have great chemistry, but while the sex is undeniably hot (and kinky and dirty), there is (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) too much of it. The sex scenes are long and drawn out, and quite honestly, I’d have been perfectly happy had they been half the length. Or less. Of course, they’re longer in audio than in print, and (also of course) Mr. Boudreaux does a spectacular job with them – he knows how to get into the swing of things without going over the top – but it was only because I love his voice that I stuck with them and didn’t fast-forward when I started to think “okay, can we move on with the actual plot now?”

Greg Boudreaux is a superb vocal actor and … I’m running out of ways to describe just how damn good he is. All the characters – and there are a lot of speaking roles – are expertly differentiated, and he manages to give every single one their own, distinctive voice by employing a wide variety of tones, timbres, accents and pitches. But he does more than that, imbuing each of the major cast members with their own distinct personality as well as a distinctive sound, and it’s his ability to do that that sets him apart from so many of the other narrators out there. The action scenes are perfectly paced and injected with just the right amount of tension and the sex scenes are performed with the sort of confidence and conviction that are essential if the listener is to find them believable. In short, he acts the crap outta this book, as he does with every book he narrates.

In the Wreckage is an entertaining, suspenseful and very steamy listen, and in spite of my reservations over the nature of the central relationship, I enjoyed it. Given this is book one of a five-book series, I’m sure there is room for romantic development in future instalments; plus I’m sufficiently intrigued by the potential storylines, and invested in the characters and their relationships to want to continue with the series. So far, this is the only title in the Metahuman Files available in audio, but I hope the rest will follow in due course.

Caz