Nephilim War

Shadows within the Empire, Book 1

By: John Maldonado

Narrated by: Erin Miller

An ancient alien race from humanity’s past has awakened after thousands of years. Their true name has been forgotten, but at this moment in time, they are known as the Fallen. And they have decided humanity’s fate. Extermination.

Imperial Death Dealer Ethan Wolfe has been dispatched to kill a terrorist at the edge of the galaxy. It was a simple mission until the Emperor and his Lord Commander outlawed and condemned him to death, without any reason.

But as he goes on the run, with Hope Adair, a former smuggler, Ethan learns that his dead father was not an archaeologist but an agent of the Empire with a terrible secret. And that secret will lead him on a quest to find an ex-Imperial soldier and a being called the Guardian. Little does he know that he has a big role to play in the coming Great War with the Fallen.

Meanwhile, Lord Jonas Ares, hero of the Machine War and Lord Commander, has been aware of the Fallen for some time but before he can engage them. He must root out the human traitors. As he mobilizes his entire war machine, he realizes that the infiltration of these traitors is deeper than he could ever have imagined. And the problem is that time is running out….

He is guided by an entity of light called Michael, and with his help the Lord Commander has the element of surprise. But not all things go according to plan.

In his obsession to find the human traitors working with the Fallen, he discovers that there is an ancient relic known as the Gateway that is about to be activated in a world known as Hades. And worse of all, it appears that the Church of the Crusaders is working with the Fallen.

It's up to Lord Ares to figure out how to deal with the Fallen and their human allies before it’s too late.

©2023 John Maldonado (P)2025 John Maldonado

It was a quality story.

It was a quality story. The characters felt a bit one dimensional. I think there was a lack of depth to every character, specifically Wolf. The narration was a bit over the top. It didn’t detract per se, it just felt hokey.

I would recommend the book though!

Fast paced, great narration

This book was a lot of fun. Started off with a bang and carried a solid middle until a good ending. Narrator does a fantastic of job of trying to give each character a different and unique voice.

When everyone is the enemy, fight harder

As a narrative-driven story about conflict and origins, this one provides adequate settings, characters, and action. The voice work is commendable, as are the motivations of various factions. The characters themselves are somewhat one-dimensional with dialogue providing mostly reaction to the scenes unfolding around them rather than contributing to the immersion. There is a fair amount of just-in-time background information offered up at key points. If you enjoy the fight-first and ask tough questions later style of conflict resolution, this might be the book for you. [disclosure: I received this title for free and listened at 2.3x]

Great Story lots of fun

Great Story, lots of fun, very very enjoyable. Narrator takes it to the next level bringing it above an audio book and just shy of the 8 episode Amazon Prime mini series to surly follow.

This story has depth!

This is a great all around sci-fi adventure with action and drama, even character development of both male and female characters.
Pros:
-I was impressed with the breadth of the narrators character voices 🎤 ranging from male, female, hardened soldier and government official and sex worker replicant.
-Happily surprised by only mild vulgarity for a military book. The closest thing was “what the frack” used by multiple people.
-Story developed throughout the book as battles and negotiations occurred
Other:
-There is a detailed torture scene or 2 with the protagonist delighting in the physical/mental suffering so be aware.
-Tons of inner dialogue, explaining, exposition versus happening in the book.
Overall this is a solid 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨