The Sojourn | Volume Three: Theirs Not To Reason Why | Contact, Wait Out | Beneath The Banner

Daniel Orrett · Larissa Thompson

Oct 2022 · The Sojourn Book 3 · Spacedock International · Narrated by Larissa Thompson, Emily Serdahl, Ben Prendergast, Full Cast, Jimmy Lockett, Laura Faye Smith, Lelia Symington, Martin Roach and Stephen Trafford

About this audiobook

The Avalon Expedition divided.

Despite the food, water, and other plentiful resources the Expedition has found in the mysterious nebula 3,000 light years from home, Vice Admiral Redfield’s military takeover has sowed distrust among the Expedition's captains. Captain Cassandra Farren and Director Elizabeth Ancelet find themselves in the Avalon’s brig and the crew of the Guinevere press-ganged into service aboard the CSV Shabayev, while the captured Inquisitor Vadric watches events unfold from within his cell.

Volume Three of this award-winning series confronts the ideas of leadership, cooperation, and prejudice the humans have brought with them to these unfamiliar stars, though they cannot remain hidden from the Advari for long.

Directed and produced with careful scientific consultation, The Sojourn captures every detail of life aboard ship, from the sounds of the smallest airlock seal to the largest space battle.

Featuring a full cast of veteran voice actors, backed up by high-quality sound effects and an epic original soundtrack, The Sojourn is a unique and striking audio experience.

Starring Larissa Thompson as Captain Cassandra Farren, Emily Serdahl as Director Elizabeth Ancelet, Laura Faye Smith as Tamara Melari, Ben Prendergast as Mathias Croft, Stephen Trafford as Inquisitor Castian Vadric, also featuring Matthew Kaufman as Lieutenant Commander Jasper Ravi, and Lelia Symington as Empress Valendra the Sixth. Written by Daniel Orrett, sound design and audio editing by Kennedy Phillips, music by Sam Redfern.

• Transcripts available here: https://www.thesojournaudiodrama.com/transcripts
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• Website: https://www.thesojournaudiodrama.com
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Ratings and reviews

The best and the worst of the sojourn until now. The slingshot in the 8th ep. is one of the best action scenes of the decade and ep.7 has a very nice character development, but they really drop the ball in ep.9: Several scenes don't make sense after all we learned about the characters. I won't complain about the space battle, but why were they fighting in the first place. The ship they were trying to protect was just not worth it. They are in an alien environment and for the coming attack they will need every warship that they can get hands on. Staying back and fighting for one ship was a waste of material. And the directors decision to bring a fleet with her when visiting the holdfast, was stupid. It's the kind of lazy thinking, that leads to tragedy in the real world: The assumption, that other people don't have any good reasons for their actions. I mean: the fate of humanity depends on retrieving the stolen item and keeping Intel on it was reasonable.

While the production and acting are extremely well done, the story leaves a lot to be desired. The main thing that has frustrated my enjoyment of the series has been the commander of the expedition. Despite what the story tries to tell you, she is not a good leader. As in my previous review, she is impulsive and takes risks she shouldn't as a commander. She is also giddy, which is not a trait you want in a leader. She has a grating personality that is rude for no reason and then flips back to trying to be polite. However, maybe there will be a saving grace now that the admiral is on board with her. He can reign in her impulsive behaviors and she can reign in his need for vengeance. The other issue I now seem to have is the inclusion of 2 homosexual relationships with no heterosexual relationships on the human side. Are they all like this? How is humanity reproducing if all of their relationships are homosexual? These are my thoughts on this series. Take them for what they are worth.

Fantastic conclusion to last volumes cliffhanger. Newer characters from last volume get a lot more depth, which was nice to see. As always the writing, acting, and soundtrack are on point. Specifically I thought Redfields entire suite was phenomenal, his tracks really stood out to me. Continues to be a great example of quality original sci Fi.