Review – Compensating Controls

Today I’m reviewing Compensating Controls by James Keeling.

Synopsis: Nicholas Edgwood rides a wave of good karma–a job he excels at, a new girlfriend, and a bright future. When he gets framed for a cyber-crime he did not commit, he must run for his life while his entire world crumbles around him.

Betrayal and murder replace peace and hope as he finds himself in unfamiliar territory. He may not be the biggest and baddest guy out there, but he has skills, the kind garnered from a career steeped in computers and code. Now he must leverage these skills to their fullest to stay above ground and breathing. It will take all of his talent, and courage he may not have, just to survive.

Production: Good audio quality. I don’t remember any glitches. Good use of music.

Grade: B

Cast: James does all of the voices for this production. This leads to him doing female voices as well as some accents. Interestingly enough I like his voice acting better than his straight narration.

Grade: B

Story: This is a solid techno-thriller. While you don’t have to be a geek to enjoy it, if you are one it won’t hurt. James handles the technical end of things well (since he is a geek after all). This seems like, and I believe is, a first novel. The writing could be stronger. There’s some unevenness in tone and occasional word choices that bugged me. The biggest example of the former is an interrogation scene that was more horror then thriller.

Grade: B

Verdict: This is an enjoyable podcast novel. I looked forward to each installment, even going so far as to bug James for the next one when I caught up to it. It’s wrapped up at his site and Podiobooks so you won’t have to wait as I did.

Grade: B

3 thoughts on “Review – Compensating Controls”

  1. Great review Scott! I enjoyed this one overall too. I believe it was James 1st podcasted novel. Think he has a great start!

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