Landfall

I won't lie. I got this series because of [a:Chris Patton 1381825 Chris Patton https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1297104882p2/1381825.jpg]. He can read me anything. Also these come in easy to “digest” installments and it was no hardship to have them as my commute listen. The story, about a young man who is a merman but doesn't know it, had an almost innocence about it, with an action and adventure plot that brought to mind those 40's & 50's radio serials. There's a quite a bit of recapping at the beginning of each installment and perhaps unnecessary repetition as to who each character is but CP can painlessly get you through anything. Gabriel has always had a love and affinity for the ocean, but when his parents die during a storm at sea when he was 10 years-old he retreats from the water due to guilt and fear. Years later, as a college-age young man he returns to visit his grandmother at her sea-side cottage. He meets a mysterious stranger, Casillus Nerion, a member of an ancient race of Mermen who have apparently been visiting human settlements from time immemorial, to the point that they've paired up with humans and had children with them. Gabriel is the descendant of one such line but doesn't know it and has a bit of hard time accepting it. To complete the time sensitive transformation he must enter the water but since the death of his parents he's shunned and feared the water. Logical. In due time and coaxed in no small measure by his attraction to Casillus, Gabriel begins to accept his merman status though this means having to say a temporary goodbye to his land-living, human family and friends. Another spanner in the Gabriel/Casillus HEA under the sea is the discovery of a temple to a VERY OTHER god, for whom Gabriel happens to be a “caller”. This God has unfathomable powers of destruction and has become a fixation for Johnson, an Indiana Jones type explorer, who'll do anything to destroy said God. To wit he kidnaps Gabriel to use him and ... I'll say no more. If you can do this in audio I'd fully recommend it as a fun way to fill a few hours. Action, adventure, end-of-world crisis, some romance, nice world building, fun & sweet characters and EXCELLENT narration. What's not to like?