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Hell Divers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Synopsis:
“More than two centuries after World War III poisoned the planet, the final bastion of humanity lives on massive airships circling the globe in search of a habitable area to call home. Aging and outdated, most of the ships plummeted back to Earth long ago. The only thing keeping the two surviving lifeboats in the sky are Hell Divers – men and women who risk their lives by skydiving to the surface to scavenge for parts the ships desperately need.
When one of the remaining airships is damaged in an electrical storm, a Hell Diver team is deployed to a hostile zone called Hades. But there’s something down there far worse than the mutated creatures discovered on dives in the past – something that threatens the fragile future of humanity.” -Audible
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Opening thoughts:
I got this book recommendation from the owner of the podcast studio I’ve been hosting my podcast One Thousand Gurus. He mentioned this was one of his favorite sci-fi audiobook series, so I knew I had to check it out.
Key notes:
Chapter 1
- Xavier has done 90+ jumps, way beyond the 15 average expectancy for divers
- By the time he landed, he was the only person on the team who survived the dive
Chapter 2
- There were only two airships left and both were in terrible condition. Also, the cause of the missed electrical storm was a faulty sensor
- There were 500+ people counting on him to survive. He was now responsible for taking care of his best friend’s son since his death
- The floating ships were only supposed to last 10-20 years, but ended up being used for almost 250 years
- X completed his 96th jump by some miracle and barely escaped being eaten by monsters
Chapter 3
- They had the funeral for the 3 men who died, and also received a distress call from the other ship Aries, which was stranded in a red zone
Chapter 4
- X agreed to dive again to help out the other ship in their rescue mission
Chapter 5
- X tried to connect with Tin, but the boy wouldn’t talk to him
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
- X met his new team, and then met with the captain to tell the 3 team commanders the situation they’re going into
Chapter 8
- They told their teams to prep for a rescue mission
Chapter 9
- Aries’ ship failed and crashed into a skyscraper, killing everyone on board
Chapter 10
- Weaver saw in horror as Aries crashed, killing his family and everyone he knew
- The Hive was now in critical condition after being hit with a surprise electrical storm and now needed to dive into Hades itself to get the parts they needed
- Just like Aries, they were also desperate now
Chapter 11
- The plan was to send the Raptor team down to dive at a potentially safer location for what they needed
- If they failed, they’d send the remaining two teams into Hades
Chapter 12
- X wanted to spend time doing his best for Tin, as this may be his final night with him
- It hurt to allow himself to be vulnerable and sober, but he wanted to at least try and be present for this 10-year-old boy
- Weaver was determined to make it to Aries’ wreckage
Chapter 13
- Team Raptor jumped off the roof of the ship and managed to land safely
Chapter 14
- Weaver managed to recover the battery, supplies, and weapon of his fallen teammate, Sarah, which allowed him to keep going
- The storm was fast approaching the Hive
Chapter 15
- Raptor managed to get a couple of useful maps before returning to the ship. However, Sam died during the ascent from a Siren attack
Chapter 16
- He wanted to spend these last few hours with Tin, actually feeling happiness, and knowing he would gladly give his life for the boy, and trying to cherish this moment with him
Chapter 17
- He was happy that Tin came to see him off. For this dive, he felt calm, focused, and energized. More than any other dive before this
- Only 2/3 of the divers made it to the surface safely; the rest were killed by the electrical storms
Chapter 18
- Travis and his rebel men took hostages in the farm where Tin was and gave a list of demands to the captain that were impossible to deliver
Chapter 19
- Tin knew someone needed to fix the ship and was determined to do it himself, despite being a hostage
Chapter 20
- While the team was cornered by Sirens, Weaver came and warned them to take out their battery packs
- Above on the Hive, Captain Ash suited up to confront the terrorists herself with the fire team
- Tony stayed behind to hold off the Sirens as he suffered from a mortal wound
Chapter 21
- Tin got out of his restraints and made it into the service tunnel to try and fix the gas bladder himself to save the ship
- Weaver brought them to his makeshift shelter inside Aries and then agreed to take them to the building that might contain the parts they needed
Chapter 22
- He realized through Tin that vulnerability was worth it, even if it broke your heart when you lost them
- They started to walk Tin through the process of fixing the gas bladder
Chapter 23
- Tin managed to patch the leak and returned to the farm before passing out
Chapter 24
- Murph made it back miraculously after being hit by the snowstorm and saved the group from a Siren attack in the tunnels with a grenade he had saved
- Travis apologized to Tin before the militia came in and shot all 4 of the terrorists with arrows
Chapter 25
- Team Raptor explored the building they believed would have the supplies they needed
Chapter 26
- They managed to get the supplies to the crate and send it up, completing their mission. Murph’s sacrifice provided them with the opportunity to be successful
Chapter 27
- X stayed behind to fight off the flying sirens so the other 3 could escape up into the lightning storm
- Weaver, Magnolia, and Katrina miraculously made it through the storm and safely to the ship
Chapter 28
- X survived the fall because he was padded by the dead Siren that engulfed him
- X made it back to the sky and was happy that he saw The Hive had survived and received their supplies.
- He was grateful to Tin for helping him find courage again
Closing thoughts:
Absolutely loved this book. I’m glad that there weren’t any plot holes, and I generally liked most of the characters. I wish X could have made it back to the ship in the end, but knowing that this is a 8+ book series, I’m sure we’ll hear from him again.
Nutshell:
Xavier Rodriguez, The Hive’s most experienced diver, attempts a suicide mission to save the human race left floating on the last remaining airship.
Similar books:
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed by Sean Williams
- Star Wars: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn
- Armada by Ernest Cline
- Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
- Lock In by John Scalzi
- Artemis by Andy Weir
- Dune by Frank Herbert
Rating:
4/5
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