Jake Muller: Unidentified
Summary
Unidentified is an action-packed supernatural thriller audio drama by Darby Kern in the Jake Muller Adventures series. Security consultant and bodyguard Jake Muller find himself in the midst of a global conspiracy involving UFOs, misplaced teenagers, and cruel demonic forces.
Assessment
The Jake Muller Adventures: Unidentified has everything anyone could want in a Christian nod to X-Files. It is easy to listen to without being boring or mundane; there is plenty of action, witty jabs between the characters, and mystery to keep the listener engaged through the entire run of the story.
The characters are a little archetypal and the plot a bit tropey, but the overall quality of the production — in the sound effects, music, and voice acting — makes up for that immensely. In many ways, it is actually higher quality than most professional audiobooks available nowadays, especially the dramatized versions. The voice actors were all able to bring the characters to life in ways that felt very natural and realistic.
Light-o-Meter
Writing Style: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Plot: 4 out of 7 Little Lights
Worldbuilding: 4 out of 7 Little Lights
Characters: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Performance: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Theological Message: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Overall: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Talk
The most interesting part of this story is the fact that I wholeheartedly agree with its overall message, but do not at all agree with how it was presented. The message itself boils down to “don’t play with tarot cards and ouija boards, it’ll invite demons into your life”, which I am 100% in support of. I strongly recommend any Christian involved with that crap to immediately remove it from their life. Even if you’re only fooling around with it “just for fun” or “it’s October, it’s the season for spooky” that is not the kind of fun we as Christians should be messing around with. God has good reasons when He says to avoid sorcery, magic, and fortune-telling; it invites confusion and evil into your life.
This being said, I was not fond of the way the story went about conveying this message. I felt it was a little too “everything inexplicable not expressly mentioned in the Bible is demons”, which I do disagree with. There is plenty of room for unexplained phenomena in the world to be natural (i.e. part of God’s creation) rather than the work of demonic forces. From a writing perspective, I felt like the story’s hardcore stance took a lot of the wind out of the mystery. The audience is quickly funneled into only one or two options of what was going on without a lot of room for them to come up with their own theories and ask questions, which is half the fun with these kinds of mysteries.
The story is, however, well-crafted and a ton of fun to listen to. The sound effects and music were spectacular, the voice acting was professional and sounded very natural to each situation. There were one or two areas where it was a little bit of a struggle to figure out what the characters were doing just based on sound effects alone, but overall, the story was smooth and cohesive. Additionally, this is a pretty family-friendly story! There’s enough action that I would say not for little kids, but anybody +7 should be able to enjoy it with no problems. Overall, I do think this is a really great story with a lot to offer. I’m looking forward to future Jake Muller adventures!
Wrap-up
Unidentified is the first of the action-packed audiodrama series, The Jake Muller Adventures by Darby Kern. This mystery-thriller is a Christian nod towards X-Files with a solid, cautionary message about playing with supernatural forces. With a cinema-quality soundtrack, special effects, and voice acting, this story takes its audience on an epic, high-flying adventure.
Where to Enjoy
The Jake Muller Adventures Store: Store | The Jake Muller Adventures
Also, check out more information on this series on their YouTube channel! Jake Muller Adventures - YouTube
This review is for this specific product and this product alone. In no way, shape, or form is this review meant to be an endorsement of the private lives, individual choices, lifestyles, or behaviors of those company(ies), publisher(s), creator(s), producer(s), author(s), artist(s), etc. associated with this product. It is God's sole providence alone to judge, and we make no claim to this right. With our reviews, we're simply looking at the value and merits of this specific product alone through the content and perspective of a Christian worldview. We pray you find it helpful and useful.
