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Into The Sounds

(Taine McKenna Adventures #2)

Lee Murray (Goodreads Author)

4.38 · Rating details · 81 ratings · 37 reviews

On leave, and out of his head with boredom, NZDF Sergeant Taine McKenna joins biologist Jules Asher, on a Conservation Department deer culling expedition to New Zealand’s southernmost national park, where soaring peaks give way to valleys gouged from clay and rock, and icy rivers bleed into watery canyons too deep to fathom. Despite covering an area the size of the Serenge ...more

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Kindle Edition, 235 pages

Published August 9th 2018 by Severed Press

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Sep 08, 2018 Empress Reece (Hooked on Books) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018-releases, survival, own-it, zzexp-2018-read, menagerie-and-mutants, horror

This is the second book in the Taine McKenna series. Taine accompanies Jules on an expedition to the Fiorland Sounds to help cull the deer. But that ends up being the least of their problems when they encounter dangerous poachers, an indigenous species and a murderous sea creature.

I enjoyed this book almost as much as the first book. My only hangup with this one, is that I thought it followed the outline of the first book way too closely. Yeah they were in a different location and yeah they hun ...more

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Aug 16, 2018 Sci-Fi & Scary rated it really liked it

Shelves: request-author, smallpress-severed

Into the Sounds was not planned, but it was apparently meant to be. So many people loved the characters and country we were introduced to in Lee Murray’s Into the Mist that we made a mighty noise and got the sequel we needed.

Murray knew what she was doing with Into the Sounds, and smartly avoided giving us a cookie cutter follow-up. Instead, we get a book that focuses on something a bit smaller, but equally important. Also, we get to experience a little bit more of New Zealand, which I loved. We Into the Sounds was not planned, but it was apparently meant to be. So many people loved the characters and country we were introduced to in Lee Murray’s Into the Mist that we made a mighty noise and got the sequel we needed.

Murray knew what she was doing with Into the Sounds, and smartly avoided giving us a cookie cutter follow-up. Instead, we get a book that focuses on something a bit smaller, but equally important. Also, we get to experience a little bit more of New Zealand, which I loved. We all know it’s a gorgeous place, but she brings it to life for us in a way a shot of Hobbits walking along a mountain top cannot.

Never fear, though, there is a very large creature in this creature feature. One of the things I like most about Murray’s writing wasn’t something I particularly expected to care for one way or the other. I like that her creatures are actually possible. They’re not aliens. They’re not engineered mutations gone wild, etc. They’re actually semi-believable, and that adds a nice element to the story.

The characters are lovely as always. I felt for Trigger and the situation he was in. Too often our wounded warriors get forgotten about or written as though they had adjusted fine and everything was good to go. This felt much more realistic. Jules and Taine were present, of course, but the love story is still not the most important thing. There were others you’ll recognize as well, but I’ll leave those for you to discover.

I feel like the author’s greatest strengths lie in her characters, and her ability to show us all the land she loves.

Into the Sounds was a lovely read that I finished over a couple of days. The only area I really wasn’t in love with was the fights. Some of them worked well, but others – particularly involving the creature – I just couldn’t ‘see’ the way I can see the rest of her writing. The pacing, dialogue, and action are all lovely. The story is an intriguing one. The bad guy was a very believable evil and I spent most of the book – as appropriate – hoping he would die a truly horrible death.
If you liked Into the Mist, you will not be disappointed with Into the Sounds.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author for review consideration. ...more

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Jun 27, 2019 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

From the very first page INTO THE SOUNDS is a thriller in the true sense where you just don't want to put the book down. This second Taine McKenna Adventure keeps all the best parts of the first while adding new dynamics and dangers. One thing I especially appreciated is how nothing, no plan, ever goes completely to order. Murray has a good handle on the randomness of life. This means that you can never predict exactly what's going to happen in the book and also adds a lot of realism to the situ ...more

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Aug 14, 2018 Dan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy, horror

Into the Sounds - Review

Continuing the story of Taine McKenna and Jules Asher which started with Into the Mist (winner of the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Novel, 2016), Lee Murray leaves the mist-shrouded Ureweras behind and drops us into one of New Zealand’s most remote and deceptively beautiful regions: Fiordland. Taking leave from the NZDF, McKenna accompanies Asher and a crew of scientists and hunters into the Fiordland Sounds on a Department of Conservation deer-culling mission. What sh Into the Sounds - Review

Continuing the story of Taine McKenna and Jules Asher which started with Into the Mist (winner of the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Novel, 2016), Lee Murray leaves the mist-shrouded Ureweras behind and drops us into one of New Zealand’s most remote and deceptively beautiful regions: Fiordland. Taking leave from the NZDF, McKenna accompanies Asher and a crew of scientists and hunters into the Fiordland Sounds on a Department of Conservation deer-culling mission. What should be a straightforward job rapidly slides into chaos as the team stumble across a high-tech poaching operation, a lost tribe, and larger, darker things lurking beneath the icy waters of the Sounds.

Into the Sounds is a worthy follow-up to Into the Mist, a non-stop adventure which threads together many overlapping aspects of New Zealand’s sometimes ugly history, with a solid dose of credible science fiction, and a critical touch of magic to hold it all together. New Zealand’s grand, sweeping landscapes take on an almost mystical quality as Murray takes us deeper into a part of the country often imagined but rarely explored.

While the bodycount starts racking up in the opening scene and doesn’t slow down, the full cast of characters are well-developed, and we feel for each of them as one disaster after another claims its victims, heroes and villains and strangers alike. The pacing is superb, the writing is clean and uncluttered, and I think this book makes an excellent addition to the series, and to the monster-hunter genre in general.

Readers who are new to the series can pick up Sounds and enjoy it without having read Mist. A third book, Into the Ashes, is slated for release next year from Severed Press, and I’m already looking forward to that.

Disclosure: Lee Murray and I are frequent collaborators, and I was offered a copy of Into the Sounds to read for review purposes. This review is my honest opinion of what is a fantastic, exciting read, and I highly recommend this series to fans of science fiction and monster fiction alike.

...more

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May 06, 2019 Laura Thomas rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, science-fiction

I’ve become really fond of Taine and his cohorts. They are double tough and do the dirty work. Taine is actually on a bit of a vacation when his special talents are called upon again. There’s no rest for the wicked and once again the wilderness isn’t the only thing he has to contend with. It’s what lurks out of sight and what’s in the water that could spell disaster.
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This second book was every bit as fun as the first one. Plenty of action, some hair raising encounters and I liked where the autho ...more

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Nov 30, 2018 Darren rated it it was amazing

I got this as a e book from tbc reviews on Facebook that I am a member of. I enjoyed reading it. It had a good story to it. It is book 2 of this series. I hope to read more books by this author.

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Apr 02, 2019 Priya rated it really liked it

The introduction to this series was so awesome that I had high expectations of the sequel.
And I wasn't disappointed.
Be it the aspects of Maori culture or the adventures of Taine, this one matched up very well.
The creature was eerie and the action was fast paced. ...more

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Dec 25, 2018 F.D. Gross rated it it was amazing

Shelves: tbc-reviews

You know when you watch a really good movie and then after, you keep thinking about it days later? That’s what this book, Into the Sounds by Lee Murray, has done to me. It was that good. And yes, it could be made into a movie.

The smell of gun barrel smoke. The ricochet of shrapnel and bullets. The taste of metal and grit. This book makes you feel alive. Murray knows how to drive all of the senses making this story one hell of a roller coaster ride of human emotion. Like a conglomeration of many ...more

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Sep 11, 2018 Piper Mejia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, horror, adventure

There are books for every mood and some books surprise you by being the exact book you need to read for the mood you are in. This is true for Into the Sounds by Lee Murray. Following in the traditional story arc of a ‘monster’ narrative, this book is carefully crafted to take advantage of the unique history of New Zealand, as well and playing strongly against the culture of its people. Despite having some characters bridging the gap from Into the Mist (Lee’s previous novel) it is by no means onl ...more

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Oct 19, 2018 Eileen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own

Taine McKenna does it again.
This time he rappels into the sounds in Fiordland NZ, on his next adventure. Actually, this one's not even work, he's having a little R&R, but suddenly things go wrong.
With enemies on more than one front, Taine must face people poachers, a foreign submarine, a lost race and an underwater monster!
I wish him luck, because I'd love him to survive - so I can read his next adventure.
...more

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Dec 28, 2018 Yvonne Davies rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle-read, a-million-more-pages, game-night, horror, suspense, december-reads

After McKenna and Jules had survived the Taniwha, things had gone quiet. Now on R&R McKenna was soon bored so jumped at the chance to join Jules on a Deer culling exercise in Fjordland. But when they get together, nothing is simple with them. Not only did they battle another large creature but they had poachers and a hidden tribe to contend with.
Whilst there is a large sea creature to go up against this took a backseat as McKenna and co had bigger issues. The discovery of a hidden tribe puts eve ...more

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Jan 19, 2019 Bookrapt rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, bookrapt-s-brilliant-books-2019

The second book in the Taine McKenna series following the award winning ‘Into the Mist’. Taine joins his partner, biologist Jules Asher, on a Conservation Department deer culling expedition into Fiordland at the base of New Zealand’s South Island. Its an isolated place, so when gunfire is heard and an injured man runs towards them, Taine goes on high alert. Part of a poaching expedition, the man and his companion stumbled across an ancient people, the Tūrehu (aka Patupaiarehe), the small remnant ...more

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Jan 01, 2019 Marcus Hobson rated it liked it

Shelves: new-zealand

I was slightly surprised how much I enjoyed this odd mix of mythology, military fiction and sea monsters.
It was a little slow to get started, but once we were in a full-scale hunt/survival mode, the action was moving at a cracking pace.
So, take a deep breath for the plot: a small group of hunters, conservation workers and soldiers have gathered for some R&R in the form of wapiti deer hunting on the remote West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Called Fiordland, this is an unpopulated, h ...more

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Jan 02, 2019 Pamela rated it it was amazing

I received this book from a facebook group I am a member of. its the second book in the series, and it was as good as the first one. A different genre for me to read, but I enjoyed it and look forward to the next book in the series.

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Aug 17, 2018 Charlotte K rated it it was amazing

Shelves: horror, maori, new-zealand, creature-feature, military

The second book in the Taine McKenna series, this time the NZDF Sergeant (think, New Zealand army version of a Navy Seal) is on leave – and spending his holiday in spectacular Fjordland helping conservation officers, including his girlfriend Jules. Only his holiday turns out to be anything but, after an amazing discovery. As usual, danger follows McKenna, and his trip down south soon turns into a thrill-fest as he dodges bullets and battles ruthless mercenaries to protect an endangered species. ...more

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Dec 30, 2018 Robinne Weiss rated it it was amazing

Another great adventure by Lee Murray! Fast-paced and full of fabulous well-researched details and characters you can believe in. There's a lot of blood and swearing--not for the faint-of-heart--but it's great fun, too. ...more

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Nov 05, 2018 Connie J Wilson rated it it was amazing

High Drama

I enjoyed this book immensely.
Lost tribe, sea serpent, good guys. bad guys. Awesome plot, quick moving.
I would live too see Lee Murray write a book about the tribe!!
Everything is better with giant sea creatures!! you

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Oct 19, 2018 Angie Belcher rated it it was amazing

I’d pushed myself outside my usual genres and read Hounds of the Underworld by Lee Murray and Dan Rabart and surprised myself by getting into the thriller / horror mode, so it wasn’t hard for me make the decision to download Lee Murray’s latest offering “Into the Sounds”.
I was riveted within the first couple of pages. The fast-paced action started almost immediately and didn’t stop until the end. There is plenty of blood spilt and shots fired so it’s hard to reconcile the fact that this tiny, f ...more

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Oct 03, 2018 Matthew Barbeler rated it it was amazing

Into the Sounds by Lee Murray is the follow-up to a book that I loved –Into the Mist. It is the second in the Taine McKenna novel, and the titular New Zealand soldier who finds himself caught up in yet another situation involving an ancient secret, gun-toting bad guys, and a life-or-death struggle he didn’t ask to be a part of.

One of the things I loved most about this novel is that it completely embraces its New Zealand heritage. Murray explores a number of weighty themes within the pages of th ...more

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Sep 18, 2018 Jodi rated it it was amazing

The first chapter pulled me into the story; I had to keep reading to find out what it was about! I finished the whole book in 1 day because I couldn't stop reading. The story, setting and characters were gripping and took me to places I (even as a New Zealander) have never been or seen. Fantastic, and recommended to all of my friends! ...more

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Aug 30, 2018 Nicholas Diak rated it it was amazing

Into the Sounds is Lee Murray’s followup to her 2016 giant monster/men-on-a-mission novel Into the Mist. As with Into the Mist, Into the Sounds sees New Zealand Defense Force Sergeant Taine McKenna returning to the wilderness of New Zealand, dealing with deadly terrain and a monstrous animal – in this instance an enormous squid. Unlike Into the Mist, Into the Sounds puts the monster as a secondary element as the narrative focuses on McKenna and cohorts teaming up with a small band of merfolk-ish Into the Sounds is Lee Murray’s followup to her 2016 giant monster/men-on-a-mission novel Into the Mist. As with Into the Mist, Into the Sounds sees New Zealand Defense Force Sergeant Taine McKenna returning to the wilderness of New Zealand, dealing with deadly terrain and a monstrous animal – in this instance an enormous squid. Unlike Into the Mist, Into the Sounds puts the monster as a secondary element as the narrative focuses on McKenna and cohorts teaming up with a small band of merfolk-ish people to stave off mercenaries who intend to sell the tribe’s women and children to the highest bidder.

The cast of Into the Sounds is greatly expanded: there’s returning characters such as McKenna, his love interest Jules, and Trigger (who operates from an office far from the action but still integral to the plot), and the mystic Temera, but several new characters are introduced as well: various hunters that are part of a expedition to thin out an evasive species, a few characters who only exist as cannon fodder to add an element of horror to the story, the Tūrehu tribe (who have merfolk-like attributes that allow them to breath underwater), and the villainous Meredith and his team of mercenaries who are attempting to capture the tribe. In their efforts to do so, Meredith attempts to dispatch McKenna and the rest of the hunters. Much of the story’s conflict revolves around this, with the odds not in McKenna’s favour as he lacks his firearms and other soldiery equipment that he had in Into the Mist. Instead, McKenna and the other NZDF solider, private Read, have to rely on their wits, mastery of the wilderness, and much, much assistance from the Tūrehu warriors as they attempt to outwit the mercenaries and rescue some of their kidnapped children. The action boils down to a showdown between McKenna, Meredith, and the giant squid.

While the first third of the book is mostly character introduction and setting the pieces of the narrative, the last two-thirds is so action heavy that it blurs by as quick as an action film. The animal-stalking-the-characters aspect in Into the Mist is mostly absent in Into the Sounds, replaced by this non-stop action. Perhaps in another effort to provide some distance between the two novels, references to McKenna’s adventures in Into the Mist are sparse. Because of this, Into the Sounds can almost be read as a standalone story without needing to be privy to the exploits in the other novel.

Into the Sounds continues Lee’s usage of Maori legends and vocabulary, giving the story a unique tone without bombarded the reader with too inaccessible foreign terms. This distinct flavour of Into the Sounds, combined with its martial, survivalist action, makes the novel a brisk, heart-pounding read.
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Jan 06, 2019 Steph Warren rated it really liked it

*I received a free copy of this novel, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Into the Sounds is the second book in Lee Murray’s Taine McKenna series, but you don’t need to read the first to appreciate the second (although I would advise you do, as the hints dropped in this one are intriguing!).

Set in New Zealand, this is an exciting thriller/horror, packed with explosive action and edge-of-the-seat danger. Murray has mixed military action, creature-feature *I received a free copy of this novel, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Into the Sounds is the second book in Lee Murray’s Taine McKenna series, but you don’t need to read the first to appreciate the second (although I would advise you do, as the hints dropped in this one are intriguing!).

Set in New Zealand, this is an exciting thriller/horror, packed with explosive action and edge-of-the-seat danger. Murray has mixed military action, creature-feature horror and Maori mythology here to great effect; creating a story that touches on our deepest fears from the modern to the primal.

There are quite a few characters to get to grips with in the plot, and the story moves along very quickly, so at first I felt a bit like I was jogging to keep up with who is who, but once you’ve grasped the main characters (Taine McKenna, Jules, Rocky, Ka, Meredith, Trigger), the others fall into place and then the action becomes much easier to follow.

It’s hard to dive into how nerve-wracking this book is without giving too much away, so I will just say that I spent a bit of time on Google and YouTube after I finished the book shuddering at the monstrous inspiration lurking beneath the trafficking/poaching plotline. There’s many a reason why I stay away from deep waters and this is one of the biggest!

Throughout reading this novel I couldn’t help thinking what a great action-horror film it would make and I hope that someone picks up on that and runs with it… fans of Michael Crichon, Peter Benchley and Predator (to name but a few) would love it.

Definitely one for fans of the above, plus anyone who likes a well-written, fast-paced, adrenaline rush of a read!

The other men, still dragging Wallace, had entered a cave. David’s pulse pounded as they followed them inside.
Not a cave, but a tunnel. Does this go anywhere? Running out of air.
Broadnose moved them swiftly through the silence. A horizontal fissure as big as a truck gaped to their right. Through the murky gloom, David spied movement.
Something was in there. Something huge. Oh my God, it was coming out. David wanted to scream, to tell Broadnose to get them the hell out of Dodge, but the pale man just tightened his grip on David and continued on. Helpless, David could only watch in horror, his lungs bursting, as slowly, slowly, a monster emerged.

– Lee Murray, Into the Sounds

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres... ...more

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Jan 14, 2020 Stephen Herczeg rated it it was amazing

A great follow up.
DISCLAIMER - Lee Murray is a fellow author and friend.

I read "Into the Mist" in October last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I found "Into the Sounds" as no different. I really enjoyed it.
This is the follow up adventure for Taine McKenna following the events of "Into the Mist."
Murray keeps to a similar formula, or is in fact developing a formula, in that it finds New Zealand Defence Force Sergeant Taine McKenna out in the wilds of New Zealand and up against it.
This time around, ...more

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Feb 12, 2019 Samantha Smith rated it it was amazing

Into the Sounds is the second book in this series and follows Sergeant Taine McKenna of the New Zealand Defence Force and his partner Dr Jules Asher, a scientist with the Department of Conservation. McKenna is taking some well deserved R&R after his last foray into the Te Urewera National Forest as he accompanies Jules on a deer culling exercise in Fiordland.
We not only follow McKenna and Jules but also see some of the characters from the first novel appear - Trigger, who is dealing with the inj ...more

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Jan 04, 2019 Emma Ounsworth rated it really liked it

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Nov 26, 2018 J.L. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: november-2018

Disclaimer: I consider the author a friend; however, I purchased the electronic version of this novel for full price.

After reading the first book in this series, I kind of thought I knew what I was getting into. It's really awesome that I was completely wrong. On the surface, lots of things are similar to book one. Ragtag group lost in the wilds of New Zealand: check. Giant mythical monster eating people: check. Lost tribe of humans and crazy mercenaries: wait, what?

Taine and Jules are in a stea ...more

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Jan 28, 2020 M.P. Norman rated it really liked it

living in New Zealand, I am fascinated by the prospect of a lush, horror book set in this lovely part of the world. This is the second book in the NZDF Sergeant Taine McKenna series (haven't read the first one, though!).

Taine accompanies his girlfriend and biologist Jules Asher on an expedition to the Fiordland Sounds to help cull the deer. But that ends up being the least of their problems.

The book scores big with me, as our heroes helicopter in, rappel down into the bush and make a series of ...more

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Jan 08, 2019 Sue Wallace rated it it was amazing

Into the sounds by Lee Murray.
On leave, and out of his head with boredom, NZDF Sergeant Taine McKenna joins biologist Jules Asher, on a Conservation Department deer culling expedition to New Zealand’s southernmost national park, where soaring peaks give way to valleys gouged from clay and rock, and icy rivers bleed into watery canyons too deep to fathom. Despite covering an area the size of the Serengeti, only eighteen people live in the isolated region, so it’s a surprise when the hunters stum ...more

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Jan 14, 2019 Debbie rated it it was amazing

NZDF Sergeant Taine reunites with Jules Asher again in this action-packed, horror-inflected SF adventure as they head into Fiordland Sounds on a seemingly straightforward DOC deer-culling mission. However, they stumble into far more than they bargained for - a lost tribe, poachers and far more dangerous things to hunt than deer.

Lee Murray depicts the mysterious, primordial strength and beauty of the landscape in a way that made me want to see Fiordland for myself, but there is an undercurrent o ...more

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Dec 08, 2018 Monica Mac rated it really liked it

I enjoyed this second instalment of the adventures of Taine McKenna and Co.

What starts off as a deer culling expedition, ends up being something completely different. A lost tribe is discovered, and they have some very unique abilities which set them apart from others. They are in great danger and Taine and his mates must do what they can to stop the mercenaries from completely destroying the tribe.

And what the heck is hiding in the deep waters of the sounds?

This was another "heart in my mouth ...more

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