The Artifact

A First Contact Standalone

By: Peter Cawdron

Narrated by: Siobhan Waring

Five hundred miles from the Mediterranean, deep in the interior of Libya, lost in the heart of the Sahara itself, lies an oasis trapped in the past.

With no surface water, Harat Zuwayyah barely supports any life at all. The scorching wind howls across the desert, driving the sand and threatening to bury the village. Professor Susan Taylor is excavating an Egyptian tomb dated to 4500 BCE. She uncovers the mummified remains of a wealthy family that died on the trade route, revealing insights into a lost culture, but it's the talisman watching over the grave that causes her heart to race. Red eyes glow from the back of the cave...

First Contact is a series of standalone novels that explore humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life.

Contains a special note from the author.

©2023 Peter Cawdron (P)2024 Podium Audio

Great book from a great science fiction author

Another great book in the series. this one is a fun, unique and creative book. A fast-paced, smart ,action packed adventure and I highly recommend it. This has become my favorite series on audible. Each book is completely unique. with the common element being first contact. The stories are well written, smart and creative. The the science fiction is hard enough that you won't have to overlook any glaring holes in that part of the story.

great story idea but the delivery fell flat

I've read several books in this series and I was looking forward to this one, however, this is my least favorite. At various points in the narrative when the author is getting ready to reveal some juicy information or revelation he overbuilds the delivery. By the time he spills it the reader is so frustrated that it lacks the impact it could have had. I found myself thinking, " Get to the point already!" The other aspect of the story I did not like is that the vast majority of the narrative had very little to do with first contact as most of the story was just a traveling adventure. it seemed as though the book had more to do with first contact among various cultures of humanity than with otherworldly beings. Perhaps that's what the author intended but it was a letdown. I feel as though I could have listened to the first hour or so of the book until the artifact is found and then skipped to the last 2 hours and saved quite a bit of time. the other books in this series are great, this one, not so much.

Adventure and Fermi Paradox thought experiment.

Great tempo and fresh Indiana Jones Adventure like tale. Good academic references with a Fermi Paradox thought experiment.

Lady Indiana Jones

Welsh Professor Susan Taylor is excavating a 7000-year-old tomb in Libya when she uncovers the mummified remains of a wealthy family that died on the trade route. The find reveals insights into a lost culture, but it's the talisman watching over the grave that causes her heart to race. Red eyes from an alien artifact glow from the back of the cave.

I enjoyed the book, but it's more adventure novel than scifi. Most of the book is an Indiana Jones-esque escape from the desert to get the artifact out of Libya and into the hands of the proper authorities.

Narration was excellent, except for O'Connor, who was supposed to be American but sounded almost Irish to my American ears.

I really wanted to like this book

The story starts strong and pulls you in early, but the portrayal of one of the main characters—especially the voice actor’s dialect—was grating and took me out of it. It’s mislabeled as science fiction; there’s barely any sci-fi element throughout. The pacing drags significantly, and by the final chapters, finishing the audiobook felt more like a chore than a payoff.