Xenophobia
My full Xenophobia audiobook review can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.I started to wonder what xenophobia is, here is what I found out: intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries. I never knew that this phobia had a name, and I know several people who could be categorized here. Mix in the alien landing and I am ready for some intense cultural war. Especially by the look of the extraterrestrials on the cover, airborne jellyfish, are those ships or the creatures themselves?
Cawdron starts off by introducing us to the cast of characters in the little military team and the civilians that round it out. By far my favorite was Elvis, no not the musical superstar, but a man who insists on talking like the one you just thought of, hilarious and not annoying at all. Just so happens that he is our male protagonist and I could listen to more stories about him. Then there is our female protagonist, Bower, a civilian doctor who stays behind with the military so she can care for the patients. Then all hell starts to break loose.
An alien craft is detected 6 months before it arrives to earth, they took their sweet time. Much political drama ensues, as you would expect, but it was done from the perspective of the soldiers. Never a full story transmitted to them. Now I don't want to give too much away here. Let me just say that this was one of the most thought provoking first contact stories that I have ever listened to. Full of great gritty action, dripping with suspense and plot twists coming from left field. I never knew what was going to happen, every time I tried to guess I was wrong. A true exploration of fear, fear of what is within us, and fear of others. I am now a fan of Cawdron and need to listen to more of his work.
Audiobook submitted for review by the author.