The Alpha Protocol

Alpha Protocol, Book 1

By: Duncan M. Hamilton

Narrated by: Scott Aiello

Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Naval Officer Jack Samson thought a posting to the frontier of human-inhabited space was the death blow to his career.

He couldn't have been more wrong. A routine inspection of a small merchant vessel leads to devastating loss and the discovery of strange, fascinating objects. As astonishing discoveries unfold, a mysterious and hostile ship proves that Samson has a competitor in unlocking the secrets of an ancient alien civilization and that humanity might not be alone in the galaxy after all.

©2021 Duncan M. Hamilton (P)2021 Podium Audio

SyFy

Scott Aiello, I really enjoyed the sleaze bag voice for the proprietor of the second hand spaceport.

Really good story!

Cannot wait to see more from this author, well done and very enjoyable. Live Scott Aiello’s voice work too.

Good if you don't got nothing else to listen to.

The main character is Basically everything he hates. Character growth is Slow If. Any?. Good luck.

A not bad first contact novel

As these things go this wasn’t too bad. A fairly green Lieutenant gets thrust into a command of an old freighter after aliens destroy his ship for apparently no reason. His second in command mutinies but he is saved by the Marines and from there the adventure begins. Ancient artifacts, a pirate who turns to the good side, implacable aliens and new technology that the Terran Union must have all falling on acting Lt Commander Samson’s shoulders.

Some minor nits: Samson’s voice sounds much too mature (and upper crust British even though he says he grew up in a lower class neighborhood) for a fresh young Lieutenant. He repeats himself too much. He lets the mutineers off being shot but then gives them responsibility while saying he still doesn’t trust them. Scott Aiello does a workman like job so no real complaints about the narration. He’s good.

I give it 4 stars across the board and I’ll get the next one in the series.

Good story but...

Overall it's a good story and looking forward to the next book. However, why does the main character have to sound like a Snooty English Aristocrat? It's really annoying!

Great Story

it took me a bit to get used to the narrator, but I have come to enjoy his performance. The story is outstanding and engaging, to the point I purchased the second book in the series within a couple of minutes of finishing The Alpha Protocol. This book is a genuine novel, not a write-up of a video game, which is refreshing. The physics is off in a couple of places...one does not get a concussion from proximity to a blast in space as you in a vacuum...but if you roll with the story, it's a very worthwhile listen. I highly recommend the Alpha Protocol.

Decent story, didn’t like the narration

I found the story to be reasonably entertaining, but the narration nearly ruined it for me. The narrator’s narration voice was pleasant, but his character voices sounded overdone and fake, and there were way too many accents. It seemed more like a comedy sketch than a sci-fi novel.

Fun Space Opera

This was the first SCIFI book I have read from the author Duncan Hamilton, and I enjoyed it. The Alpha Protocol is part of a new series. It is a first contact book and a solid space opera. This is not a hard science SCIFI but fun and engaging. The writing was very good and very entertaining.

The main protagonist, LT Jack Samson is a green officer, a bit unconventional, and an undisciplined rouge. A young Lieutenant and Naval Academy graduate, the half-trained Samson gets shipped off to the frontier due to some bad circumstances unrelated to his performance, only to get thrust into a command scenario after his ship and most of his crew are destroyed.

I purchased this book on sale at Audible and I am glad I found it. A good percentage of the books I
find on sale at Audible, (and thus not returnable) are subpar. I was happy to find this read. Scott Aiello’s narration was excellent. Overall, I enjoyed this book and will read more in the series as they come out and will look at other books written by Mr. Hamilton.

Thought I would take a chance

A lot of books have disappointed me recently, but I thought I would take a chance and I was not disappointing. It’s just one book I could not stop listening to absolutely love it. Well done. I have highly recommend this work.

Interesting Space Saga on a First Encounter Plot

Looking forward to Book-2 and to yet another captivating series, especially when the narrator is Scott Aiello (who was practically made for the part - as I have listened to more than one equivalent series where he always plays the valiant "bad boy" hero role).