Hostile Contact

Weapons of Choice, Book 1

By: Nick Snape

Narrated by: Josh Innerst

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

A failed military training exercise. An alien incursion, desperate and on the hunt. Survival is just the beginning…

Finn had thought he'd seen it all...but no...he had to admit...

Not quite everything...

There was a big universe out there and it was about to land in his lap.

Just how bad could it be?

Insubordinate and on the edge, Finn is a troubled war hero racked by guilt, overseen by an unyielding Commanding Officer while dragging his ragtag group of rookies through basic training. Suddenly caught up in a major global crisis, he joins with Gunner Zuri Zuberi, leading Delta Squad in a desperate struggle for survival when an alien incursion lands slap bang in the middle of their training session—killing indiscriminately and pitting inexperienced soldiers against the power of alien technology.

With the modern-day world panicking after the small alien force penetrates Earth's ineffective defences, a second incursion drops into the atmosphere, revealing more of the enemy’s capabilities. As losses mount, the world’s armed forces find themselves helpless to act when the aliens reveal a weapon that could change modern warfare forever.

This new alien tech breeds greed and mistrust amongst opposing countries. The need to be the first to acquire it, escalating beyond political conflict as governments circle, missiles at the ready.

Finding themselves alone in the fight for Earth's future, Delta Squad discover the aliens are more than they seem, and that alien technology can be just as deadly in the hands of humanity when they unearth the Weapons of Choice.

Listen to Hostile Contact, an action-packed sci-fi survival novel–where ‘Predator’ meets ‘Full Metal Jacket’ in a pulse-pounding, non-stop thrill ride.

'Fantastic Military Sci-Fi thriller...masterful' B.R. Keid, author of Intrusion Protocol

©2023 Nick Snape (P)2023 Northern Lake Audio

Critic reviews

"Compelling." (Self-Publishing Review)

A fun and fast paced first contact thriller

I enjoyed listening to this real time action flick during a long car ride. I have mixed emotions on how I would feel if I were reading, versus listening, because there is a lot of head hopping and character aside and I'm curious as to how that looks on page. It translated all right to audio because the author states the characters name at the start of each head hop and the audio narrator did a good job differentiating. On paper I am not sure that it would have been as easy to keep some of these side characters straight.

Overall though this is a fun romp through first contact and of course the Americans are sitting around with their thumbs up their butts while the Brits save the day 🤣 someone clearly has a really great opinion of our task forces. That said though this is the first time I've heard Space Force mentioned in fiction, and I assume we will be seeing a lot more of that as the branch establishes itself.

If you like short, exciting military sci-fi, first contact, invasion, and America definitely not saving the day, check it out.

Action filled sci-fi/first contact

I won this audiobook in a social media drawing. I am glad I did! I've been keeping and eye on Nick Snape's books for a while. The guy is writing books quickly! The "Weapons of Choice" series includes 8 books now and they all have really cool covers. I enjoyed the story! It is a very fast paced military action, first contact story where a group of Scottish soldiers encounter aliens on the battlefield after a training exercise. I liked the two main character's Finn and Zuri, but I'd like to have known more about them, but I suspect Snape will develop them more in the rest of the series. Since this is an audiobook, the voice always plays into the review. I'm generally a fan of what Mr. Innerst has done with the narration, but some of the voices weren't my favorite and I found a bit distracting. Generally well done though. I hope to continue the series at some point. Great job, Nick! Keep up the good work.

Buckle up--this is a 5 star nail-biter.

The narrator does a fantastic job at capturing an AI voice, as well as British, Scottish, and American accents. Author Snape has penned an imaginative and fast-moving version of first contact—in Scotland—where soldiers on a training exercise in the middle of nowhere encounter the first extraterrestrial Aliens to land on Earth. What could possibly go wrong? Almost everything. The characters are brought to life as they react and try to cope with the very real threat of battling aliens. What follows is a relentless play-by-play of firefights, losses on both sides, and secrets are exposed as countries vie for technological spoils—until the unthinkable happens. Buckle up. This is a 5 star nail-biter.

Hostile Contact

okay I have to admit that it took me a while to get into it. at first I found it a bit boring, and I did fall asleep. but after that idk what chapters it was that it started getting good. and I got so into it. and now I'm excited for the next book, because why not there out of space and heading to a new world. so yet I am so looking forward to the next book.

Pretty Good

I have mixed feelings about this one. I wasn't a fan of the first quarter of the book or so. The characters just didn't seem memorable. I think it took me twice as long as it should have because I had to rewind so often; I just couldn't remember what was going on. Maybe it was me, and I was just struggling to focus at the beginning of the story, but I couldn't get into it. However, I kept listening, and it gradually got better and better. With that ending leaving room for a fantastic second book, I am definitely interested in giving number 2 a try.

By the last quarter of the book, if someone told me that they were going to take the book away from me and not allow me to finish, I might just freak out. I'm hooked. I hope the author can give us a great second book. Maybe the beginning just didn't hold my attention because it was the setup for the rest of a really great book, and hopefully, series. I can't wait to see what happens!

1st Review for 2024 (Technically its the last book i read in 2023. But I reviewed it the next day).

Thank you #PinkFlamingoProductions and #TheFlockVIPReviews

4.5 Overall

This is the first book I've read/listened to by Nick Snape. It's not my usual genre, but I thought I'd give it a try. It started a bit slow but, once I became familiar with the characters, my interest picked up. I really started enjoying it when the action began. It left off with a bit of what we romance readers call a cliffhanger. Couldn't tell you if that's a thing in this genre. I assume book two will pick up where this left off. It can be an ending if you wish for it, but I want to see what happens next.

Josh Innerst is an excellent narrator. He voiced all characters well with emotion that had this audiobook rolling like a movie in my head. Really enjoyed his performance.

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Entertaining!

This was my first Nick Snape's book. This is the first book in the Weapons of Choice Series, a Sci-Fi survival thriller. The story is entertaining, action packed, and captivating. The characters are well developed, and intriguing. Josh Innerst did an excellent job bringing this story to life. Looking forward to listening to Return Protocol, the next book in the series. #PFPAudio

What a difference a day makes

What a difference a day makes. In summing up the impression I was left after reading this pulse-pounding military sci-fi romp, the old idiom comes to mind. When a routine reservist training exercise meets with desperate aliens seeking a means to save their race, confusion and violence ensue. Nick Snape begins his Weapons of Choice series at nearly a full sprint, only to pour on more speed as he goes. We, the readers, are in the thick of it from the very beginning, learning about our characters and adversary on the fly as we moved from engagement to engagement throughout a Scottish forest, occasionally stopping by Washington to get a bird's eye view of the whole situation.

Pacing is the blade upon which this adventure is balanced. We get very broad strokes on characters as we are moving so quickly. They are in the dirt, scrambling to survive, and as such, there isn't much downtime to be had with them. In fairness, this is the first in a seven-book saga, and there are severe hints that quiet moments are coming. At no point was I left mistrusting the author's intent or skill to bring forward his characters in deep and meaningful ways as the story continues.

Make no mistake, this novel is the initial hook, and considering that, it is sharpest when it leans into the science fiction of it all. In the opinion of this reviewer, it is the nature of the aliens, the tech involved, and the motivation of their one-way run to our planet that presents the largest mystery and spurred me forward. While the modern military tactics, action, and politics are well done, give me more of the vivid imaginings present in those moments.

In the end, this is a stellar start to what I anticipate to be a wild ride through an enthralling new universe. 4.5/5