Skywave

The Rorschach Explorer Missions, Book 1

By: K. Patrick Donoghue

Narrated by: Chris Abernathy

Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

No one knows what to make of the mysterious clicks....

To Ajay Joshi, the amateur astronomer who discovered the strange sounds with his radio telescope, the clicks represent proof of aliens on Callisto, a moon of Jupiter, a theory dismissed as quackery by space agency radio experts. They contend the clicks are nothing more than terrestrial interference, so-called skywaves, or similar electromagnetic interference emanating from Jupiter or Callisto.

To Dr. Kiera Walsh, an aerospace engineer introduced to Ajay and his findings, the consistent, repetitive pattern of the clicks points to the possibility of a lost Martian probe caught in Callisto's orbit. She shares this view with her employer, billionaire and space exploration privateer, Augustus Amato, and is surprised to learn Amato disagrees with her conclusion. He believes the clicks herald something more ominous orbiting Callisto.

Compelled to learn the true source of the clicks, Amato launches a fleet of experimental probes to investigate the Jovian moon. A mission that produces a string of startling discoveries, revelations that shake the space exploration establishment to its core and spark a controversial race to preserve the discoveries before they are destroyed or suppressed.

Skywave, book one of the new sci-fi thriller series, The Rorschach Explorer Missions, leads listeners on an epic journey that challenges conventional views of ancient aliens, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and humankind's place in the universe. Best enjoyed in conjunction with the prequel novella, UMO.

©2018 Kevin Patrick Donoghue (P)2020 Kevin Patrick Donoghue

Overall a nice listen.

The Author and the Narrator are a good pairing. The story keeps your interest. It is engaging. A couple of things are incredulous. But what is stranger than fiction --- real life.

Excellent Audiobook

I really enjoyed this. Overall 5 stars. The premise of the story is great, and original. Narration at 0.8 speed was excellent. What I liked most is the writing style of the author. Almost no unnecessary cursing, or stupid gratuitous sex. Just a really good story. A great refreshing break from the dime a dozen space war and AI books out there. Those who can't create write space war and idiotic AI books and call them novels. Looking forward to the next book in the series. -CPO US Navy Retired

Fun book all the way through!

I would encourage you to read/listen two UMO the two hour Novella prequel to Skywave. While not completely necessary, it does add depth to the story and characters that makes them even more relatable and fun. I actually stopped at Chapter 4 to listen to UMO which was fortuitous because all of those characters and backstory start in Chapter 5 of Skywave. Great book if you like to “feel” the science in your science fiction!!

Continuing the Jupiter journey

OK UMO fans, we start getting into the meat of the issue. First off, let me comment on the performer. Chris Abernathy's voicing seemed to have a challenge. Forcing his breathing, with some odd and, frankly, off-putting intonations, which, while not taking away from the story, eventually became irritating. I am not sure they were intentional, and if they were, I would recommend changing it out.
The story arc is pretty much space opera stuff, with many of the characters being lightly drawn, and reliant upon the performer to bring to life.
All this said, I was drawn in, and did end up caring for the characters and the story resolution eventually. Not sure if I will spend the credit for the next one, however. My queue is full at present. Recommended with reservations.

Outstanding

The best science fiction trip I've taken in a couple of decades, and I read some really good stuff. Read the accompanying Novella first. It's a standalone and would be worth the 83 Pages even if it didn't make Skywave so much better.

Great Story and Book.....

I have not given any reviews on any of the books that I have listened to....and I've listened to a lot of time travel and science fiction books...
But this was one book I could not put down....good story...I'm looking forward to the next book In this series .I would suggest getting the first book in the series.....It helps with understanding the whole story....

Couldn’t make it.

Could be worst narrator, or a young author, but the combo was terrible. Save your money.

Omg Yuck

Suffered through five chapters and gave up. The best thing about this was the story was bad BUT the narration was HORRIBLE. I couldn’t stand to listen any longer.

Worst narration in a long time

This was a decent story with an interesting twist on the idea of first contact, however the narration was horrible. I slogged through because i wanted to understand all of the 4 and 5 star reviews. It was mostly the dialogue that was terrible. The narrator did a good with descriptive prose and descriptions but he had maybe 2 or three tones for dialogue: weak, angry and that quiet yell we all use when describing a shout. When most characters were speaking, they were pretty monotone but for some unknown reason he ended most thoughts or declarations with a breathy sort of chuckle or laugh that sounded like the horse Mr Ed from the old TV show. Anytime a character was emphatic or excited, they just sounded angry. Every woman sounded like a male character from South Park.
I fast forwarded a lot!

The overall story was compelling, but the general experience was ruined by the narration.
I suggest you buy the printed book instead.