Stranded

Starship of the Ancients, Book 1

By: A.K. DuBoff

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay

Shipwrecked on a distant planet. Mysterious alien relics. His fresh start just turned into an interstellar conspiracy.

After an undercover investigation goes bad, ex-soldier Evan hopes to forge a new life on a remote colony world. But when the transport ship explodes in orbit, his plans for a peaceful early retirement go out the airlock.

He crash-lands with a small group of settlers, away from the target site, and with limited resources. Unable to call for help off-world, Evan and the mission's xenobiologist Anya race for survival in the dangerous wilds—until they realize they aren't alone on the planet.

Evan's investigative instincts tell him that nothing about this colony mission going awry is an accident. When evidence points to an ancient alien starship hidden somewhere on the planet, he realizes that solving the mystery will be the biggest case of his life.

Can Evan survive the hostile planet long enough to uncover the truth?

Stranded is the thrilling first installment in the Starship of the Ancients series. If you like suspenseful space adventures with dynamic characters, alien worlds, and escalating interstellar intrigue, then you'll love this riveting new space opera by author A.K. DuBoff, creator of the Cadicle Universe.

©2025 A.K. DuBoff (P)2025 Podium Audio

Plenty of action, great narration

I absolutely loved this book. Starship of the Ancients hooked me from the very first chapter and never let go. The mix of mystery, action, and character drama is spot-on. The whole concept of the ancient ship is fascinating, and every new reveal about its origins had me glued to the page.

What really stood out for me were the characters. They aren’t just cardboard cutouts thrown into space battles—they feel real. The crew’s banter, their doubts, and even the little moments of humor made me care about them as much as the bigger story. By the end, I wasn’t just invested in the fate of the galaxy, I was rooting for this crew like they were old friends.

The pacing is fast but never rushed, and the worldbuilding is fantastic. I’ve read a lot of space operas, but this one manages to make familiar ideas feel fresh again. The sense of wonder whenever the “Ancient” technology shows up gave me chills in the best way.

The ending was everything I hoped it would be—tense, emotional, and packed with payoff. Honestly, this book reminded me why I fell in love with science fiction in the first place.

If you like epic space adventures with a human heart, I can’t recommend Starship of the Ancients enough.
Ron

High Adventure

One crisis after another. Boring bad guys. Marginal narrative. Little science. Not very creative. Written to formula.

Narration bad, story good.

Narrator acts like he is reading this while trying not to wake someone up. Whisper yelling is surprisingly irritating. The voice acting is not very good or particularly energetic.

Ok - convenient and predictable

Characters seem like a “first date” . That said the underlying story is interesting. I will continue listening to the series

Clumsy

Just when you think you can trust a character, they go off script. I get not wanting to kill, but when in danger of being killed holding the best weapon, you don't hand it over. Also when you find alien tech, why did the characters lose all sense of curiosity? I hate when characters have to become idiots to forward the story line.