Zero World

By: Jason M. Hough

Narrated by: Gideon Emery

Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Technologically enhanced superspy Peter Caswell has been dispatched on a top-secret assignment unlike any he's ever faced. A spaceship that vanished years ago has been found, along with the bodies of its murdered crew - save one. Peter's mission is to find the missing crew member, who fled through what appears to be a tear in the fabric of space. Beyond this mysterious doorway lies an even more confounding reality: a world that seems to be Earth's twin. Peter discovers that this mirrored world is indeed different from his home and far more dangerous. Cut off from all support, and with only days to complete his operation, Peter must track his quarry alone on an alien world. But he's unprepared for what awaits on the planet's surface, where his skills will be put to the ultimate test - and everything he knows about the universe will be challenged in ways he never could have imagined.

©2015 Jason Hough (P)2015 Recorded Books

Please, let this be the first of a series!

Really dug this book a lot. The author has a talent for super-imaginative world building, and the main characters are interesting, sympathetic, and real. I cared about them.
The story goes places you'll never expect; there are not one, but several plot twists that left me gaping and going, WHAT?? (but in a good way)
Very nicely performed by Gideon Emery, who handles vocal characterization of both male and female characters quite well. Lots of cool action, some thought provoking ideas and moments, and an ending that both satisfies and leaves things wide open for "the further adventures of..."
Wholeheartedly recommended.

Outstanding investment of a credit

If you could sum up Zero World in three words, what would they be?

Fascinating
Original
Compelling

What did you like best about this story?

The combination of creativity and scientific reasoning. Certainly there was some stretches and it did require a suspension of disbelief, but not so much so that it rendered the story silly.

Have you listened to any of Gideon Emery’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

One of my first, but won't be the last. He did wonderful work here.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The complex last 3rd of the book, when our hero starts to realize who he really is, was very interesting and made me think about my own self image, candidly.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommend this. It is clearly the start of a series, but the book stands on its own merits. Spend the credit and enjoy.

A bit long-winded

I struggled a bit to get through this book. The narration is excellent however the story drags on too long.

Starts as a Three Star Book - Ends as a Four Star

Preparing to write this review, I noticed a review tearing a strip off this book for some lame premises. That exactly sums up my impression in the first half of the book. One example is two worlds unknown to each other where they both speak English. The explanation that comes later elevates that premise from anemic to plausible. By that time, the adventure has gotten interesting enough that it is acceptable to me.

Our main character, Peter Caswell, is a physically enhanced assassin who gets his memory wiped after each mission. He tells himself that he is working for the good guys and he is a better operative without the guilt of killing bad people encumbering him. His mission this time is to another world similar to earth with a nineteenth century technology. An astronaut has killed all of her crewmates, downloaded earth's technology and set herself up on this new world as a genius. Earth is unaware of this other world and just thinks that all the people on a weapons test space mission died.

The organization that employs Peter is concerned that she will disrupt the natural technological development of that world and that may end in catastrophe.

Get ready for some twists as he meets a native spy, Melnie when attempting to assassinate the very well protected astronaut who has had ten years to endear herself to a nation on the brink of war.

This book started out as a three star book for me, but ended in four star territory and I would buy the next one as soon it comes out. It has a satisfying conclusion, but there is still important work to be done by Peter and Melnie. Earth's fate hangs in the balance.

So-so..

Would you try another book from Jason M. Hough and/or Gideon Emery?

Maybe... it would really have to be a captivating concept.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Tighten it up considerably

What three words best describe Gideon Emery’s voice?

Gideon was fantastic.

Do you think Zero World needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Nah...

Any additional comments?

This book started out with a few really brilliant concepts and captured my interest rather quickly. However, once the ball got rolling the pace (and my interest) began to wane significantly.. It just g=became a bit too long winded. I grew bored and couldn't finish the book. Maybe it pulled it together at the end and vindicated itself... but I'll never know.

same spy story, different cast and location

identical plot to every other spy story, just threw in enough location change to reclassify it as sci-fi. predictable, uninteresting.

Definitely Interesting

Picked up this book as it sounded interesting enough to give it a try. I typically have enough books in my queue that I don't get to them too soon after I purchase, so by the time I listened to this one, I had forgotten what the description had said about it.

This was a decent sc-fi book with twists and turns I didn't expect. The story was enjoyable, though I'm glad it isn't a series. It was a good stand-alone book and liked that it ended where it did.

The narrator was respectable, although his female voice characterizations was somewhat limited. I'm not sure if that was due to how the book's female characters were defined, or if limited by the narrator. All in all, though, a decent listen.

Gripping and Intense

I really enjoyed the pace of this book. It wasn't a fast paced nonstop action sort of book, but yet provided a fair balance of action and processing time. The story was great, and I found myself surprised over and over again. The story actually sounds like something somewhat plausible. The characters are interesting without being too complex, and they are cleverly written. The narrator did a wonderful job, and made the main character sound very attractive. I was very pleased with his job on the female voices. I would recommend this to anyone who loves sci-fi and action. Definitely worth the listen.

Part space adventure, part political intrigue

Enjoyed this book, and narrator. Love the alternate earth idea. Only one minor story logic flaw that I remember but not enough to kill the story and I need to relisten to the book to see if I am remembering wrong.

For original sci-fi, try Zero World.

An original story and full of action. What more could anyone ask? This book has a very interesting premise and is both unique and creative. I loved it and hope for a sequel soon.