Doubt

The Adventures of a Xeno-Archaeologist, Book 2

By: Jenny Schwartz

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Alien mysteries. Parental responsibilities. The scout ship Kangaroo has jumped into trouble.

Nora Devi intended to leave her old life behind. But when a quick detour to acquire the funds for a new identity goes awry, she finds herself plunged ever deeper into the troubles she hoped to avoid.

The Human Sector is a stash of fuel cells just waiting for a spark to explode. The Great Game of politics and power has shifted from the inner realm to the border. Captain Liam Kimani of the battlecruiser RC Genghis Khan is the man in position to suppress the explosion...or ride the wave of it.

It's been half a millennium since the Stranding. Is the power of the royals still worth supporting, or is it time to risk everything for the chance to rejoin the rest of humanity?

©2021 Jenny Schwartz (P)2023 Podium Audio

Book 1 is much better.

Book one was very good this book the second in the series seems like it’s filler for an upcoming third.

A good mystery / political intrigue

A good mystery / political intrigue, in space. This author also shows an incredible insight into character psychology and social motivations and human nature.

Love it!

This is book 2 and I’m completely enthralled! It’s interesting fast paced and not a dull moment. And the narrator, Emily Woo Zeller, as always, does a great job!

Great book with a stellar narrator

I enjoyed Book 1 of this series so much that I dove straight into Doubt, the follow-up. I gave Astray 5 stars and I think Doubt held up the quality overall. It breathed more life and backstory into the main character Nora Devi.

Doubt expands upon the already interesting characters of Nora Devi, her alien AI sidekick Jonah, the conflicted ship captain Liam, and on and on. That's to me the strength of these books -- relatable, diverse and fascinating characters. The politics and slowly unfolding intergalactic drama are also top-notch and, as I said in my review of Astray, fresh and unique amidst countless other sci-fi books...but the characters are what keeps me glued to this series.

A cherry on the sundae for me is that Emily Woo Zeller is the narrator. Cyberpunk 2077 is one of my absolute favorite video games of all time, and Ms. Zeller's Panam Palmer is a standout character. So when I decided, after already getting hooked on this series after reading Book 1, to check out the audiobook version for Book 2, I was pleasantly stunned to see the voice of Panam Palmer involved!

Ms. Zeller does an amazing job here too. She has a nice neutral tone for reading the content, but gives distinction to each and every character, male and female, to make them feel so unique and strong. Outstanding performance.

Great story, well read

Enjoyed Schwartz’s story. Good sci-fi as well as fun and interesting characters. Well written. Fun adventure.

Good

Fifteen words. good time killer. voice of storytelling excellent. like the world building.. will continue buying more of this series which is why anyone should do so.

Feel-Good Scifi

The characters and their relationships were well thought out. Perhaps most importantly, the society .ade me think about our own's flaws and inequalities.

I don’t know what they’re gonna do! 

I love a book’s cliffhanger that makes it hard for you to wait for the next one. Some may hate cliffhangers but this one… chefs 💋

Cheers!

All I can say is……I can not get enough of this series or wait to find out what happens next! I am downloading book 3, Rebel, as I write this review. Ms. Schwartz & Ms. Zeller did not disappoint. I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Getting hooked on this series

I really appreciate the fact that this has an adult protagonist, at my age reading about younger children and teenagers is not something that I like to do anymore. I thought I’d give this series a try and I have been hooked. Give it a shot. I think you’ll like it.