The Persian Asteroid

By: Hyrum W. Hawks

Narrated by: Christian Oliver

By the Ayatollah’s orders, an Iranian scientist kidnaps a trio of outer space engineers and is forced to reconcile himself to their optimism and snark as his actions decide the fate of his homeland.

©2023 Hyrum W. Hawks (P)2024 Hyrum W. Hawks

A great first novel

There are plenty of things to fall in love with in this novel. Listening to this book you can expect a mix of spy, sci-fi with some religious devotion. There's plenty of comedy infused throughout the entire story, with hints of suspense. It's one of the rare few that don't overly focus on the conflicts going on, but instead on how the people cope and continue to live their lives as normally as possible, despite the situation they're in. The characters are enjoyable once you get to know them. Pacing is a little slow at the beginning, but once the characters start moving to accomplish their goals, things start to pick up and keep you wanting to finish listening.

Not expecting this!

What a fun discovery this book turned out to be. I wasn't sure what I was expecting but I sure enjoyed the journey. It has some truly delightful humor and perhaps the best wife in the world! If you want to try out something different and be thoroughly entertained you should check this one out!

First Dive into Hard Sci-Fi

Hyrum W. Hawks' The Persian Asteroid was my first dive into hard sci-fi, so I was not really sure what to expect. I really enjoyed the humor and positivity Hawks wrote into the main characters and even feel I learned a little bit about rocket science and theoretical space mining as I listened.

For those who enjoy audio books, the narrator, Christian Oliver, gave a great performance that included multiple accents and regional dialects making each character easily identifiable.

The characters' rapid recovery from their kidnapping and relentless optimism felt somewhat implausible, but their situation quickly started giving Tony Stark vibes, so I suspended my disbelief and enjoyed the story as I rooted for their escape.

Overall, The Persian Asteroid is a fun and well-paced read with some intriguing twists and a satisfying ending. I look forward to Hawks' next book.