The Alien Corps: Prosperine Series, Book 1
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The Alien Corps: Prosperine Series, Book 1 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

PJ McDermott (Author, Publisher), Lisa Michelle Negron (Narrator)
4.1 out of 5 stars 535
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A daring heroine, a mysterious alien, a wild adventure.

Hickory Lace is an empath, but her sixth sense has lain dormant for years.

When the father who abandoned her as a child formally requests Hickory's release from the Alien Corps to check out the political stability on the remote planet Prosperine, she knows he's hiding something, but what?

Hickory's superiors are reluctant to let her go after her last mission failed so spectacularly. But they agree on the proviso she checks out an alien spiritualist known as the teacher. They believe he could be the one referred to in an ancient prophecy discovered nearly a hundred years before.

Prosperine is Earth's primary source of the liquid metal Crynidium, essential for faster-than-light space travel. When Hickory arrives, she discovers a planet drenched in radiation and a revolutionary who wants to auction off the precious metal and return the planet's society to the dark ages.

Outnumbered and outgunned, Hickory is faced with a choice. Admit to yet another failure and abandon the planet to its fate or use the powerful empathic gift she was born with, and at the same time determine exactly who or what the teacher represents.

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  1. Listening Length
    6 hours and 46 minutes
  2. Author
    PJ McDermott
  3. Narrator
    Lisa Michelle Negron
  4. Audible release date
    June 6, 2018
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    PJ McDermott
  7. ASIN
    B07DHWQCG8
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 6 hours and 46 minutes
Author PJ McDermott
Narrator Lisa Michelle Negron
Audible.com Release Date June 06, 2018
Publisher PJ McDermott
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B07DHWQCG8
Best Sellers Rank #535,976 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#192 in Dystopian Sci-Fi for Children
#1,184 in Children's Dystopian Fiction Books
#8,201 in Adventure Science Fiction

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
535 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

B D
5.0 out of 5 stars Original well thought out Sci- Fi thriller that kept me engaged!
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2015
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Avanaux: A Hickory Lace Adventure

Overall impression: Original well thought out intriguing science fiction novel. I wanted to keep reading. The Author is clearly a student of history and has a firm grasp on the big picture, as evidenced by his realistic portrayal of the schizophrenic human condition. Medium paced in the beginning to fast paced at the end. The novel gave the bare details to move the action forward, which was helpful for people like my self with short attention spans. Many science fiction authors go on tangents describing the complexities of their worlds. Mr. McDermott has created a complex world but kept it simple. I would highly recommend it.

Feel of the story: The main character Hickory Lace is a dynamic character with real issues, and faults she is not a ‘super woman’. Her relationship with her father and her deep conflictions about her job was a continuous underlying thread and helped shaped her motivations throughout the story. The characters in any story are the foundation and glue that moves a story forward. Why read if the characters bore you? All of the characters had their own agenda’s, wounds and motivations. I wanted to hear their story.

Over all plot: I am not going to paraphrase the book. The plot was complex but presented itself in a way that did not bog me down and kept me engaged, again no easy feat. I have little patience. Geo politics on Earth is complicated enough. Now imagine another less advance world with its own politics, beliefs and regional biases. The chance for conflict is about as likely as a careless match causing a wildfire in California in July. The author again kept things simple and moved the action forward. Originally I was off put by the similarities between the aliens and humans, but then it dawned on me that it was quite appropriate. No matter what sun you live under the fact remains the same, all old things must fade away and give rise to new, not necessarily better, ideas.

Why you should read: Will the Humans agenda completely destroy the alien’s way of life? Will the various factions in the alien’s world crumble and collapse into civil war under the threat? Will Hickory come to terms with here conflicted loyalties and fractured relationships? Who is this mysterious ‘messiah’ who inspires and divides the aliens?
9 people found this helpful
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Obi-Wan
4.0 out of 5 stars Well-imagined
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2016
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Avanaux is a science fiction adventure set about a hundred and fifty years in the future. Earth has been through a New Dark Age after a catastrophic war, and has recovered under a United World Government based in New Rome. The city having been sacked during the war, Rome's famous landmarks have since been restored and are part of a futuristic cityscape of spiralling towers and domes, interlaced with multi-layered suspension roads. It isn't so easy to keep the Eternal City down, just ask the Goths and the Vandals.

That isn't all that is new, however. Faster than light travel has been made possible by the discovery of an extremely rare liquid metal called crynidium, enabling humanity to find and interact with other sentient races on distant planets. This has led to the establishment of an Intragalactic Agency of aligned planets; a watchdog which attempts to balance and control the competing interests of advanced space-faring races, and to protect less advanced ones like the dominant life form of Prosperine, a planet which is not deemed ready to be inducted into the alliance.

Prosperine is a potential powder-keg, however, as it is possessed of significant reserves of crynidium which have drawn the attention, not only of the IA, but also of certain non-aligned planets. Hamstrung by its strict policy of non-interference in internal planetary matters, the IA chafes at not being able to send forces to the planet to secure the crynidium.

But there is something else happening on Prosperine. A religious prophet has emerged among the people of Avanuax, the northern continent of the planet, an enigmatic individual who is preaching the word of a God named Balor, and performing miracles like healing the sick.

Enter the Alien Corps, the operational arm of an academy set up by the Pope to search for and study Christian-like religions on other planets. Decades earlier, a manuscript containing an alternative gospel was discovered, foretelling that believers would be found on other worlds, and that they would be brought to Earth at the end of days. Deftly hurdling the improbability of the Catholic Church ever giving credence to such theology, this fascinating premise catapults Commander Hickory Lace of the Alien Corps (daughter of IA Admiral George Lace) and her friends into an action-packed adventure on Prosperine. In addition to her official assignment of assessing the prophet's potentially messianic qualities, her father also wants her to find out what the authorities on the planet intend doing with its crynidium.

What happens is not my place to divulge, but what I will say is that there are many twists and turns, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book for its energetic pace, intrigue, and action sequences. If I had to explain why I have rated the book four stars and not five, I would say that, on occasion, plot information is presented without detail or explanation; for example, I finished the book wondering whether I had missed an exposition of how the prophet came to be recaptured.

But all in all, this is an entertaining story with a well-imagined future Earth, a well-constructed alien civilisation, and enough substance to exercise the mind of the reader, as all good science fiction should.
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portdor
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2016
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fairly good
One person found this helpful
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Kindle2
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2023
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I feel this is one of the best reads I've had in a long while. I am looking forward o to the next in the series. Excellent characters and a great plot. Fast paced and good plot.
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Top reviews from other countries

EMcD
5.0 out of 5 stars Another must read from PJ McDermott!
Reviewed in Canada on November 13, 2015
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Avanaux is a wonderful exciting read! It takes place in 2179 and is such an interesting story that actually made me forget I was reading an e book which resulted in my attempting to turn pages on my iPad! Being a very novice science fiction reader, my attention was constantly captured, being almost unable to wait to discover what was going to happen next. PJ McDermott knows how to keep your interest and keep you on the edge of your seat! His description of the characters has you shaking your head wondering where he gets his ideas from. This is a must read for all audiences.
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Sonyboy39
5.0 out of 5 stars A marvellous read the best traditions of science fiction
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2015
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The best science fiction stories for me are works that build a universe with interesting plot, location and characters.
It appears to me that PJ McDermott’s new novel, Avanaux, the first part of a trilogy, is no exception in using these cornerstones of the science fiction genre. This is a fascinating and thought provoking story that mixes adventure, exotic locations and is filled with believable characters that I wanted to know more about.
The story itself involves a quest to the planet Prosperine and encounters with their avian/saurian indigenous population in search of the prophesied second coming of the messiah.
The plot briskly moves along, as we are taken on a journey of discovery alongside the main character Hickory Lace and her companions. One of the things,amongst others, I found interesting was the background history of the characters and indeed, the historical background that lead to the quest in the first place. Regarding the background to the story, there is a prelude short story freely available for download for kindle users. I read this and I was immediately hooked. It made me want to find out would happen next.
After reading the first part of the trilogy I am really looking forward to more adventure when the second part is released.
This is an exciting and riveting science fiction adventure.
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Mandy Walkden-Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Unique story. Thoroughly entertaining!
Reviewed in Australia on April 26, 2016
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Delightfully well written, totally intriguing tale.
Well, this book caught me totally unaware. I assumed, purely due to the rather fluffy name given to the main character and my in-built bias, that this was very much a young protagonist and yet another in a long line of coming of age tales, some good, but many not. It's not and Hickory is not. Although I don't think her actual age was ever mentioned.

It's a thoroughly absorbing story of an encounter with a technologically less advanced race, whom I found extremely fascinating. Alien humanoids of avian descent, who wouldn't be intrigued. Speaking of which, there's some great intrigue and conspiracies mixed in with the action.

The characters are very well developed, some charming, some downright nasty, but all enjoyable to meet.

It's the unusual premise of this series that makes it so unique and lifts it above many others. Hunting alien worlds for a possible re-emerged Jesus, as foretold by a prophesy. It's not preachy, ever, and most of the investigators are agnostic or atheist, which keeps a balance. No fanatics, just the scientific assessors of the Alien Corps.

And what and who they find on the planet of Prosperpine is truly intriguing.

Highly recommended!

I will most definitely be following the series - the teams next port of call - a planet called Atlantis. Now that's just irresistible!
2 people found this helpful
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Aussie Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars Religious Science Fiction?
Reviewed in Australia on September 21, 2016
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It seemed to start slowly. Perhaps this was the sign of an intriguing story line. The non interference rule of the IA is reminiscent of most science fiction stories. The search for The messiah on other worlds adds a religious twist not often seen in this genre.
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F2Andy
4.0 out of 5 stars but jungle grows fine. And the natives do not eat meat
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2016
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This book has a fair bit going for it, but it really needed to be checked over by someone who knows some science. Birds are not the only oviparous animals, and the whole thing about the native life at the start was just nonsense. The whole rare element things is so over done and just makes no sense in science. The FTL explanation was laughable. The natives apparently have problems growng crops, but jungle grows fine. And the natives do not eat meat, except for when they do. Oh, and nuts are actually vegetable matter. Some books that does not matter, but this one is trying to look like it knows what it is talking about, and ends up showing that really it does not.
Having said all that, I did enjoy it. The basic premise, looking for Jesus on alien planets, is a neat idea (and there is no sense of Christianity being preached in the book), but not sure I would bother with any more in the series.
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