Starship Bandits

Starship Bandits, Book 1

By: Jonathan Yanez, Ross Buzzell

Narrated by: Phil Thron

Two things hold our starship together.

Duct tape and hate.

In the near future space debris around Earth has made it impossible to traverse our solar system. Or it would be, if not for prisoners sentenced to clearing that debris known as Orbital Garbage Removal Experts, or O.G.R.E. for short.

Former linguistics professor Dax has made it a habit of working aboard The Junkyard with a small crew, the conspiracy theorist, tech-savvy hacker Mark and the once decorated military hero turned war criminal, Kane.

One day a job goes badly when the "debris" turns out to be an alien ship with a deceased crew and an autopilot warp drive. The alien craft jumps with The Junkyard attached only to crash land on a desolate, alien world. A world home to insects the size of cars called Underbeasts and the native alien orc-like Dal'no who have been thrown back to the Iron Age.

Join Dax, Mark, and Kane as they strike bargains with the formerly technologically advanced species, unravel the beginnings of a human written language, and find out they aren't the first humans to visit the strange planet.

©2024 Archimedes Books (P)2024 Tantor Media

Something different (and good) is hard to find

Enjoyed listening to this story as it is not the usual fare. Wish I found more like this.

Nothing new to see here

If I never hear the words "former professor" again, that would be great.

Excellent narration of a formulaic story that isn't awful, but mostly forgettable.

just doesn't grab the imagination

the storyline was flat and lacked a good plot hook. the performance was alright, but just not to my taste.