Echoes from the Moon

The Token, Book 1

By: Nathan Hystad

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

The last living astronaut to walk on the Moon has been murdered…

Silas visits his estranged grandfather's lakehouse in the aftermath of the deadly home invasion. What he discovers hidden below the floorboards triggers a mystery buried since the final trip to the Moon over fifty years earlier.

Rory returns to her family home in Vermont to write her second novel, but fate has a different story in mind. Her reunion is shattered when she's thrust into danger revolving around the same tokens.

Special Agent Waylen Brooks exposes a covert operation linked to the death of a retired astronaut. He soon finds out he's not the only one searching for answers and willing to kill for the truth.

The unlikely trio find themselves defying the odds, with no one to trust but each other.

Can they find the tokens before someone else does?

Where do these artifacts lead?

And what secrets should remain hidden?

Echoes From the Moon is a tale of lineage and secrets by Nathan Hystad, the best-selling author of The Other Place, Below Us, and Lost Contact.

©2023 Nathan Hystad (P)2024 Podium Audio

loved it!!

kept me interested till the end and I can't wait for book 2! plus, Jay is an amazing narrator and he brings the story life! "we're not alone"

Not the best but good

It’s a little flaky at times, like some of the actions the characters take. None of the characters are strong. The premise is tokens that when combined take you to outer space. The three characters are in possession of them and of course bad guys want them. Will read the next in the series when it is available because you do want to know where this all goes.

Nathan at his best!!

This book was very well written. So intriguing with great characters and great mystery. Nothing ever felt over the top, boring or forced. It is going to be hard for anything to beat this as my favorite book of the year.

The story backstory is BOOM

With 305 space fictions behind me, thing is one the grab you pull in to embrace the characters the backstory, and hints of what is next. Thank you Nathan for another story with 9 inings .

Engaging Story

The book has twists you don’t expect, was engaging and kept our interest, and best of all, little if any bad language. Eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

Hystad is brilliant – one of his best series yet!

When Commander Peter Gunn, former astronaut, and the Commander of the last mission to set foot on the moon is shot and killed in his home, his grandson Silas goes to his house at Loon Lake to find out what happened and sort out the estate. But Silas gets more than he bargains for, when he discovers that Peter Gunn has been hiding something for the last 50yrs. Silas uncovers a token, a piece of alien metal, that when you touch it, it gives you echoes of memories of being on the moon, memories of the Helios 15 mission his grandfather was Commander of.
As Silas is trying to work out what this strange token means, Rory Swanson, the Author also known as Rory Valentine, and granddaughter of Colin Swanson, who was one of the other astronauts on the mission, has fled Boston to her parents home in Woodstock. She has left an abusive rel ationship, coming home to write a new book. But when she gets there, she is inadvertently drawn into this mystery about the tokens as well, through some nefarious people.
Meanwhile, Special Agent Waylen Brooks has just finished a major case, when he gets some information about a break-in at a storage unit belonging to Fred Trell, who happens to be the third astronaut on the Helios 15 mission.
Waylen starts to follow up on the break-in, which leads him to both Silas and Rory.
With no real idea what the token means, or why Peter hid it from everyone, and now, why there seems to be people hunting and willing to kill for it, Waylen starts to follow leads, helped initially by Silas, and then Rory.
The three soon realise that they can’t really trust anyone but each other, and an alliance between two old family acquaintances and an FBI agent leads on an intriguing, gritty and enthralling mystery.
Hystad is exceptional at writing powerful, character driven stories, and Echoes of the Moon is another masterclass in multi-faceted, intelligent storytelling. Each of the main characters are brilliant, Waylen is this driven FBI agent, with a lack of personal life due to the work he does. He has sacrificed having a romantic life as he travels so much, his relationships never work, but he loves his job. However, recently, things have become a little complicated with his current partner Sanchez after a few drinks one night.
Silas is intelligent, but has been trapped in the family business, even though he doesn’t really want to be there. Recent events with Peter Gunn have made him realise just how much he needs a change in life.
Rory Swanson is a gifted author, but her personal life with an abusive partner has crushed her creative spirit, and she has just recently fled to her parents, looking to start over. However, the past is still interfering with her creative side, as well as an overbearing Mother.
There are numerous other outstanding characters that bring this story to life, without listing all of them.
Hystad leaves you guessing, as the mystery moves from one location to the next, and new things unfold, with thrilling action as well as some creative and clever sci-fi aspects.
The descriptive work is stunning, when someone touches a token, and gets an echo of the moon mission, you feel like you are there with them on the moon, looking back at the earth. The imagery of parts of the US is beautiful, such as Loon Lake, where Peter Gunn lived, and some other aspects (no spoilers), are somewhat terrifying.
This is Hystad at his absolute finest, a sensational sci-fi mystery thriller that just shouldn’t be missed, as it is easily one of best series he has written!
Jay Snyder’s Narration is outstanding. He has a really great voice to listen to, with a very clear and concise narrating voice. He does a great set of voices, having no trouble with Male or Female voices, and is able to produce a good range of Character voices, so that you can clearly tell who is talking without having to be told.
More importantly, Snyder is able to convey how the character is feeling emotionally as he Narrates, not just telling the story.
Snyder’s Narration makes this absolutely worth listening to, and I have already bought book 2 as an audiobook based on his Narration of book 1! Brilliant job – Thank you!

Stupid

It was just one stupid thing after another. First time a guy meets a girl she comes to his grandfather's house and starts going through his bags and stuff just because she wants to. Finds something and decides it's her right to out it to the FBI, FBI waits to shoot a man who admits he killed a neighbor and has gun pointed at another civilian. Just stupid over and over.

Nathan at his worst

Ok, to be fair, the book started out great. I was intrigued by the action. And then the wheels fell off. Nathan wants us to believe a gunshot victim can just "shake off" blood loss and trauma and carry on like its brunch on Sunday. The dialogue between characters is juvenile and unrealistic. For a moment, I thought I was reading a cross between a poorly written Harlequin novel and a high school senior's fantasy novel. The writing is so subpar, I bet Nathan could hear my eye rolls as I listened to the book.
Do not waste your time or money on this one.