Review - The Alien Scientist by Eryn Ivers

Garin was a soldier in the Human’s most elite military unit for many years. When he left the army, Garin went into private security and now guards Dominic Turner, the son of one of the most powerful families and a scientist who has developed some questionable weapons for the Humans. Now Dominic wants Garin to escort Sazahk, a Qesh scientist, into the “Dead Zone” to keep him safe while Sazahk investigates if the Dead Zone can be made habitable for a new alien species. Sazahk has an almost insatiable curiosity and desire to help people, but that has gotten him into trouble in the past and he is now a pariah among his own people. The two are complete opposites. Can they get along?

“The Alien Scientist” continues the Interspecies Alliance series with another mismatched pair, who somehow discover a mutual attraction to each other. This story is a bit more stand-alone than the other books in the series, although the scene for it is set by the previous volume, The Alien Soldier, so you should read that before this one to know what’s going on. Elements of this story also hark back to the very first book, The Alien Emissary. While the overall arc of each of the stories are similar, each one presents new characters in new situations, making them enjoyable reads.

Sazahk and Garin are quite a pair, and we get to know them well since about half the book is just the two of them alone in the wasteland. The two are complete opposites, but as you might expect in a romance, they end up complementing each other. Garin’s drive to keep everyone safe, especially Sazahk, makes him the perfect counterbalance to the scientist’s tendency to disregard his own safety in pursuit of information.

The character Sazahk is a classic absent-minded professor type. He gets so wrapped up in his work he often ignores his own safety. His inability to clearly express his feelings, or even acknowledge them, as well as Garin’s misinterpretation of what he does say, leads to most of the drama in this story.

“The Alien Scientist” is only available from Amazon (commissionable link).