Not bad.

It’s as if this book was written by a privileged Englishman. Nobody in real life talks the way the characters in this novel. Other than that it’s an interesting story about first contact and how colonial space politics would play out.

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great storyline

took awhile to build up but once it had it got amazing. had some great concepts!

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3 people found this helpful

Really worthwhile

It starts a bit slow but once it gets going it’s captivating. Performances are really solid. Plot is interesting all the way to the end and not predictable. If you like sci-fi this is a must.

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1 person found this helpful

Disappointing performance

Terrible performance. Mispronunciation of words and shonky accents.

Also terrible acting, the narrator consistently seemed to miss the vibe of scenes.

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slow start

Very slow start but worth persisting through. Well thought out story with lots of detail. Highly recommended.

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Interesting

The plot and premis of this narrative was quite good. Moved along quite well and kept me interested in spite of it's flaws. These flaws, IMO, come from the author's own beliefs I'm guessing. For instance someone who isn't well versed in scientific method may want to write the scientists as bumbling fools that leap to conclusions. This author then writes the religious character as the logical thinker. These two charator postitions are opposite to real life, so much so, it kept throwing me out of immersion. I kept thinking throughout the story "A scientist (Horvath) would not behave like this". Scientists are not bumbling fools. Otherwise I would have given it four and a half. Bit sexist as well.

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Slightly sexist

Slightly sexist but given the time it was written it was probably quite progressive at the time. Very well written, and spoken

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2 people found this helpful

Painful, I had to stop listening

I got about 1/4 through it, I think I might have appreciated it more if I'd read the text instead of listened to the audio book. It still would've come across as very sexist but the narrators performance adds the bizarre feeling of an earnest reading of a Gilbert and Sullivan play. It gets in the way of the story and makes it harder to absorb.
The characters are mainly two dimensional and poorly developed, and it's entirely plot driven without character depth.
As for the plot, I found it hard to avoid seeing it's flaws of logic in light of the texts other failings, and the alien beings were contrived and implausible.
A let down as it came highly recommended by a friend.
Give it a try if you think you'd find entertainment in a story written from the perspective and exaggerated values of an imperial navy officer.

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1 person found this helpful

Amazing!

Loved it.
I read the hardcopy version years ago.
But the audio version was a great refresher.
plus the advantage of being able to listen while I drove or perform some other tasks where are needed to look elsewhere.
The concept of whether finding an alien race with highly advanced technology would be the greatest opportunity or the greatest threat, is not an old one
But this story moves with enough pace and colour to keep one entertained.
The technologies and concepts are mind blowing.
And the characters are well developed and colourful.
And I now know, thanks to Audible, that there is a subsequent book. Excellent!

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Long winded let down quite frankly

Definitely not one I’d recommend. Story has promise but just not paced well and felt rather padded out. Disappointing ending.

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1 person found this helpful