deathcabforkatey's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book. I really did. But it ended up being a complete rip-off of Contact, which I can't stand, and I had to power through finishing it. Yes I understand he was inspired by it, I read the thing at the end. But the entire book the only thing I was thinking about was how much this story was basically Contact with some changes. Especially the way the book ended - I mean seriously?
Since when are schoolteachers and young children allowed into NASA research on extraterrestrial life? This is the most unbelievable part of the entire book and it's so annoying. This guy is constantly talking about how not-smart he is, and yet he gets the ear of literally everyone on this project? Oh and everyone is magically okay with the fact that he's on the team with people who actually know what they're talking about?
Also, the way it was written is aggravating. Every other chapter there's a moment where everyone sits down and basically talks through a TED Talk on whatever the sciencey thing they're talking about is. It doesn't flow with the conversation, it might as well have been prefaced with "we now interrupt this novel to have a schoolteacher explain really complicated physics to the reader."
The extra star I give is for looking at how this would affect international politics. I think that's something that often is not examined in sci-fi, and somehow the world is a-okay with the U.S. leading the world's effort in these things. So him including that is appreciated and I think interesting.
All-in-all glad I didn't pay for this book.
Since when are schoolteachers and young children allowed into NASA research on extraterrestrial life? This is the most unbelievable part of the entire book and it's so annoying. This guy is constantly talking about how not-smart he is, and yet he gets the ear of literally everyone on this project? Oh and everyone is magically okay with the fact that he's on the team with people who actually know what they're talking about?
Also, the way it was written is aggravating. Every other chapter there's a moment where everyone sits down and basically talks through a TED Talk on whatever the sciencey thing they're talking about is. It doesn't flow with the conversation, it might as well have been prefaced with "we now interrupt this novel to have a schoolteacher explain really complicated physics to the reader."
The extra star I give is for looking at how this would affect international politics. I think that's something that often is not examined in sci-fi, and somehow the world is a-okay with the U.S. leading the world's effort in these things. So him including that is appreciated and I think interesting.
All-in-all glad I didn't pay for this book.
daydreamangel18's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked Contact and enjoy the authors attempt at a more intelligent kind of alien story in the same vein.
themidnightlibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
Thought this was cool until I watched Contact
apatter7's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this first contact story. The authors take on alien first contact and how the world will react is interesting and realistic, causing discord between other countries and America and not everything working as seamless as everyone hopes. Would definitely recommend and looking forward to reading other books by this author.
jimstockwell's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
alice_horoshev's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Too naive and rather preposterous in thinking that UN can ban US. Also it gets boring to read about super basic there is no rainbow colours stuff, the author brings nothing new to Carl Sagan's Contact.
ajlewis2's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the main characters. I thought the story dragged a bit in parts, but not very much and not often. As the story progressed I saw where those slow parts developed into revealing a bit of the mystery. This was not enough to throw me out of the story, because it was so intriguing. It's so good to find another Indy author that I like! And he's written a bunch, so that's even better.
mallorn's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
3.75
eviljosh's review against another edition
3.0
Not the best written characters or most satisfying ending, this retelling (in many ways) of Carl Sagan's 'Contact' is still a great sci-fi indie novel, and better written than most of the indie out there (especially the indie sci-fi, which often verges on overdone and comedic).
Indeed, calling it sci-fi is almost a misnomer. This is a thought experiment of how an advanced civilization's probe may go about finding us and initiating contact, and how we would try to study it and work with it.
It's strongest when considering the scientific and religious impact of such contact, but takes a nosedive when postulating on political and security ramifications. The concept of a French invasion of JFK, using military transports squawking civilian call signs, is somewhere between laughable and ludicrous.
Still, all in all it's a great read, especially for fans of uplifting, modern/near-future sci-fi along the lines of Contact.
Indeed, calling it sci-fi is almost a misnomer. This is a thought experiment of how an advanced civilization's probe may go about finding us and initiating contact, and how we would try to study it and work with it.
It's strongest when considering the scientific and religious impact of such contact, but takes a nosedive when postulating on political and security ramifications. The concept of a French invasion of JFK, using military transports squawking civilian call signs, is somewhere between laughable and ludicrous.
Still, all in all it's a great read, especially for fans of uplifting, modern/near-future sci-fi along the lines of Contact.