David

As an engineer, i really enjoyed the elements of technology and physics as portrayed in this story. the author does a superior job of describing space flight as it might actually exist 100 yrs from now (oh wait, we don't have a space program any more so never mind). The events, twists, and turns in the story made sense to me, without the usual eye rolls and what ever's I normally reserve for SciFi. Finally, that an author was able to weave a cogent story in with the harsh realities of general relativity and make it all work was really very cool. While the ending is sort of a bummer, it was still reasonable.


On the flip side, OMG the characters in this story are awful! The main character spends the entire story being so vile and revolting that I was practically begging for something heavy to fall on her (sadly, nothing ever does). Further, the other characters in the story simply accept this deceitful scum of a person, make her their leader no less, and turn a blind eye to her exploits. I guess people in the future are either evil or sheep... Ugh.


In the end... I'm not feeling cheated for having invested my time and money on this story. However, I'll never listen to it again either, nor would I bother with a sequel... unless something heavy squishes the main character in the first chapter.


Shout out to the narrator... great job Mr. Reynolds! Some of the accents hurt my head at times, but you made it all work. Thanks!

The Aldenata series is one of those "best-of things"... it defined the genre of Military Sci-Fi, and stands today as some of the most awesome storytelling you will ever lay hands on. The only way you can not enjoy this series is if you either hate sci fi (so why are you here?) or if you have no military experience (in which case you may struggle with Mr. Ringo's spot-on depiction of the military mind). Mr. Ringo is former military, and he writes from experience. If you ever wore a uniform, you will read this, and say, "Ya, that is pretty much how it would all go down."


On the flip side, I never did like the story's ending (this book). It's one of those, 8:59 and we have to wrap it up and roll credits sorts of endings. Further, the follow-on books are all over the place in terms of quality. It is a unfair way to end such an epic series.


Was it just me, or did the human's weaponry suddenly get MUCH more powerful in the last chapters. Early in the story, Poslin baddies are running around with terra-watt LASERS and shooting up the country side with em, and humans are coping. In the final chapters, an ACS trooper gets one LASER and totally raises a ruckus with it.

In the end though, its a great story with fantastic narration. Can I have an ACS combat suit for Christmas please??!!

I hadn't read Buettner before, and frankly I wasn't expecting much when I bought this one. However, as soon as Mr. Andrews began to narrate the tale I was hooked. There are a number of facets to this book, but it is largely a first contact story from the point of view of a very alien (and ultimately pretty cool) alien. The ending is set up for a sequel, so it is kind of a jarring stop, but otherwise a great read. The author's knowledge of military armour is solid, true-born humans are arrogant jerks, and I'd imagine the orca was rather surprised (though only briefly)... read this book :)

Just wow!!

This is a great story, and the narration is superb. Get this book, you won't be sorry.

Wow, China Mieville can sure write a great story! The fabric of this story is so well described, so well written, I feel I've actually been to New Crobuzon.

Great work. Wish the ending was more upbeat and focused, but no worries. Not all stories are happy ones I guess.

Big gripe... there is a chunk of the story missing on the audiobook. Dunno how much. The main character is getting ready to leave his hideout to save the day, then a skip and a millisecond later he is across town planning with his team. Could have been a missing page or a missing chapter, dunno.

I was trapped in the car with this mess of a story for a week with little to do but listen as it droned on. The narrator was awesome, no worries there, and the author really does do a good job of describing the scenes and all, but the story... yikes!

Hours and hours spent listening to conversations that go absolutely nowhere. Then the big climactic ending (which plays out in about 4 min) reminded me of that episode of Dallas that had everyone so ticked off.

If the phrase "What did you see in the tunnel Deke?" repeated ad nauseam is your idea of great story telling, then by all means give this one a listen. Otherwise, give it a pass.