"So disappointing"
While I can't profess to having absolutely loved the original series, I did enjoy it. One of my problems with it was how it ended, so when I saw that Bova was revisiting it, I was really excited. It was, however, rather disappointing.
There was so much repetition of information. Every chapter, he would explain that Orion was a "mere creature" and that he was subserviant to Aten's will. Every time Orion got into a fight, he would explain the process of going into "overdrive." Every time. And it is an action-packed book. I can completely understand the need to recap some main points, especially when there has been such a gap between books, but not every five minutes.
Another problem which I had with the original books, and which was exacerbated in this installment, is that Orion never seems to learn anything. Sure, he figures out some of the mysteries of the universe, but then at the beginning of the next book, his memory has been conveniently erased and he is back to being helpless and powerless.
Overall, I found it to be extremely frustrating to listen to. I was looking for closure, and found none. It was the same story as the rest of them, just in a different time and place, and nothing was resolved. More books were hinted at, but I probably won't be spending my credits on them.
To be fair, Stefan Rudnicki was, of course, flawless in his narration and none of the blame lies with him. If you're a huge Bova fan, you'll probably want to go for it. If you're a fence-sitter like me, I would advise against this one.
"Poor behavior modeling"
I bought this book for my five year old daughter who loves to listen to audio books. In the first five minutes, the main character displays a number of bad behaviors, including being rude to and interrupting her teacher and mother and telling about things she has done like licking her shoes to make them shiny. It may not be an issue for everyone, but my daughter is too impressionable to be listening to things like this.