Ancestor: A Novel

Great story. Enjoyed it almost as much as Infected and Contageous (which I read in paperback). Unfortunately, Mr. Siglar narrates this himself, and I personally couldn't take his characters seriously because of the way he gave them funny accents and over-the-top delivery of their dialogue.

If you read this Mr. Sigler, please let somone else narrate your next novel, and I'll gladly buy it!

I relisten to books that I like. Some, several times.

Yes. Same crazy guy.

Anyone can get Sigler’s books for free via his podcast but I buy them here in their complete form. One, because I don’t want to wait for the next episode and two, because I want to give him money so he will continue to write. I like that he reads his own work. He reads with a lot of energy and passion. Definitely not a “polished actor” and I like it. I do not like it when he kills off a character that he has made me care about. And yet I continue to listen to his stuff. The jerk.

I originally bought the audible version of this book. I did not care for the author's reading voice. I did not know that he has a podcast with THOUSANDS of fans. I know because I heard from all of them when I originally published a negative review. I decided to READ the book because it kept getting 5 star ratings. The BOOK is terrific. I sat down on the couch and didn't move until I finished it. I highly recommend this book, but check out the authori's reading style before you buy the audible version. He is all over the Internet, so check him out first! I am now a huge fan.

I love this kind of story. The characters were all well-written and quite interesting, and the story itself was quite interesting with plenty of action and a good dose of science. I agree that it would make a great movie - I'd love to see what the ancestors actually look like!

Scott Sigler's story starts out promising but fails to deliver. Although the premises is intriguing, it quickly disintegrates into extremely short segments that fail to adhere together. Too much bouncing around between characters and scenes leaves the reader feeling like he's watching 30 movies at once where the channel changes every minute.

I understand that switching back and forth between characters and scenes is supposed to help build the plot, but I thought it destroyed my ability to grow attached to any of the characters and care about what happened to them. I needed to spend more sustained time with them to want to keep reading about them.

In the end, I quit listening about half-way through the book, and being a die-hard reader, I NEVER do that unless I'm really disappointed.

I'm sorry to have to write a bad review for this book. I'm an avid fan of Scott Sigler, and loved Contagious and Infected so much that not only did I buy the audiobooks...not only did I buy hard copies of both books...but I also bought multiple additional hard copies to give out as presents.

In the rewrite of Ancestor, however, Sigler falls into a trap that so many "maturing" authors do after they get an enthusiastic audience. They overwrite.

Simply put, this is a book about monsters, and you don't get to see (hear) the monsters in action until four fifths of the way through the novel. The exposition, while filled with interesting and almost believable science (I'm a biotech journalist), just doesn't carry the length. It could have and should have been covered in half the number of pages.

And, even the monster action is a little lack luster here for Sigler--whose novelty in writing interesting and compelling creatures is part of what so many love about his work (Sigler writes the creatures like many authors over the years have written wolf packs).

Admittedly, part of this experience is tainted by the fact that we've heard this story before. But, seriously, throwing in a few glowing ruby dongs references (as amusing as that is) doesn't validate overblowing your own work.

man made monsters

When the C5 crashes.

As the author he brings the right emotion into it.

I laughed where appropriate and was upset when innocent islanders were eaten.

If you like this, read everything else by Scott.

Fast pace and characters.

Love, love, love Clayton!

Yes, I love all his books. No favorites.

Scott Sigler is awesome for getting away from reality. Scott you are th only one who can read your books. I love your voices.

All Scott Sigler books are riveting! He is even more demented than Stephen King. Full of surprises and never disappointing. What a ride!

ALL

I have listened to his Infected Series and all of the performances are great. At first it's a little strange to hear him do the females, but then you get used to it and even enjoy it!

The whole thing was disturbing, does that count?

Check out his Infected series too, freaky good stuff.

Mr. Sigler is a delightfully twisted man who brings entertainment as well as horror. I would recomend any of his books! Check out The Rookie or Infected! It seems Sigler has cut his teeth on old school authors, and it's nice to see him taking up the mantle. No, I mean he has shed today's "man-gina" popular "soft" horror...and strives to produce the real thing. Nicely done...again!