This Alien Shore

Outworlds, Book 1

By: C. S. Friedman

Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney

It is the second stage of human colonization - the first age, humanity's initial attempt to people the stars, ended in disaster when it was discovered that Earth's original superluminal drive did permanent genetic damage to all who used it - mutating Earth's far-flung colonists in mind and body. Now, one of Earth's first colonies has given humanity back the stars, but at a high price - a monopoly over all human commerce. And when a satellite in earth's outer orbit is viciously attacked by corporate raiders, an unusual young woman flees to a ship bound for the Up-and-Out. But her narrow escape does not mean safety. For speeding across the galaxy pursued by ruthless, but unknown adversaries, this young woman will discover a secret which is buried deep inside her psyche - a revelation the universe may not be ready to face....

©1998 C.S. Friedman (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Wasn't terrible

It is okay, not worth a credit. Interesting premise and world building. What brings it down is too many characters and a slow plot. It takes half the book to just get the foundation laid. There are new perspectives being added throughout. Each perspective has to go through some kind of sensory experience. They need to get some food, or describe some interesting scene. Or feel something and worry about it. None of it really matters to the plot. A bunch of characters she introduces just die.

The main character Capra is very monotonous. She is afraid of everything. All she does is think how afraid she is and how she needs to get safe. Ever had an anxious thought loop stuck in your head? That is her for most of the book.

I understand why people like it...it has cool concepts. But it could have been half the length and 3 characters. Would have made the book fantastic. Instead it is all over the place and you can just ignore a lot of what you hear.

great complex story

good story with complex characters and world building. I've read the book a few times, and the audio book added a great new dimension to the story.

One of My All-Time Favorites

I read this book in high school and loved it, and recently I found out that a sequel had been released. I downloaded it to listen to again before reading the sequel and it still holds up as a top ten favorite after all these years. If you like sci-fi, you can't go wrong with C.S. Friedman!

Just an okay listen in my opion

The book for me was a bit confusing as the point of view changed a lot, the story wandered around quite a bit. I must admit there were idea's I had never considered before, so in that aspect it made the book a bit more interesting.

For the most part the narrator gave a good performance, a bit weak on male voices, but all in all a good performance.

complicated, long but good

It was long. I had to reread a lot, but it's a very interesting book.