Alien Night on Union Station

EarthCent Ambassador Series, Book 2

By: E. M. Foner

Narrated by: Hollie Jackson

Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Five years after the events of Date Night on Union Station, Kelly has settled into married life and her job as the EarthCent ambassador. The only fly in the ointment is that most of the aliens on Union Station refuse to talk to her. But a mysterious new game is sweeping the galaxy, changing the balance of power between species and bringing game-savvy humans front-and-center.

As the invitations to diplomatic functions pour in, Kelly finds herself struggling to understand exactly what's going on, not to mention finding babysitters on short notice. Fortunately, diplomats and alcohol go together like, well, diplomats and alcohol, and Joe has started a micro-brewery business in Mac's Bones. The only thing left that could go wrong is a visit from her mother.

©2014 E. M. Foner (P)2017 Tantor

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Any additional comments?

I just love these books. They are sweet and refreshing.

The characters from the first book return, but this time, five years the wiser. As a result, Kelly and Joe aren't going on dates but taking care of a family. Union Station has also changed. It's just a nice little set of slice of life stories as Kelly does her ever more busy job as the ambassador and Joe has moved on to managing players in a new game and brewing his own beer. It's all just fun. The kids from the first book even get more opportunity to shine.

We get a bit of a mystery and some expansion on the universe, but honestly, if you liked the tone and fluffiness of the first novel, you will love this one all the more. I know I did.

such a fun book

light-hearted and well-written this book is a lot of fun. a quirky girl is the main character in this series I really like the cover art and imagine that's what she looks like

fun quick stories.

these have been a fun palate clearer. after several long books, these are fun stories. the verbal sparing between the characters is very entertaining.

Tired of trashy, dystopian, violent sci-fi?

I am. With the world itself seeming to be trashy, dystopian and violent, escaping into books for a respite isn't working when the books only offer more trashy behavior, dystopian world views, and violence.

These Union Station / EarthCent Ambassador stories give me a place to go where common sense and kindness prevail. Where there is humor and ethics.

This doesn't mean I won't read the serious, dark, and negative science fiction stories any more. But, thank goodness for E.M. Foner's writing that offers hope for the future.

Don't assume that this writing is simplistic. Under the world building is a very sophisticated understanding of where technology is headed, and how that will change life and business in the future. Some writers are very obvious in their writing with how they include and explain their predictions through the storyline. E.M. Foner is very subtle at how he includes some very interesting predictions of how tech / politics / business will change in the future. The story line is much more complex underneath than it appears to be on the surface.

While a child could listen to these stories, adults will recognize the subtle references to scientific, medical, biological, and all manner of technological advances that are in our future and will "ping" to such references as they come up in the story lines.

But, mostly, it's the friendly and humorous dialogue that makes me feel good. I love these stories and they are a pleasure to listen to.

A whole new genre all its own "cozy sci-fi"

Im a big fan of sci fi it all its varied forms. I also enjoy a good cozy mystery every now and again to detach myself from all the troubles and worrys that life brings and listen to something relaxing to de-stress. This is that type of novel but sci-fi. It stands out amonsts others in its genre because it focuses more on daily life on a space station and character development than any major conflict or plot point. There are intricacies of course but mainly we see a family and group of friends going about their lives, creating businesses, speaking with aliens and making friends. Very comforting, fun listen. This book in particular introduces one of the makers of the Stryx and i hope to see more of this character because he's a delightful character. If i had to compare this series to any other out there it would be Becky Chambers 'Wayfarers' series

I do think the "you know what" is a little steep for the amount of content included. What I've seen done alot with books that tend to be a little shorter than average is they'll combine 2 books into one 'publisherspack'. In this case wed get 10 hours of listening for one "you know what" instead of just 5 hours. No matter how good the story may be, 1 "you know what" for not even 5 hours of content is pretty absurd. I was lucky enough to catch these on mark⬇️ and im glad i did because their amazing books but i garentee the high "you know what" is limiting the audience....
Had to get creative with the review because "you know who" wouldnt let me post my review when critiquing the "you know what" 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

Light and fun!

The Union Station series gets better with each book! The author starts out a bit shaky with transitions and pacing -- the end seems to drop VERY abruptly -- but it's so satisfying to keep reading them as the author gets more confidence and finesse. I've read them, and the only thing better than reading them is listening them. The performance is a GREAT match between performer and material!

FAV SERIES GREAT READER

love this author. He can keep you going without all the horror, blood, torture, and rape that everybody else seems to think is so necessary. This series has a great flow, the characters are well rounded and interesting, with new characters coming in with every new book. You get to see children grow into awesome individuals. The Stryx are fun and engaging and I love watching them evolve. I have reread the entire series at least 3 times this year and it never gets old. So happy that audible is doing them as well. The reader is really good. She doesn't go over the top with the voices, but keeps everything and everybody realistically distinct. She has a good flow that keeps everything pleasant without pitting you to sleep. Definitely recommend this entire series to everybody, I truly believe it has universal appeal. great for kids or adults.

Very fun and unique

A good listen, the book is fun and well written with a stellar reading. I highly recommend the series.

very fun story

As always, the voice actress was great on it, and the story base was fun as well. There is a bunch of stuff on the galaxy wide game, which had an interesting addition too.

This series just gets better and better

Whether read or listened to, these delightfully original stories are highly entertaining on so many levels, from light entertainment to wise satire. As the series unfolds, the world building never stops. This is some of the best science fiction I've ever read, and the funniest too.