Points of Origin

By: E.S. Fein

Narrated by: Betty BAT

Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

A hyperdimensional transhumanist space opera thriller that's worth every minute of listening. E.S. Fein has written a space opera adventure that weaves traditional science fiction, Eastern Philosophy, questions about who we really are, God and the cosmos.

Picture a dystopian future where Earth is dominated by a fanatical religious government called the New Covenant. Being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community is a crime punishable by death. You are one of two men whose names were sent in a transmission from the cosmos needed for a mission to travel by a new technology to another star system. You are trapped in a small space ship with a man that hates you on what feels like an asinine scavenger hunt for Points, or encrypted shards that are needed to further explore the star systems and upgrade your ship for the next decade. No matter how close your trajectory takes you towards Earth, you can never quite reach it.

You could not be more different from your partner. One is a famed gay astronaut, only allowed to live because of his flying talents, and one is a lab scientist with a dark secrets, who appears to be going mad. You very well may be the last people in the universe trying to uncover who made the machines and what is the point of all the Points?

This novel is in true dystopian form as well. The New Covenant are brutal and there are descriptions of violence against a number of characters that may be triggering for some.

E.S. Fein's poignant writing is a deep reflection on today's societal questions in an entirely unique science fiction setting. This novel provokes deep thought on sexuality, compliance in societal norms, religious understanding, drug use and our own mortality. At it's core, it amounts to a thought experiment on what could occur given the potentiality of our universe, even a possibility of what our reality is exactly.

©2018 Feinbooks (P)2022 Feinbooks

What a Series of Plot Twists

I met the author an UI-Con and purchased 3 of their books. I was so excited to start reading them! Though this book I had not purchased. It book was so full of twists and turns. each part had its on story and destination to the end. it was captivating through and through. Betty BAT did such an amazing job narrating. They made it all the more riveting.

original

Interesting story, definitely a good listen! Really enjoyed the voice actress. overall a fun time!

A sci-fi epic like no other

Story:

The arc of this book starts out feeling like a straightforward tale of two men on a mysterious quest, but quickly shows signs that more is going on. The book is split up into sections, with each one taking wilder and more abstract turns.

I have to admit that I was more engaged when the story felt more grounded, but felt a bit lost in all the space-time abstractness towards the end. That being said, the story is massive in scale, and philosophical or spiritual in nature.

I believe this is an early attempt at writing a novel by this author, so it’s a bit rough in parts, but I can’t fault them for their vision to write a story like this.

Performance:

The actress they got to read this stellar. She can express emotion in even the driest moments, and I loved the effects they put on her voice at times, to make it more immersive. I suppose my only complaint is that this woman has an amazing voice, but also what I found to be very feminine…which felt like an odd choice in a book that almost exclusively features men, some of which have low, or gruff voices. That dissonance between a smooth, feminine voice, and dark, gravelly-voiced men struck me as off at times.

Entertaining, Mysterious, Suspenseful!

The narration pulls your imagination into the story. The various voices helps visualize and build.the characters in your mind. I'm a sucker for sci-fi and this book did not disappoint.

Amazing book and narration performance - haven’t felt these intense emotions in a while

Oh my goodness. The level of frustration, anger, sadness, pain, the feeling of existential crisis, the feeling of something being so valuable but so worthless at the same time, and intensity, but peacefulness of it all are captured in this book more unique than any piece of work I’ve ever experienced before.

E.S. Fein has such a spectacularly creative way of bringing together concepts so well thought out regarding space, technology, AI, and transcendence. The knowledge and intricacy required to have a beginning, middle and end to all of the ideas painted here is incredible. I want to see more of what’s inside of this author’s expansively complex brain.

The performance by Betty BAT has amplified the personalities, feelings, and environment so much that I felt like I was watching this all happen right in front of me. The consistency of the characters, the accuracy of the level of emotions, and the way narrator made me feel like I couldn’t catch a break from everything that was happening contributed so much to the immersion of the book. All of the unique voices done by one person is unbelievably mind blowing. Huge props to the voice actress and I cannot wait for the next book.

This work made me instantly want to purchase his newest book Mendel’s Ladder, which I’m starting very soon because it just came in! And I also am very excited about when the Dream of Waking Life recording is finished so I could listen to that!

Highly recommended!

The story was imaginative and mind bending, I loved it! Looking forward to more from this author

What a story!

I'm not usually a fan of this genre but WOW did we get deep here
This author does a beautiful job really helping you delve into the characters psyche before bringing it all together at the end wow!
The narration was done wonderfully as well, I felt like I was listening to radio theatre
Overall a great read/listen and I'm tempted to dive back in and hunt for the little implications the author no doubt sprinkled in!

Holy Cow [the cow that can be named is not the true Cow]

If Robert Heinlen and Phillip K Dick had a love child who read Proust and became a Taoist….the first few chapters seem over the top, but push through and it gets more interesting. A wild ride but worth the trip. Stellar narration by Ms Bat. Fun entertaining and thoughtful read.

wowow I was not expecting that..

I have never heard of Betty Bat before I listened to this, amazing. Every character is different in voice and motivation and she captures it perfectly. And what a wild ride the story is! Got this recommended to me by a friend, well worth the time delving into self and being in this space drama!

I feel strung along

I kept listening to this book because just as I was getting annoyed by it, something would happen to give me hope that it was getting better. this happened over and over again. I felt strung along for the entirety of the book.