Paradise

Expeditionary Force, Book 3

By: Craig Alanson

Narrated by: R.C. Bray

Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

While the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman have been trying to assure that hostile aliens do not have access to Earth, the UN Expeditionary Force has been stranded on the planet they nicknamed "Paradise".

The Flying Dutchman is headed back out on another mission, and the UN wants the ship to find out the status of the humans on Paradise. But Colonel Joe Bishop warns that they might not like what they find, and they can't do anything about it without endangering Earth.

©2016 Craig Alanson (P)2017 Podium Publishing

outstanding!

If you don't like this series, you truly are a monkey. Brilliant narration by RC Bray!

When's -#4 coming????

Title says it all. I am really looking forward to the next, of a hopefully long run of books

Meh

Ending was, meh. 1 w e e r r r r r r r d

Great momentum

One of my issues with long series works is that sometimes the later books can start to drag as the author uses up the story potential. I'm happy to report that the author has done an excellent job of maintaining momentum and I didn't find the third book to drag at all. I credit this to the author's talent for developing a clever and complex plot line that makes it easy for the listener to stay invested without boredom as the twists and turns slowly unwind. As with the first two books, I appreciated the sarcastic dry wit of Skippy and his interactions with Joe and the team are just the right level of sarcastic fun and snark. This absolutely helps elevate the slower elements of the plot and the necessary detailed but geeky descriptions of technology in a way that maintains the momentum. After all, while technical details can be pivotal to understanding the plot, delivering those descriptions without bogging down the story and arresting momentum can be difficult but the snark carries the book along without succumbing to "meh." I also appreciate that each book seems to me to end in a logical place. While there is still more story to be told and the author sets up the next book with some open ended questions, he does a decent job of wrapping up each story line in a reasonably logical place for those that need to exit the series before reaching the final destination. However, I'm enjoying the series so much, I just keep listening to the books back to back. However, if I did take a break between books, I wouldn't find the books' individual cutoff points annoying.

I highly recommend this series to those that enjoyed the We are Legion (Bobiverse) series and Jeremy Robinson's book Infinite. If you enjoy science fiction that includes space travel, interstellar warfare and strategy, artificial intelligence and snark, you'll appreciate this series. Spend the credits, hop into your alien starship, and buckle up because it's time to go for a wild ride.

Continues to be fun

This one starts to introduce dueling (but intertwined) stories. Want sure about it at first, but got used to it.

Great book and I love the series

Love this story I bought the next book halfway through this one it was soon good. even my wife loves this story

good but...

i mean, i enjoyed it, but really feels like the story is being dragged out, and there's a lot of repetitive expanations/banter... this whole book was kindof a filler. i was hoping this would be a 3 part series. wasnt nad, but not sure if im going to continue on this saga.

Entertaining but predictable

If you could sum up Paradise in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining, Predictable, Unimaginative

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Build Skippy's character out with more plot lines.

What about R.C. Bray’s performance did you like?

Enjoy the spirt he puts into his readings.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No it seemed to drag on to the predictable ending with no finality in sight.

Any additional comments?

While this isn't the best book it is entertaining and I did like listening to it. It's far from a intellectual SF series though.

Continues the "Awesomeness "

the author does a great job of continuing The Saga of the X-Force. RC Bray is a talented narrator. I love this series. I was worried that book three would be a letdown, I had nothing to worry about

Skipster rides again!

Your lovable, ancient, artificial intelligence also known as Skippy is once again frequently flabbergasted by Joe's wiley ideas and dumb luck. A new character is introduced to be the brunt of Skippy's pranks as the merry band of pirates sets out to protect humanity on earth and on the planet humanity calls Paradise. Expect Joe to pull wins out his backside as usual as he continues to find trouble at every turn. Hilarity ensues.