Steelheart

By: William C. Dietz

Narrated by: Bill Quinn

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

An android named Harley Doon finds himself caught in a battle between human and alien. It’s not his fight, but somebody has to save the world.

Years ago, when humans and androids crash landed onto the planet Zuul, whatever remained of their society quickly succumbed to the ravages of earthquakes and a never-ending winter from volcanic dust clouds. As humans and machines scavenged to stay alive, they also faced the Zid, an alien race that abhors all technology with religious fervor. Add to that the Mothri - giant, bug-like aliens with brilliant minds and their own nanotechnology - and it is no longer simply the planet’s geological upheaval that proves volatile.

War between the races looms. Will Doon, tired and reluctant, rise to lead the fight? Can humans harness technology to save the planet, itself, before the Zid arrive? And, what secrets does Doon carry inside of him that might help them all?

©1998 William C. Dietz (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Aliens, humans, androids and anti-technology.

At first I thought this was a bit of a cliche, but Mr Dietz managed to squeeze in a few nice touches to round out his characters to avoid being too formulaic. Some obvious "baddies" and "goodies" and some parts were a bit clunky, but overall I enjoyed it. I don't think it was as good as his more overt military sci fi, but worth a read. My only complaint about the narrator was the aliens came over a bit like a cross between the Cisco Kid and Speedy Gonzalez - other wise he did a great job.