The Thing Itself

By: Adam Roberts

Narrated by: Cameron Stewart

Adam Roberts turns his attention to answering the Fermi paradox with a taut and claustrophobic tale that echoes John Carpenter's The Thing.

Two men while away the days in an Antarctic research station. Tensions between them build as they argue over a love letter one of them has received. One is practical and open. The other surly, superior and obsessed with reading one book - by the philosopher Kant.

As a storm brews and they lose contact with the outside world, they debate Kant, reality and the emptiness of the universe. The come to hate each other, and they learn that they are not alone.

©2017 Adam Roberts (P)2017 Audible, Ltd.

Moving and complex

You don’t have to agree with the author to enjoy his ways to make the case that emotion, desire, analytical thought, and pain are not a confused mixture accidentally brought about by people, but rather at the essence of the thing in itself. It is an entertaining read too! Is the answer to the Fermi paradox here? I do not know. But it’s worth considering.

Readers can make or brake a book. This reader is excellent.

Interesting, if not gripping

I’ll give it points for originality.

I felt like it had a great setup but didn’t quite deliver. Admittedly, it is hard to deliver on such a philosophical premise. There were some great scifi concepts in this book, but they seemed a little disjointed, like they didn’t quite fit together.

I sure know more about Kant than I did before, though.

I’d recommend if you want something weird and a little surreal. If you want an alien adventure, skip it.