J. Frost

Extremely thoughtful story!

Revisado: 03-07-25

I loved this novel. I'm a big fan of Jack McDevitt to begin with but several of his novels were subpar. So, I'm a fan but not one who will say everything is fantastic.

This novel was great because McDevitt put so much thought into the ramifications of receiving a signal from ET. His conclusion is basically that receiving such a signal would not be a good thing. And that runs counter to my initial thinking. However, McDevitt provides so much thought on the issue from various perspectives including: the government, national defense, religion, stock market, medical issues and global concerns that I can see his viewpoint. He also shows how aliens might be alien in ways that we can't fathom, particularly through a radio message traveling such extreme distances.

As with many of McDevitt's novels, there's not a lot of action, but this one has even less than usual. It's often various characters talking about the issues, ramifications, and deciding what to do. Read this novel to gain a well reasoned perspective on what could happen if we were to receive a message ET. That's the main takeaway from this novel. Go in knowing what to expect. No alien space battles or confrontations. It's all Earth bound considerations and trying to figure out alien beings. But it's extremely well thought out.

I happened to love the ending. It involved courage and bravery from one of the characters in a very thoughtful way. However, some reviewers thought it was anti-climatic. If you understand the nature of the main character and his weaknesses, I think you'll find that the resolution was beautiful.

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Series has dwindled

Revisado: 02-06-25

I've read the first two books in this series and it just barely kept my interest enough to continue. This third book is the least good of the series. It just was not interesting. Too much time was spent just standing around and talking. Some of the ongoing characters were more interesting in the early books but have lost their interest by this book. Events were confusing. For example, it was not clear what was occurring during the "grand finale."

This seems like the end of the series, which is good. I will probably skip other books by this other.

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Just OK for passing the time

Revisado: 02-06-25

The characters in this book are just caricaturares rather and not full fledged characters. They have a role to play given the plot but that's it. Most of the story seems to exist just tp connect the dots that must occur temporally. I had also picked up on several of the plot "twists" very early on.

The book wasn't bad but you'll be ready to move on by the end of it.

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Sequel is better than the first in the series

Revisado: 10-09-24

The second book in The Token series is somewhat better than the first book. The first book read like a YA novel and there was less of that in this one. Also, there were more twists and turns, making this 2nd book a more interesting story. The first book was a bit predictable and plodding.

There is still some tedium though. We have a cross country road trip and Rory settles in to teach. Some things just take too long to develop. On the plus side, some of what appears to be irrelevant (e.g., Weylan's love life) is actually relevant.

So far, it's an entertaining if not exceptional tale. When the third book is released, I'll undoubtedly listen to it to see how it ends.

The narrator does a fantastic job.

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Amazing!

Revisado: 10-04-24

I continue to absolutely love the Bobiverse novels. I was worried that perhaps he'd run out of ideas but after reading this book, it's clear that he not only has plenty of ideas for this novel but many of them will carry over to future Bobiverse novels. I look forward to seeing where it's all heading!

The only downside, if I had to list one, is that I sometimes find it hard to remember which Bob is which?! I can lose track of them and their individual histories sometimes. But that's a minor point.

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Not quite as good as the first book in the series

Revisado: 10-04-24

I enjoyed this novel but it wasn't quite as good as part 1. For starters, while Ray Porter did his usual amazing job, he changed the voices of some of the characters, making them sound different than before. That was distracting. As a different but related point, some of the character details built up by the author in the first book were glossed over in the 2nd. Combined with the voice change, it just made them feel different.

Some of the great elements in the first book were still here. How do a group of college students save humanity? They need to juggle a lot and deal with some unpleasantness while also exploring for other Earths.

However, too much seemed to involve committee meetings, procedure, campaigning, votes and the like. Some of that is indubitably necessary but not gripping reading either.

I hope there's a third book on the way. I still want to see how this series progresses. However, I'd hope the author makes a dramatic change. Perhaps follow the college students as they navigate parallel Earths and the let the others run the colony "off camera." That way they can have more adventures and less tedium relating to just surviving. I guess we'll have to wait and see what Dennis Taylor has in mind!

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Entertaining

Revisado: 10-04-24

I really enjoyed this story. The idea of a group of college students first coming up with an amazing invention and then trying to save humanity was fun. I liked the characters and how they strategized how to proceed in such unusual scenarios.

I prefer the Bobiverse books but this series is a lot of fun too!

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Reads like a YA novel.

Revisado: 10-04-24

This novel really sounds like a YA novel. That's not a compliment. The author also doesn't understand how the FBI works. Some real inaccuracies that take you out of the story a bit. Additionally, some of the characters' actions aren't believable. Like the bad guy willing to wait days to receive the Delta. Or, after they get the parts of the puzzle in one location, they just wait for a third of the novel before doing anything. So, the pacing isn't ideal.

However, there are good aspects as well. I do like most of the characters and they are well realized. The mystery is interesting and there are some decent action sequences. None of it is extraordinary but still diverting. I will probably check out the second book in the series.

I thought the narrator did a fine job and definitely added to the story.

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Interesting but not gripping

Revisado: 01-09-24

The ideas were interesting but unfortunately the characters were two dimensional and story telling lackluster. Made it difficult to become invested in the story. Some parts were difficult to follow, not because of complexity but insufficient prose.

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The Joy of Discovery

Revisado: 07-19-23

As with many of McDevitt’s novels, you feel like you’re there with the characters, solving mysteries and making discoveries.

This novel is a bit slower paced than some and the narrator isn’t quite as good as the one who did the early Hutch novels. However, if you enjoyed the previous books in the series, you’ll enjoy this one too. You’ll feel transported to far off alien worlds.

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