Interesting premise patchily realized

While there are many very interesting ideas explored in this novel, I feel that I would have enjoyed it more and been able to suspend my disbelief longer had some basic plot holes been thought out with more care.

Without giving too much away, I found myself distracted by how casually the arrival of aliens had apparently been received by the world, as well as "little" things like how minimal the museum security was considering that there were aliens on site, and the inconsistent application of the rules of physics.

There is also a distracting subplot that could have been removed with no other effect than making the novel a solider read.

The narrator does a great job, and I have really enjoyed other novels by Sawyer which I believe have been better executed.

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Good, Canadian accents aside

Another great book by Robert Sawyer, who takes efforts to ensure scientific accuracy, however, misses ensuring the pronunciations and accents match the environs (Canadian in this case) in this audiobook. Unfortunate for a Canadian author.

If the narrator mashed scientific terms you’d cry foul.

If the intelligent aliens showed up from outer space with a moronic hillbilly drawl instead of an elegant British lilt you might cry foul. 🤔

Well, that goes for Canadian accents and pronunciations also. Our bible thumping hicks don’t hail from the Deep South so they don’t speak as such, but have their own inbred Ontario twang.

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Mindblowing

Can't just start another book right away after finished this one! Mind needs processing time...

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Well done, strangely less ludicrous than the blurb

The blurb really makes it seem like this would be weird and strange, probably gonzo. But I must admit it was an interesting way to insert multiple perspectives into a discussion around creationism and evolution. Literalization alien viewpoints is mostly pulled off. There’s an attempt at a sub plot because it’s mostly dialogue that is fine? Probably didn’t need it since it begins halfway in. But I enjoyed the book regardless.

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Enjoyable but...

I really enjoyed this book. Good story line and character development. I liked the narrator as well. However, I was very disappointed with the ending. I found it a poor conclusion to the story and just unexpected but not in a good way. Not a well thought out ending in my opinion. Otherwise, a great book.

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Profound

An outstanding piece of Science fiction with many profound Science facts embedded within. I came away from it with awe and a new appreciation for the complexities of life as we know it.

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Great book

At times this is a dry, cerebral book. It's generally more of a discussion of mortality and the nature of God dressed up as a SciFi story than a true Science Fiction tale. It is an extremely effective plot device to discuss philosophical and really weighty issues: Mortality, Religion, Intelligent Design vs Strict Atheism.
Tom sounds like a cross between my Paleontology professor in University and the TA we had for Comparative Anatomy. Hollis, the alien, sounds like a reasoned and very intelligent pastor. This is NOT a debate, however, but a story with a plot and everything (and a pretty good one, though not perfectly executed - at points it gets silly and clichee'd)
Jonathan Davis does a pretty good job reading some stretches of fairly bland writing. His choice of light accent for Hollis is like an Oxford-educated maharaja from Colonial India. At times it sounds like he's reading an instruction manual of some kind. A little monotone for my tastes.

Notwithstanding, a decent reading of a great "Makes ya think, don't it?" novel. Easily 9 out of 10 stars.

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Great book

Love the story, love the debate creation vs evolution. I would recommend this book to all.

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Good Scifi

A fun SciFi what if. You may fear this goes to far in either direction but rest assured anything it does stays within the confines of the scenario.

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Better than I expected

I can see why many people will find this story offensive, but as a staunch atheist, I found it thought provoking. It starts out strong, but the last 25% it seems to lose its way.

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1 person found this helpful