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The Gift
Earth's future is in the hands of one of two men. Sam Steele, a broken father and husband, or Eric Web, a career officer who believes the U.S. government is always right.
Visitors from an exterminated alien race have arrived on earth, and they are nothing like previously imagined. They are an interconnected collection of manufactured constructs, each designed to help a single intelligent life form. They call themselves gifts and they bring terrifying news. There is a battle going on among the stars and lifeforms like humans are losing. The gifts offer assistance, but it comes with a price. In order to receive their help, humanity must agree to help them.
What must humankind become to save itself?
Visitors from an exterminated alien race have arrived on earth, and they are nothing like previously imagined. They are an interconnected collection of manufactured constructs, each designed to help a single intelligent life form. They call themselves gifts and they bring terrifying news. There is a battle going on among the stars and lifeforms like humans are losing. The gifts offer assistance, but it comes with a price. In order to receive their help, humanity must agree to help them.
What must humankind become to save itself?
276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 26, 2013
251 people are currently reading
584 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
November 28, 2013
Picked this up for free in the Kindle Lending Library. I'm a sucker for "aliens-come-to-Earth-with-presents" kind of story.
This one was...OK. The aliens bond with you to make you superhuman -- smart, fast, etc. And they let you control a bunch of nanites that let you build cook stuff. Of course, they say, we're giving you all this stuff because there are bad guys coming and you really need to pay it forward by finding someone else to help. Let's build a ship...
The drama comes with over-the-top bad guys from the US Government are seriously cheesed off that a) a civilian got control of cool parts of the technology and b) they can't use the technology to project American power around the globe (screw the altruistic motives of these simpering feel-good aliens!!!).
And so a battle ensues.
For my money (and there wasn't any), I give this story an A for imagination and a C for execution. And the C isn't an indictment of talent -- I just think the novel could have used more polish and refinement.
This one was...OK. The aliens bond with you to make you superhuman -- smart, fast, etc. And they let you control a bunch of nanites that let you build cook stuff. Of course, they say, we're giving you all this stuff because there are bad guys coming and you really need to pay it forward by finding someone else to help. Let's build a ship...
The drama comes with over-the-top bad guys from the US Government are seriously cheesed off that a) a civilian got control of cool parts of the technology and b) they can't use the technology to project American power around the globe (screw the altruistic motives of these simpering feel-good aliens!!!).
And so a battle ensues.
For my money (and there wasn't any), I give this story an A for imagination and a C for execution. And the C isn't an indictment of talent -- I just think the novel could have used more polish and refinement.
July 13, 2018
I'm most of the way through this book, and on my drive in to work this morning I stopped the book and decided I couldn't even listen through til I got to work. It's just too cheesy, both in character development/actions, and in narration. The characters seem bland, their interests in each other seem strange, and why new characters are joining in for the adventure just doesn't seem to have much merit (aside from health issues). And the narration is just strange and over the top, like nearly all the characters seem too enthusiastic all of the time, in strange ways. Most audiobooks I've listened to the narrators at least have the characters talking like normal people having normal conversation at times. With this I feel like I'm listening to some "old time" movie or radio broadcast.
October 29, 2014
Great read ready for a sequel
love the characters. this was a very different kind of first contact story. well written and hard to put down. I recommend this to any fans of unique sci fi books.
love the characters. this was a very different kind of first contact story. well written and hard to put down. I recommend this to any fans of unique sci fi books.
July 5, 2013
Sort of silly but I did enjoy it.
August 10, 2017
Pretty good read.
I couldn't decide at first on three or four stars, but it was really well written. I wouldn't call it an edge of your seat page turner, but you'll want to know what happens next. It's also a thought provoking book, but at times it gets almost too deep,and some of the math, science and philosophically heavy parts left me kind of lost, but I think that's kind of on purpose. You'll understand what I mean as you near the end of the book. I had a lot of fun on this little adventure and readers of any genre could too.
I couldn't decide at first on three or four stars, but it was really well written. I wouldn't call it an edge of your seat page turner, but you'll want to know what happens next. It's also a thought provoking book, but at times it gets almost too deep,and some of the math, science and philosophically heavy parts left me kind of lost, but I think that's kind of on purpose. You'll understand what I mean as you near the end of the book. I had a lot of fun on this little adventure and readers of any genre could too.
July 11, 2018
This one was a part of “Read and Listen Free” with the Kindle Unlimited subscription.
It was a okay book for me.
It was a okay book for me.
September 20, 2015
In the Gift, government programmer Sam helps decode an alien program sent by an approaching alien spacecraft. This race send the ship in the hopes it would help the human race survive an attack by an approaching enemy. Contained in the ship are gifts which are intelligences that pair with humans to assist them in this task. However, the government will stop at nothing to get its hands on all of the technology and power it can.
So at first I was a bit confused by Sam...we don't really get his backstory or understand why he is involved with this secret team and yet be treated as an outsider. But as the story went on it became a bit more clear. Overall I really enjoyed this audiobook..it was a very unique premise I haven't heard before. The characters were all well done and interesting. I really enjoyed the alien aspects of it, and the way the gifts communicated and spoke. The challenges faced by Sam and the solutions he came up with were fascinating. And the story featured a rather interesting and cynical interpretation of how the government and politicians might react to such a scenario, which was entertaining.
There were a few characters that I felt were a bit flat, but the author did deal with the worst one in a satisfying way. The book ended sooner than I would have hoped, and there is no sequel as of yet. Hopefully there will be one in the near future. There are a few sections with a lot of profanity, so beware for young readers/listeners.
The narrator did a great job and really did well with the alien/gift voices. There were only a few times when he missed the voices and made the women sound like the aliens. There was one instance where a word was mispronounced, but that was the only time it happened.
This review was originally posted on MichaelSciFan
So at first I was a bit confused by Sam...we don't really get his backstory or understand why he is involved with this secret team and yet be treated as an outsider. But as the story went on it became a bit more clear. Overall I really enjoyed this audiobook..it was a very unique premise I haven't heard before. The characters were all well done and interesting. I really enjoyed the alien aspects of it, and the way the gifts communicated and spoke. The challenges faced by Sam and the solutions he came up with were fascinating. And the story featured a rather interesting and cynical interpretation of how the government and politicians might react to such a scenario, which was entertaining.
There were a few characters that I felt were a bit flat, but the author did deal with the worst one in a satisfying way. The book ended sooner than I would have hoped, and there is no sequel as of yet. Hopefully there will be one in the near future. There are a few sections with a lot of profanity, so beware for young readers/listeners.
The narrator did a great job and really did well with the alien/gift voices. There were only a few times when he missed the voices and made the women sound like the aliens. There was one instance where a word was mispronounced, but that was the only time it happened.
This review was originally posted on MichaelSciFan
October 5, 2013
You have to be a bit of a propeller-head to get through about the first 20% of this book, but after The Gift goes to the main character I couldn't put the book down. The only other time he gets a little OCD was somewhere toward the end where he was talking about factors, cubes and squares and it was getting on the tiniest verge of being tedious. The progression of the story-line, for some reason, reminded me of Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" which is kind of an obtuse comparison, but maybe you'll see what I mean. I loved the author's use of nanotech - a favorite theme of mine in sci-fi. Perhaps the book's greatest flaw was the character development. The action seemed it bit secondary as well. But overall, a wonderful, purely sci-fi read. I'm really look forward to more works from this author!
October 24, 2014
Honestly, in my opinion don't listen to these other negative "reviewers". I feel that the negative reviews were senselessly pedantic and picky. I found this book to have a very unique premise and to have a good use of numerical concepts that was integral to the story. A very compelling adventure, and I wold read another book in this series at any given time should it be written. For the low price of free on Amazon, this book is definitely worth your time. My only thing that holds me back from giving this book 5 stars is the fact that the character Web was the almost stereotypically senseless patriot.
Read
August 31, 2013I really enjoyed this book! I got the Kindle version, and I'm seriously considering the paper version, too. Very well-written story, and a book I just could not put down all the way through it. I read it at night, because I like to read before sleeping, and this was one book that really made me not want to go to sleep because I just had to see what was coming next! I also really feel the ending was left just enough open to possibly invite a second novel. It seems there is just so much more to the story!
September 25, 2013
The Gift by Dave Donovan groans along at times as though it were a Scientific American article. All of the characters have the same personality, with the exception of their underlying motivations. I choked it down in spite of this and was even disappointed in the ending, which appears to set up another book in the series. Bottom line - don't bother.
July 27, 2014
Couldn't put it down
Couldn't put it down
Thoroughly entertaining. Well developed characters and intelligently written such thrill_ride. the future of humanity depends on Sam and his selected team's ability to solve the mystery of "the gift" Highly recommended. :
Couldn't put it down
Thoroughly entertaining. Well developed characters and intelligently written such thrill_ride. the future of humanity depends on Sam and his selected team's ability to solve the mystery of "the gift" Highly recommended. :
April 7, 2014
Cool A.I. and first contact novel.
I love a story that gets my mind considering... considering next steps for humanity, motivations and illustration of events, both good and bad.
I love a story that gets my mind considering... considering next steps for humanity, motivations and illustration of events, both good and bad.
July 7, 2014
Great story!!!!
this story kept me wondering right until the end. The alien entities are unique and how they help humans was something I never imagined. I hope this is a series!
this story kept me wondering right until the end. The alien entities are unique and how they help humans was something I never imagined. I hope this is a series!
June 27, 2018
The Gift has some decent ideas behind it, but the book suffers from a lot of amateurish errors in both content and expression.
Some of the problems could be fixed by simple copy-editing: "it's" used where "its" would be correct (and other apostrophe problems), and so on. Things like this are so easy to find and fix, and (for at least some readers, myself included) are incredibly distracting.
There are also numerous little (or not-so-little) plot/characterization problems - relationships that aren't adequately explained, indistinguishable characters, and so on. Among the biggest problems is the nature of the protagonist himself: He's introduced to us as some kind of computer genius, brought in to extract meaningful signals from apparent noise in an alien broadcast; but later we find out that he was some kind of counter-terror commando a few years before the book opens. The combination isn't impossible, of course, but it's very rare - and the author does nothing to explain it to us. (It's equally unclear why the protagonist's former commander in this counter-terror commando unit is now commanding a specialist alien-contact team; the skill-sets are so different that it's hard to believe the same officer would have both jobs in his career.) There are many other issues that are inadequately explained - not legitimate, deliberate mysteries, but simply places where the reader is left thinking, "I'm pretty sure the author had something in mind, but I don't know exactly what."
Problems like this could have been fixed, of course - but as it stands, the book simply doesn't quite work.
Some of the problems could be fixed by simple copy-editing: "it's" used where "its" would be correct (and other apostrophe problems), and so on. Things like this are so easy to find and fix, and (for at least some readers, myself included) are incredibly distracting.
There are also numerous little (or not-so-little) plot/characterization problems - relationships that aren't adequately explained, indistinguishable characters, and so on. Among the biggest problems is the nature of the protagonist himself: He's introduced to us as some kind of computer genius, brought in to extract meaningful signals from apparent noise in an alien broadcast; but later we find out that he was some kind of counter-terror commando a few years before the book opens. The combination isn't impossible, of course, but it's very rare - and the author does nothing to explain it to us. (It's equally unclear why the protagonist's former commander in this counter-terror commando unit is now commanding a specialist alien-contact team; the skill-sets are so different that it's hard to believe the same officer would have both jobs in his career.) There are many other issues that are inadequately explained - not legitimate, deliberate mysteries, but simply places where the reader is left thinking, "I'm pretty sure the author had something in mind, but I don't know exactly what."
Problems like this could have been fixed, of course - but as it stands, the book simply doesn't quite work.
December 3, 2018
This one had plenty of elements for a great story: alien contact, mysterious artifacts, and cool superpowers. It should've been a slam dunk. It wasn't.
Almost from the first sentence, it was one cliché after another, as if the author started with a good idea and then just followed a formula for what was supposed to be a good story. The characters themselves were paper-thin walking clichés. The dialogue was painful sometimes. There was no depth to any of it. And, to make matters worse, the whole thing had bitter Ayn Randian aftertaste.
It was such a good idea that I stuck with it to the end, hoping the author could do something by then to redeem the material. That didn't happen, just a set up for another book I won't be picking up.
One thing, though, there was so much of Ayn Rand in this thing: humanity threatened by a possible future attack by an alien mass-mind, the ultimate socialism, a group of plucky individualists led by a brilliant maverick battling against the evil government. This book's John Galt was named Sam Steele, very clever that (sarcasm). I don't know how, in a future book, they'll defeat the collectivist aliens that will inevitably threaten humanity, but I suspect, somehow, that capitalism and the power of heroic individualism will save the day. Since I read it to the end, does this mean I don't have to read Atlas Shrugged? I thought about doing so just so I could say I did, but I don't think that's a strong enough motivation to put up with more than a thousand pages of that kind of writing, so maybe I'm off the hook now.
Almost from the first sentence, it was one cliché after another, as if the author started with a good idea and then just followed a formula for what was supposed to be a good story. The characters themselves were paper-thin walking clichés. The dialogue was painful sometimes. There was no depth to any of it. And, to make matters worse, the whole thing had bitter Ayn Randian aftertaste.
It was such a good idea that I stuck with it to the end, hoping the author could do something by then to redeem the material. That didn't happen, just a set up for another book I won't be picking up.
One thing, though, there was so much of Ayn Rand in this thing: humanity threatened by a possible future attack by an alien mass-mind, the ultimate socialism, a group of plucky individualists led by a brilliant maverick battling against the evil government. This book's John Galt was named Sam Steele, very clever that (sarcasm). I don't know how, in a future book, they'll defeat the collectivist aliens that will inevitably threaten humanity, but I suspect, somehow, that capitalism and the power of heroic individualism will save the day. Since I read it to the end, does this mean I don't have to read Atlas Shrugged? I thought about doing so just so I could say I did, but I don't think that's a strong enough motivation to put up with more than a thousand pages of that kind of writing, so maybe I'm off the hook now.
February 5, 2018
This first novel by Dave Donovan is great! A great plot with interesting, well-developed characters that is well-written.
I love the premise of this novel, a gift from an extinct alien race that offers our characters the ability to become more than they ever dreamed while also saddling them with the heaviest burden they have ever born. Donovan does a magnificent job of showing how different people will react under these circumstances. He shows an insightful understanding of the military mind and gives us a look into human nature, motivations, foibles, and compassion through his characters.
I would love to read more from this wonderful author but, I understand that he passed away last year. If that is in fact, the case, what a loss to the world.
I love the premise of this novel, a gift from an extinct alien race that offers our characters the ability to become more than they ever dreamed while also saddling them with the heaviest burden they have ever born. Donovan does a magnificent job of showing how different people will react under these circumstances. He shows an insightful understanding of the military mind and gives us a look into human nature, motivations, foibles, and compassion through his characters.
I would love to read more from this wonderful author but, I understand that he passed away last year. If that is in fact, the case, what a loss to the world.
July 22, 2018
I feel like there's more
Thiss book was reminiscent of Carl Sagan's 'Contact' but with much more depth. I liked the idea that the aliens were different from us but a after meeting Jordan I initially thought they had the same collective mind that they were supposedly fighting against. I was worried that the whole thing was a trick to get humanity enslaved into their colony. I am still not sure what happened in the end, what they actually learned, if they completed their task, what happened to the rest of the people who received gifts, and what was the purpose of their 'children'. There were a lot of unanswered questions for me. But I'm willing to read it again and any sequel that might be in the works.
Thiss book was reminiscent of Carl Sagan's 'Contact' but with much more depth. I liked the idea that the aliens were different from us but a after meeting Jordan I initially thought they had the same collective mind that they were supposedly fighting against. I was worried that the whole thing was a trick to get humanity enslaved into their colony. I am still not sure what happened in the end, what they actually learned, if they completed their task, what happened to the rest of the people who received gifts, and what was the purpose of their 'children'. There were a lot of unanswered questions for me. But I'm willing to read it again and any sequel that might be in the works.
June 25, 2018
I thought this was a very different take on the "alien's coming to Earth" type plot. The good guys weren't overly good, but more realistic than you find typically in this genre. The bad guys were really bad in this story, but in other sci fi books they might have been the heroes. I found some of the concepts of the alien gifts a bit confusing at time, but I figured it out as the story progressed. I liked it enough to be upset when the story ended and there wasn't a "Gift" number 2! (there isn't is there?)
Dave Donovan please write a sequel!
DSJ
Dave Donovan please write a sequel!
DSJ
August 30, 2017
Alien entities in the form of "gifts" (small orbs) arrive on earth and give the humans, after merging, special abilities.
The main characters, though they have backstories, do not seem to have a lot of personality. They remain a flat in their motivations. The idea behind the story is compelling, but it does not really develop the people involved beyond the obvious transformations after "merging" with their gifts.
The main characters, though they have backstories, do not seem to have a lot of personality. They remain a flat in their motivations. The idea behind the story is compelling, but it does not really develop the people involved beyond the obvious transformations after "merging" with their gifts.
March 13, 2018
Excellent!
Version well written. It was sometimes hard to follow as I am no scientist but I absolutely love the story. There is definitely a moral in this. I love science fiction and this is once of the best it have read in a long time. Definitely opens that mind to new possibilities.
Version well written. It was sometimes hard to follow as I am no scientist but I absolutely love the story. There is definitely a moral in this. I love science fiction and this is once of the best it have read in a long time. Definitely opens that mind to new possibilities.
August 4, 2021
As Sam concluded - That Was Awesome
As as lover of Sci-fi, this tale make you think about all the consequences of our choices we make in this journey we call life. The journey Sam and his team makes me wish we come do some of the things contained in this universe. Thanks Dave Donovan. Keep it up. This will someday make a great movie. 😊
As as lover of Sci-fi, this tale make you think about all the consequences of our choices we make in this journey we call life. The journey Sam and his team makes me wish we come do some of the things contained in this universe. Thanks Dave Donovan. Keep it up. This will someday make a great movie. 😊
April 4, 2024
I’ve had this book I believe for 10-12 years now. I was gifted it by the authors wife, we worked together. I was never in the headspace to read, so it sat on my shelf for years. I’m finally able to read again, and it was a great and original story! Though I was personally invested in it, give it a read, it’s a great plot!
January 30, 2017
I love different takes on alien stories. For once, we actually make it to an alien planet and an author takes on the creativity to describe the planet and the aliens. Usually, we always crash on the way to the planet. I enjoyed this book.
May 26, 2017
Awesome book!
This is the second time I read this book , and it was just as good as the first, the only difference is this time I was reading it to an audience of children who love it as well . Keep writing please, you are quite gifted . No pun intended .
This is the second time I read this book , and it was just as good as the first, the only difference is this time I was reading it to an audience of children who love it as well . Keep writing please, you are quite gifted . No pun intended .
July 23, 2017
Wonderful gift
I read a few science fiction books but never like this one. Story kept me interested from beginning to end. Nanonites are amazing. I hope there is a series from this book. I recommend ...gift
I read a few science fiction books but never like this one. Story kept me interested from beginning to end. Nanonites are amazing. I hope there is a series from this book. I recommend ...gift
August 20, 2017
Creative
Enjoyed the concept of alien life described. Writing style excellent..keeps the story moving, endearing characters and great character development. Will be waiting for sequel.
Enjoyed the concept of alien life described. Writing style excellent..keeps the story moving, endearing characters and great character development. Will be waiting for sequel.
December 4, 2017
I enjoyed this book, it is well written and the story is original!
I hope there will be a second book as I would love to hear more of what's going to happen! (Not a cliffhanger, but has the potential for the story to continue)
I hope there will be a second book as I would love to hear more of what's going to happen! (Not a cliffhanger, but has the potential for the story to continue)
October 31, 2023
Well thought out fun read
This book creatively explored alien first encounters, nanites, and human interaction. Interesting science fiction book, I would like to know what happens next.
This book creatively explored alien first encounters, nanites, and human interaction. Interesting science fiction book, I would like to know what happens next.
December 20, 2023
I tried, I really did. I'm over halfway done and I'm over it. Which is too bad, it seemed like an interesting premise but I'm having trouble with the poor writing and poor character development. I'm finding myself doing anything but reading this book. Life's too short.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews