The Wrong Number

by David Collins

This is the humorous misadventures of Steve White, who was taking a stroll and looking out over a small pond to see if any of the turtles were out. When suddenly, he finds himself over 400 light-years away. Surrounded by strange aliens and desperately trying to find a way out of this impossible situation. He "fakes it” and accepts the role of the Earth Ambassador to the Pathless, the somewhat insectoid partial humanoid 4-sexed race he now finds himself with. His goal is to return to the Earth. Their goal is much harder to understand. They want him to be the trade ambassador. But what do they want from the Earth, and what can they offer the Earth in return? The aliens eventually agree to send him back to Earth, but they insist he bring two of their race along. One is a female that metamorphosed into what almost passes as a human. The other in their normal form. When he arrives back on Earth, things get strange fast.

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 6, 2023

About the author

I am a retired software engineer who has worked on various medical/robotic hardware, oceanographic mapping, telecommunications, and submarine communication systems. He currently resides in New Hampshire and has decided to try writing some science fiction books.

Reviews

[Glenn Younger · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much promise, but…

This book had so much promise in the ‘read inside’ option for Kindle. Unfortunately, the book is in sore need of a professional story editor and copy editor. The mistakes in grammar, punctuation, and spacing were so numerous, it read more like a first draft manuscript rather than a finished novel. Plus, the story arc didn’t get going until the last quarter of the book and then left you hanging.

Perhaps the author’s idea was to sell this in a serialized form and he thought cramming action in at the end makes for a good cliff hanger? I only know I couldn’t slog through another book of having to reread dialogue to even understand who was saying what.

A lot of energy goes into writing a book. His idea was an original take on alien Sci Fi stories, my favorite genre. It had so much promise. Perhaps next time, he’ll invest in professional editing services or, at the very least, run it by good beta-readers who know basic English grammar syntax and proper punctuation. Until then… forewarned is forearmed.

[Dr susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining sci fi adventure

The worldbuilding is fun, the non-humans are great, and Steve is a nice person and interesting narrator. There are some editing issues, and parts of the story may be slanted toward male readers. But I laughed out loud more than once and thoroughly enjoyed the story. I'm looking forward to more of the Ambassador's adventures.

[Brennok · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun first start

Read this on a whim and wasn’t disappointed. In the future hopefully the author can include more often who is speaking. At times it is easy to lose track if you get interrupted or pick the book up mid conversation. I look forward to the next book hopefully sooner rather than later.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird Story

This is as much fantasy as science fiction, with many fabricated creatures and places. The technology is mostly “handwavium” or fantasy, the sociology is equally off beat. Occasional grammatical errors were noted, but the storyline development was consistent for the most part. Book 1 ends with little resolution and yet without leaving a hanging ending.

[Bill Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read!

I have read somewhere over 15,000 Syfy or related genre books. I have an very strong and broad science background. I intend to read all this author's books.

Would appreciate it if the author provided a link to the next book in the series.

[John Tyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this


It was a nice story that wasn't for long and it has a nice pacing throughout the entire read. I say give the author a try. In my opinion it wasn't boring and wasn't so out there you couldn't follow along with the protagonist.

[x x x · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

A bit more suspension of reality but man what a Universe for sequels! So many stories to tell from a ton of alien viewpoints. Just the vast size of the possible cultures if daunting.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining read

Another great book similar to his other series. Great character development and interesting plot line that can stop now as a single book or continue on for future books in this series. I look forward to his other series.

[William B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avery fun read

Was not sure what a humorous space opera would be like. The more I read, the more I liked it. Everything does not have to be so serious to enjoy. Actually hope there are more in the series to try.

[Bill Lents · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous and a fun time....

Funny and an entertaining read. Looking into more of the same from Collins. Enjoy this unusual tale of intergalactic intrigue.

[Joe Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wrong number

Good story with interesting cast of characters. The author has a great way of weaving the different characters into an fun story.

[Robert L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book

This is a fine sci-fi adventure novel. It is well written and edited. I especially like Cobalt. I anxiously await the sequel.