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The Pattern Universe #1
The Pattern Ship
“Sometimes, aliens just want to eradicate us.”
When particles of a metal skull plate forged from a meteorite end up in another universe in the middle of an alien war, it triggers an immediate and deadly response.
One man has to deal with a formidable human enemy who has the power to wreck the future. Only then can he prepare Earth’s defences for the coming alien war.
The Pattern Ship, Part 1 of the Pattern Universe, unrolls in a fast-moving compelling space action series that will grip your imagination right up to its dramatic conclusion.
When particles of a metal skull plate forged from a meteorite end up in another universe in the middle of an alien war, it triggers an immediate and deadly response.
One man has to deal with a formidable human enemy who has the power to wreck the future. Only then can he prepare Earth’s defences for the coming alien war.
The Pattern Ship, Part 1 of the Pattern Universe, unrolls in a fast-moving compelling space action series that will grip your imagination right up to its dramatic conclusion.
243 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 21, 2013
484 people are currently reading
603 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
June 28, 2019
This book is worth, at most, 1.5 stars, but I enjoyed it somewhat better than that number probably suggests – mostly because the book came to me at the right time, making it resonate with real world implications.
I loved the story* up until the final two or three chapters. At that point, my investment in Roote's world and the characters populating it stopped being enough to completely offset the poor editing (is it "Jefferson" or "Jeffreys"? whichever it is, "quiickly" is not a word), bad punctuation (beyond the comma abuse, mind), word-choice missteps ("identity" in place of "entity"?) among other annoyances.
Still, Roote did create a set of circumstances that made sense in context. That required quite a bit of explanation, and the action took place over a period of five-plus years. Those things, combined with the relatively low page-count, meant that there was a lot more telling than I would usually tolerate. Yet, with Roote's voice, it seemed less unnatural and intrusive than it normally might. (That's a first for me.) I know lots of readers will have issues with it, however.
Only two of the main characters, the main "good guys", as it were, worked for me. They were pretty much cardboard cutouts (just like all the others), but I still ended caring about them. After all, the fate of the planet was in their hands; their well-being was in humanity's best interests.
I fairly quickly got used to the oddness of supposedly American characters primarily using decidedly non-American English, with a bit of what I like to call "Cartoon Anerican" thrown in for good measure. But it proved a distraction until I was able to dismiss it as an idiosyncrasy fundamental to Roote's style. Note, however, that he doesn't get American government and military structures right, either.
There were generalisations about the Chinese and Russian peoples that set my teeth on edge. But as those ideas were ostensibly in the mind of one of the characters, I tried to look past them. It was enough to lose the book half a star, though.
*Okay, so I was more intrigued by the science being presented, than by the story that served as a decent enough vehicle for presenting it.
I loved the story* up until the final two or three chapters. At that point, my investment in Roote's world and the characters populating it stopped being enough to completely offset the poor editing (is it "Jefferson" or "Jeffreys"? whichever it is, "quiickly" is not a word), bad punctuation (beyond the comma abuse, mind), word-choice missteps ("identity" in place of "entity"?) among other annoyances.
Still, Roote did create a set of circumstances that made sense in context. That required quite a bit of explanation, and the action took place over a period of five-plus years. Those things, combined with the relatively low page-count, meant that there was a lot more telling than I would usually tolerate. Yet, with Roote's voice, it seemed less unnatural and intrusive than it normally might. (That's a first for me.) I know lots of readers will have issues with it, however.
Only two of the main characters, the main "good guys", as it were, worked for me. They were pretty much cardboard cutouts (just like all the others), but I still ended caring about them. After all, the fate of the planet was in their hands; their well-being was in humanity's best interests.
I fairly quickly got used to the oddness of supposedly American characters primarily using decidedly non-American English, with a bit of what I like to call "Cartoon Anerican" thrown in for good measure. But it proved a distraction until I was able to dismiss it as an idiosyncrasy fundamental to Roote's style. Note, however, that he doesn't get American government and military structures right, either.
There were generalisations about the Chinese and Russian peoples that set my teeth on edge. But as those ideas were ostensibly in the mind of one of the characters, I tried to look past them. It was enough to lose the book half a star, though.
*Okay, so I was more intrigued by the science being presented, than by the story that served as a decent enough vehicle for presenting it.
October 18, 2023
Epic Start To An Epic Tale
What happens when a spaceship comes by as you breathe your last. To wake up in perfect health, with two new friends, an alien and an AI ship. An exercise to get a world with a plan for EVERYONE on the same page and cooperation world wide.
Thanks for the ARC. Buy this book.
What happens when a spaceship comes by as you breathe your last. To wake up in perfect health, with two new friends, an alien and an AI ship. An exercise to get a world with a plan for EVERYONE on the same page and cooperation world wide.
Thanks for the ARC. Buy this book.
February 7, 2016
Intriguing premise which shows a lot of promise, but....
First the good. I really enjoyed the underlying premise of the story. Alien war, earth encounters a friendly alien which brings our tech up to par to be able to stand a chance in the forthcoming war. Good plot device.
Other reviewers have commented on the need for professional editing and I won't say anything about that other than I agree.
However, my biggest gripes about this novel are first I'm not a big fan of the narrative style of writing. I'd rather be inside a character's point of view. Secondly, none of the characters were nuanced at all. They were like cardboard cutout good guys and bad guys. And finally none of them ever seemed like they were ever in any real peril. A problem was presented and they got out of it in a page or two. Not really realistic as there was no real struggle, at least not a struggle the reader ever witnessed.
In short, I thought the book showed some clever plot devices but not nearly enough character development or story development.
First the good. I really enjoyed the underlying premise of the story. Alien war, earth encounters a friendly alien which brings our tech up to par to be able to stand a chance in the forthcoming war. Good plot device.
Other reviewers have commented on the need for professional editing and I won't say anything about that other than I agree.
However, my biggest gripes about this novel are first I'm not a big fan of the narrative style of writing. I'd rather be inside a character's point of view. Secondly, none of the characters were nuanced at all. They were like cardboard cutout good guys and bad guys. And finally none of them ever seemed like they were ever in any real peril. A problem was presented and they got out of it in a page or two. Not really realistic as there was no real struggle, at least not a struggle the reader ever witnessed.
In short, I thought the book showed some clever plot devices but not nearly enough character development or story development.
January 29, 2018
I was able to get through it, thus the star...but really pretty terrible. It reads like a story from SF's early pulptastic days, being written in wooden prose, with a plot that is largely a vehicle for showing super science in action and featuring a cast of people with no personality who are there just to discuss super science or help said plot along by showing it in action. The first woman doesn't show up until 75% of the way through, neither she nor the other couple who eventually roll into view are more than wives/food providers, and here's the author's idea of characterization: "The man next to him was fat, greasy and of probable Italian, or Sicilian descent judging by his black hair, olive skin and meatball gravy on his suit." Also, the proofreading is low rent, as multiple instances of "lightening" instead of "lightning" show and also two passages where Zeke (the main human) is suddenly telling the story in first person for a few lines.
**Received a notice 1/18 that the book had been extensively revised...but that's not enough to get me to reread it.
**Received a notice 1/18 that the book had been extensively revised...but that's not enough to get me to reread it.
January 23, 2014
Author Roote provides a new and interesting view of a common SF theme. His prose is a step above that found in the new generation of ebook SF authors. I found myself having a real interest in his characters; human, alien, and AI. His inclusion of fictional venal authorities would have been shocking, had such activities not been common in real life. I appreciate the care with which the book was proof-read, and look forward to reading THE NUBL WARS.
June 19, 2018
I agree with most of the slightly negative views expressed by others and for much the same reasons. In addition there was no tension. Alien arrives to save earth, collaborates with some earthlings, other earthlings see alien as threat and plot to block the process for their own ends. Telling us about it in advance, in detail, removes a lot of interest in the story.
For those old enough to remember, this story reminds me of EE 'Doc' Smith's Lensman series. There, when a more powerful enemy was encountered suddenly we had a more powerful lensman to deal with them. I enjoyed that series when I was 14 but have no inclination to revisit the stories.
I also have no inclination to continue reading the rest of the Pattern Universe.
For those old enough to remember, this story reminds me of EE 'Doc' Smith's Lensman series. There, when a more powerful enemy was encountered suddenly we had a more powerful lensman to deal with them. I enjoyed that series when I was 14 but have no inclination to revisit the stories.
I also have no inclination to continue reading the rest of the Pattern Universe.
February 22, 2014
Entertaining! I found this book thoroughly entertaining. I agree with a previous review that the character development is good. the story line is fun and interesting. I am looking forward to reading the next book. It will be interesting to see how the characters continue to develop. Zeke needs another partner and ally. Maybe Osgood? Maybe someone new?
May 11, 2014
Awesome reading
I'm totally fascinated with the pattern universe. This is a wonderful read full of great ideas.
I'll be telling my sci-fi friends about it.
Keep up the great work and I'll keep reading. And buying of course lol.
I'm totally fascinated with the pattern universe. This is a wonderful read full of great ideas.
I'll be telling my sci-fi friends about it.
Keep up the great work and I'll keep reading. And buying of course lol.
March 4, 2014
Great book! Ready for the next in the series!
April 29, 2014
Very good premise well written.
June 7, 2019
One of the real cool things about living in The Digital Age is that everyone has a chance to write, paint, compose, etc, and put it out for the citizens of the world to decide if they are interested, or not, rather than relying on a middleman to make that decision for them. One of the really frustrating things about living in the Digital Age is that everyone has a chance to write, paint, compose, etc, even if they have little or no talent and no one to help them.
I found the basic premise of this to be interesting, but the book is not all that well written, and it desperately needs some professional editing. Its basic language is pretty simplistic, but the author bounces back and forth between sticking with that, or being more "high tone" in his style: this is off-putting. He spends a fair amount of time explaining certain things (this is good, most of the time), then at other points glosses over certain things that could use more explanation (this is generally not good). He tosses characters in and out of the story at whim, as if he is in a hurry to get to the end, despite that this novel is barely 230 pages after material is added to the original "printing". The story is about the United States, yet it is replete with British terms and usages: very few people born in the USA will call a flashlight a torch, and the use of "amongst" or "whilst" is definitely NOT an American thing, and rapidly gets annoying. While these words makes sense for a UK edition (or had it been about Britain's PM), most publishers know to "fix" this stuff when selling to Yanks. Even in The Digital Age, it is possible to sell different editions for different markets.
All of this being written, I still quite enjoyed this book, and not in the British sense of the word "quite". The story moves along fairly steadily, and while I would have appreciated more details at various points, I was able to forgive not knowing a bit more about certain characters: most of them (well, all of them, really) are two-dimensional, at best, and many of them make cardboard look as substantial as cinder block. But the plot held my interest, and this is ultimately why most of us read a novel: to see what happens, in the hope that the story has internal logic and goes someplace of interest. This novel does, and I do plan to read the second book: perhaps Mr. Roote learned a bit more about authorship in the writing of it.
Thus, three stars is about the best that I can do, and that mostly due to the basic concept and overall plotting. I'd be hard-pressed to give it two stars if style were the major factor of my rating.
I found the basic premise of this to be interesting, but the book is not all that well written, and it desperately needs some professional editing. Its basic language is pretty simplistic, but the author bounces back and forth between sticking with that, or being more "high tone" in his style: this is off-putting. He spends a fair amount of time explaining certain things (this is good, most of the time), then at other points glosses over certain things that could use more explanation (this is generally not good). He tosses characters in and out of the story at whim, as if he is in a hurry to get to the end, despite that this novel is barely 230 pages after material is added to the original "printing". The story is about the United States, yet it is replete with British terms and usages: very few people born in the USA will call a flashlight a torch, and the use of "amongst" or "whilst" is definitely NOT an American thing, and rapidly gets annoying. While these words makes sense for a UK edition (or had it been about Britain's PM), most publishers know to "fix" this stuff when selling to Yanks. Even in The Digital Age, it is possible to sell different editions for different markets.
All of this being written, I still quite enjoyed this book, and not in the British sense of the word "quite". The story moves along fairly steadily, and while I would have appreciated more details at various points, I was able to forgive not knowing a bit more about certain characters: most of them (well, all of them, really) are two-dimensional, at best, and many of them make cardboard look as substantial as cinder block. But the plot held my interest, and this is ultimately why most of us read a novel: to see what happens, in the hope that the story has internal logic and goes someplace of interest. This novel does, and I do plan to read the second book: perhaps Mr. Roote learned a bit more about authorship in the writing of it.
Thus, three stars is about the best that I can do, and that mostly due to the basic concept and overall plotting. I'd be hard-pressed to give it two stars if style were the major factor of my rating.
June 30, 2018
I just finished this Tobias Roote book, my first, and I absolutely loved it!
I have mentioned this in some of my other reviews. I am a devoted Sci-Fi reader but not just any Sci-Fi books will do. I look for the unique books out there, those stories that haven’t been told before, have some unique twist, or take one of the traditional plots and turn it on its head. The Pattern Ship is a unique story combined with a “turned on its head” plot! It grabbed my attention from the beginning and held it until the very last page and like all good series, it then made me say, “Noooooo, what happens next? I want the next book!” Fortunately the next book is already out !
I don’t want to share much of the story because I like people to discover every detail on their own as I did but suffice it to say there is excitement, humor, great characters, (even the A.I.’s have fully developed personalities), antagonists, protagonists, plots to change everything about earth as we know it, plots to save the world and overthrow the world, and so much more.
There is wonderful technology, some familiar and some new but most of all there are characters you care about and a story that pulls you in from the very beginning. You may find yourself rooting for the clever villains or the unassuming heroic duo who try to drive humanity forward. The Russian mob even shows up! How many Sci-Fi books does that happen in?
Check out Tobias Roote’s series, “The Pattern Universe”, beginning with book 1, “The Pattern Ship”.
I have mentioned this in some of my other reviews. I am a devoted Sci-Fi reader but not just any Sci-Fi books will do. I look for the unique books out there, those stories that haven’t been told before, have some unique twist, or take one of the traditional plots and turn it on its head. The Pattern Ship is a unique story combined with a “turned on its head” plot! It grabbed my attention from the beginning and held it until the very last page and like all good series, it then made me say, “Noooooo, what happens next? I want the next book!” Fortunately the next book is already out !
I don’t want to share much of the story because I like people to discover every detail on their own as I did but suffice it to say there is excitement, humor, great characters, (even the A.I.’s have fully developed personalities), antagonists, protagonists, plots to change everything about earth as we know it, plots to save the world and overthrow the world, and so much more.
There is wonderful technology, some familiar and some new but most of all there are characters you care about and a story that pulls you in from the very beginning. You may find yourself rooting for the clever villains or the unassuming heroic duo who try to drive humanity forward. The Russian mob even shows up! How many Sci-Fi books does that happen in?
Check out Tobias Roote’s series, “The Pattern Universe”, beginning with book 1, “The Pattern Ship”.
March 12, 2023
Zirkos appeared in the system and found it occupied by the enemy. He lost, and moments before his ship exploded, he was downloaded to an escape pod that had no room for his flesh. His pod looked like the ship’s debris, or he hoped at least it would go undetected. When the pod crashed into the Earth, it sank into it and did not have enough power to escape. So it powered down and waited for an energy source it could use. Some unknown time later, the Earth gave way and exposed the pod to sunlight. This was an energy source it could use, but there was something different about this planet. A sentient species inhabit it. Maybe they could advance technologically and help his race in the fight against the Tubl, a hive mind of artificial intelligence that destroyed any species that could oppose their technology.
The world-building is done well. I could see in my mind’s eye some of the areas the main characters were in, even if some of them were fuzzy around the edges. The character interactions were done well. Although, the exchange between characters left little for surprises or reveals. Even the twist at the end was expected.
This book has science fiction contained herein, and it has typical military characters. So, you may like it because of its storyline. I look forward to the second and third books because I want to know what happens. I give this book four stars out of five stars.
The world-building is done well. I could see in my mind’s eye some of the areas the main characters were in, even if some of them were fuzzy around the edges. The character interactions were done well. Although, the exchange between characters left little for surprises or reveals. Even the twist at the end was expected.
This book has science fiction contained herein, and it has typical military characters. So, you may like it because of its storyline. I look forward to the second and third books because I want to know what happens. I give this book four stars out of five stars.
July 11, 2018
I love a good sci-fi book and this one didn't disappoint at all.
An alien is attacked by its ancient enemy and has to crash land on Earth before humans have evolved, there it is buried for millenia. Finally, its ship's escape pod is unearthed.
Meanwhile, generations after the initial crash, humans are now on the scene and one in particular is having an especially bad time - meet Zeke Callghan, ex war veteran who is slowly being poisoned by whatever the surgeons used to fix his head with after he was captured and though now he is back stateside, another group is interested in what is happening to him for purely selfish reasons...
The two meet through unexpected circumstances and a bond is formed along with an unexpected mission for the poisoned Zeke.
The book is well written, the use of technology, concepts of how civilization might respond to meeting an alien race and receiving alien technology far ahead of what we are currently capable of is done expertly. A lot of thought has gone into the writing and portrayal of how events might occur and not just in one country but across several.
Well worth reading
An alien is attacked by its ancient enemy and has to crash land on Earth before humans have evolved, there it is buried for millenia. Finally, its ship's escape pod is unearthed.
Meanwhile, generations after the initial crash, humans are now on the scene and one in particular is having an especially bad time - meet Zeke Callghan, ex war veteran who is slowly being poisoned by whatever the surgeons used to fix his head with after he was captured and though now he is back stateside, another group is interested in what is happening to him for purely selfish reasons...
The two meet through unexpected circumstances and a bond is formed along with an unexpected mission for the poisoned Zeke.
The book is well written, the use of technology, concepts of how civilization might respond to meeting an alien race and receiving alien technology far ahead of what we are currently capable of is done expertly. A lot of thought has gone into the writing and portrayal of how events might occur and not just in one country but across several.
Well worth reading
February 24, 2018
Three stars means its an OK read. No problems with edit, story was interesting enough so I wasn't tempted to stop reading and the characters were somewhat engaging. The storyline involves an alien aboard a spaceship able to replicate itself and its maker who is attacked and left for dead on an uninhabited planet. Millions of years later the ship once again rises above ground and powers up. The planet is now supporting a society on the verge of space exploration. All the materials needed to rebuild itself are available except one. A metal half skull on a gulf war vet contains the remains of a meteor holding the only rare material needed to complete the job. First they must remove the metal without killing the human then they must partner to save the world.
The problems occurred at the end of the story. I understand they were needed to move on to book two but they didn't really fit. All other ships totally destroyed but this one left intact? Message aboard but no way to get ship to the proper destination without AI? What about war between hives?
The problems occurred at the end of the story. I understand they were needed to move on to book two but they didn't really fit. All other ships totally destroyed but this one left intact? Message aboard but no way to get ship to the proper destination without AI? What about war between hives?
June 15, 2018
This is the first of a series. The ship contains patterns, genetic code, for millions of things, alive and inanimate. As far as science fiction goes, this is pretty well written.
You always have to suspend belief about something. In this one, a US veteran has a skull plate made of radioactive, melted down meteorite. Of course, that would never happen.
Then you have an alien who has been hiding in digital form underground for millenia who comes out of hiding while his ship's AI builds a new ship and recreates a body for him from the raw material of Earth. The species he's been hiding from makes sport of wiping out whatever life forms it can find. This species has a hive mentality, so to attack one brings the whole horde in on you. While Zeke, the veteran, and Zirtok, the alien, try to get the nations of Earth to work together on a space program, the hive species is on its way. Oh, joy.
You always have to suspend belief about something. In this one, a US veteran has a skull plate made of radioactive, melted down meteorite. Of course, that would never happen.
Then you have an alien who has been hiding in digital form underground for millenia who comes out of hiding while his ship's AI builds a new ship and recreates a body for him from the raw material of Earth. The species he's been hiding from makes sport of wiping out whatever life forms it can find. This species has a hive mentality, so to attack one brings the whole horde in on you. While Zeke, the veteran, and Zirtok, the alien, try to get the nations of Earth to work together on a space program, the hive species is on its way. Oh, joy.
October 28, 2018
New & exciting read
No spoilers...
What I liked: character arcs were terrific. Plot was okay too, and I truly enjoyed the level of detail that went into technological aspects. It wasn’t dry or boring, was succinct yet fascinating. Totally believable.
What I didn’t like: that should actually read, what annoyed me. That was the poor typos that popped up every now and again. A good proofreader would have knocked those on the head. Silly things like lowercase instead of capitals. Double periods. Spaces between the last word in a sentence and a period. You get the idea.
Yet the tale that was told was sufficient for me to move along with the story, and not fling my kindle to the other side of the room in disgust.
I’ve already bought book two. Oh, and perhaps you’d like to know, I read it in two sittings. This is called, savouring the moment. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
No spoilers...
What I liked: character arcs were terrific. Plot was okay too, and I truly enjoyed the level of detail that went into technological aspects. It wasn’t dry or boring, was succinct yet fascinating. Totally believable.
What I didn’t like: that should actually read, what annoyed me. That was the poor typos that popped up every now and again. A good proofreader would have knocked those on the head. Silly things like lowercase instead of capitals. Double periods. Spaces between the last word in a sentence and a period. You get the idea.
Yet the tale that was told was sufficient for me to move along with the story, and not fling my kindle to the other side of the room in disgust.
I’ve already bought book two. Oh, and perhaps you’d like to know, I read it in two sittings. This is called, savouring the moment. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
September 27, 2020
The start of the book hooked me, and began to reel me in. About halfway through, though, I started to shake myself off. By the end of the book, I was free! Not getting caught by this author on this series again.
Too much ‘narrative’ and not enough of the characters. Too much “X did this thing, and it was perfect.”
And the premise that crime would be ended if it was impossible to harm another is juvenile. And the follow up premise, that governments will be benign, because they can is sadly missing the fact that humans are inherently evil, and prone to sin. Only an outside power can change our hearts, and that power is Jesus Christ!
He loves you, and has a wonderful plan for you. Believe in Him, and your heart and mind will be freed.
Government and social justice warriors will suppress and subject you to do as they wish, whether those actions forced on you are beneficial or not. And it does not matter, as long as you do as they command.
Too much ‘narrative’ and not enough of the characters. Too much “X did this thing, and it was perfect.”
And the premise that crime would be ended if it was impossible to harm another is juvenile. And the follow up premise, that governments will be benign, because they can is sadly missing the fact that humans are inherently evil, and prone to sin. Only an outside power can change our hearts, and that power is Jesus Christ!
He loves you, and has a wonderful plan for you. Believe in Him, and your heart and mind will be freed.
Government and social justice warriors will suppress and subject you to do as they wish, whether those actions forced on you are beneficial or not. And it does not matter, as long as you do as they command.
September 20, 2017
Overall, this is a pretty good / quick-read science fiction tale of Earth’s first contact with another species. You have a typical scenario of good alien being chased by bad alien, sentient computers, and the good alien enlists the help of humans and shares all sorts of futuristic technology with the humans. While the story was good, the editing left a lot to be desired as there are probably 1,027 unnecessary commas and several run-on sentences that will drive you bonkers.
I read this one for free via my one borrow per month utilizing my Amazon Prime membership vs. the normal price of $2.99; the editing comments aside, I did get more than $2.99 worth of entertainment value out of it and am off to buy the next book in the series to see where the author’s imagination takes the story.
I read this one for free via my one borrow per month utilizing my Amazon Prime membership vs. the normal price of $2.99; the editing comments aside, I did get more than $2.99 worth of entertainment value out of it and am off to buy the next book in the series to see where the author’s imagination takes the story.
May 11, 2024
I have to say a ginormous “THANK YOU!” to you Mr Roote. ‘The Pattern Ship’ is a truly awesome beginning to a tale of Space and earth. I was so mesmerized at your telling of this part of the story that I cried when Ship arrived dead with no Zirkos. I was very glad Pod arrived when Zeke needed him. I understand there are still many side ‘tales’ and full stories to go. Finding a book on space, earth evolving, AIs, and side trips that could hold my attention long enough to read all the way through and actually ‘want to believe it true’ is immensely difficult. I’ve read some that were ‘fun’ or ‘interesting’ but not one I would wish for the future of earth. Thank you, again. Write on sir, write on. Anyone seeking entertainment that should be movie level, read this series.
June 19, 2018
I am so glad I came across The Pattern Ship. It is a beautiful blend of technology, and politics that mirror our societies darkest qualities. The author manages to create an AI with 'heart'. The book is threaded with twists and turns through out. The ending is bitter sweet and has definitely succeeded in pulling me into The Pattern Universe. '
February 12, 2022
Out of this world!
Book 1 is very good. It develops at a good pace. Conceptually it describes events and relates them in an understandable (acceptable) way. It is fanciful but not once did I find any reason to stop reading and ponder the rationale or take issue with whether something just didn’t make sense. I am not a fan of serial stories and prefer stand-alone completeness. But, I feel that Book 1 works as a stand-alone and you don’t need to read the next book. Book 1 lays the groundwork for the next book(s) to build on but doesn’t leave you hanging if you stop after Book 1.
Book 1 is very good. It develops at a good pace. Conceptually it describes events and relates them in an understandable (acceptable) way. It is fanciful but not once did I find any reason to stop reading and ponder the rationale or take issue with whether something just didn’t make sense. I am not a fan of serial stories and prefer stand-alone completeness. But, I feel that Book 1 works as a stand-alone and you don’t need to read the next book. Book 1 lays the groundwork for the next book(s) to build on but doesn’t leave you hanging if you stop after Book 1.
August 30, 2018
A Good Read
I enjoyed this book. It’s well written, the alien is everything one could wish. Ethical, kind and decent. The human he has to take the metal he needs from(it was used to make a plate for his shattered skull) also turns out to be a good person. Together they bond and upgrade humans from their ways of violence. They do it with technology. Naturally everyone doesn’t like this and it makes a very interesting story. There is also a horrible alien race of enemies to all others that have just discovered earth. That story is continued in book two.
I enjoyed this book. It’s well written, the alien is everything one could wish. Ethical, kind and decent. The human he has to take the metal he needs from(it was used to make a plate for his shattered skull) also turns out to be a good person. Together they bond and upgrade humans from their ways of violence. They do it with technology. Naturally everyone doesn’t like this and it makes a very interesting story. There is also a horrible alien race of enemies to all others that have just discovered earth. That story is continued in book two.
February 7, 2019
Enjoyable.
U was drawn in by the build up of the technology. Connecting the humans to it helped me along . Then the development of the cha and their interactions moved quickly. The good and evil were balanced. Happily, the humans showed that they could have both in one character. The AI looked at first and then emerged as character. I am looking forward to seeing if the terrestrial AI devolved too. The interactions kept me intrigued. I want to see if the next one is predictable or if it has new mysteries.
U was drawn in by the build up of the technology. Connecting the humans to it helped me along . Then the development of the cha and their interactions moved quickly. The good and evil were balanced. Happily, the humans showed that they could have both in one character. The AI looked at first and then emerged as character. I am looking forward to seeing if the terrestrial AI devolved too. The interactions kept me intrigued. I want to see if the next one is predictable or if it has new mysteries.
July 17, 2018
Excruciating? Complicated?
The header has different connotations for many hoomins. Some authors have complicated story lines. Neither bad nor bedder as the final result should be satisfaction in delving into that particular universe. Jump into this and enjoy a pleasant country ride with hoomins and just 1 alien who’s a survivor from a predator version of life waaaay out der.
The header has different connotations for many hoomins. Some authors have complicated story lines. Neither bad nor bedder as the final result should be satisfaction in delving into that particular universe. Jump into this and enjoy a pleasant country ride with hoomins and just 1 alien who’s a survivor from a predator version of life waaaay out der.
March 11, 2019
Great terran space opera. Thinking on the plot (alien crash lands on earth, liases, world peace ensues), makes it sound rather boring, so I suppose that the interest and engagement comes from the execution, which is skillful and subtle. I never felt beat over the head, except in discussing the different aliens, which are a blip on the larger plot at this point in the story, ending aside.
Good book.
Good book.
November 24, 2020
An entertaing read.
I enjoyed this book and will check out the other books in this series. I did not give it a 5th star because I thought the rapid progress of earth technology, even with alien help, was not very plausable. The characters were a little too stereotypical to feel real. Roote seems to be a good storyteller so I hope for more development of the characters, especially Pod, in the next story.
I enjoyed this book and will check out the other books in this series. I did not give it a 5th star because I thought the rapid progress of earth technology, even with alien help, was not very plausable. The characters were a little too stereotypical to feel real. Roote seems to be a good storyteller so I hope for more development of the characters, especially Pod, in the next story.
December 14, 2017
Great book. Not enough made of the technological impacts, but that was all right. The story flowed fast and furious, not so much background, but the reader is kept close to the story by the strong characters of Zeke and Zirkos. A much appreciated positive slant on AI adds a balanced perspective of the ramifications of such advances in the making. A good, fast read.
June 14, 2018
Sick Language
Sorry I wasted money on more trash. Where are the clean and amazing authors of the past? Life is too short to waste on filth, but it seems as if our schools have produced a plethora of writers who know no better. Don't waste your time with this one, as it will only get worse as it progresses. Sad.
Sorry I wasted money on more trash. Where are the clean and amazing authors of the past? Life is too short to waste on filth, but it seems as if our schools have produced a plethora of writers who know no better. Don't waste your time with this one, as it will only get worse as it progresses. Sad.
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