What do you think?
Rate this book
EarthCent Ambassador #5
Carnival On Union Station
Alternate cover for ASIN B00RUJXGAK
The first carnival to take place on Union Station since humanity joined the galactic community is coming, and the ambassadors of the different species are all entered in the election to become Carnival King or Queen. It’s not a job that Kelly wants, and fortunately for her, the humans get a late start at electioneering.
The first carnival to take place on Union Station since humanity joined the galactic community is coming, and the ambassadors of the different species are all entered in the election to become Carnival King or Queen. It’s not a job that Kelly wants, and fortunately for her, the humans get a late start at electioneering.
240 pages, ebook
First published April 6, 2015
273 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
E.M. Foner
59 books246 followersI wrote Date Night on Union Station while taking a break from work on a science fiction epic I've been struggling with for years. The goal was to cheer myself up and to find out if there is still an audience for a science fiction comedy that gets its laughs from dialogue and funny situations rather than from gross-outs and shocks. As many readers have pointed out, the EarthCent series could be rated PG under the old fashioned system, no bloodshed, no graphic sex, no four letter words. And after years of imagining a galaxy for my epic in which multiple human civilizations are at war with each other, it did me a world of good to write about a galaxy where most people are just trying to make a living and find some joy in life. I received so many requests to extend the Date Night universe into a series that I put aside my epic for an extended period to write a sequel, Alien Night on Union Station. The events take place five years after the conclusion of Date Night, and the plot involves a mix of business, diplomacy, gaming and family relations. As a bonus, we finally get to meet Kelly's mother. After the positive response to Alien Night, I wrote a third book for the series, High Priest of Union Station, which is currently in the editing stage and due out in mid-October. I just started a book that extends the EarthCent galaxy with a different mission and cast of characters, though they may intersect at some point.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
July 1, 2016
408 am I sleep now, I laughed a lot though and it was so interesting I didn't want to stop reading...
August 6, 2016
Rigged elections, chocolate shortages, imminent revolution, and caber tossing – it's all just your average Tuesday on Union Station.
Every fifty years Union Station holds a carnival in which all species get a chance to hold "friendly" competitions, as a way to let out some aggression and remind everyone how bad things would be if they didn't live in a "nanny galaxy" run by their benevolent overlords / caretakers / puppet masters / kindergarten teachers. If you were to have told me a week ago there could be a G-rated, family friendly version of "The Purge: Election Year" I would have laughed in your face, but someone Foner pulls it off.
Amidst all the jockeying for bragging rights (and awesome prizes) for winning games and the election of Carnival King/Queen, there is a revolution brewing among a group that more than a little resembles North Korea – except, once again, the stakes are lowered and everything is played for laughs. And, awesome time, we see a truly nonviolent and creative answer to how-to-deal-with-dictatorships.
A lot of other events are packed in here – all of which are hilarious, and I continue to highly recommend this series.
January 18, 2018
I love the Union Station series. It's upbeat, optimistic, full of funny bits. The characters are people I'd love to hang out with, and I'm a little in love with the Human Ambassador, Kelly. I look forward to reading Volume 6!
February 15, 2018
Smart and cute, just like the earlier books in the series
March 5, 2018
I just really enjoy these books. They's part sci-fi, part a treatise on sociology, and yet they are really fun and interesting. The closest thing I've experienced to this were the Hitchhikers Guide books, but these are somehow more uplifting. These are really highly enjoyable books. five in one year so far tells you something about the quality, or at least my enjoyment.
May 24, 2016
A strong entry in the series
Ambassador Kelly inadvertently launches a revolution against the Gem Empire. Humans learn that all species except humans cheat in the carnival elections and judging.
Ambassador Kelly inadvertently launches a revolution against the Gem Empire. Humans learn that all species except humans cheat in the carnival elections and judging.
November 26, 2017
This series just rolls along. It is humorous and the author displays a great deal of smarts in how the stories are constructed and flow. I occasionally find myself laughing out loud at parts. There is very little violence and sometimes not much action in this curious comedy of manners set in a space station with many species managed by artificial intelligences. Stories revolve around the human ambassador and her family and friends. Humans are a favored young species by the AI's in a very long galactic history. This story is about a carnival that is scheduled every 50 years on the station. The ambassadors are mandated to run for the ruler of carnival and, Kelly, the human ambassador wants nothing to do with this.. and of course wins.
Still fun and I will read the next in the series when the mood takes me.
Still fun and I will read the next in the series when the mood takes me.
June 24, 2022
Foner, E. M. Carnival on Union Station. EarthCent Ambassador No. 5. Paradise Pond Press, 2015.
Kelly, now a married woman with children grieving for the death of their very large, genetically engineered dog, Beowulf, finds out that she is required to stage a multispecies carnival on Union Station. It will involve competitive games and sports. Each species lobbies for a game best suited to their configuration of limbs and such. Hint: don’t play knife catch with the alien with five long tentacles. Kelly is dismayed when she is elected Queen of the Carnival, a post which turns out to be heading up the complaint department. Her biggest problem is with a group of cloned humanoids called the Free Gem who are convinced they are perfect. The Union Station books continue to be good, clean scifi fun. 3.5 stars.
Kelly, now a married woman with children grieving for the death of their very large, genetically engineered dog, Beowulf, finds out that she is required to stage a multispecies carnival on Union Station. It will involve competitive games and sports. Each species lobbies for a game best suited to their configuration of limbs and such. Hint: don’t play knife catch with the alien with five long tentacles. Kelly is dismayed when she is elected Queen of the Carnival, a post which turns out to be heading up the complaint department. Her biggest problem is with a group of cloned humanoids called the Free Gem who are convinced they are perfect. The Union Station books continue to be good, clean scifi fun. 3.5 stars.
September 15, 2017
What is there to say five books in? This is my favorite new (to me) series of 2017. It continues to grow and get better after finding its stride somewhere along the way. It has me chuckling and rooting for the characters. It still surprises me with its odd twists. It's just a fun little book and series you can recommend to literally anyone, the young, medium, and old alike.
If you didn't like the structure of Spy Night, this one returns to the structure of the third book, but really, nothing is lost anyway.
So yeah, I still recommend this series, get to it.
If you didn't like the structure of Spy Night, this one returns to the structure of the third book, but really, nothing is lost anyway.
So yeah, I still recommend this series, get to it.
December 11, 2017
Another fun read by Foner. He really shows off his capacity for weaving a fun and interwoven story in this installment of the EarthCent Ambassador series. I did feel, for the most part, there was less character growth and more an exploration of what established characters would do in a given scenario. The characters were well developed and conceived (as always). At this point in the series each book pretty much feels like a little reunion, checking in on the characters to see what sort of chaos they're up to.
April 10, 2025
Round and round again
The most hilarious and insightful of her books so far, Foner and her characters are maturing to the point of being a must read. Most science fiction treatments of AI lean on the instinctual fear of the unknown and of the predator making them really a subset of the horror genre. I am fascinated by the premise and exploration of the concept of a world (universe) run intelligently by AIs. The Union Station series keeps showing and enriching this world view.
The most hilarious and insightful of her books so far, Foner and her characters are maturing to the point of being a must read. Most science fiction treatments of AI lean on the instinctual fear of the unknown and of the predator making them really a subset of the horror genre. I am fascinated by the premise and exploration of the concept of a world (universe) run intelligently by AIs. The Union Station series keeps showing and enriching this world view.
July 19, 2018
Excellent series
I enjoy this series, I have read them all once over a year ago, and wanted to re-read to refresh the story in my mind.
I like how this is a clean , funny and entertaining story without being boring.
I enjoy experiencing the families adventures and reading how Joe and Kelly's family and friends interact and grow. It is also fun to see how the Stryx use the humans to get what they want done without being direct or letting their plan slip. Great series.
I enjoy this series, I have read them all once over a year ago, and wanted to re-read to refresh the story in my mind.
I like how this is a clean , funny and entertaining story without being boring.
I enjoy experiencing the families adventures and reading how Joe and Kelly's family and friends interact and grow. It is also fun to see how the Stryx use the humans to get what they want done without being direct or letting their plan slip. Great series.
October 12, 2018
Carnival only happens once in a human generation on Union Station. It involves a queen or king, who is chosen by whoever is the most adept at rigging elections. The carnival itself consists of several competitive events from hide-and-seek to 4-D sculpture. With this story, the author returns to primarily featuring Kelly and Joe. It also involves a revolution of a species against itself. As usual there is a lot of humor with some more serious but also subtle questions.
March 29, 2020
Humorous
Book 5 is just as entertaining as the previous books in the series! Poor Kelly never really knows what is truly going on - yet everything she does moves things along in just the way they are supposed to go. The stryx are up to their usual behind the scenes manipulation of course. The carnival is just as crazy as you might expect. Throw in a possible Gem revolution, a child Gem named Mist, faulty communication, and a fairy tale to arrive at this happy ending!
Book 5 is just as entertaining as the previous books in the series! Poor Kelly never really knows what is truly going on - yet everything she does moves things along in just the way they are supposed to go. The stryx are up to their usual behind the scenes manipulation of course. The carnival is just as crazy as you might expect. Throw in a possible Gem revolution, a child Gem named Mist, faulty communication, and a fairy tale to arrive at this happy ending!
November 16, 2017
Good series fun read
Intergalactic diplomacy at its finest. How the bureaucratic wrangling makes the galaxy a better place is an interesting view into how one would expect the U.N. Like entity to exist and expand in space. Still not Pulitzer prize-winning literature but a fun read.
Intergalactic diplomacy at its finest. How the bureaucratic wrangling makes the galaxy a better place is an interesting view into how one would expect the U.N. Like entity to exist and expand in space. Still not Pulitzer prize-winning literature but a fun read.
September 22, 2020
Union Station 's Carnival sign Me up for the next cruise!
E.M. Finder's Union Station series just keeps getting better and better. I laughed out loud several times.Now I am completely addicted to this series.
Lucky for me E.M.Fiber has created a whole galactic smorgishborg to enjoy. Read these books!
E.M. Finder's Union Station series just keeps getting better and better. I laughed out loud several times.Now I am completely addicted to this series.
Lucky for me E.M.Fiber has created a whole galactic smorgishborg to enjoy. Read these books!
April 17, 2023
This is a cozy set on a space station. The stakes are always low, and the rewards are always greater than expected for making it through the adventure. Lots of happily-ever-after and all's-well-that-ends-well. The characters are loveable and the situations zany. I've read about 5 of these back to back now, and they all run together. They are light, silly reads, free on Kindle Unlimited. I like them.
May 20, 2019
Title says it all. Once every 50 years there's a Carnival on the station, with interspecies competition. Around this, the Stryx again manipulate people, in this case it's to help the Gem clones deal with individuality and empire. The same, simple, quick read.
November 20, 2020
Yep!
Fun as always. I come back to this series when I need a break from violence, aliens that kill, the end of the universe, or I just need to laugh.
Fun, and thanks for some playful world-building.
Fun as always. I come back to this series when I need a break from violence, aliens that kill, the end of the universe, or I just need to laugh.
Fun, and thanks for some playful world-building.
February 10, 2021
Onward Again
It is hard to maintain a multi book series but this author has turned out yet another entertaining romp through Union Station. In “Carnival” our Union Station friends continue the story as they blunder from one extra army situation to another in their own special way.
It is hard to maintain a multi book series but this author has turned out yet another entertaining romp through Union Station. In “Carnival” our Union Station friends continue the story as they blunder from one extra army situation to another in their own special way.
June 21, 2021
More fun at Carnival
The Carnival has come and our Heroine struggles to keep the contests fair against all past history of Carnival. The aliens once again coerce her into carrying out their nefarious plans... a fun time.
The Carnival has come and our Heroine struggles to keep the contests fair against all past history of Carnival. The aliens once again coerce her into carrying out their nefarious plans... a fun time.
February 9, 2022
Get the introductory three pack.
A strong entry in the series. Read them in order. The first three are a bargain pack. A big inter racial carnival is being held and the humans must cheat to win.
A strong entry in the series. Read them in order. The first three are a bargain pack. A big inter racial carnival is being held and the humans must cheat to win.
February 19, 2022
Light-hearted fun!
Alas, I don't know how to describe the book, beyond a flavor of Keith Laumer's Retief series and perhaps a bit of Monty Python, along with trading, art, family life, politics, dance, sports, food, ... Try a sample.
Alas, I don't know how to describe the book, beyond a flavor of Keith Laumer's Retief series and perhaps a bit of Monty Python, along with trading, art, family life, politics, dance, sports, food, ... Try a sample.
July 18, 2022
I am really enjoying this sci-fi series
This is a great sci-fi series, wonderful world building has set up this series well, with loads of great characters and interesting enjoyable storylines i am glad there are more books yet to read in this series.
This is a great sci-fi series, wonderful world building has set up this series well, with loads of great characters and interesting enjoyable storylines i am glad there are more books yet to read in this series.
January 24, 2023
Ok, I would never call this a masterpiece but it is a very funny read. Love the storyline and the concept. The fact that I have just completed book 5 in the series says a lot. If you fancy an easy read that will make you laugh you cant go wrong with this series.
July 3, 2023
Another fun book in EarrthCent universe.
I loved it. Projects are getting completed and getting unexpected results. The story is part Science Fiction and part Mystery. Also fun to watch the hero grow and become a better person.
I loved it. Projects are getting completed and getting unexpected results. The story is part Science Fiction and part Mystery. Also fun to watch the hero grow and become a better person.
June 27, 2017
This serie keeps being quite high level.
A light funny world, characters are good, funny situations and a perfect balance of storyline and humor.
A light funny world, characters are good, funny situations and a perfect balance of storyline and humor.
August 6, 2017
I just enjoy light fun quick reads sometimes and this series is great for that. Fun to see how the characters develope
September 6, 2017
Another amusing, nonoffensive episode of this series.
October 4, 2017
The entire series has been good fun so far. Light reading, funny twists, scifi in its purest entertainment form. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews