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Unwanted Starship
Ethan Cross expected second shift at Meridian Industrial to end the way it always did—oil-stained hands, clock out, go home.
Then something impossible shows up behind the plant. It isn’t on any schedule. It isn’t on any radar. And it definitely isn’t human.
Ethan makes one mistake, he gets close.
That’s when his ordinary life ends. Whatever is sitting in the dark isn’t debris or a prank—it’s a machine built for a purpose, and it didn’t arrive by accident. Ethan doesn’t know what it wants, or who it belongs to, but he knows this the moment he touched it, a countdown started.
Some doors open to freedom. Some open to trouble.
This one opens to the stars.
Then something impossible shows up behind the plant. It isn’t on any schedule. It isn’t on any radar. And it definitely isn’t human.
Ethan makes one mistake, he gets close.
That’s when his ordinary life ends. Whatever is sitting in the dark isn’t debris or a prank—it’s a machine built for a purpose, and it didn’t arrive by accident. Ethan doesn’t know what it wants, or who it belongs to, but he knows this the moment he touched it, a countdown started.
Some doors open to freedom. Some open to trouble.
This one opens to the stars.
- GenresScience Fiction
453 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 13, 2026
About the author
John Walker
1,085 books187 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
April 8, 2026
"Unwanted Inheritance"
4/07/26 Review:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ethan, "the man whose only crime was curiousity and bad timing", finds a unmanned starship in the garbage area of the recycle yard for Meridian Industrial Services where Ethan is employed as a hydraulic press operator with a gift for feeling or having a sense of what might or will shortly brake down and how to quickly fix the machine. Ethan is for the most part, a man working his way through life through a stagnant routine where he works, eats, sleeps, and repeat on a daily basis. He's not a man with a lot of friends but those friends he has, he's loyal and truly cares for his friends and fellow employees he works with. So much, that he puts his life on the line to protect human lives at the risk of his own life.
U.S. Government tagged Ethan as a terrorist based on their determination to take ownership on the Gift Ship and imprison and study both the Gift Ship and Ethan's bonding with the ship. Even after Ethan and the Gift Ship, Vesper, defend the Meridian Industrial Services from the attack from three deadly attack spaceships who cared less of lost lives during their actions against Ethan and Vesper killing seven innocent souls and injuring many others trying to take control Vesper and Ethan or destroy them.
Ethan heads to Reach 447, a space station in order to find supplies and start his new life as a space traveler. It turns out that Reach 447 is just about the same catch 22 when it comes to obtaining resources and citizenship. Being an undocumented species, no money or credits for food and needed supplies, he needs to find work. In order to find work, Ethan needs to have documentation of his species, ID, and a temporary work permit. Of course, in order to get what he needs to feed himself, he needs a job, in order to get a job, he needs documentation, in order to get documentation, he needs credits. The only way to get what he needs is through sponsorship by a resident of Reach 447.
While sitting and starting to believe that he has no hope, Ethan is approached by Kel who is looking for a pilot and a fast ship to run medical supplies to a planet outside of the controlled territories by a government that will not allow passage through their space without huge tariffs that makes the medical supplies to costly to ship. This opens up a means of taking care of Ethan's needs as well as his ship's, Vesper.
As a gray-market smuggler, Ethan is starting to make in his life as a owner bonded with a Gift Ship, meeting Kel who not only provides a means of making credits but provides mentoring and the start of a partnership and a possibility of his first and now only friend in the known galaxy.
John Walker has written an interesting tell of a man who might not be exactly happy in his life but is comfortable to say the least. That's until he stumbles on the Gift Ship that changes everything. The cast of characters are ones that are written so that you will be drawn into the storyline from the first chapter and when this book ends, you'll find yourself wanting more and jonesing for the next edition to this great story of Ethan, Vesper, Kel, and the rest of the cast as they try to survive in the vastness of the known galaxy. I hope you will find yourself enjoying this book as much as I did.
Quotes:
"Uncertainty is frightening. But it is better than the certainly of the worse case."
"You don't walk away from a thing that needs fixing just because fixing is hard. That's when the fixing matters most."
4/07/26 Review:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ethan, "the man whose only crime was curiousity and bad timing", finds a unmanned starship in the garbage area of the recycle yard for Meridian Industrial Services where Ethan is employed as a hydraulic press operator with a gift for feeling or having a sense of what might or will shortly brake down and how to quickly fix the machine. Ethan is for the most part, a man working his way through life through a stagnant routine where he works, eats, sleeps, and repeat on a daily basis. He's not a man with a lot of friends but those friends he has, he's loyal and truly cares for his friends and fellow employees he works with. So much, that he puts his life on the line to protect human lives at the risk of his own life.
U.S. Government tagged Ethan as a terrorist based on their determination to take ownership on the Gift Ship and imprison and study both the Gift Ship and Ethan's bonding with the ship. Even after Ethan and the Gift Ship, Vesper, defend the Meridian Industrial Services from the attack from three deadly attack spaceships who cared less of lost lives during their actions against Ethan and Vesper killing seven innocent souls and injuring many others trying to take control Vesper and Ethan or destroy them.
Ethan heads to Reach 447, a space station in order to find supplies and start his new life as a space traveler. It turns out that Reach 447 is just about the same catch 22 when it comes to obtaining resources and citizenship. Being an undocumented species, no money or credits for food and needed supplies, he needs to find work. In order to find work, Ethan needs to have documentation of his species, ID, and a temporary work permit. Of course, in order to get what he needs to feed himself, he needs a job, in order to get a job, he needs documentation, in order to get documentation, he needs credits. The only way to get what he needs is through sponsorship by a resident of Reach 447.
While sitting and starting to believe that he has no hope, Ethan is approached by Kel who is looking for a pilot and a fast ship to run medical supplies to a planet outside of the controlled territories by a government that will not allow passage through their space without huge tariffs that makes the medical supplies to costly to ship. This opens up a means of taking care of Ethan's needs as well as his ship's, Vesper.
As a gray-market smuggler, Ethan is starting to make in his life as a owner bonded with a Gift Ship, meeting Kel who not only provides a means of making credits but provides mentoring and the start of a partnership and a possibility of his first and now only friend in the known galaxy.
John Walker has written an interesting tell of a man who might not be exactly happy in his life but is comfortable to say the least. That's until he stumbles on the Gift Ship that changes everything. The cast of characters are ones that are written so that you will be drawn into the storyline from the first chapter and when this book ends, you'll find yourself wanting more and jonesing for the next edition to this great story of Ethan, Vesper, Kel, and the rest of the cast as they try to survive in the vastness of the known galaxy. I hope you will find yourself enjoying this book as much as I did.
Quotes:
"Uncertainty is frightening. But it is better than the certainly of the worse case."
"You don't walk away from a thing that needs fixing just because fixing is hard. That's when the fixing matters most."
March 23, 2026
Great new concept
Good concept and well written book. I think there was alot of thought meandering of the main character that was duplicative and unnecessary. I really enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to sequel despite my comments. Good book.
Good concept and well written book. I think there was alot of thought meandering of the main character that was duplicative and unnecessary. I really enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to sequel despite my comments. Good book.
May 9, 2026
Not a bad premise, but it's really more in the "wish fulfilment" than the "sci fi" genre. Average guy is "bonded" to a magic entity that can do a bunch of cool stuff. (Yes, I know it's a ship he's bonded to).
I genuinely don't understand the four- and five-star reviews. It ain't that great. It might be great if you've never read sci-fi.
It's not for you if you're into hard sci-fi, and maybe not if you've read a lot of sci-fi.
It's really hard to know, but I'm pretty sure this book is at least partially written by AI. There were a few anomalies:
- a character is referred to by name a few paragraphs before being introduced
- a lot of the timelines seem muddled and confused
- the starship's speech is never delineated by quote marks (or indeed ANY kind of typography) except for a single paragraph (that might be down to poor editing)...
- ...except that the punctuation is pretty casual all the way through
- there are certain speech patterns that keep occurring that I've picked up in other books. It might be a trend in modern literature, but it feels like an AI pattern
That last one, the pattern is, a statement is made, and the statement is immediately modified by the person to whom it was addressed. For example:
"You want me to bluff them."
"I want you to create a deterrent."
"He wants to talk."
"He wants to make his last offer."
"They were looking at us."
"They were looking at the docking array."
Hardly a smoking gun, I know. Just feels like stuff I've read in other books I suspect are part-written by AI.
Yeah. There's some good ideas in there, but the writing's a bit thin, repetitive and drawn out. Easy read, though.
I genuinely don't understand the four- and five-star reviews. It ain't that great. It might be great if you've never read sci-fi.
It's not for you if you're into hard sci-fi, and maybe not if you've read a lot of sci-fi.
It's really hard to know, but I'm pretty sure this book is at least partially written by AI. There were a few anomalies:
- a character is referred to by name a few paragraphs before being introduced
- a lot of the timelines seem muddled and confused
- the starship's speech is never delineated by quote marks (or indeed ANY kind of typography) except for a single paragraph (that might be down to poor editing)...
- ...except that the punctuation is pretty casual all the way through
- there are certain speech patterns that keep occurring that I've picked up in other books. It might be a trend in modern literature, but it feels like an AI pattern
That last one, the pattern is, a statement is made, and the statement is immediately modified by the person to whom it was addressed. For example:
"You want me to bluff them."
"I want you to create a deterrent."
"He wants to talk."
"He wants to make his last offer."
"They were looking at us."
"They were looking at the docking array."
Hardly a smoking gun, I know. Just feels like stuff I've read in other books I suspect are part-written by AI.
Yeah. There's some good ideas in there, but the writing's a bit thin, repetitive and drawn out. Easy read, though.
May 14, 2026
Definitely AI
March 29, 2026
The idea of a sentient spaceship matched with a "random" human is an appealing premise.
I liked the plot and the way the main characters developed, although I felt that it all happened rather fast. What I didn't like (and skipped past) were the excessive thought meanderings. I suspect that some of that was written by AI, as there were some phrases that I have seen elsewhere that didn't really fit with the author's style.
All in all, it's a good read that begs for a sequel. That reporter that keeps being mentioned should surely pop up somewhere.
I liked the plot and the way the main characters developed, although I felt that it all happened rather fast. What I didn't like (and skipped past) were the excessive thought meanderings. I suspect that some of that was written by AI, as there were some phrases that I have seen elsewhere that didn't really fit with the author's style.
All in all, it's a good read that begs for a sequel. That reporter that keeps being mentioned should surely pop up somewhere.
May 3, 2026
Really read like it was written by an AI chat bot, information changes from paragraph to paragraph, or is repeated and sometimes nonsense.
April 16, 2026
AI
Inconsistencies and grammar errors. The lack of anything to differentiate between the ai speaking and the story. I’m so sick of AI books!
Inconsistencies and grammar errors. The lack of anything to differentiate between the ai speaking and the story. I’m so sick of AI books!
March 18, 2026
A real gem
This is unequivocally the best space/ science fiction book I have ever read. The characters are so very real. The writing is worthy of awards if they exist. And the plot , even in its unbelievability is mist believable. I only hope that this becomes a series and as soon as possible.
This is unequivocally the best space/ science fiction book I have ever read. The characters are so very real. The writing is worthy of awards if they exist. And the plot , even in its unbelievability is mist believable. I only hope that this becomes a series and as soon as possible.
April 7, 2026
Interesting concept poorly executed
The main character is constantly in his own head and in this constant repetitive cycle of anxiety. It's not a fun story and is kind of depressing. The storyline has nothing that catches the interest. There's nothing exciting and even the brief combat between ships or sneaking past blockades lacked substance. The concept of an adaptive alien ship is interesting and had so many opportunities but just did not deliver. I made it to the end of the story only because I was driving while listening to it. I probably will not pick up the next volume.
The main character is constantly in his own head and in this constant repetitive cycle of anxiety. It's not a fun story and is kind of depressing. The storyline has nothing that catches the interest. There's nothing exciting and even the brief combat between ships or sneaking past blockades lacked substance. The concept of an adaptive alien ship is interesting and had so many opportunities but just did not deliver. I made it to the end of the story only because I was driving while listening to it. I probably will not pick up the next volume.
April 18, 2026
An interesting concept
It's not bad, but I wanted to like it more than I did. There are not a lot of actual typos, but there are problematic concepts and references that kept kicking me out of the narrative flow. The biggest problem I had was in determining what was aural speech, what was mental speech, and what was description. Formatting could fix this. The plot also feels not-quite-formed, which may be intentional, but does not help with readability.
It's not bad, but I wanted to like it more than I did. There are not a lot of actual typos, but there are problematic concepts and references that kept kicking me out of the narrative flow. The biggest problem I had was in determining what was aural speech, what was mental speech, and what was description. Formatting could fix this. The plot also feels not-quite-formed, which may be intentional, but does not help with readability.
March 28, 2026
DNF Bored at 52%.
Interesting concept. Good start. Grandiose bit (end of chapter 9, opening of chapter 10) that nearly made me stop. Now it's tedious. The concept was good but the execution failed me. There's a space station. Aliens. It should be good. But it keeps sliding back into boring. Sigh.
Interesting concept. Good start. Grandiose bit (end of chapter 9, opening of chapter 10) that nearly made me stop. Now it's tedious. The concept was good but the execution failed me. There's a space station. Aliens. It should be good. But it keeps sliding back into boring. Sigh.
March 17, 2026
Intriguing
An intriguing start to a new series with a storyline that has a novel premise backed by interesting characters and a great deal of fast paced action.
An intriguing start to a new series with a storyline that has a novel premise backed by interesting characters and a great deal of fast paced action.
April 16, 2026
Ethan Cross is introduced to other Galaxies
First in what promises to be an intriguing series. Engaging multi-species characters, unique aspects to the ‘maverick rebel versus evil empire’ plot line, and plenty of AI and tech details to broaden the mind. My mind’s eye can already see Tom Holland and Zendaya in the central roles.
Earth native Ethan Cross is an unremarkable engineer working in an industrial plant, with no life partner nor living relatives, when he stumbles across an alien ‘gift’ ship. By touching it, he becomes its bonded owner and despite his misgivings and attempts to break away, he comes to realise that his presence on that ship on Earth would attract predators. So he allows the AI ship, later named “Vesper” to take him into space.
At a waystation, a combination of luck and happenstance introduce him to Kel, a Kethari smuggler. Together they operate some humanitarian missions and a salvage run that allows upgrades to Vesper. These upgrades allow Vesper to decode an encrypted message that could lead Ethan and Kel to a place called Threshold, a secret base where other bonded gift ship owners can meet, share information and figure out how best to survive.
Arrayed against them are a “supposedly democratic, oligarcichal, imperialist” pan-global government known as the Tesseract Hegemony. Plus hosts of hunters, pirates, warlords, and other yet-to-be-revealed enemies. All of the above want to harness the gift ship capabilities and employ, subjugate or kill the bonded owners.
A thoroughly enjoyable read… my only quibble was the pace in the early chapters: lengthy and protracted attention given to Ethan’s early resistance to the gift ship and his attempts to destroy it and break the bond. Surely a gifted mechanical engineer who can sense or intuit the processes of machines, would be more open to, and interested in, the introduction to alien technology?
First in what promises to be an intriguing series. Engaging multi-species characters, unique aspects to the ‘maverick rebel versus evil empire’ plot line, and plenty of AI and tech details to broaden the mind. My mind’s eye can already see Tom Holland and Zendaya in the central roles.
Earth native Ethan Cross is an unremarkable engineer working in an industrial plant, with no life partner nor living relatives, when he stumbles across an alien ‘gift’ ship. By touching it, he becomes its bonded owner and despite his misgivings and attempts to break away, he comes to realise that his presence on that ship on Earth would attract predators. So he allows the AI ship, later named “Vesper” to take him into space.
At a waystation, a combination of luck and happenstance introduce him to Kel, a Kethari smuggler. Together they operate some humanitarian missions and a salvage run that allows upgrades to Vesper. These upgrades allow Vesper to decode an encrypted message that could lead Ethan and Kel to a place called Threshold, a secret base where other bonded gift ship owners can meet, share information and figure out how best to survive.
Arrayed against them are a “supposedly democratic, oligarcichal, imperialist” pan-global government known as the Tesseract Hegemony. Plus hosts of hunters, pirates, warlords, and other yet-to-be-revealed enemies. All of the above want to harness the gift ship capabilities and employ, subjugate or kill the bonded owners.
A thoroughly enjoyable read… my only quibble was the pace in the early chapters: lengthy and protracted attention given to Ethan’s early resistance to the gift ship and his attempts to destroy it and break the bond. Surely a gifted mechanical engineer who can sense or intuit the processes of machines, would be more open to, and interested in, the introduction to alien technology?
May 24, 2026
I originally gave it 4 stars. I am reducing that to one because I now believe it was heavily written using AI. I cannot condone publishing like this without disclosing it. If it were disclosed I would have considered giving it more stars. As it is not, I give it zero stars, though goodreads doesn't allow that.
But no one writes 20 books in a year. So, sadly, I cannot recommend reading this author as I consider this practice fraudulent.
"John Walker writes military science fiction and space opera. Since 2012, he has published over 115 books across 13 series, most dealing with interstellar conflicts, colony survival, and military operations in space. His output has been steady, with multiple new series launching each year."
My original review was when I thought this was just a self published, hasty writer with bad editing skills and some interesting ideas.
I am unaware of any writer, even the quickest and most experienced harlequin romance novelist (I know one of these and she is amazing), who can write and edit a book in two weeks.
But no one writes 20 books in a year. So, sadly, I cannot recommend reading this author as I consider this practice fraudulent.
"John Walker writes military science fiction and space opera. Since 2012, he has published over 115 books across 13 series, most dealing with interstellar conflicts, colony survival, and military operations in space. His output has been steady, with multiple new series launching each year."
My original review was when I thought this was just a self published, hasty writer with bad editing skills and some interesting ideas.
I am unaware of any writer, even the quickest and most experienced harlequin romance novelist (I know one of these and she is amazing), who can write and edit a book in two weeks.
June 2, 2026
A cut above similar stories, but not without its issues. I desperately wanted Vesper's 'speech' to be rendered in something distinctive, or at least in quotes, because, on occasion, it was hard to separate the ship's commentary from a passage of description.
And there are other oddities like:
Vesper stated people expected them. The station's systems recognised our gift ship...
Now, this reads as if the first sentence is describing something Vesper is doing, but without the word 'that' between 'stated' and 'people' it doesn't scan well. It's also in the past tense, but the implication in the text is that the second sentence is being spoken currently, and therefore very much in the present tense.
This sort of thing crops up all over the place, as if the author is new to writing.
All that said, this is not a bad book. Not everything is handed to the protagonist on a plate - although breathable air, a convenient translator and food that doesn't provoke an allergic reaction are readily available ...
And there are other oddities like:
Vesper stated people expected them. The station's systems recognised our gift ship...
Now, this reads as if the first sentence is describing something Vesper is doing, but without the word 'that' between 'stated' and 'people' it doesn't scan well. It's also in the past tense, but the implication in the text is that the second sentence is being spoken currently, and therefore very much in the present tense.
This sort of thing crops up all over the place, as if the author is new to writing.
All that said, this is not a bad book. Not everything is handed to the protagonist on a plate - although breathable air, a convenient translator and food that doesn't provoke an allergic reaction are readily available ...
March 20, 2026
praise and critique
Writing a book and publishing is like public speaking on a global scale. It’s easy to be critical from the comfort of your airline seat. It’s hard to put together a piece of artistry in words and wait for strangers’ responses. I finished this book in 2 days because it’s short and entertaining. My mild critique (for those of us who average 40 books a year which is more of a undiagnosed mental health issue than a brag) the plot and characters are far from original. You, the author, are so close to bridging the gap of pulp to excellence. You’re missing the hook, the three body problem isn’t unique but its execution is. I hadn’t read a hard science fiction book based out of China during the revolution. It was awesome because it felt new and exciting. The hook wasn’t something that only Einstein could think of but it was different and then it was picked up by Netflix.
Writing a book and publishing is like public speaking on a global scale. It’s easy to be critical from the comfort of your airline seat. It’s hard to put together a piece of artistry in words and wait for strangers’ responses. I finished this book in 2 days because it’s short and entertaining. My mild critique (for those of us who average 40 books a year which is more of a undiagnosed mental health issue than a brag) the plot and characters are far from original. You, the author, are so close to bridging the gap of pulp to excellence. You’re missing the hook, the three body problem isn’t unique but its execution is. I hadn’t read a hard science fiction book based out of China during the revolution. It was awesome because it felt new and exciting. The hook wasn’t something that only Einstein could think of but it was different and then it was picked up by Netflix.
Read
May 28, 2026I genuinely liked the premise of the story. But it really seemed like the book was either written with AI, by AI, or edited with AI. There are many signs and many typos, some of which are confusing. Then there's the number of times "it was the most ..." was used reduced the believability of the superlative. The conversations were awkward. The number of times the main character's back story was thrust into the story in a concise and dramatic manner, like we had somehow forgot where he came from and what he did. The anthropomorphizing of that vague press. The causal way that the main character somehow adjusted to all that he was going through with only the mildest of reactions most of the time ...sorry, many humans would not act so calm at all if they were in Cross' position! If this was a story written by AI, I wish it was a law to disclose such details because I would not have read the book.
May 20, 2026
The more I read of this the more it felt like a machine extruded it into my kindle. Weird repetition, weird call and response patterns, odd editing errors. There's a lot going against this even if you assume the authorship was 100% human, which I do not.
Just scanning through John Walker's author page on Amazon shows he's published at least one new book every month for as far back as I bothered to look. "John Walker" is either a shared pen name or he's writing at a rate that usually requires being on a first name basis with a cocaine dealer.
In my opinion this is either LLM generated slop or poorly edited trash blasted out as quickly as possible. (Or, if I'm giving the benefit of the doubt, some combination of both.)
Just scanning through John Walker's author page on Amazon shows he's published at least one new book every month for as far back as I bothered to look. "John Walker" is either a shared pen name or he's writing at a rate that usually requires being on a first name basis with a cocaine dealer.
In my opinion this is either LLM generated slop or poorly edited trash blasted out as quickly as possible. (Or, if I'm giving the benefit of the doubt, some combination of both.)
March 17, 2026
Different and worth reading
It's hard to quantify; as with many novels, in this genre or others, the standard of prose varies greatly. This is quite good and improves along with the main character retain his niaivity as he stumbles from one situation to the next .
There is much missing; the ship persona fails to train her owner and offers little in that regard until an alien crew member joins. We learn later that the ship is alive and capable of analysing individuals physcy that would improve owner selection! It's almost as if the ship is only 'born' on its arrival at the predetermined destination but that is not the case as it is sentient from its elder shipyard.
It's hard to quantify; as with many novels, in this genre or others, the standard of prose varies greatly. This is quite good and improves along with the main character retain his niaivity as he stumbles from one situation to the next .
There is much missing; the ship persona fails to train her owner and offers little in that regard until an alien crew member joins. We learn later that the ship is alive and capable of analysing individuals physcy that would improve owner selection! It's almost as if the ship is only 'born' on its arrival at the predetermined destination but that is not the case as it is sentient from its elder shipyard.
July 6, 2026
I resisted getting the book for ages wondering if it was a series and it looks like it may well be as there are now three books. I read the prequel and after reading this one now see fits in. I enjoyed it and the book is well up to Johns usual standard. A gift ship that seems to get better with upgrades, bit like reading a video game. Eathan finds the starship and accidentally bonds with it and then all hell breaks loose. The government wants it (nothing new there, they want everything that is not theirs) because it is a asset to them. Hunters come looking so they flee earth and he meets Kel. I think it is going to be an interesting series
July 7, 2026
Bad AI writing, with forced tension...
First off, the completely illogical and forced tension and drama throughout the first 30% of the book is... Frustrating, and takes a lot away from the story possibilities.
Plus, the number of times the AI that actually wrote this repeated entire scenes, or forgot what was happening between one page and the next, is ridiculous!
I couldn't make it past 60%, it's like the author only half tried to edit the first half of the book, then gave up and just published it. Literally between one paragraph and the next, the character leaves a food vendor and goes to his ship, and then the food vendor glances at him? Yeah, no.
Do better.
First off, the completely illogical and forced tension and drama throughout the first 30% of the book is... Frustrating, and takes a lot away from the story possibilities.
Plus, the number of times the AI that actually wrote this repeated entire scenes, or forgot what was happening between one page and the next, is ridiculous!
I couldn't make it past 60%, it's like the author only half tried to edit the first half of the book, then gave up and just published it. Literally between one paragraph and the next, the character leaves a food vendor and goes to his ship, and then the food vendor glances at him? Yeah, no.
Do better.
March 29, 2026
very interesting premise
I liked the book a lot. I wonder a bit if it has at least partially been written by AI.
There are inconsistencies in the story about who could have known things that they reference, but that seems more like it needed an editor or a more critical re-reading before publishing.
But I like the development or revelation of character. I like the structure of the galactic civilization presented as it has developed around the gift ships.
I want to see the next phase of the story.
I look forward to another book in the series.
I liked the book a lot. I wonder a bit if it has at least partially been written by AI.
There are inconsistencies in the story about who could have known things that they reference, but that seems more like it needed an editor or a more critical re-reading before publishing.
But I like the development or revelation of character. I like the structure of the galactic civilization presented as it has developed around the gift ships.
I want to see the next phase of the story.
I look forward to another book in the series.
April 22, 2026
Very good book with an interesting premise. This first book (of two in the series at this time) reads as an origin story. I quickly became invested in Ethan's development and that of his bonded ship. They become an inextricable unit. The addition of Kel, the first alien to engage constructively with Ethan, adds a welcome dimension to the story. Business partner, guide, friend? The possibilities are numerous. This book finishes with Ethan, the ship, and Kel looking ahead to their future growth. I eagerly await the next book.
May 21, 2026
Fun story but enough with he’s a machine whisperer
The overall story was interesting and the character was admirable. However, after the 30th reference to his background fixing machines, we get it! Even if it is his best attribute, we don’t need to be reminded of it every third page. Not every decision or action he takes needs to be in the context of his mechanical background.
Give us some credit, we remember the plot and his background. The story and his actions speak for themselves.
The overall story was interesting and the character was admirable. However, after the 30th reference to his background fixing machines, we get it! Even if it is his best attribute, we don’t need to be reminded of it every third page. Not every decision or action he takes needs to be in the context of his mechanical background.
Give us some credit, we remember the plot and his background. The story and his actions speak for themselves.
June 20, 2026
The Unwanted Starship in question is another one of those self-aware spacecraft that ancient alien races seem to have left around for us. The aliens this time are called the Elders (no bonus for originality). The spacecraft, eventually named Vesper, lands in an industrial area of Pennsylvania looking for someone with whom it can bond. Ethan Cross, a hydraulic press operator, stumbles into it, and presto, it’s off we go to explore the galaxy. The story is standard pulp, but Cross is a believable working stiff who wishes he could find a breakfast burrito in space.
May 8, 2026
Learning to swim
Protagonist gets thrown into the deep end with basically the sage advice of "Can you swim ? If not, learn to...and btw, look out for sharks, piranhas and the Kraken while you're at it". He has to learn to function in a galaxy where everything is new and unknown. He's got the help.of his ship/AI and a (wonderfully working) universal translator. Good start, interesting conundrums and characters
Protagonist gets thrown into the deep end with basically the sage advice of "Can you swim ? If not, learn to...and btw, look out for sharks, piranhas and the Kraken while you're at it". He has to learn to function in a galaxy where everything is new and unknown. He's got the help.of his ship/AI and a (wonderfully working) universal translator. Good start, interesting conundrums and characters
May 9, 2026
Excellent!!! 👌👍
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.I appreciated the way the author took death and dying seriously.For example,Ethan's grieving of the 7 coworkers was touching.He felt very responsible for it.This is unlike a lot of novels nowadays where,death are in numbers and it seems nobody cares enough.
I also saw in Ethan,a part of myself in a way....a loner but not lonely.I am just ok.
In other words,I identified with him.
I enjoyed reading this book
Welldone.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.I appreciated the way the author took death and dying seriously.For example,Ethan's grieving of the 7 coworkers was touching.He felt very responsible for it.This is unlike a lot of novels nowadays where,death are in numbers and it seems nobody cares enough.
I also saw in Ethan,a part of myself in a way....a loner but not lonely.I am just ok.
In other words,I identified with him.
I enjoyed reading this book
Welldone.
May 14, 2026
Pretty good
There are some issues, not with the story, but with the editing. I noticed a few times that a word is missing to make a sentence complete. Also a couple times it seemed the author was trying to say the same thing in 2 different ways, and somehow the combined and now don't make sense. All in all, a great story that's engaging and paced well to keep you interested and ready to find out what happens next.
There are some issues, not with the story, but with the editing. I noticed a few times that a word is missing to make a sentence complete. Also a couple times it seemed the author was trying to say the same thing in 2 different ways, and somehow the combined and now don't make sense. All in all, a great story that's engaging and paced well to keep you interested and ready to find out what happens next.
March 15, 2026
This Ship is Wanted
I don’t write a lot of reviews, but I felt compelled to do so because I enjoyed the story so much. There are a number of books about finding a starship, but this one had me intrigued from the beginning. Looking forward to reading the next book if one becomes available.
I don’t write a lot of reviews, but I felt compelled to do so because I enjoyed the story so much. There are a number of books about finding a starship, but this one had me intrigued from the beginning. Looking forward to reading the next book if one becomes available.
March 24, 2026
An instant classic!
One touch is all it takes for one man to be launched on an interplanetary voyage on a sentient space craft….
This book is different. There are violent moments but this book is more about thinking things through, as opposed to ill thought out “derring-do” and is all the better for it.
Highly recommended
One touch is all it takes for one man to be launched on an interplanetary voyage on a sentient space craft….
This book is different. There are violent moments but this book is more about thinking things through, as opposed to ill thought out “derring-do” and is all the better for it.
Highly recommended
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