One of my favourite sci-fi books of all time. I managed to have nothing spoiled and was stunned by the direction the book went in. Loved it.

It’s just straight up “fun”. I really enjoyed it, but would never suggest it’s one of the sci Fi greats, and is defensible among the greats.

That said, I’ll reread it in a year or so, and recommend it to non tech/nerd friends looking for a sci Fi story

Oh, the audio book is excellent. I can’t imagine it any other way

I listened to it on a long drive recently, and really enjoyed the audiobook version. The voice actor did a good job, and I liked the chords with the alien voice. The last 20% we were listening on the edge of our seats.

And then, a few weeks later, it’s… fine. I like to call books like this “Good Time Fun”. It probably won’t be remembered in 100 years like other more timeless works, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun if you just go along for the ride.

Another commenter suggested Young Adult, and that’s exactly what it feels like. There’s challenges, strong emotions, a bit of a a twist or two (pretty easy to see coming), clever creativity, Science To The Rescue, and Friendship Conquers Everything! You know, Good Time Fun!

This was a major disappointment for me after the brilliant Martian and The Egg. I just can’t stand the writing style that’s like someone is describing what happens on a movie screen (Harry Potter is the same). While the tech and the alien were good ideas, almost every single action is predictable like a movie that’s stitched together from cliches until the very end that had a good twist.