What do you think?
Rate this book
Rosetta #1
The Rosetta Man
When aliens finally make first contact, they abduct Estlin Hume from his home and take him across the globe to act as translator — too bad he has no idea what they’re saying.
Estlin Hume lives in Twin Butte, Alberta surrounded by a horde of affectionate squirrels. His involuntary squirrel-attracting talent leaves him evicted, expelled, fired and near penniless until two aliens arrive and adopt him as their translator. Yanked around the world at the center of the first contact crisis, Estlin finds his new employers incomprehensible. As he faces the ultimate language barrier, unsympathetic military forces converging in the South Pacific keep threatening to kill the messenger. The question on everyone’s mind is why are the aliens here? But Estlin’s starting to think we’ll happily blow ourselves up in the process of finding that out. Claire McCague is a writer, scientist, and folk musician who fabricates nanostructured materials by day and spins words into scripts and books as the stars rise. She lives and doesn’t sleep much in British Columbia.
Claire McCague has spent time playing with focused electron beams, femtosecond laser beams, neutron beams and plain, old x-rays. She has a doctorate in chemistry, achieved explicitly to support her arts habits, and spends her days trying to save the world through development of nanostructured materials for sustainable energy conversion systems. Claire performs regularly with the Sybaritic String Band and her plays have been featured in festivals across Canada. " What makes The Rosetta Man stand-out ? An unusually dense squirrel population for sci-fi. It’s light-hearted, accessible sci-fi with exotic present day settings and a pair of aliens who are focused on observing the revealing chaos their visit creates." - Claire McCague, author
Estlin Hume lives in Twin Butte, Alberta surrounded by a horde of affectionate squirrels. His involuntary squirrel-attracting talent leaves him evicted, expelled, fired and near penniless until two aliens arrive and adopt him as their translator. Yanked around the world at the center of the first contact crisis, Estlin finds his new employers incomprehensible. As he faces the ultimate language barrier, unsympathetic military forces converging in the South Pacific keep threatening to kill the messenger. The question on everyone’s mind is why are the aliens here? But Estlin’s starting to think we’ll happily blow ourselves up in the process of finding that out. Claire McCague is a writer, scientist, and folk musician who fabricates nanostructured materials by day and spins words into scripts and books as the stars rise. She lives and doesn’t sleep much in British Columbia.
Claire McCague has spent time playing with focused electron beams, femtosecond laser beams, neutron beams and plain, old x-rays. She has a doctorate in chemistry, achieved explicitly to support her arts habits, and spends her days trying to save the world through development of nanostructured materials for sustainable energy conversion systems. Claire performs regularly with the Sybaritic String Band and her plays have been featured in festivals across Canada. " What makes The Rosetta Man stand-out ? An unusually dense squirrel population for sci-fi. It’s light-hearted, accessible sci-fi with exotic present day settings and a pair of aliens who are focused on observing the revealing chaos their visit creates." - Claire McCague, author
336 pages, Paperback
First published August 31, 2015
216 people are currently reading
469 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
November 18, 2015
Much more than expected!
The cover and synopsis had me expecting a light-hearted comedy. I didn't realize I was getting a geopolitical first contact thriller that somehow still managed to be a light-hearted comedy.
I really enjoyed this book! The characters are rich and diverse. Estlin and Harry are great, Beth and Bomani made me cry. The story is fast paced and engaging and again, completely unexpected.
Great book for fans of first contact scifi, but also fans of thrillers and mysteries. And so well-executed that I give it a solid 5 stars.
The cover and synopsis had me expecting a light-hearted comedy. I didn't realize I was getting a geopolitical first contact thriller that somehow still managed to be a light-hearted comedy.
I really enjoyed this book! The characters are rich and diverse. Estlin and Harry are great, Beth and Bomani made me cry. The story is fast paced and engaging and again, completely unexpected.
Great book for fans of first contact scifi, but also fans of thrillers and mysteries. And so well-executed that I give it a solid 5 stars.
April 30, 2018
It's not often, these days, that I ding a book a whole star just for poor copy editing; I either put up with it if the book is otherwise good (but note it in my review), or else stop reading if the book is otherwise nothing special.
This was good enough that I finished, but not so good as to make it to four stars, and the low standard of copy editing was a big part of the problem. There are multiple sentences where words are either dropped or added, or where the sentence was partially revised and has a ghost of its earlier self mingled with the new phrasing. There are also multiple examples of required apostrophes gone missing, or incorrect apostrophes inserted; a good few comma splices; homonym errors as basic as passed/past and too/to, and several other incorrect vocabulary choices; mispunctuated dialog; garbled idioms, which give a sense of English being the author's second language, though I don't think it is; and all the usual, common errors, like misplaced or missing commas or hyphens. I marked more than 80 errors, and there were some I skipped.
It's told in a rather old-fashioned omniscient third person, wandering among several different characters' perceptions, and while some of the characters are interesting and even likable, I didn't get a great sense of depth in any of them. They're all more or less alienated, often cynical, contemporary people with no big goal or sense of a higher purpose that they're pursuing relentlessly (not even the Greenpeace activist has such a purpose). This leaves the plot rudderless and reactive, making it more a series of events than a plot as such, and leads to a soft ending with not much resolved. The book raises a couple of questions about humanity, but nothing we haven't seen in the genre many times over many decades, often with a lot more depth and sophistication.
I did like the wry and quirky title character, which saved this otherwise mediocre novel from a two-star rating.
This was good enough that I finished, but not so good as to make it to four stars, and the low standard of copy editing was a big part of the problem. There are multiple sentences where words are either dropped or added, or where the sentence was partially revised and has a ghost of its earlier self mingled with the new phrasing. There are also multiple examples of required apostrophes gone missing, or incorrect apostrophes inserted; a good few comma splices; homonym errors as basic as passed/past and too/to, and several other incorrect vocabulary choices; mispunctuated dialog; garbled idioms, which give a sense of English being the author's second language, though I don't think it is; and all the usual, common errors, like misplaced or missing commas or hyphens. I marked more than 80 errors, and there were some I skipped.
It's told in a rather old-fashioned omniscient third person, wandering among several different characters' perceptions, and while some of the characters are interesting and even likable, I didn't get a great sense of depth in any of them. They're all more or less alienated, often cynical, contemporary people with no big goal or sense of a higher purpose that they're pursuing relentlessly (not even the Greenpeace activist has such a purpose). This leaves the plot rudderless and reactive, making it more a series of events than a plot as such, and leads to a soft ending with not much resolved. The book raises a couple of questions about humanity, but nothing we haven't seen in the genre many times over many decades, often with a lot more depth and sophistication.
I did like the wry and quirky title character, which saved this otherwise mediocre novel from a two-star rating.
June 17, 2017
Good premise, interesting characters, and a good book up until about the 90% mark. Then it takes a sharp left turn out of nowhere and is a bit baffling. The ending made me think there was a sequel, it's so open-ended. I was surprised to learn there isn't. Also, it's kind of hard to tell when things are happening right after one another and when there's big jumps in time. All of a sudden someone is way over there and you just have to guess that okay, they've apparently been traveling for a day and now it's a day later. Then other times there are so many characters floating around it's hard to figure out who is doing what and why.
It's a fun read, though.
It's a fun read, though.
June 10, 2024
4,5++ stars! Now, if I were being my usual grumpy old self, I'd round this down to 4 stars - partially because the number of spelling and grammatical errors in the PDF form of this book drove me nuts (guys you have to proofread the e-versions, too!).
However, I want to give this boook 5 stars for two main reasons:
1) first and foremost, it earned them. This was a hell of a read and finished from so far out in left field that I can't even begin to think how we were being led to that conclusion. It had humour, a plethora (yes, I counted) of interesting and unique characters, and enough suspense to literally make me read until my eyes felt like some idiot had blasted them with an EMP pulse (trust me on this). I can not begin to exclaim how pleasantly surprised I was reading this book after (a) it was offered for a mere 1$ or so on BookBub and (b) it seems to be Ms. McCague's only book to date. Which brings me to my 2nd reason for the high rating:
2) Good golly but I want this talented Renaissance lady to write more like this! Her biography reads like she's perhaps too busy with all her other interests to make this necessarily her ONLY job, but damn, I'd wait in line to buy the next one she writes for sure! Two words: BRA-VO!
Seriously, if you like your sci-fi with a bit of ultra-dry humour, with totally absurd twists and turns in the plot, that's speculative as hell and with international intrique wrapped up in a package that reads smoother than good whiskey AND makes you think about what we humans are doing to our poor planet, this is a book for you.
Just wow. Freakin' wow.
However, I want to give this boook 5 stars for two main reasons:
1) first and foremost, it earned them. This was a hell of a read and finished from so far out in left field that I can't even begin to think how we were being led to that conclusion. It had humour, a plethora (yes, I counted) of interesting and unique characters, and enough suspense to literally make me read until my eyes felt like some idiot had blasted them with an EMP pulse (trust me on this). I can not begin to exclaim how pleasantly surprised I was reading this book after (a) it was offered for a mere 1$ or so on BookBub and (b) it seems to be Ms. McCague's only book to date. Which brings me to my 2nd reason for the high rating:
2) Good golly but I want this talented Renaissance lady to write more like this! Her biography reads like she's perhaps too busy with all her other interests to make this necessarily her ONLY job, but damn, I'd wait in line to buy the next one she writes for sure! Two words: BRA-VO!
Seriously, if you like your sci-fi with a bit of ultra-dry humour, with totally absurd twists and turns in the plot, that's speculative as hell and with international intrique wrapped up in a package that reads smoother than good whiskey AND makes you think about what we humans are doing to our poor planet, this is a book for you.
Just wow. Freakin' wow.
May 7, 2018
One of the BEST “first contact” stories in SciFi, and I have been a major enthusiast for 55 years! There are the usual depictions (too much truth in them?) of power substituting for intelligence, bad decisions and misplaced egos in both the political and military establishments worldwide. My favorite historical “invasion” scenario in the book returns a theme first seen by me in a very early “Twilight Zone” episode. Aliens don’t need a huge invasion force IF they want to take over. They just need to prod humans – just a little bit – to get them to fight themselves to exhaustion.
The ending leaves a lot of room for sequels, speculation or maybe that was the end of it. An excellent tale about communication, empathy, technology and fear. The science was reasonable, the politics was too real, and the military intelligence was the oxymoron derived from an abuse of power.
Great read!
The ending leaves a lot of room for sequels, speculation or maybe that was the end of it. An excellent tale about communication, empathy, technology and fear. The science was reasonable, the politics was too real, and the military intelligence was the oxymoron derived from an abuse of power.
Great read!
August 31, 2017
si le thème (1er contact) a pu m'intéresser, l'écriture et la fin m'ont déçu
Les scènes se suivent sans s'enchaîner (au point que souvent on doit relire pour comprendre où on en est et avec qui) les personnages très nombreux sont peu différenciés / différenciables
Même si the Rosetta Man est plutôt un anti-héros sympathique, les ET et leurs motivations sont vagues, les militaires, les politiques, les scientifiques ... assez caricaturaux et la fin franchement... ridicule (AMHA)
Les scènes se suivent sans s'enchaîner (au point que souvent on doit relire pour comprendre où on en est et avec qui) les personnages très nombreux sont peu différenciés / différenciables
Même si the Rosetta Man est plutôt un anti-héros sympathique, les ET et leurs motivations sont vagues, les militaires, les politiques, les scientifiques ... assez caricaturaux et la fin franchement... ridicule (AMHA)
May 25, 2017
So recently I was looking at the Amazon Sci-Fi best seller list trying to find a new Sci-Fi book that actually paints the future in a bright light. I downloaded a few samples and this was one of them.
Holy cow I was not expecting this to grab me like it did. I hadn’t even finished the sample when I decided I would pay whatever the author was asking for to read the rest of the story. Thankfully, she didn’t want much, but I would have paid it. This story grabbed me and didn’t let go, rarely does this happen and I was not expecting it. I’m not sure if it was the fact that I’ve never read a first contact novel or that the story was just that compelling but since the author doesn’t seem to have written anything else I’ll have to find another first contact that doesn’t involve aliens killing us to try and judge.
The characters were interesting and the way events unfolded seemed very realistic. I loved the fact that it started in New Zealand and the setting wasn’t the normal US centric, though, it does say a lot about my country that I didn’t doubt the stupid stuff they did or how hostel they could be. The author was pretty generous and didn’t make them horrible so that was nice.
Loved this book but if I had one complaint it would be the ending. There was still so much unresolved, though, it wasn’t out of nowhere. I just wish there was more of an ending. I look forward to whatever else the author writes.
4.5/5
Holy cow I was not expecting this to grab me like it did. I hadn’t even finished the sample when I decided I would pay whatever the author was asking for to read the rest of the story. Thankfully, she didn’t want much, but I would have paid it. This story grabbed me and didn’t let go, rarely does this happen and I was not expecting it. I’m not sure if it was the fact that I’ve never read a first contact novel or that the story was just that compelling but since the author doesn’t seem to have written anything else I’ll have to find another first contact that doesn’t involve aliens killing us to try and judge.
The characters were interesting and the way events unfolded seemed very realistic. I loved the fact that it started in New Zealand and the setting wasn’t the normal US centric, though, it does say a lot about my country that I didn’t doubt the stupid stuff they did or how hostel they could be. The author was pretty generous and didn’t make them horrible so that was nice.
Loved this book but if I had one complaint it would be the ending. There was still so much unresolved, though, it wasn’t out of nowhere. I just wish there was more of an ending. I look forward to whatever else the author writes.
4.5/5
April 30, 2018
I quite liked the writing and the plot. There were quite a number of characters and I got a little confused at first but I don't think it was much of an issue. I also appreciate books that aren't USA-centric.
The ending was fitting and indeterminate. Because we all know that an uneventful (non-violent) 1st contact that involved the possibility of gaining advanced scientific information peacefully would be so rare as to be impossible.
But presuming that it was successful would no doubt take years and years. And it seemed pretty clear (to me anyway) that the visitors would be communicating with more species than just the 2-legs.
(couldn't manage to hide the spoilers so I hid it all)
The ending was fitting and indeterminate. Because we all know that an uneventful (non-violent) 1st contact that involved the possibility of gaining advanced scientific information peacefully would be so rare as to be impossible.
But presuming that it was successful would no doubt take years and years. And it seemed pretty clear (to me anyway) that the visitors would be communicating with more species than just the 2-legs.
(couldn't manage to hide the spoilers so I hid it all)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2023
There were enough interesting bits in this book to make it worth it overall, but I don't know. Maybe i'm simply to stupid to adequately follow it all. A lot of the book is descriptions wrapped in metaphors and symbolism, events that aren't actually happening but aren't hallucinations either, woven through a story told from the perspectives of an enormous cast of characters.
The meat of it is this interesting first contact with a species that doesn't speak our language - or even speaks at all - but most of the first half of the book is 'we are on this ship and are following this ship, we now have to go to another ship, now we must go to this airfield before this ship gets there' which is profoundly uninteresting and the latter half of the book wraps up with 'oh yeah also check out these cuttlefish, they're interesting now btw forgot to mention that'.
The meat of it is this interesting first contact with a species that doesn't speak our language - or even speaks at all - but most of the first half of the book is 'we are on this ship and are following this ship, we now have to go to another ship, now we must go to this airfield before this ship gets there' which is profoundly uninteresting and the latter half of the book wraps up with 'oh yeah also check out these cuttlefish, they're interesting now btw forgot to mention that'.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2019
This was a funny, engaging book, but the ending left me hanging.
July 3, 2023
I mostly enjoyed this novel of first contact. The aliens were definitely alien—in all respects. The protagonist, Estlin, was interesting and quirky, as was his colleague Harry. The initial connection between the “Rosetta man” (Estlin) and the aliens reminded me a lot of Tchaikovsky’s Children of Ruin, although Children of Ruin was published three years after the Rosetta Man.
Onto the stuff I didn’t like as much, in no particular order. There were a ton of typos—missing words, transposed words, incorrect words, etc. As an editor myself, seeing those kinds of mistakes just irks me and jars me out of the story. The story was a bit all over the place. I wish that the author had focused more, or perhaps exclusively, on just the relationship between Estlin and the aliens and details about the aliens themselves. Instead, there was a separate focus on politics and another on physics. Those two areas were much less interesting to me. About the last 25 pages or so, the story devolved into chaos. I wasn’t sure exactly what was happening. And then the book just ended. No conclusions or denouement whatsoever. Perhaps Claire McCague is planning a sequel?
Onto the stuff I didn’t like as much, in no particular order. There were a ton of typos—missing words, transposed words, incorrect words, etc. As an editor myself, seeing those kinds of mistakes just irks me and jars me out of the story. The story was a bit all over the place. I wish that the author had focused more, or perhaps exclusively, on just the relationship between Estlin and the aliens and details about the aliens themselves. Instead, there was a separate focus on politics and another on physics. Those two areas were much less interesting to me. About the last 25 pages or so, the story devolved into chaos. I wasn’t sure exactly what was happening. And then the book just ended. No conclusions or denouement whatsoever. Perhaps Claire McCague is planning a sequel?
August 8, 2018
Hard and fun scifi
Good hard science fiction (or at least, really good handwaving) involving a central hero who is strangely attractive to squirrels (and, later, aliens) and a host of supporting characters including scientists (both good and mad), autistic telepaths, diplomats, Greenpeace, soldiers (and other military personnel), and Pacific islanders. Our hero is fetched from his Alberta home (via Harrier jet in a nicely comic scene) for something top secret in New Zealand, which turns out to be trying to communicate with two aliens. While he's doing that, various scientists try to figure out who they got to Earth, and many of Earth's great powers prepare to insist that they should take over all research on the aliens by any means necessary. As do the cuttlefish! It's interesting, sometimes outlandish, sometimes a too true spoof of the bureaucratic rigidity of diplomats and military alike.
Good hard science fiction (or at least, really good handwaving) involving a central hero who is strangely attractive to squirrels (and, later, aliens) and a host of supporting characters including scientists (both good and mad), autistic telepaths, diplomats, Greenpeace, soldiers (and other military personnel), and Pacific islanders. Our hero is fetched from his Alberta home (via Harrier jet in a nicely comic scene) for something top secret in New Zealand, which turns out to be trying to communicate with two aliens. While he's doing that, various scientists try to figure out who they got to Earth, and many of Earth's great powers prepare to insist that they should take over all research on the aliens by any means necessary. As do the cuttlefish! It's interesting, sometimes outlandish, sometimes a too true spoof of the bureaucratic rigidity of diplomats and military alike.
April 24, 2018
This was an interesting book that was hard to put down even though it was frustrating to read. It had so many extraneous characters that I had trouble figuring out who was who sometimes. So I just followed the main, extremely fascinating characters and didn't pay much attention to the rest. The premise and main characters were wonderful, from a quirky guy who talks to squirrels (and they talk to him), to aliens who come and go and cuttlefish who need a "hit man." Lots of unnecessary verbiage (in my opinion) about AF jets, Navy jets, Canadian jets etc., runways, airports and the noise that jets make when they get close to the ground.
I looked for a sequel to this book, because it definitely did not wrap up the story in a nice bow with all the loose ends tied up. Frustrating as it was, I would still like to know what happens. Unless I'm mistaken, there is not a sequel.
DSJ
I looked for a sequel to this book, because it definitely did not wrap up the story in a nice bow with all the loose ends tied up. Frustrating as it was, I would still like to know what happens. Unless I'm mistaken, there is not a sequel.
DSJ
June 3, 2018
Brilliant fun
The title of the book nearly deterred me as it sounds like Ancient Egyptians /archaeology but I am glad I looked deeper. This is a funny and clever sf novel set in current times. The main character is an autistic man who has hidden away from society due to being an unwilling object of fascination for squirrels. He is yanked out of his retreat to assist with a First Contact situation, in which he is used and abused by the key players as matters rapidly escalate. The aliens (not squirrels) were brilliantly conceived and I enjoyed discovering their means of communication and their very interesting and original motive for visiting Earth. I normally read a book in a day or two but had to slow down with this one to absorb the well thought through and complex ideas and to keep an eye on the large and fascinating cast of characters. A good read and amusing too.
The title of the book nearly deterred me as it sounds like Ancient Egyptians /archaeology but I am glad I looked deeper. This is a funny and clever sf novel set in current times. The main character is an autistic man who has hidden away from society due to being an unwilling object of fascination for squirrels. He is yanked out of his retreat to assist with a First Contact situation, in which he is used and abused by the key players as matters rapidly escalate. The aliens (not squirrels) were brilliantly conceived and I enjoyed discovering their means of communication and their very interesting and original motive for visiting Earth. I normally read a book in a day or two but had to slow down with this one to absorb the well thought through and complex ideas and to keep an eye on the large and fascinating cast of characters. A good read and amusing too.
July 2, 2017
A good romp through miscommunication
There are a lot of characters popping through this little gem of a sci-fi read. Hard to keep track of, even. But not as hard as those rascally little aliens; all two of them that is.
Armed forces from various countries converge on a tiny island in the South Pacific. Two aliens (with the ability to cause humans to see what they want them to see) may or may not be contained and under control. A mentally fragile man, adored by squirrels but not so much by people, is tasked with first contact interpretation.
Military maneuvers, international intrigue, scientists, laypeople, a host of squirrels (and other representatives of the animal kingdom), a ghost (yes), aliens and one uniquely gifted man assigned to translate.
Do read and fun.
There are a lot of characters popping through this little gem of a sci-fi read. Hard to keep track of, even. But not as hard as those rascally little aliens; all two of them that is.
Armed forces from various countries converge on a tiny island in the South Pacific. Two aliens (with the ability to cause humans to see what they want them to see) may or may not be contained and under control. A mentally fragile man, adored by squirrels but not so much by people, is tasked with first contact interpretation.
Military maneuvers, international intrigue, scientists, laypeople, a host of squirrels (and other representatives of the animal kingdom), a ghost (yes), aliens and one uniquely gifted man assigned to translate.
Do read and fun.
June 8, 2020
Intriguing romp that kept my attention. (Even though the protagonist took quite a bit of damage, which was painful to identify with.)
As others have noted, the ending didn't provide quite as much closure as I would have liked. I was reminded of riding my bike indoors with trainer software showing a route video, in which I'll be thinking "the mileage says I'm almost at the end of the ride, but it doesn't seem like there's any reason to stop here", then, suddenly, the route is done and the cooldown window pops up. In this case, the plot takes a bit of a turn, then, fini. Hopefully Claire will be able to fit enough writing time into her schedule to get "book 2" out before I totally forget the Rosetta Man characters and plot.
As others have noted, the ending didn't provide quite as much closure as I would have liked. I was reminded of riding my bike indoors with trainer software showing a route video, in which I'll be thinking "the mileage says I'm almost at the end of the ride, but it doesn't seem like there's any reason to stop here", then, suddenly, the route is done and the cooldown window pops up. In this case, the plot takes a bit of a turn, then, fini. Hopefully Claire will be able to fit enough writing time into her schedule to get "book 2" out before I totally forget the Rosetta Man characters and plot.
September 4, 2022
I received a review copy of The Rosetta Mind, not realizing it was a sequel, so I had to read this first (and I expect the context here is necessary for that book.)
This is the second humans meet aliens and have to communicate with them book I’ve read in the past month. And in both, we don’t do well. Clever, a different take, there is a fairly good understanding of the military, a pretty good understanding of the civilian authorities and a better understanding of scientists and humans (again, we don’t do well…with others or ourselves.) Told in multiple, interlaced threads, this is a gripping page-turner of a story. I’m curious and ready now to get into The Rosetta Mind. I liked this line:
“I think the status quo is about to have its ass handed to it.”
This is the second humans meet aliens and have to communicate with them book I’ve read in the past month. And in both, we don’t do well. Clever, a different take, there is a fairly good understanding of the military, a pretty good understanding of the civilian authorities and a better understanding of scientists and humans (again, we don’t do well…with others or ourselves.) Told in multiple, interlaced threads, this is a gripping page-turner of a story. I’m curious and ready now to get into The Rosetta Mind. I liked this line:
“I think the status quo is about to have its ass handed to it.”
December 23, 2017
Original and epic
The main characters are simplistic and complex all at the same time. The story answers the question what would happen if a normal person was the first to make alien contact. Then it goes on to show extraordinary diversity and creativity in the plot and the character development. I would recommend this for people who like sci-fi and first contact stories because it is amazing to read. It is just a really great story it really comes together and works. I would recommend the story to people who don't like point of view switches and changes often.
The main characters are simplistic and complex all at the same time. The story answers the question what would happen if a normal person was the first to make alien contact. Then it goes on to show extraordinary diversity and creativity in the plot and the character development. I would recommend this for people who like sci-fi and first contact stories because it is amazing to read. It is just a really great story it really comes together and works. I would recommend the story to people who don't like point of view switches and changes often.
October 12, 2020
Awesome!!!
Claire McCague knocked it out of the park! This is a fresh, unique, character driven adventure that I wish I could give 10 Stars!! I guarantee you won’t see this one coming.....the aliens are a continuous source of unexpected abilities and agenda; the animal cast is clever and amazing; and the humans are certainly “Behind the power curve”!!
I will not give up any of the plot twists, but It just got better and better......I was delighted and surprised from the very beginning to the last page. So where is the next book?!?!?!
Claire McCague knocked it out of the park! This is a fresh, unique, character driven adventure that I wish I could give 10 Stars!! I guarantee you won’t see this one coming.....the aliens are a continuous source of unexpected abilities and agenda; the animal cast is clever and amazing; and the humans are certainly “Behind the power curve”!!
I will not give up any of the plot twists, but It just got better and better......I was delighted and surprised from the very beginning to the last page. So where is the next book?!?!?!
February 14, 2023
An interesting read about advanced intelligent life outside our solar system that visits. What do humans do? Should we kill the aliens? Let them talk with the President of the USA? Do we bring in biological experts? This book will change your mind about the people who are most capable of communicating about aliens.
The book is written in a way that may be off-putting to some people who like sequential reads that answer every question every chapter. The author did a great job in giving the reader the feelings that the tired scientists were experiencing as their lives changed.
The book is written in a way that may be off-putting to some people who like sequential reads that answer every question every chapter. The author did a great job in giving the reader the feelings that the tired scientists were experiencing as their lives changed.
June 18, 2017
A fun read
This is a bizarre story with both science fiction and fantasy elements; a protagonist who is often not "on stage" but is almost always being talked about by a large cast of supporting characters. There are aliens, squirrels, bats (the flying kind), snails, birds, scientists, spies, soldiers, Canadiens, Americans, Samoans, New Zealanders, Russians, Greenpeace, and more, lots more. A fun read that begs for a sequel.
This is a bizarre story with both science fiction and fantasy elements; a protagonist who is often not "on stage" but is almost always being talked about by a large cast of supporting characters. There are aliens, squirrels, bats (the flying kind), snails, birds, scientists, spies, soldiers, Canadiens, Americans, Samoans, New Zealanders, Russians, Greenpeace, and more, lots more. A fun read that begs for a sequel.
August 8, 2017
Wonderful character study of us humans.
Such great story telling. The first half of the book can't be beat. The main protagonist, Estlin, is a sandle-wearing Will Rogers of the Space Age, not an anti-hero but so humble as to be loveable. The aliens (and the author) put us in our place. Thought twisting science, politics that explain where Trumpism comes from... just terrific storytelling. I'm envious.
Such great story telling. The first half of the book can't be beat. The main protagonist, Estlin, is a sandle-wearing Will Rogers of the Space Age, not an anti-hero but so humble as to be loveable. The aliens (and the author) put us in our place. Thought twisting science, politics that explain where Trumpism comes from... just terrific storytelling. I'm envious.
June 12, 2018
This book has a great premise, and after reading the back cover, I had high hopes for this one. However, I'm pretty disappointed. The writing is clunky and just doesn’t pull you in, even though it’s a pretty interesting story/idea and lots of action--it seems as though it’s written as a movie script, and it would make a great movie! Maybe that’s the author’s intention? I actually gave up about half-way through--no urge to pick it up and finish it. When the movie comes out, I'll watch it!
March 25, 2019
Great premise well played out. Realistic, deeply likeable characters, even the heavies, though the outright villains are slightly cardboard. Tense action, a lot of great military detail. The mystery of motivations spins out at a perfect pace. There is some gentle philosophy, a good balance of explanation & unexplained mystery, and, incredibly in this late age of science fiction, some unique aliens. The writing, concerns, and style remind me of Hilbert Schenck’s Chronosequence.
March 16, 2020
Cute little aliens come to earth and only one man can communicate with them. The same man that draws squirrels and bats and other animals to him whether he wants to or not. They communicate in colors, not words. As he struggles to make others understand what they are trying to say the world is getting all in a panic as the world is often doing. Suddenly he and the aliens disappear. What does the wòrld make of-that?
September 26, 2022
Smart, creative, delightfully entertaining.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this book, but was delighted right from the opening. Such an innovative premise requires a skillful execution, and Claire McCauge shines in this one. Here is a wonderfully creative first contact story rich with humour, intrigue, suspense, and cutting edge science. A most enjoyable read. Can’t wait to get into the sequel.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this book, but was delighted right from the opening. Such an innovative premise requires a skillful execution, and Claire McCauge shines in this one. Here is a wonderfully creative first contact story rich with humour, intrigue, suspense, and cutting edge science. A most enjoyable read. Can’t wait to get into the sequel.
October 18, 2023
This review is for my own memories.
Not sure what it was about this book that I enjoyed so much. The characters were diverse and believable. The personalities were distinctive without being one dimensional. The premise was unique and interesting.
The ability of the main character was enjoyable and weird and his use of it was not overblown or outrageous. I could totally understand how it would impact his life the way it did.
Not sure what it was about this book that I enjoyed so much. The characters were diverse and believable. The personalities were distinctive without being one dimensional. The premise was unique and interesting.
The ability of the main character was enjoyable and weird and his use of it was not overblown or outrageous. I could totally understand how it would impact his life the way it did.
June 2, 2017
Creature Whisperer
Aliens come to the South Pacific, and Lindie is asked by a New Zealand friend to come and and translate.
This story is rambling and has a lot of technical discussions that might distract readers. There is no ending, so maybe the author is planning future books in a series. I won't be reading them.
Aliens come to the South Pacific, and Lindie is asked by a New Zealand friend to come and and translate.
This story is rambling and has a lot of technical discussions that might distract readers. There is no ending, so maybe the author is planning future books in a series. I won't be reading them.
March 23, 2018
Fantastic
What an incredibly good read! I loved the premise from start to finish. Fantastic characters with color and depth. It was so nice to see aliens that weren't chunky monsters or x files material. I loved the humor throughout the book too. Very well done. Will be recommending this one to my friends
What an incredibly good read! I loved the premise from start to finish. Fantastic characters with color and depth. It was so nice to see aliens that weren't chunky monsters or x files material. I loved the humor throughout the book too. Very well done. Will be recommending this one to my friends
May 9, 2018
Don't do the sample unless you want to read the book
I down loaded the sample and got hooked. I had to buy the book to find out what happened. A very skilfully told story that I could not stop reading. I lost sleep and it is very dear to me. I am hopping there is a second book. If not I will be waiting.
I down loaded the sample and got hooked. I had to buy the book to find out what happened. A very skilfully told story that I could not stop reading. I lost sleep and it is very dear to me. I am hopping there is a second book. If not I will be waiting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews