Career Night on Union Station

EarthCent Ambassador #15

by E.M. Foner

Start the EarthCent Ambassador series with the three book bundle, Union Station 1, 2, 3.

Kelly returns from sabbatical and finally has the opportunity to expand her embassy with a conference room, providing she can find a contractor willing to take the job. Dorothy finds that her impending motherhood is an advice-magnet to her alien friends, while the SBJ Fashions workplace gets strange as Baa enchants fashion accessories for LARPing to repay her debt to Jeeves. Samuel and Vivian discover that their educational choices don't necessarily match with their aptitudes and abilities.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Humor

261 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2018

About the author

I 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.

Reviews

[john Calkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting the EarthCent series anywhere but the first volume is a mistake. Big things happen in the first few books and the action seems to slow down as the series progresses. That's OK though. If you didn't enjoy the characters for their own sake you would have given up pretty quickly. As you get farther along each volume becomes a comfy visit with olf friends, strange as they are. Foner loves his cast of characters. So do I, and the next volume can't come out fast enough. Sometimes I wish that the speakers in a conversation were identified more frequently, as I have to flip back and forth to keep them straight occasionally. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing. Life is good on the mega space station. I only wish I could visit there between books.

[shannon Stubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

I felt like I went to visit old friends . Also this seems to be one of my favorite books of this series. It had really funny parts that I enjoyed. Jeeves still seems a little mischievous in this book. I wonder what else he has planned for the McAlister family?

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam & Vivian are taking a Dynastic class in Open University and the seminar ends with both of them questioning their future plans. Kelly acquires the office space next to the embassy and plans an expansion so she can finally host meetings with the other ambassadors (who unbeknownst to her have been keep track of just how many meetings she owes). But EarthCent wants her to use human contractors & none of them are calling her back. Dorothy is pregnant & her fashion company is very busy working with Baa to enchant items for use LARPing and Jeeves is busy working on aptitude tests for civil service exams so the humans can start choosing their own embassy people instead of the Stryx.
This was great, the different plots were engaging and the characters funny. As usual, a happy ending for everyone.
I loved some of the humor more than was probably intended.
I came home from work, where I had just participated in a "Morale Enhancement Seminar" that involved call & response with things like "Who are we?" "COMPANY NAME!" "Who's the best?" "COMPANY NAME!" Except we never achieved the volume the organizers wanted. I then started this book and came across:
Why are we here?” “Baa’s Bags,” the models replied dutifully. “I can’t hear you,” Dorothy shouted back, and she really couldn’t hear them with Mornich’s band cranking up their instrumental. “Who’s paying you?” “BAA’S BAGS,” the models all shouted.
and texted my coworkers. We've all decided that's what they should have been asking.

[Gail Daley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up

I always enjoy these stories. However, if I hadn’t read the other books, I would need a scorecard to keep up with who all the bit players are, and sometimes even I get confused. This is a lighthearted tale about a mixed species group of oddballs who make up the diplomat staffs from various embassies on a space station. This story concerns how the various species select their staffs foe an embassy. It also catches up long time followers of the series as to what everyone else is doing.
You won’t find any graphic wars or desperate causes here; the closest everyone gets to a war is a massive multi player role game fought in virtual reality. Good fun.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series remains deserving of five stars by my standard that if I can recommend it without reservations to anyone, then it deserves that rating.

First and foremost, every book is just about joy and growth of the characters and the world. Each book may continue off from the previous one, but each on still remains self-contained. This makes it easy to pick up the next book immediately, or several months down the line. Another reason for the overall rating is the format itself; the best way to describe it is as a TV series, where each book is a season and the chapters are the episodes.

So, if you want a book that will cheer you up and get you caring about fictional characters like they’re your own friends, then pick up this latest book, or start the series now.

[Kathy Bryson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun visit to the future where humanity is doing its best to mix and mingle with the bigger kids on the block while still managing their very human lives. Naturally this requires a conference room - but without subcontracting to aliens while maintaining quality that only the aliens can deliver. It's tough being the new kid! Add in the ambassador's daughter's pregnancy, the ambassador's son's changing college majors, and the ambassador herself juggling unconvincing impersonations and too convincing magic acts for yet another crazy day in space!

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

First things first - if you've read this far in the series, you know what to expect. If you're new to the series, go back and start with book one. You won't need it to understand the events of this book, but the world and cast of characters is so big at this point that starting at the beginning makes understanding who everyone is much easier.

So. Career Night is kind of fun and kind of frustrating for the same reason - it deals with two young people who don't know what they want to do in life and who feel that they have been studying the wrong things in school. That's a little bit too relatable, if I'm being perfectly honest. But, that aside, it's fun to see how the Stryx take undertake the challenge of helping young people decide who they want to be. I wish they had been around when I was in school.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samuel and Vivian have both been pursuing studies at the Open University. However, Samuel has to face the fact that his math skills are not quite up to continuing in space engineering. And Vivian realizes that her dynastic studies courses are not getting her anywhere. So, like most human young adults, they have to focus on what they really want to do when they grow up. Unlike most of the alien species on Union Station, they do not have a predetermined course laid out for them nor do they have thousands of years to make up their minds. One of the more pleasant reads of the series.

[Robert Luff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last couple of these books have just been hitting well. They're helping me get out of last years reading slump! The whole series is a comfortable slice-of-life episodic story over the course of decades. It just happens to take place on a space station. Excellent series, with an unfortunate (and repetitive) cover. I recommend the first book of the series if you're willing to take a risk on that sort of thing!

[Jackson Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all the Union Station books. The author has a very successful formula of interesting characters and manages to grow her characters while entertaining and amusing the reader. The stories are more studies in social and psychological differences in aliens and humans than hard science fiction but are very good. Highly recommended for thinking readers.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story

this story is mostly about the day to day happenings of almost all of the whole story lines characters! with a few new ones added in! it kind of starts with a construction project! and just goes out from there! the bit about removing the old instead of building over it,is a realization that I never thought about! very good story can't wait for the next one!

[Groucho42 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usual easy to read fluff. Multiple threads centered on a couple of human families dealing with life on the major station and all the other characters there. Poker scene as annoying as always but the rest is basic and average. The one good thing is that, like other good authors, keeps his characters growing.

[Dave Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this guy's writing. Sci Fi without all the usual stuff. Loner is an expert in character development and such a large series has allowed the reader to watch the characters grow. It's a fun and fascinating series. If you're looking for a nice diversion, check out the Union Station series.

[Beth Farrar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Reading

It is so hard to find sci-fi/ fantasy that is fun to read. If you are looking for good, entertaining reads, you can't go wrong with the Union Station series. Intelligent, funny,thought provoking.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good story

Kelly is back at work in the embassy where she discovers the joys of remodeling and adding a new conference room. Several other people make decisions about their careers. A fun read.

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Careers are important

The grooming of the progeny continues. Our alien overlords are preparing the daughters and sons for their life's work. The Terragram mages are revealed and nefarious plots are revealed.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sleepless night

This series, by now, has successfully put me in sleep deprivation mode for a month. It's kind of refreshing that science fiction and diplomatic works could go along so well. It's nice to see that violence does not dominate the future.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always fun!

As always a visit to Union Station is a fun read. The author takes the unending search for a meaningful career and gives a sci fi twist.

[Marcia Coonrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continues the good fun

This is a fun read. The characters are great and I enjoy smiling all the way through the book! More please!

[E Sano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series, and this author. Clever, fun, and funny, with great characters, human and alien.

[Timothy L Espinoza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm A Junkie Too

Another good read in the series. I love when the good guys win in the end. Where ever this family goes, I'm going to go. Like the author, I'm a junkie, too.

[Debbie White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, as usual! :-)

[Jessica Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite series.

I call it light hearted but not light headed. It helps if you read the first four books. Give it a try!

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another largely plotless good natured yarn. At least there was a little excitement at the end.

[Josephine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great to know what the family is doing.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good series, although I do think you need to read from book 1 to understand all the characters and aliens.

[Jesse Deleon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost at the end of the series!

I can't believe that there is only two books left to read. E. M. Fiber Union Station series is one that will miss reading. A fan!

[Victoria Smart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Career advice from Aliens

While Kelly creates a conference room Samuel and Vivian try to decide what to do with their lives. What can humans do better than aliens ????

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's your line?

Strong entry in the series. Buy the introductory three pack, it's a bargain. Earth cent doubles in size and the younger generation is trying new career options.

[stephanie huntington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and different, great story in a very engaging series