A solid piece of accessible sci-fi, with some fun concepts. I'd have liked to see more exploration of the characters, who seem fun but didn't get enough room to breathe. Even Jeff, the main protagonist, still feels like a bit of a cipher. Bonus points for the way the translators are used in the plot, and I liked the Grey's plans. On the other hand, I felt like it ended a bit abruptly without resolving things (what actually WAS the point of the plan, if things had progressed any further? What's with the magic particles?). Yes, it's the first in a series, but I expect a bit more closure. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it so no real complaints. ( )

A waiter in a dead-end job in Nevada meets aliens who communicate mostly through odors. Although this is an interesting premise by first time author Gehrke, the story does not have the edginess or harrowing adventures normally found in a first contact situation. As in any conflict, there are the heroes, bad people, and violence. ( )

I expected some humor in this story. The title sure suggests it. As does the fun cover art.

There’s a whole lot of laughs here. The author’s choice of casting his main protagonist as your average Joe makes it mysterious and fun.

And the aliens. What can I say. You’d expect them to be intelligent, right? They come from galaxies far, far away. They must be smart to be able to conquer space travel.

Well, that’s not the case here. They seem completely unaware of how scary they look to us humans.

The first few attempts at contact fail dismally. One alien gets run over by a truck, several get shot, and many more meet sticky ends. And when you see the story from their point of view, you’ll shake your head at just how inept and clueless they really are. I wish I could share some of their attempts with you, but don’t want to include spoilers. I may have a warped sense of humor, but I had to laugh, a lot, at how some of the aliens met their ends.

Jeff has no idea he’s been chosen as the person of first contact with the aliens. Why would he. He’s nobody special. When contact is made, he’s soon embroiled in alien politics and conspiracy. He has some help from an outcast alien and a woman with her own agenda. It’s crucial that he discover the reason behind all of the alien deaths before Earth and humanity becomes a target.

I laughed at the beginning, and the laughs just kept coming. The aliens were kind of gross, in a funny way. They smelled. I mean really smelled. And they acted more like children than intelligent beings.

An action/adventure science fiction story for all ages. With loads of laughs and fun characters, and plenty of adventure, this is one I’d recommend to all readers. It has something for everyone. Sure kept me entertained for a few hours. ( )

Let me start by saying I REALLY ENJOYED this book. I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review. THANK YOU for the opportunity to read and review it.

Upon first glance from the cover and the title I expected the story to be light and fluffy; an equal mix of SF and humor. Instead I found a story with plenty of humor but also a soul. The characters were well developed and engaging who deal with the extraordinary circumstances remarkably.

Also the story is probable. I mean that I never felt that the story became TOO fantastic and therefore ruin the story's continuity.

The humor is insidious. You get involved with the story and suddenly get hit with "Open the pod bay doors, Hal" which made me chuckle out loud. I won't give it away, but as an avid SF reader and movie watcher the imagery was right on.

All right Gerhard, where is part two? ( )

I enjoyed this book. It kept me turning pages to find out what was happening next. ( )