Only Human

Disappointing ending to an excellent series

I listened to the first two books in this series and loved them, to the point i pre ordered Only Human. The expectation of a fantastic finish to the series was crushed by the disappointment that arrived instead. There has been a change of cast from the first two, and this does have an effect, with some of the replacements trying to sound like their predecessors, and it just doesn't quite work. it's like listening to a tribute band, you can appreciate what they are doing but it's not like seeing the real thing.
Coupled with the average performances, the story just makes little sense. it's painful to listen though the alien exchanges as the author has created a language that is not nice to listen to, and is then translated back by the next speaker making the whole thing pointless as well as painful.
i was genuinely looking forward to this, wanting to know what happened to the characters, but this book should not have been written. There was an ending at book 2 that could have ended it as a 2 book series, there was no need for this. Stick to book 1&2 and enjoy those for what they are, pretend this book doesn't exist and use your 8hrs doing something fun instead.

14 people found this helpful

Such a disappointment

The first two books in this series were so good it is unfortunate that the author felt this book would benefit from an insane amount of gratuitous profanity. The story itself was lacking in any development.

The performance was poor compared to the previous two and I was left wondering why Eva’s accent went from strongly Latino in the previous book to annoyingly fake Bronx. Other characters had noticeably changed and it really took away from the story.

A poor ending indeed when the previous books had been so well written and preformed.

8 people found this helpful

loved it!!!

a brilliant story! hope to read more from this author. one of the best stories I've ever read and great performances!

1 person found this helpful

I guess it had to end somewhere

I have been such a huge promoter of this series, even before book 3 came out. I'm not sure where to go with this. I guess the story is what it is and the voice acting can also take you out of the story, I still enjoyed the characters.... But "Eva, a girl that grew up on Puerto Rico for half her life and then on another planet, having a New York accent, really started to gripe on me every time she spoke, and then the Aliens sound like a Speak & Spell. I guess this was the Matrix 3 of the story, although this didn't really feel like I had closure on the characters I cared about... In all honesty, it felt like a Twin Peaks episode.

3 people found this helpful

Gripping end of trilogy

This was a great finish to the trilogy, possibly even my favourite out of the three books. The ending felt right leaving the story at a satisfying point

2 people found this helpful

A great finish!

I was a little sceptical of having all those narrators but it worked great. There's large robot fighting, conventional warfare, an armed uprising, aliens, politics, a toy store, a weird Russian and aliens (again).

The ending fits the story. It covers the time line and introduces some very interesting new characters.

As alien stories go this is a must listen/read. As any story, this is a must!

Give all three a try, you shouldn't be disappointed with them.

2 people found this helpful

End of an Era

I LOVED this trilogy and am sad it's over. It's a wonderful, compelling, satisfying and highly intelligent piece of sci-fi. I recommend you start at Book 1 and don't stop. I wish there was another.

Mr Burns and 'our friend' - amazing characters.

2 people found this helpful

It's okay.

Sett-up:
We jump about 9years forward in time with the main cast returning from the alien world to earth. We get to learn what happened with them at the alien world, but it's very much about the situation on earth when they get back. Hostility is rising, and earth society is in many ways breaking apart as the larger powers struggle against each other.

The problems:
A cast change for the audiobook. I got used to the new Rose...but Eva is the big problem. She has a very strong and distinct American accent. Like she grew up in New Jersey. It sticks out as a sore thumb, as language is one of the themes of the book. You might prefer to read it, over the audiobook.

The story is okay. It's an okay ending to the three books. The alien stuff is interesting at times, but nothing special.
The characters we are left with from the previous books just are not that interesting, and the conflicts between individual characters seem somewhat forced, and play out in typical ways we have seen many times before.

Not a bad book, but I would have reservations against recommending the trilogy to friends becouse of how mediocre the final book is. It's a shame after how much I enjoyed the first two.

A genius and unique sci-fi masterpiece

I was worried the final book if the trilogy would stand up to the incredible first and second parts but this was as perfect a finale as I could hope to read along with the continuation of the best ensemble voice cast I've ever heard, I'm already counting the seconds to his new trilogy.

Brilliant. Gripping.

I loved the whole series and was gripped from beginning to end. The story never faltered and the style of writing each chapter as an interview or report or personal entry gave it all so much more life. I really recommend this series, it's great entertainment but also carries a lot of home truths, put over in ways it's not always easy to anticipate. Very well kaleidoscoped from all perspectives. Great writing, great presentation. A rare triumph.