Manipulate: Alien Cadets

I give this book a five star rating without reservation. I usually spend some time nit picking plot holes or problematic writing in my reviews but this story was just such a delightful read that I don’t see any reason to say anything but how much I enjoyed it. The writing was stellar – something I don’t always see in ebooks. The story was engaging and imaginative. One reviewer called it a YA book and given that the main protagonist is a young man in his late teens, I could see that it might seem that way. I can say as a woman in her fifties who has been reading science fiction my whole life it never felt too immature for me. It was a refreshing break from the unoriginal paranormal romance that seems to dominate the publishing world today. The story and the character development kept me reading until I had finished in just two evenings. I was so disappointed to see the sequel isn’t out yet and I’m anticipating it now I know it is in the works at least. The story has a bit of Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy in the way aliens were truly alien. A bit of David Brin’s Uplift series and the unironic optimism of Star Trek. The writer managed to reflect back to all of these classics and remain fresh and original at the same time. Read it – if you love science fiction you won’t be disappointed!

I give this book a five star rating without reservation. I usually spend some time nit picking plot holes or problematic writing in my reviews but this story was just such a delightful read that I don’t see any reason to say anything but how much I enjoyed it. The writing was stellar – something I don’t always see in ebooks. The story was engaging and imaginative. One reviewer called it a YA book and given that the main protagonist is a young man in his late teens, I could see that it might seem that way. I can say as a woman in her fifties who has been reading science fiction my whole life it never felt too immature for me. It was a refreshing break from the unoriginal paranormal romance that seems to dominate the publishing world today. The story and the character development kept me reading until I had finished in just two evenings. I was so disappointed to see the sequel isn’t out yet and I’m anticipating it now I know it is in the works at least. The story has a bit of Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy in the way aliens were truly alien. A bit of David Brin’s Uplift series and the unironic optimism of Star Trek. The writer managed to reflect back to all of these classics and remain fresh and original at the same time. Read it – if you love science fiction you won’t be disappointed!