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Narrated by:
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R. J. F.
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By:
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X. Ho Yen
About this listen
First contact was nothing like we imagined. Can the aliens save Earth? Should they?
With the Earth teetering on recovery from humanity's 21st-century mistakes, two highly advanced aliens observing from the moon are suddenly on opposite sides of an ethical battle over a dire cosmic threat. As governments seek to destroy them, the aliens wrestle and scheme, entangling all of humanity as they influence and empower specific humans to achieve their contrary objectives.
Among them are a brilliant AI expert who has channeled her autism in the service of science, and a violent, anti-secular zealot who hates everything she stands for. Drawn into the conflict, Laurence and Matt must reach minimum safe distance from human nature itself–their own, the rest of humanity’s, and of the former-human, techno-demon "monstas". Chased into the ruins of the US, they struggle to distill the meaning of personhood, discover the value of their own lives, and in so doing decide the fate of the solar system.
©2022 X. Ho Yen (P)2023 X. Ho YenListeners also enjoyed...
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1 out of 5 stars
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A bag of clichés
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 317
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 295
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1 out of 5 stars
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I’m too old for this
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I Was Legion
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- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4 out of 5 stars 48
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4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 72
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5 out of 5 stars
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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5 out of 5 stars
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Tool Use[…] Is the best sci-fi I’ve read this year
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By: Derek Kunsken
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- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 685
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 599
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Story4 out of 5 stars 597
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1 out of 5 stars
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Stupid
- By Kindle Customer on 05-07-20
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Godzilla vs. Kong
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 374
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 337
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 340
Humanity fights for its future as Godzilla and Kong embark on a path of destruction that will see the two most powerful forces of nature on the planet collide in an all-out war! Writer Greg Keyes returns once again to the Monsterverse and takes listeners deeper into the worlds of Monarch, the Titans, and so much more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great novelization!!!
- By Jon on 04-09-21
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What listeners say about Minimum Safe Distance
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- James
- 07-29-24
Interesting story with a few quirks
On the whole, this was an interesting and entertaining book, and there's definitely a lot going on.
The premise of two advanced, high-tech aliens fighting on and near earth to decide the strategy to deal with an upcoming cataclysm is unique, as is way an autistic character fits well in with that alien tech.
There are a couple long chase or race scenes where multiple rovers or others race to one location after another. These got a little long an confusing.
I found it hard to accept that these advanced aliens could predict this cataclysm centuries ahead of time, yet then suddenly realize they're off by a factor of 10.
The simplicity and speed of creating more 'enhanced' was also a bit hard to fathom.
Finally, there were long passages telling about the whole litany of calamities that befell the earth, and particularly the US. These are couched as conversations of a sort by could have been shown instead. At times, it appears that the US is blamed for most of the problems that befall it.
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