The Fourth Consort

A Novel

De: Edward Ashton

Narrado por: Barrie Kreinik

A new standalone sci-fi novel from Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7 (the inspiration for the major motion picture Mickey 17).

“Barrie Kreinik, one of the best narrators around, succeeds in making distinct characters not just of Dalton and Neera, Breaker and some of the aliens, but even of the AI translator that’s embedded in Dalton’s neck.”—The Valley Breeze

Dalton Greaves is a hero. He’s one of humankind’s first representatives to Unity, a pan-species confederation working to bring all sentient life into a single benevolent brotherhood.

That’s what they told him, anyway. The only actual members of Unity that he’s ever met are Boreau, a giant snail who seems more interested in plunder than spreading love and harmony, and Boreau’s human sidekick, Neera, who Dalton strongly suspects roped him into this gig so that she wouldn’t become the next one of Boreau’s crew to get eaten by locals while prospecting.

Funny thing, though—turns out there actually is a benevolent confederation out there, working for the good of all life. They call themselves the Assembly, and they really don’t like Unity. More to the point, they really, really don’t like Unity’s new human minions.

When an encounter between Boreau’s scout ship and an Assembly cruiser over a newly discovered world ends badly for both parties, Dalton finds himself marooned, caught between a stickman, one of the Assembly’s nightmarish shock troops, the planet’s natives, who aren’t winning any congeniality prizes themselves, and Neera, who might actually be the most dangerous of the three. To survive, he’ll need to navigate palace intrigue, alien morality, and a proposal that he literally cannot refuse, all while making sure Neera doesn’t come to the conclusion that he’s worth more to her dead than alive.

Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle, The Fourth Consort asks an important question: how far would you go to survive? And more importantly, how many drinks would you need to go there?

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2025 Edward Ashton (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Humor, interspecies diplomacy, and unexpected alliances enliven this zippy sci-fi romp... Ashton strikes an impressive balance of humor, action, and thought-provoking sci-fi concepts."—Publishers Weekly

"This is a deep surprise of a story as it contemplates the perils and pitfalls of communication and the difficulty of reaching anything like understanding with a species with which one shares few if any frames of reference. Readers who found the struggle to communicate in Ray Nayler’s The Mountain in the Sea will enjoy... [and] fans of the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Darmok” will find this to be a familiar and similarly complex and heartbreaking tale."—Library Journal (starred)

Excellent

I’ve been listening to so much crap scifi that it is refreshing to remember that some artists remain and continue to hone the craft. Will definitely listen to more from this author.

Story had potential but struggled to finish.

Breaker character had great potential but acted just like only another anxious human (except one very exciting instance). Nera played almost no part except in one isolated instance (she was a bore).

fun, lightweight stuff

Not everything needs to be complicated. This is a fun, straightforward read/listen. I'm hoping for a sequel!

Originality

I loved the humor and relationship building between species. I also enjoy when I cannot predict which direction things are going to go.

Witty, Humour, Action

Very good book......It has a good plot, has witty humour (a must have with me), and action to keep me on my toes.The main charactor has a military background. He has to deal with a sarcastic co-worker, and dry aliens with illogical morals. It is all wrapped up nicely ......I finished it quickly because it had me laughing and seeing how each odd alien situation would be handled. This book is not all laughs though.....It did make me think of my own boundaries . This is a series of books of which I am gladly going to follow.

Great Listen

I really enjoyed this book. This will definitely need a re-listen in the future.

Loved the Mickey 7 books. But this was bad.

Just a weak and boring story. Very juvenile dialog. Nowhere near the quality of the Mickey 7 books.