I saw this a couple of months ago when it was free, and I recognized Dan Wells as the guy who wrote the I Am Not a Serial Killer books, so I decided to pick it up. Since Dan Wells tends to write mostly horror, I wasn’t sure how good his science fiction would be, but I was pleasantly surprised!
This was a really fun book. It’s definitely middle grade, so a lot of concepts familiar to veteran sci-fi readers get lengthy explanations, especially toward the beginning, which is great for younger readers but a little tedious for us old-timers. Once all the science is sufficiently explained, however, the story really gets going. The characters are delightful, especially Zero, who comes up with a bunch of clever ways to fight back against the pirates. Think Home Alone meets Gravity.
It’s a short book for an audiobook, but the production is really top rate, with a soundtrack and a cast of voice actors who really do a fantastic job. The production quality gets five stars easily. I picked it up as a free Audible Original, but I wouldn’t have regretted spending a credit on this.
Overall, a very fun book. This is the kind of story I’d want to share with my kids to introduce them to science fiction. Very clean and not too scary, but with just enough of a sense of danger to really draw you in. Well done!
