It’s great when authors include the first chapter or two of the sequel at the end of a book. But when it’s more than the last hour of a 7-8h audiobook, it makes the whole series seem like a poor value if that’s a trend. Certainly not worth a credit and I regret picking this up in a two-for-one deal, but they can’t all be winners. Still, I’d recommend it if it’s discounted (~$5 USD) and it sounds like your thing.
On the whole, not a bad book, if it was combined with the second in the series it would probably be a more compelling story. As it was, it ended on an awkward cliffhanger with no resolution to speak of (hence the long preview of book 2). Still, the narration, the characters, and the dialog were enjoyable. It didn’t add much to the sci-fi genre, but the giant mecha trope is a rare find in literature and I hope it sparks more stories in this niche.