The narrator does a great job of differentiating characters and has an energetic, urgent tone that deserves better material.
I usually finish things, even when they aren’t great. I could not finish this book. The aliens were neat & the Universe he created had potential, but the characters were all so flat. There was no emotional depth and the conversation were all expositionary, bluntly stating what they were feeling or thinking, giving out a lot of “I shouldn’t be telling you this but…. [it’s a lazy way to move the story along quickly]” facts, showing a profound lack of understanding about human interactions, emotions, the building of trust & relationships– especially in the military. I expect this quality of writing from a 6th grader who just wants to go on a space adventure and maybe work out some Daddy issues, but not a professional author.