Alien Cradle

Nice read but started losing interest about 2/3 of the way...
When he starts killing off all the interesting characters, I realized I wasn't reading the work of a master author...
Good concept and plausible characters for my money but lame ending. Could have left room for sequel, plot twists, etc.
Guess we know why it was free...

Interstellar government corruption, scientific deception, experiments out of control, and space pirates all threaten Regency government stability. Small time independent space scout Rath Scampion lands in the wrong place at the wrong time and finds himself an unwilling participant. Don't expect a hero - he just wants to be left alone. A good SF read with some interesting concepts.

I read this book with much interest. A good read and nice plots.
Storylines are entwining not to fast or to slow. I' d rate this 4 stars out of 5

A very nice read. I read this on holiday and enjoyed it very much.

Reads like a poorly written '50s style sci fi novel, it might have appealed when I was 10 years old but not now.
Unbelievable characters, plot and technology, its only saving grace is that it is free.

i found it a good read for sci fi buffs,i would recommend it

Interesting world creation; Good if somewhat slow story.

Human civilization is scattered across planets which have been scouted and colonized. No other life found so far. Scouts contract to scan new planets in their single small ships and report back on the planetary environment and resources.

Overall government is divided into 2 main parts; there is the "Regency" and the "Authority". The former is in titular control, but really delegates all the authority and money to councils which can be very powerful political entities. The "Authority" is the military arm. Plenty of infighting goes on.

The protagonist is a scout named Rath Scampion who is an unlucky and unhappy guy. Not terribly likable either, but you can identify with him well enough. He has just scouted a planet called Fenrir and found nothing unusual. There good deposits of precious stones. He fills his hold and returns to buy a freighter and bring back more. This is against the law and he is caught.

The problem is that between his initial scout survey and his return, a scientific council has decided to seed Fenrir in secret with cloned life for study and philosophical comfort to humans who feel alone in the universe and will believe that new alien lifeforms have been discovered .

Rath knows the planet was lifeless on his initial scan and is now a liability. He must be convinced his scans were wrong.

What happens with the the political infighting and decisions that follow as the "secret" experiment goes wrong? The fate of Rath Scampion and the created Fenrites is the kind of mess that autocratic politics and it's subservient science can create when it tries to control social flow and experiment outside of law and good sense.

An interesting story with a bit more potential than it ultimately explores. The writing is solid but never truly moves to gripping. I enjoyed the read over all but was left a little wanting throughout.

Some potential points to explore interesting character notes, situational developments, or moments to slip in to chaos are skipped while some, admittedly necessary, sections seem overly long.

I continued through the book with genuine interest. There were a few minor spots a good proofreader would have caught before releasing the material. Otherwise very solid and worth a read.

I loved the concept for this book. The story has great potential and the writing is very good. However, I thought it dragged in spots, while other areas should have been expanded on a bit more.

Interesting idea. The author should read a bit about biology and where our oxygen comes from. There certainly won't be any planets out there ready to settle with breathable air but without life. My guess is that blunder is the reason why you can read that book now for free.