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  • Minimum Safe Distance

  • By: X. Ho Yen
  • Narrated by: R. J. F.
  • Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
  • 3.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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Minimum Safe Distance

By: X. Ho Yen
Narrated by: R. J. F.
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Publisher's summary

First contact was nothing like we imagined. Can the aliens save Earth? Should they?

With the Earth teetering on recovery from humanity's 21st-century mistakes, two highly advanced aliens observing from the moon are suddenly on opposite sides of an ethical battle over a dire cosmic threat. As governments seek to destroy them, the aliens wrestle and scheme, entangling all of humanity as they influence and empower specific humans to achieve their contrary objectives.

Among them are a brilliant AI expert who has channeled her autism in the service of science, and a violent, anti-secular zealot who hates everything she stands for. Drawn into the conflict, Laurence and Matt must reach minimum safe distance from human nature itself–their own, the rest of humanity’s, and of the former-human, techno-demon "monstas". Chased into the ruins of the US, they struggle to distill the meaning of personhood, discover the value of their own lives, and in so doing decide the fate of the solar system.

©2022 X. Ho Yen (P)2023 X. Ho Yen

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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting story with a few quirks

On the whole, this was an interesting and entertaining book, and there's definitely a lot going on.
The premise of two advanced, high-tech aliens fighting on and near earth to decide the strategy to deal with an upcoming cataclysm is unique, as is way an autistic character fits well in with that alien tech.

There are a couple long chase or race scenes where multiple rovers or others race to one location after another. These got a little long an confusing.

I found it hard to accept that these advanced aliens could predict this cataclysm centuries ahead of time, yet then suddenly realize they're off by a factor of 10.

The simplicity and speed of creating more 'enhanced' was also a bit hard to fathom.

Finally, there were long passages telling about the whole litany of calamities that befell the earth, and particularly the US. These are couched as conversations of a sort by could have been shown instead. At times, it appears that the US is blamed for most of the problems that befall it.

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