The Emissary Audiobook By Michael J. Edwards cover art

The Emissary

A First Contact Novel

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The Emissary

By: Michael J. Edwards
Narrated by: Alison Ewing
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About this listen

It wasn't the aliens she had to worry about; it was the humans.

A troubled young woman is recruited by a race of ancient alien explorers to be their emissary to save the human race from extinction. The problem is that not everyone believes the world is doomed, and not everyone trusts the aliens' motives. Holly Burton will have to overcome opposition from world leaders, attacks by religious zealots, assassination attempts, intractable bureaucracies, and her own fears and doubts if she is to save the human race, not just from the coming apocalypse, but from itself.

She will have to become a very different person to lead a remnant of humanity into space and become the architect of a new civilization. The question is: Can she use the extraordinary knowledge and abilities given to her without losing her own humanity in the process?

©2021 Michael J. Edwards (P)2022 Tantor
Fiction First Contact Hard Science Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction

What listeners say about The Emissary

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Would make a great movie

Fantastic sci-fi! Thought provoking to say the least. The author makes a pretty enlightening point about the amount of time it takes for Earth beings to travel in order to interact with what's out there in the vast universe. Hollywood always makes it out to be immediate and it's not. What a novel portrayal of what, no matter how grandiose, could be out there.

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A great story, I can't wait to listen to more

I am eager to listen to more story's from the author, I enjoyed the performance of the storyteller as well.

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good especially for audible plus

Fast paced and entertaining. if not one I'd choose to spend a credit on.

I read some negative reviews before listening. The book seems to have triggered a few people: woke antichristian bias, blah blah blah. I don't think those reviews should discourage anyone considering listening. The behavior and rhetoric of those characters is actually understated compared to what we can find any given day just turning on the news.

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First Contact Intersects the New World Order

On a future Earth where America is an autocratic christian theocracy, the impending destruction of the planet is denied and saving humanity is left in the hands of a multidimensional alien and a hard partying professor. The difficulties that surround saving humanity in such an environment are explored thoroughly from geopolitical, technology and human perspectives and I found it to be a “can’t stop” listen.

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Really, very good.

What a pleasant surprise. Good pacing and characters. Flubbed what constitutes early humans. But otherwise good.



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Interesting Set Up

Some Spoilers

I genuinely liked this story's set up and most of the execution. I hope this is the first of a series as the ending has potential for much more.

The main flaw was in the motivations of the main villains. The author chose to trot out the white supremacist cliche to provide the impetus for the antagonists' actions. Does the author perhaps believe in this or just pandering to some audience? A much more believable motivation and something that would have made for a story on a firmer foundation would be the simple fact that the arks could only save a very few people leaving behind billions to die. That fact would incentivize lots of rich powerful people of all races to attempt to gain control of the only hope for survival. As it stands we are to believe that billions of Asians, Africans, and lots of white people would passively and nobly wait for their fiery ends.

Unfortunately most SF written is trapped within the political and ideological controversies of its time and the authors can't resist 'axe grinding' on any number of issues. Within a few years the story's impact is weakened by this sort of dating, and within a decade or two most are regarded as quaint. The best SF rises above this context even though there will always be traces betraying when and where it was written, and the story and characters retain the ability to entertain and say something meaningful.




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Just a really great, and realistic SciFi story

I bought this on a whim. It sounded like it might be the 1st part of a series (and realistically, it could eventually be that), so I was worried about getting into something that might not ever be properly completed (i.e. with it left hanging). However, the story told in this book IS complete, even if the author never decides to expand on it.

Without giving any spoilers, it is a first-contact scenario, not set in some future century, but in an earth setting that is only a bit further out than now, when the political posture on the planet has been altered, and when humans have at least begun to take trips out into the outer solar system. There is a peril discovered that puts the earth at risk, and a first-contact event that results from that peril, and the story is about the events that play out over several decades, tied to all of those mentioned events.

I thought that the story was very well written, and I thought it was an excellent narration by Ewing. I was just disappointed when it ended, not because of a bad ending, but simply because I had enjoyed listening to it so much. I do hope that Edwards considers possible sequels, simply because it would be enjoyable to see where he might decide to take the story.

Bottom line, again, a great read, and if you do enjoy this genre, then I highly recommend it.

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WHERE IS BOOK 2 ???!!!

It has been a minute since I found a good first contact sci fi story. FINALLY. Smart, thought provoking & original. Great follow through on the premise. No typical weird, gross, slimy reptilian aliens with hard to pronounce silly names. The main character is not perfect which makes her likeable. You care about the characters & wanna see the antagonist get their due. Would make a great movie. What's up Edwards? Where is book 2???

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Great story!

I really liked this book. The narrator was great. The only thing I didn’t like was the misogynistic view of the lead character. Why is it okay for men to sleep around and not for women? Just annoying. But beside that, I loved the book. I hope there is a second.

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Best book I’ve read in a while!

I listen to 1-3 audiobooks a week and this makes it to my top 5 this year. I don’t see anywhere that it was a bestseller. IT SHOULD BE! Love it love it! Please release book 2.

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