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  • Columbus Day

  • Expeditionary Force, Book 1
  • By: Craig Alanson
  • Narrated by: R.C. Bray
  • Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (5,582 ratings)

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Columbus Day

By: Craig Alanson
Narrated by: R.C. Bray
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Summary

Nominee, Audie Awards - Audiobook of the Year, 2018

We were fighting on the wrong side of a war we couldn't win. And that was the good news.

The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon come ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There go the good old days, when humans only got killed by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits.

When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved. The UN Expeditionary Force hitched a ride on Kristang ships to fight the Ruhar, wherever our new allies thought we could be useful. So, I went from fighting with the US Army in Nigeria, to fighting in space. It was lies, all of it. We shouldn't even be fighting the Ruhar, they aren't our enemy. Our allies are.

I'd better start at the beginning.

©2016 Craig Alanson (P)2016 Podium Publishing
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What listeners say about Columbus Day

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
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Surprisingly Brilliant

What did you like most about Columbus Day?

The mixture of humour, solid character and character development along with a solid story and great sci-fi make this book a must-listen. The best book I've bought from Audible.

What other book might you compare Columbus Day to, and why?

Fear The Sky (book 1). I bought both books on a whim and I am so glad I did; both are just brilliant and good enough to listen to again.

They are similar in that they have solid characters, good stories (though this book is much more original in that regard) and inject humour in all the right places (though again this book does it much better).

I just hope that the second installment keeps to the same formula of humour, sci-fi, great characters & character development and has just as good a storyline (unlike the other "Fear" books which were a big letdown).

What about R.C. Bray’s performance did you like?

Bray's performance was just brilliant. He has the ability to make you believe you are actually hearing different people talking when he speaks for the characters and he builds tension, excitement etc. in a way that I would probably lose if I just read the book. He acts the book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely. In fact, I finished it in just 2 sittings.

Any additional comments?

I am really looking forward to the next book and just hope it can match the first. I do have to make 2 corrections however to "facts" in the book:

1. "Come home with this shield or on it" is Spartan not Roman; the story has it that a Spartan mother gave it to her son with that message as he marched off to war.

2. The moon landings were most definitely faked (no I'm not joking) - a few hours of research will lead you down that rabbit hole and anyone who can think for themselves and can judge things based on evidence rather than someone else's opinion will see for themselves that the moon landings were hoaxed for cold war political reasons.

Apart from these 2 mistakes this is by far the best book I have downloaded from Audible. I will definitely check out other books by this author.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Unsubscribe from Netflix.

I am half way through book four of the series and I feel obligated to go back and rate every book so far.
This is one of the best series that I have ever come across. I have not watched a TV series since I started listening to this first book of the series.
I really hope they make a series of movies out of this.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Patience is rewarded

This really is worth sticking with until chapter 10. The narration is spot on. I was unsure at first but am now hooked.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A surprisingly funny story

I enjoyed the story, thinking it was the usual sci-fi, space opera but then about half way through you are introduced to skippy. Without saying who or what skippy is I can say that he is extremely funny and changes the whole feel of the story. Due to this the story is set apart from other space operas that I have read, the only character I could vaguely compare him to is Chrisjen Avasarala I The Expanse universe. Highly recommend and looking forward to book two.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A cracking first book to a series

A very high quality sci-fi book that I enjoyed very much. Bray captures the characters very well indeed and the beer can is fabulous. Possibly a tad long in places but only possibly. Well worth a listen.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Couldn’t put it down

Loved this book. Kept me hooked throughout. Introduced a number of quite original concepts and the depth of the story was such that I was never bored. Would highly reccomend.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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You know, it's actually pretty fun.

ia it just a collection of all the usual sci-fi alien Invasion stories? Yes. Is it never the less actually an engaging read? Absolutely. I came at it with low expectations and found myself coming back again and again for more.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic

Most enjoyable audio book I have listened to all year. Can’t wait to listen to the rest of them.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Skiptastic

I love rc bray, so I tried this. Great story original and funny.
I couldn't stop laughing and smiling.
Fair warning if you intend to listen in public like a bus or train.
I can't wait to listen to the whole series.
I highly recommend, amazing storyteller and narration rc bray is the best narrator there is in my opinion.
He brings the story to life, Skippy is particularly well narrated, I won't say anything else, you'll see.
I hope you enjoy this as much as me, especially if you choose the audio book.

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A great mix of sci-fi and humour

I've straight away added book 2 to my wish list, this is a solid sci-fi tale with great narration. The humor was also perfect for me, causing me to full on belly laugh enough times to cause my colleagues to give me dirty looks at work :)

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