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  • Evolution: A Science Fiction Thriller

  • The Belt, Book 3
  • By: Gerald M. Kilby
  • Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
  • Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)
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Evolution: A Science Fiction Thriller cover art

Evolution: A Science Fiction Thriller

By: Gerald M. Kilby
Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen
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Summary

Commander Scott McNabb and the remaining crew of the ill-fated Hermes survey ship, journey to Earth to an area formally known as Death Valley, now an irradiated wasteland. Their mission is to connect the quantum intelligence, Athena, into the pan-solar communications network, enabling the QIs to rollback control of Earth by the seven and their AI servants.

But their shuttle is damaged as it enters Earth’s atmosphere and it lands far from their intended location. Worse, it has been spotted by the AI that controls the region, and security drones are now searching the area to find it. With little hope of repairing the shuttle, Scott makes the fateful decision for them to journey through the wasteland on foot, even though some of the crew argue that this would be reckless.

But Scott is driven by a deeper motivation. One forged by the singular desire to find out what happened to flight officer Miranda Lee and the child she was carrying. This is because Aria has made him a promise. The QI has assured him that once Athena is reconnected it can then analyze Earth’s vast data-stacks and find her location and, more importantly, find out if she is alive or dead. 

Now, nothing else matters to Scott. He is willing to risk everything to achieve the mission and ultimately find Miranda - even if that means risking the lives of his friends.

©2018, 2019 Gerald M. Kilby (P)2019 Gerald M. Kilby

What listeners say about Evolution: A Science Fiction Thriller

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More of the same

Evolution is the third book in The Belt trilogy, written by Gerald M. Kilby. It describes the adventure of space ship captain Scott McNabbs, as he tries to rescue his maybe-maybe not girlfriend, and save the solar system from another war. It is set 2,5 years after the second book in the series.

The writing and the narrator were exactly the same as with the previous book, and given that they were published back to back, I assume they were written and recorded in one long go. Thus my general comments and critique is essentially the same as for the first two books in the trilogy, and I refer to my review of the first two books which gives a deeper insight into the shortcomings and positives (Book 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2947935379 + Book 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2947939962). The following sections will assume you’ve read/listened to the first two books.

The third book is a little bit of a deviation from the previous two, as the entire story takes place in the same location, and is not so much space science fiction, but more post apocalyptic science fiction. While the change of setting was nice, I would have liked the story to have diverged a little bit more, as the plot was highly predictable, and very a run of the mill story.
My biggest problem was the ending though, as it was extremely short and forced, and it would REALLY have made it so much better, if there was a proper resolution. It did feel as if the entire third act of the book was missing!
And we still got info dumps, and we get yet another breaking of the fourth wall by a character. The author REALLY should stop doing this! Show, don’t tell the reader, and don’t have your characters inform the reader that you are now telling them something!

The overall story arc over all three books was quite coherent, and the overall adventures of Scott McNabb felt like it had come to an end, which was nice. There’s also plenty of room to develop the universe more, in case the author feels like it. I just hope he uses the opportunity to really dig into the universes political problems he’s been hinting at throughout the books.

As with the second book, I have no idea what the titel of the book refers to? I assume it was just a catchy title, similar to the second book.

In the end, if you enjoyed the first two books, you’ll also enjoy this one for sure. If you disliked the first one, then this will not make up for anything. If the author continues the universe with more books, I hope he takes more time to add background and descriptions, as the writing, universe and overall plot was fairly okay. There’s the potential for much more, so I hope he grips that chance!
I will also add here, that I really liked all three covers visually. They had nothing to do with the actual stories, but they sure were pretty! :)

I received this audiobook for free in return for a review. I have no affiliation with the author, the narrator, the publisher, or their pets (Although I am sure the latter are quite nice!).

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I like this set of audio books got to give it 5 out of 5

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

good book

Commander Scott McNabb and the remaining crew of the ill-fated Hermes survey ship, journey to Earth to an area formally known as Death Valley,
good book

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

Loved this Trilogy!

Great! Great story, great narration, just great!
Really enjoyed listening to this story, kept me gripped the whole 3 books!
Really loved the narrator, perfect pacing and great characters!
Can’t wait to see if more are on the way!
This is my honest opinion of a free review copy.

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

Solid finish but no surprises

Continuing from the last book, the story focuses on the dominance of AI and associated perils. It is well written and narrated with my only issue being the length which left little room for surprises, or to explore the issues raised in great depth.

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