Anomaly

By: Peter Cawdron

Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Anomaly examines the prospect of an alien intelligence discovering life on Earth. The technological gulf between humanity and the alien species is measured in terms of millions of years. The only way to communicate is using science, but not everyone is so patient.

Humanity's first contact with an alien intelligence is far more radical than anyone has ever dared imagine. With a technological gap of millions of years, mankind is barely able to recognize the arrival of an alien space craft outside the gates of the United Nations in New York.

©2011 Peter Cawdron (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

great thinking science fiction

I enjoyed that it was a very thoughtful look at first contact. It did not overawe with battles and high tech, but made me look into myself regarding preconceptions. I would very much like to read/listen to more in this vein

The Audible narrator was terrible!

The main female character sounds like she has a lisp? She sounds like a female impersonator! The story itself is very fun and interesting I had to go back and read it without the narrator!!! He needs to stick to children's books! His voice inflections are all wrong for this story.

A thoughtful approach to first contact story...

Anomaly is a very thoughtful, and well written look at a possible First Contact scenario... We get a front row seat from the eyes of a grade school science teacher, David Teller, as he's inducted into the best team of scientists NASA has to offer. Something very alien... an anomaly, has simply appeared in front of the U.N. Building, in New York City. David and the team try to work out what the anomaly really is, and could communication with the anomaly actually be possible?
If you're an adrenaline junkie looking for a lot of intense action, this isn't the book for you. What the story gives us is a more scientific approach to trying to understand the potentially different perspectives and motivations of a different species.
Initially, I didn't quite take a shine to PJ Ochlan's style of narration, but as the story progresses and new characters were added, I realized that I'd been mistaken in my judgment of his talents. He's actually quite good!
Altogether, Anomaly was engrossing and enjoyable, and well worth reading/listening to!

Really enjoyed a thoughtful story

with great characters negotiating a positive and thoughtful story line. the very human nature that enabled the survival of our species is holding us back from our next evolutionary step forward.

Excellent Book

If you could sum up Anomaly in three words, what would they be?

Exploration, Change & Faith

What was one of the most memorable moments of Anomaly?

The tone of the book was set with a balloon. It was an interesting idea. Which the rest of the story depends on. Very enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

Unfortunately there was a very significant error in the early stages of the book w.r.t. physics and chemistry. But the book still works well with it present.

I will hint at it here.
Up for Gravity is perpendicular to the surface. Up for Air pressure may not be the same.

Loved it. Great first contact book

It was recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks podcast and I am glad they did.

Fun book that had me finish in just a couple days.

Very creative sci-fi!

Well written and thought provoking. Looking forward to the other work from this author.

It's a litmus test!

From page one of Anomaly, I was hooked. I was hooked by it's mind bending weirdness, and it's main character, and the idea that a middle grade science teacher might have something to offer to the best scientists in the country. In fact, it's a bit of a love letter to a certain kind of teacher, one that I approve of heartily.

I especially enjoyed how caring Mr. Teller was in wanting to make science fun and informative for his students. I wish I'd had a teacher like him, and I'd love to read another book featuring him.

This would be a great book for a sci fi discussion group because I still can't stop thinking about the characters Peter Cawdron created, or why he went the way he did with the ending. And I'd really like to talk about it with other people who've read it, too.

But each reader will have to decide for themselves how they feel about the ending of this book -- as indicated by the reviews -- because in a way, the ending is a kind of a litmus test that will bring up some of your own baggage. Enjoy!

I look forward to listening to another one of Cawdron's books; I only wonder if they'll all be this fun!


P. J. Ochlan did a great job reading. His male and female voices were excellent, and his secondary characters could be distinguished easily. Nice job, P.J.!


Highly recommended: For people who like first contact sci fi and want to support an author who has created one of the most interesting main characters I've seen: A super smart middle grade science teacher who uses his wits to teach his kids, and some adults, about science by thinking outside the box.

We could stand to have a lot more of that in the world right about now.

Surprising

I was pleasantly surprised by this book after looking at some of the reviews. It was a little slow in the beginning for me but soon I was hooked. I think most sci-fi lovers will find this book very interesting without a lot of the violence and stereotypical elements of many books in the same genre.

great book

excellent storyline thought-provoking, could use a little more research on the military, but it's an excellent book.