"Dunnard's Pearl" sounded more interesting than it was. I found myself disinterested and took me quite a bit of time to finish.

Unfortunately I did not finish this story. I couldn’t get into it. It has potential and sci-fi people may love this quirky story. I tried several times but never made it past 15%.

Thank you for ARC,
I am not quite sure how I got this on my shelf as it is not my preferred genre and I am not sure that I did request it. However I want to say I did try reading this and it is unfortunately not my kind of story, so I fee like my review is biased in the negative.

I did think the characters were lovely, I do love british novels and characters and I am sure this is a hit with science fiction readers!

Thank you to the author, Mike Williamson, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

I would rate this book about a 3 1/2 stars.

It was an entertaining adventure where 3 British kids get whisked away to a space ship and have to save the world prior to getting themselves home.

I liked the characters. The hero is your typical nerd of the world who is smart, but not popular, the beautiful wise-cracking girl, and the misunderstood bully. The basic plot was good and interesting, but the moral lessons were laid on a bit thick. Rich get richer, poor get poorer. Good guys and bad guys. Etc.

It had one concept that I did love. A planet tricked all of their sleazy politicians into "escaping" on a space ship in order to get rid of them----figuring that they would quickly self-destruct.

A fun read, but it really needs to tone down the preachiness.
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I enjoyed this book, it was fun and light. I really appreciated how mature the protagonist was for his age, it was a welcome change from a lot of other YA characters. I did personally think the first half was stronger than the second though.

It was at chapter 16 that things really started to unravel for me and the confusion set in. I had no idea who that character was and had to search back through the book to figure out what I was missing. Turned out I wasn't missing much at all as the person was only mentioned in passing. From then onwards, it became quite clear the direction the story was headed and that I wasn't going to be a fan of the ending or resolution. I do wish it had ended differently but overall, it was a decent read.

I have to give a bad review but I just could not get into this book. I tried but it did not hold my interest.

Three teens find themselves on an alien space ship.

Great premise! The story that follows is a fun romp that is aimed at a young audience, though all the sixties and seventies references made me wonder who the audience really is. It's a zany ride, the pacing brisk to frenetic, hiding that characterization is done in broad strokes.

At various times I wondered if this was actually a novelization for a TV movie. It read like one.

While not quite Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy (then again, what can compare to Douglas Adams), there is a bit of funny amidst the science fiction here.

James Justice wakes up and finds himself in an alien ship. The aliens tell James that their ship is falling apart but they are not allowed to fix it. After James finds a couple more earthlings they try to help the aliens while trying to get back home.

This a a YA book that I think would have been a better adult book. There are some references to the 1960's and 1970's that I do not think the youngsters will get. Dunnard's Pearl is a humorous fun read.

I received a free ARC of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review. This is a thoroughly enjoyable YA sci-fi romp that earns its characterization as "Harry Potter in Space" but at the same time also offers some hair raising allegorical commentary on the nature of politics in the modern world. Three London teenagers find themselves onboard a spaceship crippled by bureaucracy and administrative corruption. They are joined (rather unexplainedly) by a pair of shapeshifting aliens. The story is improbable and fun with the action coming thick and fast as our five heroes overcome their differences and their individual weaknesses to help right the ship and then get back home.

Four stars rather than five only because I missed a bit of back story for some elements of the story. Could be that the author will add sequels to explain further, I'll be happy to pick those sequels up, this is a fun premise.

I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Dunnard's Pearl by Mike Williamson is a story of 3 young adults who suddenly awake in another location (not London, where they were). The world that they are thrust into is falling apart, as those who are workers are subject to the Administration. The story starts of well, but runs into some bumps along the way. It is good paced, and a good storyline, but it does need a bit more fleshing out of the background of the other world. However I enjoyed the read.

Sci-fi story of three teens who inexplicably wake up on an alien spaceship. Overreaching Administrators and heavy handed bureaucracy make for a dysfunctional place. The main goal of these teens is figuring out how to return home while navigating a new new and strange "world" and the unfamiliar and yet at the same time familiar aspects of it as well. It shares with earth the strange fascination with reality and game shows, overemotional talk of revolution and accusations of fake news. This is a fun read not to be taken seriously. If Williamson writes more adventures for the trio he would be well served to invest in more character development and background info on them.
This is billed as Young Adult but I as an adult enjoyed it.

What the publisher says:
Description
People are remarkably adaptable. If you ruin them slowly enough they barely notice!
Aliens run amuck in Mike Williamson’s wildly entertaining debut, Dunnard’s Pearl.
James Justice awakens from an accident at his London school to find himself in a strange new world. The alien inhabitants explain to James that their world, a vast space station, is falling to ruin but that the ruling Administrators refuse to help.
As the aliens beg James to help them, he stumbles upon two more earthlings who have also somehow been transported to this world.
Together, the three teenagers set off on an adventure of a lifetime as they attempt to settle into life on the alien planet while desperately seeking out ways to return home.
As they bunk with an alien couple, are recruited for a reality television show, and learn the stunning secret that the Administrators are determined to hide, James and his allies face a final, violent showdown with the Grand Administrator. But even throughout the final battle, the question remains: Will the group ever find a way to return to Earth?

What I say:
This book was funny and engaging, I enjoyed reading it. Think of "Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy" meets Speaceballs. Grab this one!

Dunnard's Pearl is a YA SciFi book - a detail that I wish had been made more obvious in the listing. While I don't dislike YA SciFi, it tends to be a bit softer than I'd like.

Despite this, the book is a pleasant read. Three young adults find themselves inexplicably transported from Earth to a space station (indeterminate location). The physics of the place are unexpected for these visitors; gravity is a bit wonky, for instance. And technology isn't always as smart as they wish it was.

But the core of the story is about the - dysfunctional - bureaucracy running the place, and the efforts of the trio to find their way back home. To do so, they must first figure out the place, find some allies, identify the bad guys, and solve their return problem.

The positive aspect of this book is that it doesn't take itself super-seriously. The author has fun with humor, gives the characters distinct personalities they can play off each other, and doesn't try to explain why every detail is the way it is. It's a light, summer beach/pool read for an adult, or a quick blast for the young adult SciFi reader. It falls in the class of book in the style of Mercury Falls or the Hitchhiker's Guide.

If I'd had my druthers, I guess I would have wanted a bit more world development, though. There is no attempt to even describe why gravity acts the way it does, and an even modest attempt would have helped. The actual transport mechanism from earth to the station is left entirely as fancy, and the presence (and history) of the "uncle" is under-developed. There is pretty much no attempt to develop the station inhabitant characters, and the plot is wayyyyy too simple. The two book examples above are MUCH better examples of how to write a light-hearted SciFi book.

Sadly, while I'm uncomfortable giving a tepid review to a book I received for free (in exchange for an honest review, via NetGalley), I must say this only gets two stars (using my rating roles at (see http://startupdj.com/book-rating-rules ).

This is a good book. The characters are well developed and the story is packed with action and adventure. The author does a great job delivering a story with a solid plot and interesting subplots

an interesting book and good. started slow and picked up solid story and interesting characters. thank you netgalley for an arc for honest review

Dunnard's Pearl by Mike Williamson is an science fiction adventure for young adults. There are references to things from the 60s and 70s that may not mean much to that audience, however, adult readers will enjoy them. Our son gets them but that is because I may have just possibly bored him with all of the wonderful things I enjoyed in my youth. I like to think I was sharing much treasured memories, he may not always agree. The main characters individually find themselves in an alien world, somewhat quickly they are united and find themselves guests of an over-administered vessel. It brought to mind the movie Wall-e in some ways. Talent shows, overly emoted speeches, yes men and women, revolution, teenage angst, and crushes all combine in the fun read.

I received this as an unsolicited galley and so feel obligated to speak to what I've read.
I don't want to say it's not funny or fast-paced, but it's not, really. There is some charming humor here and there, but it doesn't rise to the level of absurd British comedy that I have experienced from the Monty Python / Hitchhiker's Guide style it seems to want to emulate. Likewise there isn't enough urgency or action to warrant "fast-paced." Yes, scenes change from place to place in this "over-administered" environment, but time doesn't actually move quickly, there's just less embellishment.
Also, while the three key protagonists evolve through the course of their brief adventure together, they feel inconsistent at times. Something that could be resolved with more detail or back story. I don't mind that the narrative gets right to it, but at times it's confusing to follow who, when and where we are at different points.
That said, the secondary characters are all very good and the premise and plot are fun enough to read.
I'd like to see Mr. Williamson have another go. Either with a sequel or with some new scenario altogether.

Dunnard’s Pearl is a YA space adventure where three teens find themselves on a ship carrying the last vestiges of an alien race, traveling around the universe.

James, Joanne, and Ben find themselves in the middle of a critical situation of exploited workers, fake wars, and fake news. It’s topical and humorous in today’s climate and gives a message of hope.

While the story started slow for me, it picked up and has all sorts of fun references in it, including a cheeky wink in the very name of the book. All in all a fun space romp.

Interesting premise, and good plot. I enjoyed the book, even with it's narrative flaws.
There is a witty social/political satire undercurrent which can get a little heavy-handed. Overall, the book appears to be written for the early teen reader.
Overall a good, if not great, sci-fi story.