This was my first downloaded audio book from NetGalley. I’m normally not a fan of audiobooks because the voices just never seem to meet my expectations. This one was no different. The audiobook itself was very robotic and I think a lot of the book’s charm and adventure got disturbed by the robotic, automated reading of the narrator (who I’m sure is actually a robot!).

The story line was really intriguing and I was pulled in by the general world building that the author did. The author developed some really interesting characters, like the creatures who inhabit dead corpses—super cool take on the whole zombie creature thing!

Honestly, I wish I would have just read the story. I had to go back and listen again to chapters at a few different points in the story because I just couldn’t focus enough on the audio. While that could just be me not being a good listener, I did try to do it during activity that wasn’t totally distracting (i.e. driving, running, or working out) so I don’t think it was my lack of attention.

Of course, the novel ends at a cliffhanger and I’m curious to see where the story takes us next, but I’ll probably grab an ebook copy for book 2, because there was too much going on for me to focus enough on the weird robotic narrator to be able to get through it that way.

Overall, the adventure was great, the world building was fun — I wish we had a bit more relationship development between the crew—but if you’re down for a space odyssey adventure and are heading out for a long road trip this could be a fun audiobook to keep you company on the road!

Sydney and his mother were constantly moving from place to place and in hiding from authority. At first he thought his mother was a conspiracy nut, but it turns out she has good reason after all: he's a half alien hybrid, and she fears his abduction. His father had gone missing some time ago, and some part of Sydney had always felt like he needed more than being on the run. While on a mission to find his father, Sydney discovers a deeper mystery that could tear the known universe apart.

I started listening to this as a very early audiobook in January, so early that it had only a digital voice as a recording. That made it incredibly weird to hear teenage slang like "my dude" or curse words intermittently sprinkled through Sydney's perspective, but didn't detract from the story at all. It starts as most YA novels do, with our sixteen year old hero discovering that what he knew about himself is incomplete. He and his mother weren't on the run from his own government or an alien one as his mother thought, but by his uncle. His father was missing and not dead, and Sydney could be admitted to the special academy for training. He leaps at the chance with his mother's blessing, meeting other hybrids, other aliens, and the invitable stumbling blocks along the way.
I really enjoyed the look into the different cultures of the aliens, and thought the cultural sensitivity training sequences were well done.

Syd Chambers is an easy kid to like. He's living his life on the run - with his mom. They change names, don't stay anywhere too long - and he can't make many friends because of this. But he knows it's for the best. Because he's seen the things that chase him and his mom - Aliens.

Because Syd is not fully human. He's half human, half alien - and his alien father hasn't been around for years after disappearing on a mission to an alien planet. So Syd is pretty okay when he's invited to come find out about the other citizens of the universe and how this all works. This is his chance to find out more abut himself and, in turn, know more about his father.

At first, there's a lot of information coming at you. You're learning just a fast as Syd, about which aliens are which, which planets, and what all that they do. Thankfully, you don't have to memorize it - the author does a great job of reminding you gently each time you bump in to them which is which. I did this as an audio and didn't have a problem keeping the names or species straight.

But this is a very fast paced, funny and action packed story. Syd is constantly on the move, learning new species and techniques but also about himself and his alien side. I liked the humor and jokes that were thrown in and the friendships that were formed. The story definitely ended in a way that leaves it open for a book 2 and I'm looking forward to it!

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

As a HUGE Pittacus Lore fan, I adore his newest series. While I think so of it may have been lost on me since I was listening audio and at some times I got confused, I still know that its going to be great!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the Audio ARC

Disclaimer: I received this early audiobook from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Ashfall Legacy

Author: Pittacus Lore

Book Series: Ashfall.Legacy Book 1

Rating: 1/5

Recommended For...: ya readers, sci-fi lovers

Genre: YA Sci-fi

Publication Date: August 17, 2021

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 432

Recommended Age: 15+ (violence, gore, slight romance, drug use, animal violence jokes, language)

Synopsis: We have waited generations for you…

Syd Chambers knows that there’s life on other planets because he’s descended from it. His father was from a distant world called Denza, and has been missing—presumed dead—for years.

When Syd discovers a device his father left behind that shows not only that he’s alive, but where he is, Syd must set out on a mission of his own. But along the way, he discovers a deadly, unbearable secret that could destroy Denza, Earth, and the universe.

Review: I didn't think that there would be a book that would rival the hatred that I had when I read Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings, but this one is a close second. The book was so tropy and so horribly written that I became enraged when I read it at work and I had to stop reading it at work. The book is your standards early 2000s young adult in which are young protagonists finds out that they have some extraordinary ability but they view themselves as too obsolete to have ever possessed it. The book had the classic Chosen One trope and it even went a little bit into the love triangle trope. Besides the tropiness of the book, the character development was non-existent and most of the characters didn't make sense whatsoever. For example, we have the mother figure who is the classic mother character of most YA books in which she does everything that she can to protect her child. But then as soon as her missing husband is mentioned, she completely abandons her child and set some up to be some sort of bait to get her husband back. I don't know if that plays into the later books but that is so aggravating to have such a complete 180 from a character development standpoint. The world building was also non-existent and the book is so slow paced. I honestly could have summed up this book within three paragraphs maybe but it was expanded to probably 300 plus pages. And, from a Sci-Fi standpoint, the way that the author crafted these aliens was way too OP. the aliens can do all of these things and aren't affected by anything on Earth and yada yada yada, she didn't give hardly any weaknesses from what I saw for these aliens in the book. Finally, the main character reminded me of every single dickheaded boy that I had to interact with in high school. he had this air about him that he didn't give a s*** about anything that didn't affect him, and he treated others as just tools for his own success. I don't honestly remember a part of the book in which the character got interested in any of the side characters' lives, and I know that this is kind of going to that classic YA book trope but we left that behind in 2013. In sum, I hate this book.

Verdict: It's bad for me, try for you?

I really loved this book, it had everything in it and I never wanted to put it down its a must read. And I am happy I got the privilege to read it before it comes out.

A YA Sci-fi full of various alien species and lots of action with a little twist near the end.

While the premise was intriguing the execution fell a little short for me. I did enjoy the various characters from different worlds, but the character work wasn't enough for me to really care about any positive or negative impacts on their life.

If you're a reader that cares more about plot line and action, then this might be for you.

Thank you to #netgalley and #harperaudio for the audiobook sent for review!

I received the Audio Galley of Ashfall Legacy from NetGalley free of charge. It was my choice to read and review.

This is the first book I've read by Pittacus Lore. This was really bad. The synopsis says it "will enthrall fans of Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman, and Brandon Sanderson." TOTALLY disagree. It felt more middle grade than a young adult book to be honest. I was impressed with the plot progression because when I started listening I had predictions about where the story would go and it went further than I thought. That's about the only good thing I can think of about this book. The characters and world-building were underdeveloped and because the scope was so big, there should have been fewer characters so the reader could feel more connected to the characters. Also, the reason I read sci-fi is to read about creative alien races and far-off places. I don't read sci-fi to be reminded "humans are dangerous" etc or really ANYTHING about humans (if I wanted to be reminded of that I would turn on the news or read more literary fiction) so this made the conclusion of the plot super disappointing.

I like the premise of this novel; however, I wasn't impressed with the language. I like to listen to audiobooks while I cook dinners and I was listening to this one and didn't realize just how many curse words it contained until my son quoted back a line. By no means do I mind curse words here and there in a novel; however, this one had too many for my tastes and my mom life.
I did like the space odyssey that unfolded in this novel. Syd is on the run when his uncle finds him and reveals the past that his mother has spent his entire life hiding from him. The universe unfolds before him and the ring left by his father lights his path. Half earthling, half Denza (an alien race), Syd embarks with a diverse crew to try to save humanity.
What I liked: the different alien races were pretty cool. I liked the descriptions and imagination that went into creating the worlds, the aliens and the conflict.
What I didn't like: the explicit language, the dialogue.

Years ago I really got into the Lorien Legacy series (I Am Number Four) and really enjoyed them, so when I saw this available on Netgalley I thought I would give it a shot. Welp. Should have known this would end up being a series and now I will have to wait for the next book! Ugh. Really enjoyed the action and the characters in this book and while it is YA it didn't feel super young to me, which I appreciate! Recommended to anyone who likes YA, fantasy or sci fi.

(Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.)

This book was soo good ! It one of the best I have read in a while 😍The story captured my interest right away! There better be a sequel to this book because it has a huge of a cliffhanger. I really loved all the characters in this book and can’t wait to see how they develop in possible future Books 📚 I highly recommend this book 📖

The storyline is interesting, but this book started out really slow. Pittacus Lore is a really good author, and I've loved all of his other Lorien Legacies books, so I thought I'd love this one too. But while I thought Syd would be an interesting character because he is half human and half alien, he kind of fell flat for me.

The narration was also very monotone and very robotic, which made it difficult to finish in the audiobook format. However, I liked most of the storyline and would like to read the next one.

the premise of the story is interesting, but I could not find myself getting invested in the story. I'm not sure if it was the pacing or the amount of character/character types, but I found myself getting lost and distracted after the first few chapters.

This book did not work for me.

I used to be a really big fan of Pittacus Lore novels, but I found this story to be a bit manufactured and below average. I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters, and was not blown away by anything here. The plot was engaging enough, but the author didn’t really seem to have anything new to say. I think part of this is definitely due to the synthetic voice production, but perhaps that just helped to reveal the flaws in this story.

Overall, I think some may find this to be fast paced and engaging enough for their tastes, but it just was not for me.

<i> I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </i>

Sydney is half alien, on the run with his human mom in a United States that feels post-apocalyptic. His alien dad has been missing since leaving Earth years ago, searching for a cure that could help the dying human race and save the planet Earth. When a relative from his dad's side shows up and offers Sydney the chance to go find his dad - and hopefully the cure - Sydney jumps at the chance to travel into space and see other worlds. The catch is that if he comes back without the cure, he won't be able to survive on Earth after the changes human bodies undergo in space.

Sydney trains for the mission on his father's home planet, meeting other species and learning about alien cultures and the history of his two descendant races while he discovers that not everyone wants the mission to succeed. A crisis on the planet forces Sydney to reveal his father's location (Ashfall) to foes and the mission starts early, racing to beat them to the destination. When the crew reaches Ashfall, a massive showdown ultimately reveals the answers to Sydney's questions and solves some of the mysteries set up throughout the story, but leaves him with more difficult questions about who he is and what his future holds.

My advance copy of Ashfall Legacy was an audio copy read by a synthetic voice, so it lacked all the performance aspects of the reading that I imagine the real audiobook will have (which isn't available as of this review). The robot voice definitely did not help the story, unfortunately. I found parts of the story hard to follow and I couldn't tell if it was the writing or the robot voice.

That said, I did like various things about this book and I'm glad I finished listening to it.
Some of the humor in this book reminded me of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and I had some laugh-out-loud moments even with the robot voice reading the story. I really enjoyed the different life forms in the story and the way Sydney both embraced but struggled with his new situation. The descriptions - especially during battle scenes - could turn suddenly horrific and I was impressed by how gross the story was here and there :)

I did have some trouble with the ultimate reveals in the end but I think that was because I had a hard time keeping the histories of the races straight, so I wasn't positive if I was understanding what Sydney learned. I definitely wish I had gotten the e-book instead of the robot voice so I could be more certain as to what was going on with the confusion. I would probably listen to the real audiobook or read the print version before going to the next story in what I'm guessing will be a series.

I think this book will appeal to all the fans of the Lorean Legacy. A lot of fast paced action and just enough wild Sci Fi concepts to keep you guessing. I look forward to seeing this book in its final format. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. If you are reading other reviews of this title that complain of the robotic voice, understand that we were warned when requesting the title that it was a computer generated reading and not the final version.

Another outstanding working created by the elusive Pittacus Lore.

The creative juices the flowed on the pages didn’t even disturb the fact that I listened to this with a generic computer generated voice. I was hooked from its open line all the way until the final period.

I listened to part of this book. Listening to a robotic voice is a challenge. However, when you think about this, it is a voice of a boy telling the story or from his point of view. Him and his mother are always on the run and he does not understand why. The story is more sci fi oriented with aliens being involved. Syd is on a journey which takes him to outer space in search of his father.

I am a fan of the I Am Number Four series, so I was excited about this book. It did not disappoint. I found myself hooked from the very first chapter. I received this book as an audiobook, which is not my typical genre for reading, but this book was so great that I was enthralled even with this medium. You do not need to have read this author's other books to appreciate Ashfall Legacy. I cannot wait for this to officially come out in August 2021 and next in the series.

This book started out so strong. I loved the idea of a half alien, going to save his dad. Right away you find out what has happened and what is going to happen in this book, but without spoiling the book. The Author really thought of everything when it came to space travel and the world Syd travels to. I quiet enjoyed Denza and meeting all of Syds crew mates and fellow students.

The build up to the end was a little slow. I enjoyed learning about the new culture, but I feel like some of the events could have been left out without hurting the book at all, but speed things up a bit.

When we finally do get to some real action, it seems like all hell breaks loose. This is where the author lost me a bit. He saved all the excitement for the end, but just ended up making it confusing. There are too many, probably unnecessary characters that just end up getting in the way. I feel this would have been better if he spaced some of the stuff out a bit, instead of waiting until the end. It did however, leave it wide open for the next book.

Overall I didn’t hate it. I think it had a lot of potential and has a lot of potential for the next book. This is only the beginning of the adventure for Syd and there is a world of possibilities.