This was a really fun book. I honestly thought that Dalton was pretty boring and I didn't like Neera at all, but the entire story came together into something I really enjoyed. I think at this point, Edward Ashton has cemented himself as a must read for me. The only other thing I think could have been better is that the descriptions of some of the aliens could have been a bit better because I had some trouble visualizing them. Otherwise, it was just a solid sci-fi adventure that felt like Hitchhiker's Guide with more action. Thanks for the ARC!

The Fourth Consort follows Dalton and Neera after they get stranded on a planet with a semi-developed alien society. While Neera stays behind with the ship, Dalton must navigate the pitfalls of politics and an unreliable translator, all while trying to remain as diplomatic as possible for when his agency returns to pick him and Neera up.

I absolutely loved this book. It was funny and witty with playful use of language. I loved how clever and underhanded some of the jokes were, particularly the banter between Neera and Dalton as well as between Second and Third Consort. I laughed out loud several times. I also thought the political machinations were entertaining and easy to follow.

I enjoyed Dalton as a main character as he was intelligent but not a know-it-all and could adapt to many situations that arose. The tidbits from Dalton's backstory also gave context to why he agreed to join this mission, but they didn't detract from the present day storyline.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anybody who wants a tongue-in-cheek sci-fi book with a focus on alien political and diplomatic negotiations. Even those who don't love books focused on politics I think could enjoy this book for the entertaining banter between characters and interesting worldbuilding. Definitely worth a read!

International diplomacy is tough, and interplanetary diplomacy must be a lot tougher. That may explain why relatively few science fiction novels about diplomacy exist. Keith Laumer’s “Retief” series is the only one that comes to mind immediately. After all, most science fiction worlds settle their differences with weaponry, not treaties. Edward Ashton, author of the offbeat novel, “Mickey Seven,” tries to find a peaceful solution to a tricky confrontation in his latest novel, “The Fourth Consort.” As with real-life diplomacy, the author’s effort has some stumbles along the way, but it is an overall entertaining success.

In the universe of “The Fourth Consort,” Earth is part of an interplanetary federation called Unity, led by a species of giant snails. Unity vessels cross the universe looking to persuade new planets to join for their “mutual benefit.” This interplanetary diplomacy is dangerous work (few recruits return from their ten-year hitches), but quite lucrative. The protagonist of “The Fourth Consort” is Dalton, a highly trained combat veteran, down on his luck in civilian life, who signs up for outer space duty despite a paucity of diplomatic skills. Dalton’s latest assignment is a planet populated by a species of enormous insects named minarchs, which Dalton describes as “the bastard child of a tarantula and a velociraptor.” But while Dalton tries to make his pitch on behalf of Unity, the representative of a competing federation called the Assembly advances the cause of that collective.

The plot of “The Fourth Consort” is complicated, but should be fairly easy for readers to follow. The minarchs are a female-dominant society, similar to praying mantises, and Dalton impresses the Queen so much that she names him her titular Fourth Consort. That might not be as great an honor as it seems, since, like praying mantises, male minarchs eventually “ascend,” never to be seen again. Dalton also makes friends, after a fashion, with the Assembly’s representative on the planet, a member of an extremely tall, skinny species Dalton dubs “stickmen.” The stickman enjoys lecturing Dalton on how the universe is filled with predators and prey. Stickmen and minarchs are apex predators; humans are clever, sneaky prey.

This last discussion is an example of the author’s playfulness that occurs throughout “The Fourth Consort.” Discussions between Dalton and the various minarchs are also filled with conversations like this that offer readers some entertaining food for thought. The minarchian society is a cross between the Knights of the Round Table and the Roman Colosseum. Those who enjoy science fiction action more than sociological dialogue will probably prefer the book’s second half. It features lots of palace intrigue involving a potential coup against the Queen. Ironically, Dalton becomes the Queen’s best hope for survival, having to fight a duel against the coup’s leader. The duel involves primitive close-quarter weaponry, and Dalton seems hopelessly outmatched against the larger, more powerful minarch. However, the duel’s resolution involves a great twist readers will really enjoy. (The duel raised my rating for the book.)

Edward Ashton’s writing style is not for everyone. “The Fourth Consort” has several flashbacks involving Dalton’s history and background on Earth and earlier on the mission. Most of these are needless and break up the flow of the story. The author could have provided the necessary information in a couple of paragraphs rather than a chapter. By taking readers away from the interplanetary setting and repeatedly returning to Dalton’s backstory on Earth, the author loses much of the atmosphere he has carefully established. One flashback potentially spoils one of the book’s great plot points for those who pay careful attention.

Dalton’s duel is the emotional highlight of “The Fourth Consort,” but the book does not end there. Instead, the story continues for a few listless chapters, which allow for a “surprise” ending that falls completely flat. This wobbly finish ruins some of the goodwill the author provided several chapters earlier.

“The Fourth Consort” is a flawed but entertaining book. Its social commentary is humorous and provocative. Readers won’t get much of a primer in advanced diplomacy, but the author creates three distinct social structures for the three main species and contrasts them well. There aren’t many laugh-out-loud moments here, but readers will probably smile and appreciatively nod their heads. Science fiction fans will enjoy consorting with “The Fourth Consort.”

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

2.5

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of The Fourth Condor immediately caught my attention, but the story just never fully connected for me. I struggled to stay engaged and found the repetitive use of “say/says” distracting enough that it pulled me out of the narrative. There were moments I appreciated – the humor and the translator technology were clever touches – but overall, it was hard to stay invested in the characters or plot. If this hadn’t been an ARC, I likely wouldn’t have finished it, and even then, I found myself skimming toward the end. While this one wasn’t a great fit for me, I can see it appealing to the right reader.

Dalton Greaves falls into work with Unity, a pan-species association that is attempting to bring all sentient life in the galaxy into a single group after his life on Earth takes a downturn. He doesn't ask a lot of questions when Neera, a human woman, recruits him.

Neera works with Boreau, a giant snail-like being, whose motives seem more mercenary, and financial, rather than in harmony with the ethos of Unity. The longer Dalton stays with Boreau, the more he thinks he's there to take the fall, and get eaten by any aliens they encounter while on a new Unity mission.

There is another confederation which is doing work similar to Unity, calling themselves the Assembly, who seem to actually seem to hue closer to their stated mission, to recruit new alien cultures to the Assembly so everyone can live harmoniously. The Assembly really, really does not like the Unity, and their new human servants, and in a battle between Boreau's ship and an Assembly cruiser over a newly discovered world, Dalton and Neera find themselves marooned on the planet below, with a stickman, an Assembly soldier, and the planet's native ruling species not happy with the humans.

Neera stays on board their ship, while Dalton and the stickman, named Breaker, are taken in by the nightmarishly insectoid ruling species. Dalton is held captive, and discovers he's in the middle of a political situation that the different sides of the species intend to solve violently.

Dalton learns more about the minarch species, and gradually befriends Breaker, much to Neera's consternation, whose intentions begin diverging from Dalton's the longer the spends with the minarch.

Edward Ashton's humour is present throughout this first contact story. Interestingly, while his “Mickey7” did not work for me, I greatly enjoyed this book. It's fast-paced, moves back and forth between Dalton's present circumstances and his dead end past, giving us a better picture of the man, and why he ends up jumping at Neera's offer. And why, despite all of Neera's urgings, finds himself empathizing with the very beings who constantly threaten to kill him, including Breaker, who proves to be such a wonderful character. The stickman is gently humorous, unexpectedly sensitive, and insightful. Dalton also connects with one of the minarch, the Counselor, who is trying to navigate an increasingly fraught situation within the minarch leadership, and who proves to be surprisingly sympathetic as the story progresses.

I also loved the ending, which though a little surprising, was also in keeping in with Dalton's responses to his evolving situation, leading to a resolution that was organic, and resolved Dalton's competing duties and interests.

I both listened and read this story, and greatly enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Barrie Kreinik, who perfectly captures Dalton's sarcasm, and empathy. I loved the way Kreinik voiced Neera, whose self-interest was delivered in a wryly funny way, and her Breaker made me sympathize almost immediately with this deadly and intriguing being.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

** 3.5 stars

what do you MEAN this is a standalone??


as per usual, i knew nothing going into this except that it was scifi. i certainly did not expect the fourth consort to literally mean the fourth consort. man was that a ride.

it took me at least 35% to really get invested. we start off with dalton and neera stuck on another planet with minarchs (which i imagined as giant praying mantes) that seem set on ripping their heads off. i didn't particularly like dalton, but i sure as hell didn't like neera, so i'm glad he was our protagonist.

when dalton gets into their city, that's when shit gets fun. my favorite part of this book was absolutely bob and randall. those are the aliens i love to see <3
plus our grumpy stickman breaker ... i was rooting for things to get a little ... interspecies-y between them, if you know what i mean. it was a great break from neera's crude hypocrisy and dalton's monologue of "i'm sure i just messed up, but idk what to do about it."

also, the random jumps to dalton's past felt sudden, and unnecessary at times considering the events aren't always explained. why is there a cliffhanger for something that happened years ago? i didn't totally mind a break in the middle of action, but if you want full fight scenes without a flashback and a jump forward, this could be a downside.

getting to see bob & randall and their poetic sarcasm regularly, plus the expansion of depth regarding what dalton's company is really doing, had me hooked. i love a sprinkle of politics in space. and that ENDING?? very happy with it, but also very sad that there's not a sequel planned.

overall, screw neera, dalton seems redeemable, and i love my alien men that let me have questionable ships.

**arc provided by netgalley**

Dalton Greaves decides to leave his lonely life on Earth behind and join the Unity, a pan-species confederation working to bring all sentient life into a single benevolent brotherhood, as one of the first human representatives. His job is to go down to potentially viable planets and scout whether or not they'd be a good match for Unity and convince them to join them instead of the competition, the Assembly. The two factions are so against each other that when two ships meet in the space over a non-aligned planet, they end up blowing each other up. Leaving Dalton, his human coworker Neera, and Breaker, the Assembly representative, stranded. The locals somewhat welcome Dalton and Breaker into their society as they await rescue, with Dalton getting the honor of becoming their queen's fourth consort. Now, Dalton will have to figure out a way to survive on a hostile planet while navigating politics and alien honor and morality systems with only his wits and a translator AI with an attitude.

It's a fascinating study of what makes something right when you're out of your element and survival is dubious. Dalton is so far removed from everything he knows that he's having to make things up as he goes, even as everyone around him is pushing him to do what they want. The small glimpses we get of his life on Earth help you see why he ends up making the choices he does and really help build the character. The work Ashton puts into every character to make them familiar yet alien, in more than just the fact that they are alien, is as much a driver of the plot as the events that take place.

I loved that the reader gets to question the morality and correctness of every character right along with Dalton, as his actions are also not always clear-cut. It's the kind of plot that makes you question right along with the main character if their actions are the right ones or if there could have been another option.

An interesting sci-fi read full of alien characters and in an alien world that feels increasingly human as it progresses.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the interesting read!

Edward Ashton has quickly become one of my fave sci-fi authors after my introductory read of Mickey7 (Mickey 17 to theater-goers) and the sequel, Antimatter Blues. The Fourth Consort is a stand-alone, full of humor, warmth, and deadly situations as Dalton Greaves tries to stay alive in this first-contact story.

Dalton becomes the titular fourth consort to the alien minarch city-leader/queen, which leaders other minarch factions to get mad. Lethally mad. The unnamed sorta-sentient AI translator Dalton uses doesn't quite get all the nuances of the minarch correct, which leads to diplomatic faux pas and confusion between Dalton, the minarch, and another first contact, the stickman Breaker. It's truly a comedy of errors, as Breaker and Dalton try to understand the varying morals and values of the minarch and those of each other.

It's funny; sly and sarcastic at times and yet also a very deep reflection on colonization, assimilation, being a token representative of a culture, and loyalty. It packs a lot of things into a slim book.

Imagine a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court + the Martian + C3PO + preying mantises + John Scalzi + Mur Lafferty.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc! 3/5 stars, an interesting enough sci fi read that falls a bit flat

personally, I think ashton's writing isn't my cup of tea - it's perfectly serviceable and he actually does a great job of drawing the more introspective, thoughtful parts of the narrative out in a way that goes along with the main plot relatively seamlessly. but overall, his writing is a bit bare bones for me - he did this, they did this, he said this, he's thinking this. that sort of writing works well in some genres, but I feel like it made this book feel a little flat - obviously, we see dalton's thoughts because this book is in his pov, but the rest of the characters, especially neera, feel underdeveloped and shallow because of his more straightforward writing style. the way the plot is fleshed out feels like you're being led blindfolded somewhere and you can touch the walls next to you, so you know there's something at least a little familiar, but you have no way to see or even hear what's going on around you - basically, I knew this was a sci fi book, but at no point did I really understand where it was going. if that's meant to make us feel exactly like dalton as he navigates the unfamiliar, then credit to ashton. but honestly, it just made me confused and I felt almost aimless as I tried to understand what was going on at any given moment. in addition to neera being absolutely unreadable and the minarchs throwing dalton into the deep end of understanding their culture, I'm honestly surprised I managed to tread water for so long and actually finish this. and right as the most interesting part of the book happens, it's literally the end - literally the second to last scene, and then it's over! I felt almost cheated because I saw breaker as the most interesting secondary character, and then everything ends before we even really start to understand what's going on. if ashton ever decides to write a follow up to this, I'd be more than interested in reading it, but I do suppose the mystery of it all is half the fun. overall, an unpredictable, if somewhat frustrating, read.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press, author Edward Ashton, and NetGalley for providing me an eARC. This review reflects my honest opinion and rating.

3 STARS

The Fourth Consort will likely most appeal to fans of Star Trek the Original, TNG, or Voyager. Dalton is your run-of-the-mill recruit for The Unity (think a shady Federation). He lands his space-faring AI ship and pursues a successful completion to a first contact mission with a native bug-people race. The only catch is that Dalton must forge an alliance with the bug natives in competition with the Unity's enemy, the Assembly, whose "stick men" enforcers have also arrived on the planet.

On the positive side, snappy pacing carries the book. Both the dialogue and the situations are faintly humorous.

My issue with the book was its mediocrity. It's unoffensive, like an average adventure of the week Trek episode. However, the plot never ratcheted up and evoked excitement or high anticipation from me. There are no overarching themes or messages that would make the story memorable.

I recommend The Fourth Consort to someone who wants an entertaining, breezy sci-fi adventure read.

It's possible there is a good story buried in this book, but I could not keep from being distracted by the incredibly high number of times the author used "say/says." There are so many other words to use - or can just omit in general. This is such a small thing but with a big impact that could have been resolved in the editing stage.

It's a 288 page book and I searched "says" results: 737...Thats an average 2.559 times a page. I went to a random book on my Kindle that is 352 pages and searched: 82 results.

I enjoyed this book and the main character had depth and written in fun prose. The story was fast-paced and had me turning pages quickly. It was a well crafted tale, original, and twists that weren't unpredictable, but fit the overall plot.

My god, what a place Author Ashton's head is. A ruthless, greedy giant snail, a human diplomat of murky ethics, a race of only vaguely comprehensible planetary natives so protocol-obsessed that it can be lethal to say "hello" in the <U>wrong way</U>...who also just so happen to have murderously invaded Earth in Dalton's lifetime. Oh, and Dalton's kinda coerced as a condition of not being killed to become the consort of their ruler. The fourth consort...and let's not get into why he's <i>fourth</i>.

Dalton's a Swiss-Army knife of a guy. He studied engineering...most practical people in the world, engineers...he was a soldier/POW in the invasion, a tech bro, and now works for a Galaxy-wide org that needs him as a first-contact specialist. You can see how this trajectory launched. Now that he's out doing the stuff he was hired by the Unity for, it's kind of a rude awakening. It always is when your principles and your training all get engaged with the messy, disorganzed systemless world. (That engineering background becoming even more valuable in these circs.)

What happens when the Great Awakening comes? When you are forced by events to re-evaluate everything that underpins your view of the world? You question yourself first, but assuming you're pretty well-educated, that answers only a fraction of your new questions. Permaybehaps you're not on the side of Right and Reason after all?

Poor Dalton's doing this questioning among people who will eat his flesh...his spirit's probably not very nourishing just at that moment locked as it is in crisis. His situation is rife with possibilities for own goals, and unsurprisingly there are a few. The thrust of the story, though, is the act of questioning the reality of your assumptions in the face of countervailing evidence. Dalton, using copious amounts of sarcasm and not a little facetiousness, has the courage to do this. It helps him, and us, that he's worked his whole adulthood troubleshooting systems. Better training for analysis I can't conjure.

The role of honor and duty is large in the story. Largely, it must be said, in its absence when most required. Dalton's got trouble on every side because of this absence among those meant to have his back. It resembles our own hypercapitalist world in this way. Dalton's troubles, I will say, are external; the struggling he does is, too, so I never felt I was with him in his sea of woe. I'm an observer of the results, not a participant in the process.

This is not a knock. The fact is I'm not here for that story, I'm here for a fun action-romp that takes me over some very interesting terrain. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Dalton navigate the choppy waters of Reality in a skiff formed of principles (his) and held together by pressures (the Unity's). The story does this job very well indeed, though with rather less characterization of side characters than I prefer (hence a missing half-star) Getting us through this plot, however, militated against the time needed being spent that way. That said, I was aware of wanting to spend more time with the second and third consorts and less with his fellow Unity operative. The other missing half-star comes from Dalton's attitude of..."kindness and acceptance" sounds better than "craven lickspittle sycophancy" doesn't it...for a character who does NOT deserve it. I get why Author Ashton made that choice but I do not agree with it to the point of getting frothingly furious at the way it plays out. I shouted at my Kindle from 97% on.

On balance, which I confess I lost along the way, I was amused and entertained by our hypercapitalist snail (as a former veggie gardener I'm here to tell you a better metaphor for the kind of greedy shit who runs an economy solely for personal gain there has never been), by the second and third consorts, and the rest of the cast...telling that I can't remember their names, eh what? (Wait, "Breaker" was one, I think.)

I devoutly hope Author Ashton's name is familiar to you by now from the film of his book <i>Mickey7</i> (link to my review of it above). I thought that story was terrific. I think this story is, too, with minor reservations that do not vitiate the pleasures I found in the read.

I rather enjoyed this story. It's a quick read, but the characters are interesting and I feel like you're given just enough world-building without overburdening the reader. I've never read anything by Edward Ashton before, but I'm interested in checking out his other works if they're just as deadpan humorous as The Fourth Consort.

This book was an absolute blast: witty, fun, and lighter than a zero-gravity tea party. I went in expecting Dalton, our protagonist, to be your typical brooding, traumatized soldier with a death wish, but surprise! Turns out he’s a big ol’ softie with a killer sense of humor. (Who knew trauma could be so hilarious? Well, comedians, probably. And now Dalton.)

Then there’s Neera. Oh, Neera. I have mixed feelings about her. Sure, she’s selfish, but she’s also got a soft spot for Dalton, which makes her... complicated. (Or maybe just human. Or alien. You get the idea.)

The world-building? Perfectly balanced. Enough futuristic tech and planetary lore to feel immersive, but never so much that my brain short-circuited. Soft sci-fi indeed, and I mean that as the highest compliment.

Now, the ending. Whew. I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say I was expecting a supernova and got... well, a very different kind of bang. My reaction? A mix of stunned silence, laughter, and utter confusion. I just stared at the page for a few minutes like that meme of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. And yet? It worked. The wrap-up was satisfying, especially Dalton and Breaker’s... I want to say friendship. It was an interesting dynamic he was like that brutally honest friend that is there but doesn't know how to comfort you.

Bottom line: This book is a fantastic slump-buster or intro to sci-fi for newbies. It’s smart, funny, and just the right amount of weird. And that last page? Oh, you tease. Now I’m left wondering if there’s more—because I’d happily sign up for another round. 4.5/5 stars, would consort again.

This book description intrigued me, and I'm really glad I read it. The dark comedy, the weird live triangle, and of course the awesome sci fi story make it well worth the read.
It was a bit convoluted in parts, but enjoyable overall.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Dalton Greaves, ex-soldier and current ambassador for a confederation of species called Unity, finds himself in a bit of a pickle. While attempting to convince a species of insect-like creatures called Minarchs to join Unity, he becomes entangled in dangerous political machinations with not only the Minarchs but also with the nemesis of Unity, a rival confederation called the Assembly.

I really enjoyed the action and fast-paced narrative. While the book was quite short and left much of the backstory unexplained, Dalton is a relatable character stuck on an unfamiliar world, struggling to balance his own (vaguely conceived) honor and morality with that of another human’s and two other entire species’. Humorous and a good, light read; this feels like The Murderbot Diaries, where there could be more stories to come.

3.5/5

I have read, and enjoyed several books by Edward Ashton, so I was excited to be granted access to this early. It had a lot of things I love about an Ashton read- aliens, humor, fast-paced action, and political intrigue. However, this one did not feel as strong as his other books.

Still a fun read though for fans of Ashton.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me for my review.

Ashton does a great job with his far from perfect protagonists, and envisioning how very different aliens might be from humanity. He even managed to surprise me with the ending, even though he'd given a fair number of clues leading up to it. I very much look forward to what he brings us next.

I made it 17% of the way through before DNFing. I think this was a me problem, as the characters and plot were interesting. I’m just not a big sci-fi fan. For fans of Project Hail Mary.