This was a fast paced read that I absolutely flew through. I wish that the story was a little more plot-driven and a little less character-driven, but I didn't really mind it because it was still a fast-paced story that I enjoyed. This book was strange and quirky, but in a pleasing way, and I always vibe with a weird sci-fi story. The beginning was a little hard to parse through, because there was a lot thrown at you pretty fast, but after a bit I did get sucked into the story. This was a great sci-fi story and I think that people who like his previous book, or Mur Lafferty, will get a kick out of this!

Quick read, I finished it in a single sitting. It’s very character driven so if you like the main character you’ll like the story. Dalton was a soldier and at loose ends after his father died, he takes a contract for ten years in space serving the aliens who contacted us. If he survives he’ll be as rich as a king. The odds of surviving are not high…

I was provided both and ARC and an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Dalton was a down on his luck guy with nothing to look forward to, when he gets recruited to be part of a confederation to spread love and harmony throughout the galaxy. Dalton's crew is Unity, but they have a nemesis group called The Assembly and they really don't get along. Both groups seek out new civilizations and want to broker alliances and they will do whatever it takes to make sure their side wins a new friend.

Dalton finds himself stranded on a new planet and guest of the planet's queen. He and Breaker, a member of the Assembly are both vying for her attention and still attempting to form and alliance, but Dalton has a hard time understanding the culture and strange sense of honor that the their mostly female civilization operates under. At the same time he questions the motivations of his own crew and mission. His survival on the planet hinges on the queen making him her consort, which Dalton doesn't understand, as there is no romance between them. As things become more clear he comes to understand how politics work on the planet and that he may just be a bargaining chip.

I really loved getting to know Dalton as he had to navigate this precarious environment. He can't leave the planet, and he is forced to be the consort of an alien queen for political reasons. He is always offending those around him, mainly because he doesn't understand their culture, which leads to some pretty humorous moments throughout the book. I loved the snark from the AI translator that helps Dalton navigator the various languages. At times this felt like cozy sci-fi as Dalton deals with more social situations and what he feels is moral and honorable and there isn't alot of graphic content when it comes to violence and other content.

I loved this. It was fun, had the right amount of humor, and falls in the more cozy genre that is so popular right now. This has more political intrigue and self reflection themes to it, so if you are expecting epic world building and super technical sci-fi this is not that book. Dalton spends much of his time underground so there isn't a ton of world building or description of the world. The plot is more focused on will Dalton follow the orders of his exploration company, or will he follow his own moral compass. I thought Dalton's relationship with Breaker was great and while this is a standalone I would love to know how they get on in the future.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

This book was so delightfully weird. It was strange in so many ways, and yet the heart of humanity still shone through. It was bizarre, and in that hilarity and weirdness was a depth and soul that sparkled.

The book was slightly hard to get into at first because it felt like there was so much world (universe) building that had happened either so quickly or outside of the reader's perspective. At some point, I'm not sure if I actually understood it or I just moved past trying.

This was a really great, fast read that was both hilarious and yet made you think.

Dalton Greaves, a human representative to Unity, discovers it's more about plunder than peace. After a clash with the Assembly, a true benevolent group, he's stranded on a hostile planet. He must navigate danger and intrigue to survive, while ensuring his ally Neera doesn't turn against him.

I started this book without knowing much about it, but it turned out to be quite an enjoyable read. It had some genuinely funny moments and just the right touch of quirkiness. While I wished for a bit more world-building, the rich character development more than made up for it.

Exploring the various alien cultures, the political drama, and the emphasis on honor among the aliens was fascinating. Breaker was such an entertaining character, always keeping me guessing about his next move. I also loved the dynamic between him and Dalton. Overall, I highly recommend this book!

Rating: 4/5
Spice: 0/5

Tropes:
First Contact
Predator/Hunter Conflicts
Interspecies Relations
Bizarre Love Triangle

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Edward Ashton for a chance to read this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Another 3.5 from the author for me.

While I’m still waiting for Mickey 17 movie to release, I was pretty interested to read this new standalone from the author, especially because it seemed like a fun adventure with first contact. And I guess I got what I expected.

Dalton is a first contact specialist/diplomat working for a pan-species group Unity who gets stranded on an alien planet, with a counterpart of his from another group, the Assembly. The book follows the dynamics between Dalton, the Assembly stickman Breaker, and the Queen (or First-Among-Equals) of the alien species - the cultural differences/misunderstandings between the three groups, their mistaken assumptions of each other, the unlikely bonds that form amid assassination attempts, all while getting some much needed snark from the translator AI.

The writing is fun and fast paced, with some giggle inducing dialogue here and there. But for whatever reason, I didn’t find this one as funny as Mal Goes to War. The audiobook of this one, however, is equally good and the narrator Barrie Kreinik does some excellent voices. Overall, this was an entertaining enough read with a bit of an abrupt conclusion, but may not be one I’ll remember much in the long term.

Rating: 3.5⭐️

Do you know what you’re supposed to do when you come across a new civilization that’s never been touched by industrialized society?

Well, it’s obvious that the opposing confederations in the background of The Fourth Consort don’t care about provincial notions like “observe and report”, because there’s a new planet in town and they’re both eagerly vying for its hand in…friendship. Sure. Let’s call it that. I’d call it evolutionary interruption, but violations of the Prime Directive really rile me so I may be biased.

The Fourth Consort is a relaxing and enjoyable read that I feel is probably going to be better in audio than it came across in text. It’s got a bumpy first half but a darkly exhilarating second half that kept me reading when I otherwise might have felt compelled to put the book down. I found it dry and witty in the best way but wanted something more from the moral and philosophical discourse. While I enjoyed being in Dalton’s head, I didn’t always feel connected to his motivations as a main character. At times I was there with him, sure I was on the same page, and then there would be large swaths of the books where I didn’t understand why he was making the choices he made. As a whole it was a great plot and a slightly above average read.

🩶 What to Expect 🩶

🍒 A translation device developed based on BBC broadcasts
💣 Stay alive, prevent your foe from winning friends, and wait for help
🍒 You know what they say about assuming, right?
💣 “So you’re sending me into the middle of an alien city, in the company of a known hostile, alone and completely unarmed.” Okay then.
🍒 Do you want to be a spaceman?
💣 What if you are the bad guys?
🍒 Try not to get eaten
💣 Prey vs. predator philosophy
🍒 What are the qualifications for a good interstellar diplomat anyway?
💣 Extreme views of honor
🍒 Polyandry plus misandry
💣 Darkly funny brother-husbands
🍒 Misadventures in mistranslation
💣 There was no discretion in that valor
🍒 Some words you just can’t take back

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Action Adventure/Comedy/Science Fiction

Fans of Ashton's Mickey7 series will enjoy this as-for-now stand alone sci-fi novel of first contact. It's so similar to the Mickey books that you could probably do a "search and replace" Dalton with Mickey and come up with the next in the series. That's not to say it's not enjoyable, it's just very similar in plot, characters, and theme to the Mickey books. Very similar. Except less death of the MC.

Could easily see this becoming a series and hope that it moves into new territory to make it distinguishable from the Mickey series.

Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. This is told from the perspective of a human from earth hired to be the first contact with new species. There are flashbacks of the man's past that explain his decisions in his current situation. There is also an alien from another agency trying to make first contact as well. We slowly learn that we are not the good guys here. I definitely liked the story line and would recommend.

3.5 stars I couldn’t quite round up. I don't read a lot of sci-fi these days, although I have in the past, so I'm not sure I was the best audience for this. Clever ideas involving communication and prejudice, and the writer’s overall style and ear for banter are strong, notably in the scenes set in the past on Earth. Most of the dry humor made me laugh out loud. I also found the MMC, Dalton, likable, with a decent amount of depth in his backstory. But by the end there were so many self-referential quips, too-obvious jokes, and ruminations on politics and prey/predator relationships it became overload, and the insights into Dalton's past seemed superfluous. I felt that tension in the plot and emotional weight were frequently drained by these elements.

A few things in particular kept this from 4 stars for me:
1. The circumspection/flashbacks sometimes feel shoehorned in or detract from the action, as does the wordiness in the interactions with the aliens. (And I know this is an anal retentive pet peeve, but if you’re going to have them sound like they walked out of a historical fiction novel, words like “hence” should be used correctly).
2. It felt like some of the world building was either missing or being held back. This is billed as being a standalone, but as the book went on, I definitely sensed a set-up for future books.
3. The female characters/beings are basically unlikable. In fact I sort of glossed over the female "baddie", but couldn't stand Dalton’s human colleague Neera (I think she’s supposed to be quirky and smart in a smug "indie girl" sort of way. Urk. Plus she really doesn’t do much but hang out in the ship and complain). Meanwhile, humble Dalton generally saves the day. There was a power-flip subtext that didn’t have great closure. I don’t know if the author thought he was creating strong female characters but really didn’t know what to do with them, if there was a message, or if it was all just supposed to be part of the general goofiness.

This author is new to me, and maybe if I'd read his previous books I would have been a little more into this one. If you like sci-fi involving first contact and alien civilization that's heavy on the humor, you'll probably like this. Just don’t expect much depth outside of the hero and a couple of his alien "bros".

This whole book is a comedy of errors. The characters operate from their past experiences rather than acknowledging that the present may be wholly different. There are lots of misunderstandings and some misleadings that take awhile to work out. However this is generally a comedy and things work out in the end, though not at all how I expected. I liked this book and feel that most readers will feel the same way.

This was a quick and absorbing read. The story was rich with worldbuilding details, and the alien species and societies were provocative and interesting. I especially appreciated the development of the main character, primarily through flashbacks, and the superposition of his prior life (as a student, and a soldier, and a son) with his current life (as a diplomat / prisoner on an alien planet). The ending was the perfect combination of inevitable, surprising, and satisfying.

But the story felt underdeveloped and even flat at times. The motivations of nearly all the characters remained obscure throughout and the world-building lacked breadth. The story's ending was perfect except that it also felt like a beginning. <i>The Fourth Consort</i> is supposedly a standalone but I hope it's actually the first of a series; I want to know more about this world, and I'd definitely read a sequel. 4.5 stars.

I absolutely loved Mickey7 and Antimatter Blues so I was stoked I was allowed to read this early. This book felt like it could've been in the same universe. This one did lack some the charm of the Mickey books and was more based on the politics of the universe. It didn't have the heart and emotional tug as Ashton's other books.

However, it was still well written and worth the read. It's a great book to get into SciFi. It's very accessible and has so much humor without being stupid. The ending was great and I strongly recommend this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion on this review is my own.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. It delivered on that unexpectedness, and then some! I very much enjoyed this book, but expect it to need some thought processing time as it’s a unique spin on alien contact!

I really like Edward Ashton's writing! I've read all his books from Mickey 7 on, and each one I've liked more than the last. His books are a very accessible version of sci Fi because the stories are personal and comedic, but they are accessible without being too simple. They have complex and interesting world building just on a small scale. 

The Fourth Consort reminded me a lot of Antimatter Blues, the sequel to Mickey 7 which is one of my favourite stories. It also reminded me a bit of the spin off Animorphs book, the Andalite Chronicles.

I love stories about diplomatic relations between aliens because there's so many places you can go with them.

I won't go too much into plot points in this review because I found it enjoyable to read the book and figure out what was happening as I went.

If you're a fan of this authors other books you'll definitely like this one too. Id recommend it as well to fans of Becky Chambers and other more light hearted sci-fi authors.

Thanks so much to the publisher for the advanced copy!!

🚀I love a great funny sci-fi story and this is a great one! Humans are making first contact with a new planet. But surprise! They weren’t the first ones. The rival species has also made first contact. We follow Dalton, the human delegate, as he navigates learning the customs on this new planet while keeping an eye on his rival. We learn his back story and how he ended up exploring space in the first place. Dalton is witty and free spirited and fun to read! The different species are new and innovative and this with unique cultures and customs. Highly recommend!

🚀Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advance digital copy! All opinions are mine!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 out of 5 stars

This is the part of the description that got me: "The only actual members of Unity that he’s ever met are Boreau, a giant snail who seems more interested in plunder than spreading love and harmony, and Boreau’s human sidekick, Neera..."

The fact that Boreau makes a very, very brief appearance and only in flashbacks was tragically disappointing. Still, I was taken by the story. I don't read a lot of sci-fi, and even less about space and alien species, but this has definitely captured my interest.

Dalton Greaves has just lost his father, and has stagnated, a feeling that I identified with so deeply it hurt. Then he was dumped publicly (...ish, the only person I can gather was a witness is the aforementioned Neera), and is offered the opportunity to leave his lonely, sad life on Earth behind to see worlds other than this with a giant snail while they try to save sentient species on other planets from destroying themselves. It's hard to be a sentient species and not self-destruct, you know?

Almost on a whim, Dalton agrees, and off they go. After so many months of travelling through space, they come to a planet where there are sentient insects (minarchs, which in my head were cockroaches), and at the time Unity (the company that hired Dalton and Neera) arrives, the Assembly also arrives (another company which Unity claims to be blood-thirsty resource pirates).

While Dalton and Neera (in my head, Neera is Calhoun from Wreck-It Ralph) are meeting with the minarchs' First-Among-Equals, as well as the Assembly's ambassador (who Dalton later refers to as Breaker and who in my head was a praying mantis), the Unity ship and the Assembly ship, up in space while the ambassadors are at ground level, begin firing on each other and appear to destroy each other, leaving Dalton, Neera, and Breaker on this planet with the minarchs to try to continue the mission in getting First-Among-Equals to choose either Unity or Assembly to help them continue the species.

Neera wants to kill Breaker immediately, but ends up allowing (more or less) Dalton to accompany First-Among-Equals into their city, along with Breaker, while she stays at the ship.

What unravels is quite the testament to Ashton's writing capability. Not only do you get personality and individualism from the various minarchs and Breaker, but you get political intrigue and friendship and betrayal and character growth.

Dalton is named a fourth consort to First-Among-Equals, angering some minarchs, who believe that Dalton is beneath her, and an animal, not of the same species. He is placed in a cave (?) with the second and third consorts (in my head they are Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, Merry and Pippin, the Martians from Sesame Street), and finds that there is a reason the female micharchs run this world. He also discovers what happened to the first consort.

I have to say again that I was impressed by how much individualism Ashton was able to assign each individual character.

I was also impressed with this in a way I wasn't expecting when I realized I wasn't going to get a book about giant snails.

That being said, I felt the ending was trash. Not necessary the way it ended, but the way the ending was written. I felt cheated a bit. And yet, I am kind of hoping there will be more to this story.

The Fourth Consort is a quick, interesting Sci Fi read. I haven't previously read any of Aston's work, but I am eager to pick up something else after finishing this book.

I liked how fleshed out all the races were, especially for this book being on the shorter side. I thought each one was really well defined and their morals/belief systems were well thought out and explained. I thought the mixture of humor was a nice touch to the story. I was really impressed philosophical aspects of this book and was a wonderful surprise.

My only complaint is I never really felt attached to any of the characters. I didn't find myself sitting on the edge of my seat during the intense moments. I can't exactly pinpoint why that is though. Maybe if this had been a longer book? Don't let this discourage you though, I still had a great time reading this book!

I think readers Sci Fi lovers (and those who don't often pick up the genre) will enjoy this one and I encourage you to give it a shot!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This just wasn't for me. I think the idea is fun so it may have just come down to my mood.

If you're a fan of sarcastic sci-fi, you'll probably enjoy this one. It's a quick little read, I don't find that it lingered in any one spot for too long. If it sounds like something you'd otherwise enjoy, you'll probably enjoy it. I know there are a few people in my life that I'll recommend it to. It just wasn't for me.

This was my first experience with this author and he did not disappoint. If you are looking for cozy SciFi in the vein of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir or Nether Station by Kevin J. Anderson, where you get a great human and alien friendships in the end, this book is for you. The story was character driven and each one was so well written that I definitely wanted to learn more of each one's back story. This books feels like such a great introduction to a new universe, that I a hoping to get more of it from this author so this could also be picked up as a television series.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. Opinions are my own.