rajah622: Hystad provides a captivating story that is very readable. I found myself binge reading. The ending left me with many questions. I look forward to continuing the story in book 2.
United States on Oct 02, 2023
Ami A.:
First Life is filled with intrigue, surprising twists, and questionable motives! The main characters are realistic and have interesting back stories, although I still have questions about their histories. I enjoyed this first in the series and am looking forward to book 2.
Purchased from Amazon
United States on Sep 24, 2023
Gwen2K: About the time I thought I figured something out, it changed. So many many plots and directions. So interesting!! I already bought the audiobook for the next chapter. I can’t wait to see what is next! Great job Nathan Hystad!
United States on Jul 19, 2023
Amazon Customer: Great science fiction tale and now I’m hooked. Well done Nathan! Lots of twists and surprises, it’s a real page turner….
Canada on Jul 15, 2023
Mark Lucas-Taylor: It took me a little while to get into the story but I’m glad I stuck with it and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
United Kingdom on Jul 10, 2023
Leanne Hoagland Smith: At first glance this seems to be Star Trek first contact, Bugs, Aliens, Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond, among other storylines yet there are subtle differences along with a couple of surprises. Interesting reading.
United States on Jul 01, 2023
Jas P:
First Life follows the life of Colton Beck from his life now as a 36yr old male with a terminal disease called Xeno, to the various flashbacks in his earlier life, starting at 15 when an alien spaceship first dropped into the atmosphere over where he was playing baseball and several intervals in between.
We learn that the aliens, the Angor, have come to Earth in peace, to offer Humanity several things as part of a ‘Unity Accord’, asking only for help with some projects, including help with colonizing a planet of our own.
However, when they came, the Angor released something into the atmosphere to allegedly help with the damage we had done, something that was supposedly non-toxic to humans. But not all humans were, a very small percentage of the population of the Earth developed a rare condition called ‘Xeno’, something that is fatal to anyone that develops it.
We learn all of this (and a lot more that I won’t give spoilers for), through multiple flashbacks throughout Colton’s life, and that he has Xeno, and how he will eventually succumb to the disease (You don’t know when, those that get it, go through lots of painful attacks early on,...
United States on May 14, 2022
Steve:
Once you understand that nothing you are told means anything in the long term, you start to read the story plot details and just dump that "knowledge" and plod on. There are plenty of twists and turns but very little you can't see coming a mile off.
The overall plot is basically sound, but after a while I found myself disengaging from it mainly because I got fed up with keeping track of what fact we knew and what we thought we knew. It's not that I don't like mysteries or thrillers, but I didn't like this one.
By a coincidence and sheer bad luck, this is the third book on the trot I've read which pits humans against huge killer scorpion type creatures that attack in swarms. I'm done with this trend for alien creatures.
Strange things happen that seem to defy logic. For example, the remains of a fortified alien colony buildings, that the settlers move to; they know nothing of the race that built it but no one queries the fact that the dimensions of doorways, passages, room sizes, type of light supplied, etc is a perfect match for what they want. No one says "these aliens must be very similar to us".
There are many questions left unanswered at the end...
United Kingdom on Mar 28, 2022
Rod: Really enjoyed this first book in what I hope will be a long saga. This book was somehow gritty and more dare I say mature than earlier works. Good job Nathan.
Australia on Mar 08, 2022
First Life: A River Saga Novel, Book One | Fated Blades: The Journey of Two Women's Survival Strategies | The City World: Volume 5, Issue 2 (1969), Page 63 | |
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B2B Rating |
91
|
98
|
96
|
Sale off | $3 OFF | ||
Total Reviews | 65 reviews | 674 reviews | 129 reviews |
Best Sellers Rank | #3,493 in Colonization Science Fiction #9,891 in Exploration Science Fiction #10,649 in Alien Invasion Science Fiction | #1,220 in Genetic Engineering Science Fiction #4,266 in Science Fiction Romance #12,218 in Fantasy Romance | #4,255 in Alien Invasion Science Fiction #5,169 in First Contact Science Fiction #5,787 in Space Marine Science Fiction |
Paperback | 445 pages | 222 pages | 408 pages |
Alien Invasion Science Fiction | Alien Invasion Science Fiction | Alien Invasion Science Fiction | |
ISBN-13 | 979-8405720036 | 978-1662500435 | 979-8429261751 |
Customer Reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,089 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when.execute { if { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative { if { ue.count || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when.execute { A.declarative{ if { ue.count || 0) + 1); } }); }); | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 9,544 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when.execute { if { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative { if { ue.count || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when.execute { A.declarative{ if { ue.count || 0) + 1); } }); }); | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 3,168 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when.execute { if { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative { if { ue.count || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when.execute { A.declarative{ if { ue.count || 0) + 1); } }); }); |
Language | English | English | English |
Dimensions | 5 x 1.12 x 8 inches | 5 x 1 x 7 inches | 6 x 0.92 x 9 inches |
Colonization Science Fiction | Colonization Science Fiction | ||
Publisher | Independently published | Montlake; Unabridged edition | Independently published |
Exploration Science Fiction | Exploration Science Fiction | ||
ASIN | B09QNZWQYW | B09TQZK3TH | |
Item Weight | 1.06 pounds | 6.4 ounces | 1.2 pounds |
Kindle Customer: This was a fun and pacey story with interesting characters and interesting ideas. I don't like that it ended with more unanswered questions than it began with but that's just a personal dislike. If you like your plots to thicken with each installment, you'll probably love it and buy the next book. I won't. The author has a habit of misusing words - using the wrong word completely sometimes - and it was really irritating. He needs a better editor because the writing is fine otherwise.
Australia on Nov 14, 2023