Intrinsic

By: Philip C. Quaintrell

Narrated by: George Newbern

Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Kalian Gaines has a secret; he just doesn't know it yet. He looks like us, he lives like us...but he is not one of us.

Kalian knows nothing outside of his mundane life teaching history on 30th-century Earth, until a day like any other triggers a series of events that will tie his fate to that of humanity.

A human handprint, embedded into a rock with alien script, is discovered on a moon that mankind has never set foot on. This discovery holds a secret, which will sweep Kalian into the heart of a conspiracy that has corrupted the galaxy for 200,000 years.

©2016 Philip C. Quaintrell (P)2018 Podium Publishing

Fun, doesn't try too hard. Bingeworthy.

Overall, this was a good book and a strong start to a series. It definitely made me get the others in the series. It is a fun flight of fancy with scifi flavor. The characters are a tad bit flat or predictable at first, but not distractingly so. The universe is extremely interesting and I honestly wish the series were longer because of the potential.

Lackluster character development.

I mean it was enjoyable enough. But that I mean that I was brought in by the cool book cover with the cool guy and the glowing ball of plasma energy in his hand.

But the rest was meh. I enjoyed the book and wasn't truly bored until maybe the few end chapters.

Something about the fight scenes gave me no suspense or excitement.

No character was really lovable or enjoyable to listen to. I never had a pov character where I went "yesss this chapter is gonna be fun" or what have you.

Still. I'm a sucker for superpowers.

Unexpectedly Brilliant

I'll admit to grabbing this book for three reasons, 1) the cover looked interesting (which made me look at it), 2) the synopsis sounded better than the average, and 3) I just really, really needed a good book.
Not the most promising of beginnings but Intrinsic delivered the unexpected. I was looking up Book 2 before i was half way through it. Again, great cover. The main character is likable enough, i spent the first half of the book wanting more info on him, then the second half realizing that more would have been too much. The story starts as one would expect: Aliens, Questions and a bit of "Why Me?" thrown in for a conversation starter, then goes from strength to strength after a rather earth shatteringly huge shock.
Honestly, if you are looking for something to sink your teeth into while you wait for the next Expeditionary Force novel or you just fancy reading something that doesn't orbit alien sex, drugs and more sex then this is a great choice. Plus, the cover art is pretty damn awesome.

Superman Narrator

This was a well written, entertaining, and fun book. George Newbern is great as a narrator. I loved Justice League and Superman back in the day, and at first I couldn't place his voice. I thought he may be that guy from Wings. Then it hit me, "That's Superman!"

His voice is great for capturing the "every man". Loved it.

Can't wait for the next book!

Underdeveloped

Author has some great ideas for his tech based “soft magic” system. What pulls me out oof the story is the flagrant use of science terms to explain/solve problems when the problems are not related to the tool mentioned. Characters a little bit 2D.

Good performance.

Differences between the ebook and audiobook are annoying.

Over all, this is a fun read. I like to listen while I am reading, and there are passages from the audiobook that read differently in the ebook. Aside from that, the reading is done quite well.

gr8 book nice imagination.

loved it. This is what I like about sifi. Thinking out side the box. New insights to the worlds of the future.

Great book, somewhat bad layout

The plot and everything was great, but the sudden changes from one character to another threw me off a bit at times. Would like to see a better separation or distinction between the changes of characters and maybe some kind of alert as to from who’s perspective we are now viewing from. Other than that, I don’t have anything bad to say about this book.

Great story - kept me hooked and listening!

I thought this was a great book that was a lot of fun to listen to. I actually used up Audible credits too fast because I didn't want to stop listening even when at home and could find other things to entertain like Amazon Prime or depressing news (I really hate that but am addicted and can't seem to stop - wonder if there is a 12 step program out there for that addiction).

The negative reviews about problems with the author's physics concepts seem to miss the point. This is a sci-fi story used to entertain and as a diversion from regular every day living. One should use a bit of suspension of disbelief to fully enjoy the story.

A functioning interstellar space fairing society that has been in that state for around 200,000 years (in one case) or over 3 million years in another might come to understand things we never thought possible. For example, mathematicians today say that 10 different dimensions are mathematically probable in our universe - not just the 4 that we can experience ourselves. We truly don't know anything about other universes except that they are a also a mathematical probability.

I would also agree with so many reviews that say that the narrator for this book is great. Will use his name as a search tool for other great books to listen to in the future.

Love the Premise & the Writing Style

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love the premise of a history professor turning out to be the hope of all mankind.

I'm more of a fantasy reader, not a sci fi one so I didn't examine the science too closely, I've read reviews that have complained about the science. I have no complains at all. The author explained the advanced technologies just enough for them to move the plot along. I was not bombarded by technicalities just taken on an amazing journey across the galaxy to meet aliens who are more advanced than the human race.

I loved the underlying question the main character had asked all throughout the book. Why me? Why am I special? And in the end, it became the question his whole race asked. Why should these ancient species, these advanced races, be scared of us? The author's answer was very inspiring.

I would recommend this to readers who enjoy space travel, first contact, or just a great adventure. I will definitely explore more works by this author.