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rebelrider's review
4.0
Caz works undercover to track down stolen art. He also dislikes aliens and has fallen away from God, which leads to trouble when he gets paired up with an alien who is interested in God.
Note on ratings:
* Horrible.
** Below average
*** Average. Not good or bad.
**** Above average
***** Above and beyond
Content: *** (Content based off my personal level of squeamishness.)
There is some violence but nothing overly descriptive, but there's a fair amount of low-grade swearing, as well as a main character who gets drunk and has one night stands. (Nothing is explicit.)
Originality and world building: *****
The story starts out as a buddy cop story, but this time, the partner is an alien, which is a cool twist.
The worldbuilding here feels very deep, with the aliens having their own phrases and body language. It really feels like this universe has many more stories to tell. The prejudice in the story felt realistic too, not something shoved in there just to push an agenda. The inclusion of Christianity and alien religion was also really neat and didn't feel preachy.
Characters and their Arcs: ****
Caz's arc was okay, but I had some trouble relating because drinking and one night stands are not my vices. (Overcoming this is part of his character arc, not something that is endorsed.) Even so, I wan't that interested in his arc. I was much more interested in his partner, Nil, since I get attached to aliens rather easily.
Writing style and Pacing: ***
I had trouble putting the book down, though the last quarter went from buddy cop to more solid space opera, which felt weird, and the tension seemed slightly lower when Caz and Nil began to get along better.
When it comes to writing style, the large amount of fragments did tend to get on my nerves, but the humor was pretty good.
Other things I liked:
Aliens. I like aliens and I don't see enough of them. It's always been a fantasy of mine to see a book where the aliens have a belief in God, so it was really neat when this got brought up.
Other things I didn’t like:
There isn't a sequel yet. Does that count as something I didn't like?
Is it worth reading?
Yes.
Note on ratings:
* Horrible.
** Below average
*** Average. Not good or bad.
**** Above average
***** Above and beyond
Content: *** (Content based off my personal level of squeamishness.)
There is some violence but nothing overly descriptive, but there's a fair amount of low-grade swearing, as well as a main character who gets drunk and has one night stands. (Nothing is explicit.)
Originality and world building: *****
The story starts out as a buddy cop story, but this time, the partner is an alien, which is a cool twist.
The worldbuilding here feels very deep, with the aliens having their own phrases and body language. It really feels like this universe has many more stories to tell. The prejudice in the story felt realistic too, not something shoved in there just to push an agenda. The inclusion of Christianity and alien religion was also really neat and didn't feel preachy.
Characters and their Arcs: ****
Caz's arc was okay, but I had some trouble relating because drinking and one night stands are not my vices. (Overcoming this is part of his character arc, not something that is endorsed.) Even so, I wan't that interested in his arc. I was much more interested in his partner, Nil, since I get attached to aliens rather easily.
Writing style and Pacing: ***
I had trouble putting the book down, though the last quarter went from buddy cop to more solid space opera, which felt weird, and the tension seemed slightly lower when Caz and Nil began to get along better.
When it comes to writing style, the large amount of fragments did tend to get on my nerves, but the humor was pretty good.
Other things I liked:
Aliens. I like aliens and I don't see enough of them. It's always been a fantasy of mine to see a book where the aliens have a belief in God, so it was really neat when this got brought up.
Other things I didn’t like:
There isn't a sequel yet. Does that count as something I didn't like?
Is it worth reading?
Yes.
adamdavidcollings's review
5.0
The back-cover description of this book grabbed me right away, and the story didn't disappoint. This is the story of a private art-theft detective, partnered up with an alien to find a stolen sculpture of deep importance to a species known as the Jinn.
The story is set in an alternate present-day, where aliens arrived at the beginning of our century and invited us to become a protectorate in their consociation. Turns out Earth is the perfect location for what they call a Nor-i-nanq (basically a big stargate that ships can fly through).
The story begins on a fairly small scale, but escalates into some very large (and exciting) stakes. This is not to say the earlier parts of the book are un-interesting. I was gripped the whole way through.
For Us Humans is told from a fun first-person point of view. The protagonist, Caz, has a lot of attitude, and this really comes out in the narration.
Caz has a big character arc in this book. Several in fact. A chance encounter with his ex-fiance brings back a lot of memories and a few surprises. In addition to all that, we see that Caz is wrestling with a faith he used to have, but is now all but dead.
The books explores the idea of how Christianity would respond to the arrival of aliens. Many turn away. Caz has a big chip on his shoulder about this. He blames the aliens for the demise of his religion, but why is his alien partner so interested in learning more about Jesus?
The aliens themselves were nicely done. I love how the sense of smell is more important to them than the sense of sight, and this comes out in the way they talk.
I had a ball reading this book. This was my first Steve Rzasa book, but it won't be my last. I understand from an interview, that the author plans to write a follow-up story in this world. Personally, I'm thrilled to hear that.
The story is set in an alternate present-day, where aliens arrived at the beginning of our century and invited us to become a protectorate in their consociation. Turns out Earth is the perfect location for what they call a Nor-i-nanq (basically a big stargate that ships can fly through).
The story begins on a fairly small scale, but escalates into some very large (and exciting) stakes. This is not to say the earlier parts of the book are un-interesting. I was gripped the whole way through.
For Us Humans is told from a fun first-person point of view. The protagonist, Caz, has a lot of attitude, and this really comes out in the narration.
Caz has a big character arc in this book. Several in fact. A chance encounter with his ex-fiance brings back a lot of memories and a few surprises. In addition to all that, we see that Caz is wrestling with a faith he used to have, but is now all but dead.
The books explores the idea of how Christianity would respond to the arrival of aliens. Many turn away. Caz has a big chip on his shoulder about this. He blames the aliens for the demise of his religion, but why is his alien partner so interested in learning more about Jesus?
The aliens themselves were nicely done. I love how the sense of smell is more important to them than the sense of sight, and this comes out in the way they talk.
I had a ball reading this book. This was my first Steve Rzasa book, but it won't be my last. I understand from an interview, that the author plans to write a follow-up story in this world. Personally, I'm thrilled to hear that.
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