 This is the other unknown first-time self-published author that I bought when I visited Atlanta last September. I'm going to review this to get it out of the way while it's still fresh on my mind. The quick description of this book is an alien race called the Din, if that's how they're pronounced. They visited Earth briefly. They left behind some technology in the form of an interstellar spacecraft that seems to defy all the laws of physics, and of course that leaves the governments of the Earth in an uproar. It's left up to us to figure out how this spacecraft works, how the technology works, and why the aliens left it with us. Are they actually benevolent? Were they trying to help us? There's a subplot about the AI computers that are used by some of the governments of Earth to help them make big, complicated decisions. There's a handful of these AIs. What the governments don't know is that these AIs are secretly talking to each other and they have their own ideas about what this alien technology is for and what should be done with it. It's an interesting plot idea. It's a good science fiction premise with a pretty good science fiction Deus Ex Machina ending. The problem is the writing is just not very good and I found it difficult to read because of that. This actually turned out to be a good counterpoint to that other first time authors book that I reviewed a couple of months ago, the Callisto Symphony. If you'll go back and look at that review, you'll see what a disaster that book was. A downright laughable disaster. This particular book though is not laughable. It's just not very good. But here's why I called it a good counterpoint to that other one. The Callisto Symphony, all the details in Callisto Symphony are wrong. In fact, they're so wrong that it's just plain stupid. It's outrageously dumb how this guy didn't do any research at all. I had no idea what he was talking about when he wrote the book. But I was able to read the entire book because his writing style was very easy and very personable and it read quickly and I was able to read it all the way through without being lividly furious like I am sometimes with books that I don't like. This book on the other hand, the author understands science fiction. He has a good science fiction vocabulary but his writing style gets in the way. It's very choppy. I wasn't completely sure who all of the characters were. I wasn't keeping them all straight and I didn't care. So these two books taken together bring up the question of what constitutes a good book and what constitutes good writing. You've got a badly researched book that's actually enjoyable to read and you've got a well researched book that is difficult to read. How can we put our finger on what the problem is here? In some ways it's a matter of taste of course but I think those of us who are avid readers and who enjoy reading, I think all of us could agree on a few objective necessities for what constitutes a good book. Readability is one, knowing what you're writing about is another. I don't really know where I'm going with this. I'm just bringing up the question of what actually does constitute a good book and good writing. These two books have a strangely complementary combination of problems that bring up the question but don't resolve it. So I'll leave it at that and see you next review. Remember my work here at 30 Second Sci-Fi and at the ThinkBolt channel are supported by patrons. Please follow the link here on the screen and in the description below to my home at 50th Street and please consider becoming a monthly patron. And remember you can make a one time donation if you like.