It’s one kid versus an entire band of space pirates in this cosmic middle grade caper from New York Times bestselling author Dan Wells.
Zero is just one of 20,000 people aboard a spaceship bound for a new planet set to be colonized. The journey is over a century long but luckily, everyone is in stasis, so they’ll be safe and sound asleep during the trip. Everyone that is, except for Zero, whose pod has malfunctioned, waking him up a hundred years early. His initial excitement in roaming the ship alone quickly turns to a heart-stopping interstellar adventure when a family of space pirates show up, trying to hijack the ship and take the colonizers hostage. With everyone he knows fast asleep, it’s up to Zero to think fast and find a way to stop them–all on his own.
Dan Wells is a thriller and science fiction writer. Born in Utah, he spent his early years reading and writing. He is he author of the Partials series (Partials, Isolation, Fragments, and Ruins), the John Cleaver series (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You), and a few others (The Hollow City, A Night of Blacker Darkness, etc). He was a Campbell nomine for best new writer, and has won a Hugo award for his work on the podcast Writing Excuses; the podcast is also a multiple winner of the Parsec Award.
Very straightforward kid versus space pirates tale, but Dan Wells' Zero G was a fun listen. The story worked and it had enough science fiction elements to be entertaining as something more than a boy saves the day adventure. 3.5 stars.
Fantastic middle grade fantasy infused with Chinese and Japanese elements, pirates, cryogenic freezing chambers and a navigation robot with a sense of humour. Review to come when I can get out of this reviewing slump.
This is a fun enough little book that will appeal to kids who like stories in space and child protagonists who outsmart the bad guys. The premise here is pretty much Home Alone on a spaceship.
We begin the story meeting Zero and his family as they board a spaceship that will take them to a new planet to colonize. The journey will take a century, so everyone will travel in stasis and be awoken when they arrive at the new planet. Just a few days into the trip, something goes very wrong with Zero's stasis unit, and he finds himself awake!
The pilot is mysteriously missing and there's only a computer (with a somewhat spotty memory) to help him figure out what the heck to do to get the ship back on course and his butt into a new stasis unit.
Just as Zero's got it all almost figured out, a new problem: pirates are making their way onboard! Before long they've even disabled the computer -- his only assistance. Can Zero find a way to outwit the pirates all on his own? Well, if you've seen Home Alone, you know the answer to that ;)
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This is one and highly recommend for adults, and kids 😁
2018 audio review This was awesome!!!!!!!! Get it, get it, get it!! Such a cute and well produced and well acted story. So much fun. Zero is too cute and clever for words. The space pirates are mean idiots. And the ending shows us Zero getting recognition for his heroics :D Highly, highly recommend. 5 big space pirate stars!
Zero is a 12 year-old kid that is on a colonization mission with his family. He wakes up from cryosleep over a hundred years too early and finds he has the ship all to himself. Or at least he's the only human aboard the ship that isn't hibernating for another century. Turns out the captain has mysteriously disappeared, and therefore the ship's AI makes Zero the new captain.
What follows is basically Home Alone in space. Although a less violent and also less funny version of it. Still, Zero very much enjoys being by himself, before he then has to deal first with some asteroids and then with a crew of space pirates that are trying to take over the ship. It was kinda familiar.
I reckon this will be a lot of fun for kids, who will also be taught a few basics in physics and astronomy. However, that's clearly not the main focus here. It's first and foremost about the adventure.
The story is narrated by a full cast. The quality of the narrators is a bit uneven, though. I thought the kids were great. But the adults were pretty mediocre.
Anyways, while not everything makes sense, from the perspective of a grown-up, this was still fun for me too. I think I'm going to listen to the second book as well.
Zero G by Dan Wells and narrated by a whole host of talented players! This is one book kids will truly enjoy! A ship is taking 20,000 people to a new world to settle including Zero. They will be asleep for 105 years but his old messed up and wakes him up after only 28 days. This is what happens during that time and how they ended up with one more person onboard the ship when they got to the new planet! Great action, excitement, humor, and suspense! The great cast of narrators made it super special!
This is another fantastic full cast, scored audio production by Audible.
When I picked up this book, I had noticed that it was a sci-fi, space novel about a group from earth heading out to a new planet to colonize when they run into space pirates. 🏴☠️⋆⭒˚.⋆🪐 ⋆⭒˚.⋆🏴☠️ I hadn't noticed that it was a book written for middle school age. No worries, I am known to embrace my inner child at times, and I had no trouble enjoying this book.
I loved 12 year old Zero. His character fully embraces the awkwardness of the final tween year, when you are no longer a little kid, yet not accepted into the big kids club, left to hang on the edge of both for at least a whole entire year! May as well be a lifetime, amiright?
Oh, and space pirates! 🪐⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆🪐
A fun four hours, currently available free for Audible plus members.
This was a super-cute audiobook about a young boy who enters a stasis pod with his family to make the 105 year journey to another inhabitable planet, only to wake up before the ship even leaves the solar system.
At first, it looks like it might be fun—he gets to man the cannon to shoot rogue asteroids—and he chats with the ship AI, but then things start to get a little worrisome: one, the pilot who should have shot the asteroids is missing, and two? Pirates.
At that point, the whimsical nature doesn't stop, exactly, but it shifts into a kind of "Home Alone" vibe where young Zero needs to use whatever he's got at hand (since this is a sleeper ship, there's a lot of cargo, but it's not like Zero knows where anything in specific is) to defend the ship, take down the pirates, blast the asteroids, and find himself another place to go into stasis before the ship accelerates for the journey to the new planet and turns him into goo.
It's fun, it's cute, and I think even adults will enjoy this full cast production, making it a great choice for a car-trip with the younger family members.
A super cute middle grade space character featuring an Asian main character, cryogenic characters, space pirates, physics and a snarky AI who insists that you eat your veggies!
Zero was an adorable main lead—I loved his train of thought and the pranks he pulled while everyone was sleeping, and the little alien growls were just hilarious.
With an engaging cast, this is a sure-fire way to entertain kids during a long drive (or like, a four hour drive because this is about four hours).
My only gripe was that the spunky girl had quirky pink hair because of course you can't be a quirky smart rebel space girl without coloring your hair -_-
This was a fun middle-grade sci-fi read for any of you who have science fiction readers out there. A pre-teen saves the ship from space pirates with some pretty cunning tricks. It's a bit like Home Alone in Space. Loved the part where he's eating reconstituted cheeseburgers and fries with ketchup floating in front of his face. Awesome!
This is an audiobook I got for free a while back, and I only picked it up because I'm trying to listen and to read more things I own rather than borrowing them. I'm so glad I did, because I genuinely enjoyed this so much! It's a really fun middle grade science fiction/adventure book; perfect for kids. I've seen a lot of people describe it as "Home Alone... in space" and that's actually spot on as a description. Zero and his family are aboard a colony spaceship, leaving from Earth and bound for a new planet 20 light years ago. Everyone's supposed to be in stasis for over 100 years, but Zero's pod malfunctions, waking him way too early, and he finds that the ship is being boarded by space pirates who want to hijack it. What follows is a really fun caper that manages to be scientifically sounds (as far as I could tell, as a layman) and sometimes serious, but also really entertaining.
The full cast audio was perfect; I haven't listened to one of those in a while and I forgot how immersive and entertaining they can be? Especially with all the side effects. This was great from start to finish, and had so many of my favourite science fiction tropes, so I'm super happy I read it.
I loved Dan Wells’ Partial series so when I saw an Audible Original, for free, I had to have it. The fact that it was set in space was a huge bonus! I didn’t care that it was middle-grade. It was entertaining!
What a cute story, and the production was AMAZING! And even though I read ALOT of sci-fi, I was surprised that I still learned a few new things about gravity and space travel.
5 Stars- If you need some entertainment for a car ride, this is such a GREAT children’s audible! It’s set in the future and has some suspense. Luke (9 years old) and I both loved it!
This one was okay, but it was a little too kiddie for me. Some midgrades will do it for me, some won't, this one didn't. It was also a pretty generic plot. I've seen about a thousand movies with almost the exact same plot. Younger kids will probably enjoy it much more than I did. This one just wasn't for me.
'Zero G' is an Audible original audiobook by Dan Wells. It features a full cast of narrators who fabulously bring it in their narration of this marvelous space drama for young teens. The plot is a combination of the movie HomeAlone with an age-appropriate Star Wars conflict for young middle-schoolers! I loved it even though I am in my sixth decade.
Zero, our hero, is a fourteen-year-old kid who is traveling on what appears to me to be a space ark with his family. He was supposed to be in stasis for a hundred years with all of the other passengers in suspended animation, watched over by a charming AI and one crew member. However, Zero mysteriously finds himself awakened after only a month of travel while everyone else is still asleep. They haven't even left the solar system yet! Fortunately, he remembers a great deal from the science tour the ship's engineer had given him, plus the AI helps him. And where is the watchman crew member? He is missing!
For awhile, Zero puts aside his worries and has some fun. I won't spoil too much if I hint he finds the junk food and spray paint lockers...
; )
However, the sweet teen man-cave Zero is making of parts of the huge ark transport is cut short by a shocking development! Pirates! The AI shows him an unauthorized ship is breaking through the computer's protective codes which keep the docking bays locked! From the sound of their communications, these pirates are mean and nasty!
Zero is just a little kid! What can he do? A lot, as it turns out....
Gentle reader, the four-hour narration seemed much shorter in listening time than it was! This is an exciting boy vs. pirate family thriller! Some of the science of space travel is simply but accurately explained, placed appropriately without distracting from the fast-moving action. I highly recommend this space adventure!
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected for a middle grade book. For a story that is basically Home Alone meets Passenger, Dan Wells writes a credible science fiction adventure, starring a personable twelve-year-old protagonist.
"Zero" (his nickname, because he doesn't like his given name) is one of twenty-thousand people being put in stasis for Earth's first interstellar colony. The ship will be sent on a 105 year journey to a habitable planet 20 light years away, and Zero and his family will "wake up" as if it were the next day, ready to start colonizing. Except there is a malfunction in his stasis pod, and he wakes up alone on a ship that has been abandoned by its pilot. The ship's AI is only moderately helpful, Zero gets to blow up some asteroids, and then space pirates out around the Kuiper Belt try to hijack the ship, and Zero has to fend them off. Of course the pirates include a spunky girl Zero's age.
Being written at the middle grade level, the story requires a few suspensions of disbelief, but the science is not completely implausible and the characters are credible if juvenile. Like Macauley Culkin, Zero sneaks around aboard the ship, setting up traps for the bad guys, who while a bit comical will definitely kill him if they catch him. Their motivations are not completely silly, and the story hummed along.
Is this a worthy heir to the Heinlein juveniles I loved in my youth? It's a bit more juvenile than those, but both the science and the characters are a lot more contemporary, and I really enjoyed listening to this despite the fact that it's a kid's story. I highly recommend it for any budding SF fans.
This is a middle-grade, science fiction story about a kid versus an entire ship of space pirates. Zero is one of many individuals aboard a spaceship on it's way to colonize a new planet. While everyone is sleeping safely in their stasis pods, Zero's malfunctions and he is woken up only weeks into century -long the trip. Bad turns worse when a ship of space pirates hijacks the spaceship. It is up to Zero to stop them.
While I enjoy science fiction and middle grade, I did not go into this expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Zero is such a smart and brave and fun narrative. The story has many funny, serious, and heart-warming moments.
Plus the audio book has a full cast that was just amazing.
This one is such a gem, about Zero, the kid that goes with his parents and siblings to a ship where they will sleep in pods for 105 years until they arrive to a new planet to colonize it.
However, his pod is malfunctioning and he wakes up after only 28 days of stasis. The things get creepier when a set of space pirates come on the ship and wants to steal it.
The story was amazing and the ending is so sweet that I had tears in my eyes with joy.
5 Stars for Cast of Narrators & Production Team 4 Stars for Story
Great space adventure story about a kid named Zero. A malfunction caused Zero to be awakened from his pod early. A carefree exploration of the ship turns into a dangerous attempt to save the ship from pirates. Cool tidbits about space and life in on a ship are threaded into the story. A clever tale that kept me entertained from start to finish.
This one was different from what I usually hear, but it was awesome actually.
I did have my doubts at first but zero's story prove me wrong, it was exciting and edgy.
a pretty good deal for a sci-fi book. I'm actually wanting more of this to know what happened with zero and nyx at the end.
The very idea was super cool and the more I heard the more I couldn't stop and it was fun too, with all the things going on for this kid in that spaceship.
I ran out of Audible credits and saw an SF book being offered for free to members, so I downloaded it. The intended target is young, and the plot is a Die Hard, Home Alone, Passengers smash up, but it is a fantastic introduction of common SF themes to young readers (listeners). The bonus is that the performances are good, and it's nice and short.
The kid was as annoyingly cocky as Kevin in Home Alone, and this was the outer space version of said movie. Despite the Kevin-clone, I enjoyed the story. Great audible narration, especially for an audible freebie.