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Spectacular Silver Earthling Kindle Edition

by Mara Lynn Johnstone (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 17 ratings
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Hubcap used to be a rescue bot, getting humans out of every boneheaded scrape imaginable. His new career as a TV star suits him much better: he can poke fun at the humans instead, while harvesting jetpods and tackling alien predators faster than any of them. It doesn't hurt that he's also immune to the mysterious "space frenzy" that keeps sending his coworkers into a froth. The robot worries for his human friends, though he would never admit it. Not when it's much more fun to deploy weapons-grade sass.

 

Making sure the meatheads don't kick the bucket while filming is hard enough, but when a rival show pops up aiming to steal their sponsor, the pressure is on. Hubcap has to film the most spectacular footage yet, while avoiding dangerous wildlife, plantlife, and emotions.

 

The frenzy is getting worse, and this planet might not be uninhabited after all. The entire galaxy is watching. Time is short. But if anyone is up to the task, it's the robot with skills second to none, and an ego to match.

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  1. Print length
    350 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Reality Collision Publishing
  5. Publication date
    July 7, 2022
  6. File size
    836 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mara Lynn Johnstone grew up in a house on a hill, of which the top floor was built first. With a lifelong interest in fiction, she has published several books and many short stories. She can be found up trees, in bookstores, lost in thought, and at MaraLynnJohnstone.com

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B5YV1QCZ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Reality Collision Publishing (July 7, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 7, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 836 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 350 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 17 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Mara Lynn Johnstone

Mara Lynn Johnstone

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Mara Lynn Johnstone grew up in a house on a hill, of which the top floor was built first. She split her time between climbing trees, drawing fantastical things, reading books, and writing her own. There may have been an imaginary friend or ten. She went on to gain a Master's Degree in creative writing, a husband, a son, and two laptop-loving cats. She enjoys writing, drawing, and spending hours discussing made-up things. See more at MaraLynnJohnstone.com

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
17 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Arlene J. Medder
5.0 out of 5 stars It's All About the Ratings, Or Is It?
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2022
Verified Purchase
Balancing exciting, informational, and safety is a delicate matter. You want exciting enough to pull viewers, enough information to attract job applicants so people will cooperate with being filmed, and safe enough no one dies, or is badly injured. It helps to have a wise cracking former rescue robot as a co-host.

Hubcap is one of the robots recently made citizens. He immediately retired from rescue work and landed this job as co-host. He likes his coworkers, even as he mocks them for being vulnerable meatbags, and worries about their safety.

Doing exciting jobs like piloting jetpods is one thing, but there is also the frenzy. No one knows how or why, but sometimes people in space just max out an emotion. Anger can lead to fights, fear can lead to flight or fetal position and the only thing that helps is to be sedated.

I enjoyed the characters and the world building. The premise of a reality show similar to Dirty Jobs but for jobs in space or on other planets both to entertain viewers, which makes the show sponsors happy, and to attract applicants, which make the companies hosting them happy, seems believable and makes for a good story.

The point of view switched between the two co-hosts and readers get human and not exactly human viewpoints. There are also the aliens. But spoilers.
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GameTheory
4.0 out of 5 stars Rollicking is the word
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2022
Verified Purchase
I picked this one up after having met the author in a group and gave it a read while I was on my treadmill, there's a lot to recommend here, unique worldbuilding and a lot of action. Honestly it reminds me of Christopher Stasheff's rollicking good flowing style, I really liked it. The only thing holding it back in my view is that the story seems to 'rush' a little, from one thing to the next. But I all in all, I really liked it and would buy another book by this author in the future. 4.5 stars out of 5 in my opinion.
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Clicker
5.0 out of 5 stars I MEANT TO WRITE THIS A YEAR AGO
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2023
I read this a year ago and it's still one of my favorite books. It was delightfully hilarious, the worldbuilding was Ingenius, I got unnecessarily sad at least three times, and Hubcap is still one of my favorite characters, It was also giving me some nostalgia from the slight 'Dirty Jobs' vibes I was getting from it. Absolutely a wonderful read!
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W.A. Stanley
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful fusion of science fiction and humour
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2022
I received an advance reader copy of Spectacular Silver Earthling for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Some books' titles grab your attention and plaster a smile on your face, and Spectacular Silver Earthling by Mara Lynn Johnstone is one such book. Together with its cover of said spectacular silver earthling riding a creature bearing a resemblance to a pterodactyl while others attempt to restrain it as others film the chaos, this is a book that beckons to be read.

While you should never judge a book by its cover (or even its title), the smile the title elicited continued as I started reading the book, and remained on my face until the very end. If I were to sum up the book in a single word, it would be "fun." Whether it's the characters, the plot, the world or the humour, Spectacular Silver Earthling is a joy to read, told with a freewheeling nature that is completely fun.

Set in the future, where humanity has taken to the stars and televises them with intergalactic wildlife TV shows, this novel tells the story of Hubcap, an egotistical robot and host of one such TV show. In order to keep the sponsors happy and ensure his show stays on the air, Hubcap and his crew must film footage that will capture the audience's attention, which sets them off on an adventure that sees them exploring mysterious areas and meeting alien species.

The book's humour runs through its characters and the snark they bring to their situations. This book is funny, and the comedy is successful throughout the book's entirety. It is filled with amusing descriptioms, one-liners and banter.

The banter is an absolute joy, and moves at a rapid-fire pace. Hubcap is a larger-than-life character with an ego to match, and yet, through the humour, he remains relatable. The other characters are dialled down a notch from him, but still shine. Hubcap is undoubtedly the protagonist, but the rest of the book's sizable cast gets their due.

Given the amount of banter, dialogue plays a huge part in the book, resulting in a style that is very dialogue-heavy. If you enjoy reading a healthy amount of dialogue with characters verbally sparring with one another, you'll be delighted. The dialogue is full of wit and the characters all sound unique, with their own way of speaking, whether they be robot, human or alien.

The sci-fi elements are great, whether it's in relation to an alien location, its creatures, or the aliens, and the author presents all of these uniquely. They are written with a sense of wonder, while grounded enough to feel like they could exist within our universe.

As dialogue-heavy as the book is, the author uses prose effectively. In scenes filled predominantly with dialogue, the prose is sparing but still conveys the necessary information about the characters and setting. In these instances, the prose is is used economically, doing more with fewer words. In scenes with less dialogue, the world is painted in lush, vivid detail.

Whether it's poking fun at television or exploring alien worlds, Spectacular Silver Earthling brings a sense of joyous fun. Hubcap's snarky sense of humour is great and bounces off the other characters beautifully. If you're a fan of humour novels or science fiction, you'll find a thoroughly enjoyable book. If you're a fan of both, you'll find it infuses these brilliantly, for a truly unique experience.
One person found this helpful
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NorCal Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars A sci-fi romp
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2022
Spectacular Silver Earthling is a sci-fi romp on an alien planet, with a quirky robot named Hubcap as our narrator. There are a few sharp-intake-of-breath moments when the action really picks up, and some introspective moments when Hubcap realizes he's not as detached as his programming had led him to believe.
This is a satisfying light read for adults, and appropriate for YA readers (no foul language or sex).
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