Not to bore anyone, but first a bit of my background to explain my point of view regarding this book. I am a daily listener of Jon's morning talk show, and when I heard that he had written a Sci-Fi book, I admit that I did not immediately rush to read it, although it got many positive reviews early on. This is because I primarily read non-fiction. The only author whose works I read regularly is David Gibbins, who writes a series of books which have historical and archaeology-based themes. I have never read much, if anything, by the great Sci-Fi authors Asimov, Heinlen, etc. (gasp!) A friend of mine once convinced me to read a book by John Varley (Titan), but that's pretty much the extent of it. I'm a boomer who watched the original Star Trek and loved Lost In Space. I'm a fan of Tolkien, and have a particular fondness for Lovecraft. I know that Jon is a huge Star Wars fanatic, but I never saw the original in 1977, although I was aware of it at the time. My initiation to SW came with Empire in 1979 (which I still think is the best). The upshot is that Sci-Fi is not anywhere close to my first choice for reading material. But I decided to give Jon a shot.

Comments made by others that one must get past the early part of the book, and the setup of the story, before it really kicks in, are accurate. But once things do get going, this is a very engaging story, and makes for very satisfying and rewarding reading. Because the main characters have unusual names (but perhaps not for their time?), it took me a while until their personalities were fleshed out before I began to warm up to them. The dialogue is natural, and Jon has a good grasp on creating suspense. I will not give out any spoilers for those who have yet to read the book, but I will say that some of the plot twists toward the end of the story caught me completely by surprise (as I assume they are intended to; right, Jon?).

I can only imagine what a thrill this book will be to real Sci-Fi fans. I am going to start Book 2 later today. This is absolutely a story I want to hear more of. And knowing that Jon is working on Book 3 gives me yet more to look forward to. I kind of hope that Jon doesn't end this series as a trilogy; I'm hooked.

I do have some minor issues with the editing, but that's probably just the grammarian in me, and these do not detract from the story in any way.

The only other comment I have is that I would love to see more graphics and illustrations to accompany these books. Perhaps one (or more) of Jon's listeners will do some fan art. I also suggest that fans do a Google search for the artwork for the covers, if they haven't already.

This book has qualities of a sci-fi film or screenplay. I feel like that may be what the author had in mind, but maybe not. The scene-building is solid. I feel like there could have been a lot more descriptive writing; but if you just pretend it's a movie, it's fine. It's light and straightforward reading.

I liked the main romance subplot. It was tasteful and reassuring to my inner romantic.

There is depth enough in the narrative to have plot twists and interesting things happening. At the end of this book, I was sort of surprised it ended so early. I'm looking forward to the next book.

This is a good one. Take your time with it because there is a lot of description and technical stuff to remember. Its like taking the SAT's all over again. It's fun.

If you can overlook the massive amount of editing errors and the rampant overuse of the quasi-religious "for a reason" mantra, it would be a 5 star story. I can't do either, so 3 stars it is.

A fresh and fun sci-fi world with excellent pacing and believable world building.

Embark has all the high stakes drama of a great space opera with none of the pretension. The characters are relatable, and likeable.

While the villains actions are truly evil, there is a well defined, albeit twisted logic driving them.

The heroes are realistic, no Mary Sue here.

Would love to see this receive movie treatment.

Cannot wait for more from this author.

The book was an enjoyable read. The first few chapters were a little tedious as the technology, culture, history, and characters were explained. Once the background was established the book became quite enjoyable. If you like space fantasy, action, and adventure you should find this entertaining.

I am a listener of the radio show that the author hosts. It was interesting to see how he wove some of his quirks and personality into the story. That added an extra dimension for me.

The book left me waiting for the sequel. I hope that the book experiences enough success to encourage Jon to continue the story.

I've always liked good science fiction space operas, and EMBARK did not disappoint! It does take a few chapters to get going, but many books are like that when building a new world/universe. Once the characters and environments are established, the events really get going and the action is non-stop through to the last page! Jon does an amazing job on both the written and spoken versions of his first foray into authorship. I highly recommend this to any sci-fi fan of almost every age group. To put a movie rating on it, I'd probably go with a PG-13, but it's probably appropriate for any kids over 12.

Well developed characters and the story truly holds the reader's interest. Very nice tribute to Jerry Doyle, aka Michael Garibaldi. The "podcast" section at the beginning is the only slow part of the read but provides good history and background for the story. Eagerly moving on to the next book in the series. Hope Drew and Sam read if they haven't already.

I like to read new authors of sci-fi , but I didn't pick up that this novel is aimed at a teenage / young adult readership . Another 3 * reviewer , LOREN , pointed out a number of inconsistancies that occur in this story , but I would like to add the one where they arrive at a decommissioned Moonbase , look in the only closed door [ which was in a warehouse ] and lo and behold --- a modified space ship , fully fueled , fully armed and even with a door open for them to enter and NO pesky AI to tell them to bog off ! WOW wasn't that just likely to happen ??

The writing was adequate but a good author can entice you into a story and suddenly you realise your at page 50 / 100 and didn't notice the time passing . Unfortunately I found that I was having to work at reading the story to get to page 50 . So I managed to read to 60 % but by then had had enough .

I think the author must be an American redneck or , at least closet redneck , as he seemed quite happy to show a utopian world were so much military firepower was openly available to young people , who also did not have those nuisances called parents telling them to clean up their bedrooms .

I think I must have graduated to OLD man status , and I'm only 75 . Life sucks sometimes .

Really liked this book! Looking forward to continuing the series to follow Kay and Taft on their journey to the stars.

Little slow to start but gets into it later

How come all English first names have disappeared? For centuries we have used well estahlished first names but the author has decided to make up all these confusing names that detract from this schoolboy yarn. Read 6 chapters and bowed out.

Science Fiction/Space Opera. I liked this story because I didn't get mired down in impossible to understand technology! An easy to read (debut novel I believe) with likeable characters and an unmuddled main plot and a romantic subplot (which for me, was possibly introduced a bit too early on in a book that is the first in a series). Of particular note was good development of the storyline; the author kept things moving from the outset and by the conclusion all parts, people, plot, technology had grown since their introduction. The sign of good storytelling. I'm interested to see how the story arc develops in the next instalment.

Get Embark and be entertained. Recommended.