I devoured this book on audible during my Walt walks. I put aside all podcasts and focused just on this because it hooked me in immediately.
It's a classic existential threat to humanity and planet earth fiction novel. It gets really good when the protagonist meets an alien while he's on the suicide mission he was forced into, without his approval.
The description of how a human would have to "learn" to communicate with an alien with it's own unique culture, language, and biology far different from ours was very well thought out.
The whole thing was captivating from the beginning.
And of course, it was filled with feel good moments as the relationship between Rocky and our human protagonist deepens.
It was quite a ride, from the story of how the main character ends up on this suicide mission, the specific existential threat facing planet Earth, the solution discovered by Rocky (the alien) and the human by working together, and the end.
There's always something hooking you into the next chapter to see what happens next.
Highly recommended. Walt got a big more walking time because of this one!