Arrival

I enjoyed Arrival. The science and technology was mostly believable and interesting. The story and characters were enjoyable. I am a true hard SF fan and liked the many technology descriptions. I had a bit of a hard time with the telepathy. Clearly it was just a plot device, but I don't think it was needed. A whiteboard could have done the trick. The explanation of an epigenetic "virus" was good, but I nearly threw my kindle against a wall when that "vrus" almost became midichlorians. I am glad he took it no closer to star wars than he did.

In answer to the initial post. The good doctor found a "vaccine" that the other colonists used to protect themselves from the transformation. Still, a planet with an epigenetic means of co-opting any similar alien DNA and making it conform begs exploration. Were the blue bipeds descended from previous visitors from elsewhere? If so will our colonists meet them someday?

Yes, aside from a short star wars distraction, I found this to be good and fun read. Please keep up the good work Ryk.

Mark, ever curious.

Great story! I'm a hard SF fan; no supernatural witches and goblins for me. I will occasionally read a shoot-em-up space war novel if the writing is good and the characters are well-developed. But, ARRIVAL is the type of novel I crave. I love discovering new and different worlds. First contact, whether it is with a new environment or other "people" is always an exciting adventure. I love the process of various characters developing all types of relationships, dealing with challenges, making discoveries by applying their talents skills and knowledge.

ARRIVAL is well-written and has a lot of potential to become the first novel in a great adventure series. Tau Ceti 5 is ripe with mysteries and, discoveries to be made. The crew of the Icarus have many more things to do before the arrival of the Daedalus. And, what will the crew of the Daedalus do when they arrive? What about the epigenitic mystery? Will there be more than one intelligent species on this world? We have only explored one small canyon and made one short trek on this planet. The majority of this world is still undiscovered. So many questions. This book begs for a sequel. When will it be available?

I had a problem with the mutation of jack as well. If this is a problem at a genetic level with an enzyme would a "vaccine" even be possible. You could have a regular injection that neutralized the enzyme but I don't think a vaccine would do it. The placental blood barrier would be a problem. Think blue haired baby monsters.
I also had problems with the operation of the flute. Everytime I shortened a path the pitch went up not down.
Otherwise a really good book. Enjoyed it thoroughly.