Date Night on Union Station (EarthCent Ambassador Book 1) Kindle Edition

My review actually encompasses books 1–13 (I’m about to begin #14), and would give them 4 1/2 stars overall. I read a lot of science fiction including military sci-fi, dystopian sci-fi, sci-fi/fantasy (and everything in between), so this book’s synopsis intrigued me. Straight sci-fi gets to be a little much sometimes—long and drawn out; I have to be in the right mood to read some of the sci-fi tomes and/or series. This whole series takes away the tediousness of trying to understand the whys and wherefores of space travel, warring aliens flying through space with the sole purpose of annihilating another species, and all the other horrible things that can happen in the void of space. These books are refreshing in that the humans are not at the top of the species pecking order in space, but life is kept on a fairly even keel by the Stryx, the AI that own and run the station (and most things on it) on which the books take place. The humans are one of the newest species to join the Stryx tunnel network that connects its member species. They are generally tolerated by the other alien species because they pose no threat to their technology, which far surpasses human’s, plus the human lifespan is MUCH shorter generally by hundreds of years.Each book tells a completely unique story that includes many of the same characters, but with new ones added to each. We watch the characters grow in their chosen fields, marry and have children, and rise in the estimation of the other aliens as they learn more, and share more of value, often with surprising outcomes. This may all sound rather dull, but each book makes me laugh...a lot! E.M. Foner has done an excellent job of incorporating ideas and situations that could easily be found almost anywhere currently on earth, with the twist that it’s often happening to or because of a space alien. I’ve introduced the books to a friend, and she loves them too. They’re an easy read, and always leave me wanting to find out what adventures will be happening in the next one, and how the protagonist’s lives have changed (each successive book will usually jump a few years in the storyline). If you want a fun read without blood, guts, blasters or fearsome aliens trying to kill everyone in sight, then I would highly recommend this series.

After 15 years as acting Earth diplomat on Union Station, a far-flung outpost maintained by the Stryx, the race that rescued humanity from space-faring obscurity, Kelly Frank is tired of her vague job description, inadequate pay and the ever-present fear of being locked out of her apartment due to ever-increasing debt. With every collect-call from her mother she questions her career decisions.When Kelly is gifted a subscription to the station-run dating service, Eemas, it is a complete surprise that she consents to go through with it, given her luck.But a girl’s luck is bound to change at some point…isn’t it?Date Night on Union Station follows the trajectories of Kelly and Joe, two unwitting victims of the dating service A.I. who, in addition to their efforts to successfully navigate life far from home, are destined to have some very memorable (that is putting it kindly) blind dates.Date Night on Union Station is a fun, sweet, romantic comedy set in a place that is both alien and yet strangely familiar. E.M. Foner has penned a clever, witty story that is a cozy introduction to the genre for those unfamiliar with science fiction, and a welcome shot of optimism for those who need a vacation from post-apocalyptic angst.If this sounds appealing, follow along while I gush in a brief, non-spoiler fashion while also confronting my hard-to-kill Book Snobbery.I have a long-standing tradition of judging books by their covers. Over many decades it is a quirk that has served me well, which has only served to reinforce the habit. It is poor (by my standards) cover art that has informed a great deal of my prejudice towards self-published books and my tendency to look only to major publishing houses and well-respected small press publishers to meet my genre fiction needs. When I first saw the cover of Date Night on Union Station, my initial impressions were not favorable. Judging solely by the cover, my assumptions tended towards a story about naughty human-robot relations. Those assumptions were wrong.On his Amazon webpage, author E.M. Foner writes:"I wrote Date Night on Union Station while taking a break from work on a science fiction epic I’ve been struggling with for years. The goal was to cheer myself up and to find out if there is still an audience for a science fiction comedy that gets its laughs from dialogue and funny situations rather than from gross-outs and shocks.As many readers have pointed out, the EarthCent series could be rated PG under the old fashioned system, no bloodshed, no graphic sex, no four letter words. And after years of imagining a galaxy for my epic in which multiple human civilizations are at war with each other, it did me a world of good to write about a galaxy where most people are just trying to make a living and find some joy in life."That last phrase is the perfect synopsis of Date Night on Union Station…it is about characters trying to make a living and find some joy in life.I saw this book being discussed by members of an online science fiction book club to which I belong, and it sounded interesting. This is the same group who assigned the original “Wool” short story as a weekly selection several years back which prompted me to read, and fall strongly for, the rest of Hugh Howey’s novel. The recommendation of these readers and the fact that the book is currently available for free prompted me to give it a try, and I’m so glad that I did.It grabbed me.I liked Kelly Frank from the very start, and my engagement with her, and with Joe McAllister, and with the peripheral characters of the novel, continued to grow as I read on. Date Night on Union Station is a comedy, true, but it is of the witty variety rather than the laugh out loud variety…at least that was my experience (though I did laugh out loud once, prompting my wife to ask what I found so funny). I enjoy the rare farce, but this wasn’t one and I was grateful for that.As I read Forner’s story I realized that there were elements in his work that were similar to those that I have enjoyed in Alex Scarrow’s Ellie Quin series. The characters are a little quirky, and yet easy to relate to, and the author populates his science fiction universe with all sorts of interesting details that make the world fun. Those details reveal a history for the characters and the world they populate.Astute readers will quickly divine the path on which the protagonists tread, and their hopes for both Kelly and Joe will project an assumed outcome for the story. Trust me, that really doesn’t take anything away from the story, it actually adds to the story’s enjoyment. For along the way both characters will have interesting experiences that not only showcase Forner’s sense of humor, but also introduce intriguing information about the Stryx and their relationship towards the people of Earth.One of the more entertaining parts of the story for me was the way in which one of my favorite musicals, My Fair Lady, inspires a couple of preadolescent girls to become entrepeneurs. Something about their scheme called to mind the brothers in Robert A. Heinlein’s novel, The Rolling Stones.As I turned the final virtual page of Date Night on Union Station, I had a big smile on my face and a tear in my eye (I really am a sappy reader), for I both enjoyed the story and knew that I could venture further into Forner’s world with the next chapter in the EarthCent series. Foner writes:"I received so many requests to extend the Date Night universe into a series that I put aside my epic for an extended period to write a sequel, Alien Night on Union Station. The events take place five years after the conclusion of Date Night, and the plot involves a mix of business, diplomacy, gaming and family relations. As a bonus, we finally get to meet Kelly’s mother."I do not have any illusions that this experience, any more than my experience with the work of Hugh Howey or Alex Scarrow, will eradicate my prejudices against self-published works and the cover art that brands them as such. It has, however, made me aware of the work of E.M. Foner.And that is a start.

I discovered the EarthCent series almost exactly two months ago. In that time I kept buying book after book. I read at lunch time and often in the evenings, after work. I cannot remember when I last devoured a series of books. 21 BOOKS IN TWO MONTHS. 17 on Union Station or Flower, three in a totally different world, and one that was more fantasy than sci-fi. It will be difficult to wait for more. The stories are engaging. The characters are extremely relatable. And, it is so refreshing to not have to solve galaxy-destroying mysteries, or read about last minute Herculean measures to save the protagonist. If you want to start a new series with an unfamiliar author, I cannot recommend E. M. Foner highly enough.

I've been reading sci-fi for far to many years and so many books, especially in recent years, are cynical and full of grit. This is perfectly fine but the EarthCent Ambassador series was an absolute breath of fresh air when I discovered them a year ago. Over a few months I read everything EM Foner has published and am anxiously awaiting new material.Without spoiling anything, this book is near Earth future where a benevolent, near godly advanced AI has sponsored humanity into an FTL network and league of sentients. As the newest species on the block the Ambassador must establish human relations with various species and also her own life and relationships.The interspecies relationships are well thought out and hint at a far bigger galaxy than the relatively safe FTL network controlled by the Stryx.Based on previous experience you might think there are dark motives at play, but this is a light and fun read so don't overthink things, just enjoy.

Bought initially for a 4 month stint away from home with work and a lot of time on my hands as a light read between “worthier” books, and I bought all 12 (now 13 as one published shortly after my purchase). The first book is very much a primer for setting the scene and the lynchpin character, with the following books adding characters to the family and expanding the range of “problems” addressed. Some people have compared the humour to Pratchett, but I would have to disagree. The humour is not the sardonic humour of Discworld, nor the more madcap humour of Douglas Adams, but is an altogether gentler and more whimsical tone than Pratchett’s penetrating social commentary or Adams’s dizzying flights of intellectual hopscotch. The humour is certainly there, but it relies upon your understanding of the context and taking the next step yourself, rather than serving it up with a fanfare. There are no gigantic set-piece battles with the fate of Empires hanging on the actions of stern heroines, nor are there humble but amazingly powerful supernaturals banishing daemons and conniving faeries (both tropes which I enjoy and devour), but each subsequent book gently and humorously introduce plot devices that pose a question (or more) about society and relationships and perceptions and gives just enough of an answer to leave you expanding upon question yourself. Sounds awfully worthy and portentous, doesn’t it, but that is more because of my poor wordsmithing rather than any fault in the book. I found myself initially reading without paying much attention, but then becoming more and more intruiged with where the background action was going. The foreground stories are fun enough, but it is in what is not explicitly said in the scenery that captured my attention enough to finish my 12 books in 5 days. Very much a series for those who quietly question and wonder, and not for those who trumpet and bluster. It has aroused my curiosity, and I look forward to seeing which gentle nudgings are yet to come.

It's a rare moment when an old SF reader discovers a really good writer that they'd never heard of before. This is what happened when I opened "Date Night." The novel traces the struggles of the hapless but likeable Kelly both to hold together her job as Acting Ambassador, despite her title being read as "Pretending to be ambassador" by half the aliens on the station, and get a successful date while not being thrown out of her apartment.There are some luminous descriptions here, the girl wearing "too much makeup and not enough dress" is typical of the brilliant images that fill the pages. The aliens are really alien, not just dressed humans, and the crises Kelly faces, from counterfeit nutcrackers and predatory flower girls to the string of catastrophic dates, make the reader alternately gasp and giggle.More important is the genuine affection the characters have for one another, something sadly lacking from much modern SF. This draws the reader in and generates genuine engagement with the story. It's a very enjoyable read, and technically it's good SF- the tech is well thought out.I expect to buy the rest of the series over the next few months.

at first i kept seeing the advert for this book and thought that i would just give it a chance.i started reading it by the pool on a holiday just a couple of pages... finished that Evening and i am a slow reader, its gentle, comedic, with twists that leave you thinking well what next, the world ( the union station ) invented here is political with strange alien races who think that the primitive humans are there to be taken advantage of, the races are well described and for the most part easily understood, all carefully placed within the story, if you want a gentle, s.f. this is definitely for you, it has romance, intrigue, and it is a page turner-I had bought the next two in the series before i had finished the first - very highly recommended - try it and you will not regret the purchase

It's clever, it's funny, its sci-fi, it's believableWhat's not to like?The galaxy is dominated by the Stryx. A benign alien intelligence, because... But that would be a spoilerKathy is the Earth ambassador to the multi-entity space station. Her life is a mess but she is good at her job. But her dates keep going wrong, because...And Joe is an ex mercenary dealer in scrap metal. Because...Oh just buy it!

While not exactly 'laugh out load' the humour did raise a wry smile. The antics of two small girls in the midst of all that was happening to the story's heroine was amusing.Overall, I found the book very interesting. There are some very neat story lines in here that I've not read before and the way these were played out to a conclusion was very engaging for me.Once I got into the story, about 3 pages in, I was actually really enjoying it. As the story and background unfolded my enjoyment only increased.I found the writing style to be gentle, even fluid. The descriptions were tight and focussed, not many wasted words or pointless phrases used at all. I found the characters to be solid and persistent. The individuals didn't vary between types throughout the story, no sudden changes of heart or mind. A nice level of consistency I thought.The world/universe was highly engaging too, well though out, well described and well maintained making it come across as actually believable in all.Will I buy any more from this series? Hmm, probably. I did enjoy reading this one after all.