Ambassador 1: Seeing Red
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4.3 • 174 Ratings
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- $0.99
Publisher Description
24 October 2114: the day that shocked the world.
Young diplomat Cory Wilson narrowly escapes death in the assassination of President Sirkonen. No one claims responsibility but there is no doubt that the attack is extraterrestrial.
Cory was meant to start work as a representative to Gamra, the alien organisation that governs the FTL transport network, but now his new job may well be scrapped in anger.
Worse, as Earth uses military force to stop any extraterrestrials coming or leaving, as 200,000 extraterrestrial humans are trapped on Earth, as the largest army in the galaxy prepares to free them by force, only Cory has the experience, language skills and contacts to solve the crime.
But he's broke, out of a job and a long way from Earth.
Customer Reviews
Seeing red
Intricate and intriguing
Glad it is over
Ambassador: Seeing Red suffers from a sluggish plot, but its most glaring weakness is the complete lack of meaningful character development—especially in its protagonist. For someone meant to represent Earth, he defers to alien customs so thoroughly that I often wondered why he was chosen as Earth’s representative at all.
His supposed romance only underscores the problem. The relationship feels hollow from the outset, driven by infatuation without any emotional grounding or believable connection. Rather than forming a genuine partnership, the women around him function mostly as props for his desire, which only emphasizes how thinly written he is. In the end, the protagonist never offers the reader a reason to invest in him, making the story feel even more empty.
Political Sci-Fi! Yes!
It is very nice to read sci-fi that relies on characterization rather than action. There IS action, but only after political intrigue and plotting by all parties force violence to the forefront. Assuming these good points will continue in the following additions in the series, then these well represent an add-on to the genre sorely needed.
I would have preferred a third-person narrative; however, Ms. Jansen does an admirable job of not letting a single POV ruin the depth of others players.