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A Larger Universe
A five-thousand-meter starship; a dying civilization; an ancient evil
The broadcast interview of a young computer prodigy attracts the attention of aliens aboard an interstellar trading ship. The kidnapping of Tommy (and his cat) begins an adventure among the a coming of age story entangled with computers, and faster-than-light travel.
On board the starship, Tommy meets a crew of humans, descended from peasants, priests, and soldiers taken from Earth a thousand years before, slaves to the seldom-seen aliens, the Nesu, inhabiting the upper third of the ship.
Tommy is expected to replace the ancient and failing computers on the ship with computers taken from Earth, beginning with the long-dead missile controller, without which the ship is defenseless.
But the Nesu are themselves refugees from another alien civilization that, fifteen hundred years before, destroyed the Nesu home world and now block all scientific advancement in the local arm of the galaxy.
A high-tech, science fiction adventure.
The broadcast interview of a young computer prodigy attracts the attention of aliens aboard an interstellar trading ship. The kidnapping of Tommy (and his cat) begins an adventure among the a coming of age story entangled with computers, and faster-than-light travel.
On board the starship, Tommy meets a crew of humans, descended from peasants, priests, and soldiers taken from Earth a thousand years before, slaves to the seldom-seen aliens, the Nesu, inhabiting the upper third of the ship.
Tommy is expected to replace the ancient and failing computers on the ship with computers taken from Earth, beginning with the long-dead missile controller, without which the ship is defenseless.
But the Nesu are themselves refugees from another alien civilization that, fifteen hundred years before, destroyed the Nesu home world and now block all scientific advancement in the local arm of the galaxy.
A high-tech, science fiction adventure.
358 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 17, 2010
19 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 30, 2018
I heard that this writer's goal was to produce a book in the vein of Robert Heinlein. I grew up on Robert Heinlein. He is the reason I read all the science fiction I have time for. Gillaspy was successful. I have recommended this book to my grandson, hoping that he will get the same kickstart, into science fiction, that I did at his age. An enjoyable read for me. I am looking forward to the sequel . . . If you're reading this, James, please don't pull a George R. R. Martin, and keep us waiting for years and years. I may be getting too old for that.
Bottom line: If you haven't had the opportunity to read this book, and you enjoy seeing humans succeed in galactic civilization, read it today!
Bottom line: If you haven't had the opportunity to read this book, and you enjoy seeing humans succeed in galactic civilization, read it today!
August 6, 2019
This book has been on my Kindle for years. Nowadays, I never would have given it a chance; in the age of self-publishing, you can tell a book by the cover. That cover is clearly self-made, and poorly at that.
Almost from the start of this book, I kept saying I should stop reading it and move on to something else. But the reviews of it mentioned a number of plot points that sounded interesting, so I kept going and going and going.
The plot is about a teenage boy, who on Earth is a computer prodigy. An alien species is having trouble with the computers that ran their spaceships, and since no one in the entire space-going species could fix them, they kidnapped the kid from Earth to repair them... As if that wasn't bad enough, this kid is way, way smarter than all of these space-going people. The whole story was about how he knew more than them, was using that knowledge to undermine them (an intent to take over, I think), was better than them, etc.
At each turn, the way the author handled those plot points completed disappointed me. His writing was just so... basic. Flat. Unimaginative. I kept thinking "It would be such a cool plot twist if the character did (this)!" but instead the author took the most simple, basic, expected route.
Add onto that that the author kept adding braindumps of tech-talk. Pages of explaining how computer networks work. How programs work. How computer OSes work. The author said he added them on purpose, but he really needed an editor to tell him to cut them out -- they did nothing but bog down the story.
Almost from the start of this book, I kept saying I should stop reading it and move on to something else. But the reviews of it mentioned a number of plot points that sounded interesting, so I kept going and going and going.
The plot is about a teenage boy, who on Earth is a computer prodigy. An alien species is having trouble with the computers that ran their spaceships, and since no one in the entire space-going species could fix them, they kidnapped the kid from Earth to repair them... As if that wasn't bad enough, this kid is way, way smarter than all of these space-going people. The whole story was about how he knew more than them, was using that knowledge to undermine them (an intent to take over, I think), was better than them, etc.
At each turn, the way the author handled those plot points completed disappointed me. His writing was just so... basic. Flat. Unimaginative. I kept thinking "It would be such a cool plot twist if the character did (this)!" but instead the author took the most simple, basic, expected route.
Add onto that that the author kept adding braindumps of tech-talk. Pages of explaining how computer networks work. How programs work. How computer OSes work. The author said he added them on purpose, but he really needed an editor to tell him to cut them out -- they did nothing but bog down the story.
August 29, 2012
I saw an advertisement for "A Larger Universe" on my Kindle. At first I thought it was a space fact book or picture book, then I read a few lines of the summary and thought "I've got to read that". Affordable through a Kindle deal, I bumped it up to the top of my reading list.
SUMMARY
Tommy Yates is a genius thirteen year old programmer who has just earned millions of dollars by developing advanced video encryption software. Before he can enjoy his money (and the headaches accompanying it), he is abducted by a strange, pigmy people who live within a dark, enclosed environment and expect him to work in the stables.
Tommy soon learns that he has actually been abducted by aliens who rule over human slaves and fly from world to world trading goods and scrounging to survive. Tommy's knowledge of computers advances him through the ranks of slaves and masters alike, until the fate of all life aboard the ship, as well as all humans on Earth, rest in his hands.
OVERALL: 3.4 out of 5
I thought that this book was a fun and interesting adventure. It's always great to see a character use his brains (and strength) to overcome the odds and come out victorious.
It's very technical though, particularly regarding Tommy's deciphering of alien programming languages. While I had some grasp of the mechanics behind things, other readers might find it easy to get lost and lose interest as several paragraphs are devoted to the "bare bones" of the technology.
There are also some really good human elements in this story. Tommy is just a kid thrust into this situation, and later he is given a slave of his own, Sisle, who rouses his maturing, male hormones in ways he doesn't understand. It's funny, real, and touching at the same time as he tries to connect with this girl who comes from such a totally different background.
I had hoped this would make a good story for my son (a science fiction Harry Potter), and there are great things for younger readers in this book, but I think there's enough mature content to make it more suited to teenagers than kids.
The ending almost felt cheating; it's a bit of a cliffhanger, and I will now have to buy another book to find out what Tommy decides to do. I don't think that's necessarily fair to the reader (i.e. I paid for a story, and this story doesn't have a proper ending), but there's enough good stuff here to justify buying a sequel.
RATINGS BY CATEGORY
CHARACTERS: 3 out of 5
Most of the characters move in and out of the story, and do little more than their jobs. The primary characters are Tommy, Lord Ull (Tommy's alien patron, in a way), and Sisle, a female human warrior slave who is given to Tommy (after he is a few years older but still doesn't know what to do with her).
Tommy's growth is literally forced upon him; he is placed in a situation where he can either progress or die. Later on he has options and makes choices, but initially he is put in an impossible situation. This serves the story well, and helps the reader believe that Tommy has the strength and imagination to overcome the trials that come later. He feels like a real kid.
Lord Ull is a curious creation. She is at once cruel, intelligent, unimaginative, honorable, callous, and prone to giving up. She probably has one of the most interesting character arcs I have ever read without actually changing very much. She does fade from the scene toward the end, which is unfortunate.
Sisle is not even introduced into midway through the book, which does not serve her character. She develops quickly, and I liked her character, but I felt like something was missing. I am not sure what.
PACE: 4 out of 5
This book is a good length, and initially when Tommy is working in stables and surrounded by pigmies, I began to get a little bored. Then he is "promoted" and the reason for his abduction is explained, and things get really interesting.
The pace and book structure could be called a "climbing the ladder" story. Tommy goes from a poor crying kid who doesn't understand what is happening (or why) to advancing in skill, prestige, and ideas. Although only a couple of things ever go wrong for him, it still keeps things interesting and moving forward.
STORY: 3 out of 5
From the short summary I read before I bought the book, I thought this might be a slightly more adventurous, dashing, even swashbuckling adventure among the stars. It's actually more of a "corporate growth" story, as Tommy founds his own "business" aboard the alien spaceship and makes himself indispensable to everyone around him.
Don't get me wrong, the story is very enjoyable, and it's quality "starship sci-fi". There are a couple of big battles, a faster-than-light "transit" that brings them out too close to a star or nova, and a final desperate tactic to evade undefeatable aliens that is both brilliant and logically plausible as the story presents it.
DIALOGUE: 2 out of 5
The dialogue is always clear, though Tommy in particular frequently speaks in an almost formal vernacular (and not just when speaking in "the lords' language") that kind of stopped things for me. While Tommy feels like a real kid, he frequently doesn't talk like one.
For some reason, I imagined the lords sounding like Falco Lombardi from the original Star Fox video game for Super Nintendo.
STYLE/TECHNICAL: 2 out of 5
Mr. Gillaspy's writing is always clear, though his explanation of many technical aspects, including computers, programming languages, and the physics involved with starship movement can be daunting, particularly to anybody who isn't already a science fiction nerd. A lot of the book is filled with Tommy figuring out things that most of the book's readers probably don't even have a vague grasp of.
SUMMARY
Tommy Yates is a genius thirteen year old programmer who has just earned millions of dollars by developing advanced video encryption software. Before he can enjoy his money (and the headaches accompanying it), he is abducted by a strange, pigmy people who live within a dark, enclosed environment and expect him to work in the stables.
Tommy soon learns that he has actually been abducted by aliens who rule over human slaves and fly from world to world trading goods and scrounging to survive. Tommy's knowledge of computers advances him through the ranks of slaves and masters alike, until the fate of all life aboard the ship, as well as all humans on Earth, rest in his hands.
OVERALL: 3.4 out of 5
I thought that this book was a fun and interesting adventure. It's always great to see a character use his brains (and strength) to overcome the odds and come out victorious.
It's very technical though, particularly regarding Tommy's deciphering of alien programming languages. While I had some grasp of the mechanics behind things, other readers might find it easy to get lost and lose interest as several paragraphs are devoted to the "bare bones" of the technology.
There are also some really good human elements in this story. Tommy is just a kid thrust into this situation, and later he is given a slave of his own, Sisle, who rouses his maturing, male hormones in ways he doesn't understand. It's funny, real, and touching at the same time as he tries to connect with this girl who comes from such a totally different background.
I had hoped this would make a good story for my son (a science fiction Harry Potter), and there are great things for younger readers in this book, but I think there's enough mature content to make it more suited to teenagers than kids.
The ending almost felt cheating; it's a bit of a cliffhanger, and I will now have to buy another book to find out what Tommy decides to do. I don't think that's necessarily fair to the reader (i.e. I paid for a story, and this story doesn't have a proper ending), but there's enough good stuff here to justify buying a sequel.
RATINGS BY CATEGORY
CHARACTERS: 3 out of 5
Most of the characters move in and out of the story, and do little more than their jobs. The primary characters are Tommy, Lord Ull (Tommy's alien patron, in a way), and Sisle, a female human warrior slave who is given to Tommy (after he is a few years older but still doesn't know what to do with her).
Tommy's growth is literally forced upon him; he is placed in a situation where he can either progress or die. Later on he has options and makes choices, but initially he is put in an impossible situation. This serves the story well, and helps the reader believe that Tommy has the strength and imagination to overcome the trials that come later. He feels like a real kid.
Lord Ull is a curious creation. She is at once cruel, intelligent, unimaginative, honorable, callous, and prone to giving up. She probably has one of the most interesting character arcs I have ever read without actually changing very much. She does fade from the scene toward the end, which is unfortunate.
Sisle is not even introduced into midway through the book, which does not serve her character. She develops quickly, and I liked her character, but I felt like something was missing. I am not sure what.
PACE: 4 out of 5
This book is a good length, and initially when Tommy is working in stables and surrounded by pigmies, I began to get a little bored. Then he is "promoted" and the reason for his abduction is explained, and things get really interesting.
The pace and book structure could be called a "climbing the ladder" story. Tommy goes from a poor crying kid who doesn't understand what is happening (or why) to advancing in skill, prestige, and ideas. Although only a couple of things ever go wrong for him, it still keeps things interesting and moving forward.
STORY: 3 out of 5
From the short summary I read before I bought the book, I thought this might be a slightly more adventurous, dashing, even swashbuckling adventure among the stars. It's actually more of a "corporate growth" story, as Tommy founds his own "business" aboard the alien spaceship and makes himself indispensable to everyone around him.
Don't get me wrong, the story is very enjoyable, and it's quality "starship sci-fi". There are a couple of big battles, a faster-than-light "transit" that brings them out too close to a star or nova, and a final desperate tactic to evade undefeatable aliens that is both brilliant and logically plausible as the story presents it.
DIALOGUE: 2 out of 5
The dialogue is always clear, though Tommy in particular frequently speaks in an almost formal vernacular (and not just when speaking in "the lords' language") that kind of stopped things for me. While Tommy feels like a real kid, he frequently doesn't talk like one.
For some reason, I imagined the lords sounding like Falco Lombardi from the original Star Fox video game for Super Nintendo.
STYLE/TECHNICAL: 2 out of 5
Mr. Gillaspy's writing is always clear, though his explanation of many technical aspects, including computers, programming languages, and the physics involved with starship movement can be daunting, particularly to anybody who isn't already a science fiction nerd. A lot of the book is filled with Tommy figuring out things that most of the book's readers probably don't even have a vague grasp of.
September 21, 2017
I will start off to say this book was pretty good – a bit too technical at times – but good all of the same. However, the ending left you hanging with a promise at the end of a sequel titled “An Emergent Universe.” As I type up this review, that promise of a sequel was over six years ago and all references to it have been scrubbed from the author’s website. If you enjoy serial science fiction novels as I do, while the book was good, I wouldn’t read this one as it will just leave you frustrated with an incomplete story.
July 3, 2024
Interesting
I have never a book like this. But I loved it from the very beginning. It is an awesome book.
I have never a book like this. But I loved it from the very beginning. It is an awesome book.
February 8, 2025
Great concept, good storyline, all-in-all a good read.
Great concept, good storyline, all-in-all a good read.
Would welcome a sequal with Tommy gathering all races together to fight a seriously dangerous galactic invasion.
Great concept, good storyline, all-in-all a good read.
Would welcome a sequal with Tommy gathering all races together to fight a seriously dangerous galactic invasion.
January 1, 2013
I just finished this book and am grateful that the writing actually lives up to the online reviews. I have noticed that a number of the self-published books on amazon seem to be have a number of reviews generated solely for buzz and are not something I would ever recommend. This is a light-hearted coming of age story that fits in well with the classic theme of sci-fi that is hard to find lately.
I think in general the tale itself is fairly one-dimensional and not quite fully themed for an adult audience. But it makes a great story for young teenagers and is an enjoyable read for the rest of us. Now that our character has reached his "adulthood" I am interested in how the author will continue, will we see the story become more adult in theme and character or will it stick to the lighthearted "childish" aspect that helps characterize the different players. I find myself curious if Earth is really the only civilization that is concerned with faster computers since you mentioned Moore's law early in the work it seems odd that no other civilizations have a similar technology law or why have the Kadill not told every race to stop such research? If that is the case then just what makes us so much better with computer technology? I think the point of Moore's law at least needs to be addressed not to mention finding out what will happen to the families who have traded with the aliens all along.
As an editing point I will say that I was disappointed in the ending since it just stopped after a sentence and some random numbers. I would at least tack on a short author bio at the end to give it a cover to end the story as it were. I found myself looking through the reviews to make sure my copy wasn't defective and that really was the end. Additionally it can let your readers know about the ability to sign up for the announcement of any future works. I know as an amazon subscriber how hard it can be to sometimes find out that the new title is actually released.
I wish Mr. Gillaspy great luck in his future works and hope his skills continue to improve.
gallandro
I think in general the tale itself is fairly one-dimensional and not quite fully themed for an adult audience. But it makes a great story for young teenagers and is an enjoyable read for the rest of us. Now that our character has reached his "adulthood" I am interested in how the author will continue, will we see the story become more adult in theme and character or will it stick to the lighthearted "childish" aspect that helps characterize the different players. I find myself curious if Earth is really the only civilization that is concerned with faster computers since you mentioned Moore's law early in the work it seems odd that no other civilizations have a similar technology law or why have the Kadill not told every race to stop such research? If that is the case then just what makes us so much better with computer technology? I think the point of Moore's law at least needs to be addressed not to mention finding out what will happen to the families who have traded with the aliens all along.
As an editing point I will say that I was disappointed in the ending since it just stopped after a sentence and some random numbers. I would at least tack on a short author bio at the end to give it a cover to end the story as it were. I found myself looking through the reviews to make sure my copy wasn't defective and that really was the end. Additionally it can let your readers know about the ability to sign up for the announcement of any future works. I know as an amazon subscriber how hard it can be to sometimes find out that the new title is actually released.
I wish Mr. Gillaspy great luck in his future works and hope his skills continue to improve.
gallandro
June 20, 2012
This is definitely a YA book (whatever YA means to you). The plot and characters are nicely written, but everything is just way to easy for the hero (it reminded me of Quarter Share and Temporary Duty in how superior the hero is to everyone else).
I've seen quite a few reviews of the book which says how well the author handles the nerdy computer stuff, but I thought that was rather feeble. There are vague references to linux, sort of references to java (would you really use that under linux?), some debugging of assembler, but what absolutely didn't work for me was how trivial the author made writing a device driver sound.
From the people side, what worried me was we had a young man going through puberty (unmentioned of course) totally immersed in his computer stuff, but I really liked the way he brought the young lady into the story(which is why I've given 4* rather than 3).
I've downgraded my rating to 3* as the physics in the book has been bugging me since I wrote this review.
However, I will still be looking at getting the sequel to this one...
I've seen quite a few reviews of the book which says how well the author handles the nerdy computer stuff, but I thought that was rather feeble. There are vague references to linux, sort of references to java (would you really use that under linux?), some debugging of assembler, but what absolutely didn't work for me was how trivial the author made writing a device driver sound.
From the people side, what worried me was we had a young man going through puberty (unmentioned of course) totally immersed in his computer stuff, but I really liked the way he brought the young lady into the story
I've downgraded my rating to 3* as the physics in the book has been bugging me since I wrote this review.
However, I will still be looking at getting the sequel to this one...
October 4, 2016
This was a fun book - good "child prodigy" story that was very believable once you immerse yourself into the world of the book. I see some people thought it was heavy on the tech-speak, but you didn't have to understand every word of it to progress (I sure didn't); the progressively harder tech challenges Tommy overcame mirrored the progressively harder overall problems that Tommy was dealing with, whether social, political, or even romantic.
I thought the universe and the 'space ecology' were good and well-conceived. There was a nice consistency to them, and their motivations were understandable.
Overall, I really liked this. The ending seemed weak relative to the strength of the rest of the book, but I am assuming that it is meant to set up the sequel, which I am eager to read as soon as it is completed.
I thought the universe and the 'space ecology' were good and well-conceived. There was a nice consistency to them, and their motivations were understandable.
Overall, I really liked this. The ending seemed weak relative to the strength of the rest of the book, but I am assuming that it is meant to set up the sequel, which I am eager to read as soon as it is completed.
October 13, 2012
A really good read. The tone reminds me a lot of Hubbard's "Battlefield Earth", with much better character development and none of the cartoon feeling the latter sometimes gave. The geek/computer hacker stuff is right on, just a little bit of a Karate-Kid-for-computers feeling sometimes. Overall, the book's slight excesses are extremely over-lookable in the presence of a great yarn. Skewering the US government in the last few pages, allowing them to look their pompous/paranoid/silly selves, was also a hoot.
October 28, 2012
I dunno if my eBook edition is fubar'd but that ending stank. I LOVED reading this book. I disagree with the YA attribution - I think just cause they didn't DO IT in the book then it's okay for kids to read. I'm totally telling my kids they can read it, but that doesn't mean it's a YA. Maybe "youth appropriate" is what that means?
So - without any real spoilers - does your version of the book end with him looking to her in the doorway? I've got the kindle edition - loved the price! Best buy for me since Wool.
So - without any real spoilers - does your version of the book end with him looking to her in the doorway? I've got the kindle edition - loved the price! Best buy for me since Wool.
June 29, 2012
YA science fiction. Main character is about 13yo at the start of the book, and about 18 at the end. I would think that you have to be a computer geek to enjoy this one. The author does make it at least slightly believable that a teenage computer geek could figure out how to write assembly language programs in some alien assembly language, and get our Earth computers to interface with the alien device drivers. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
January 21, 2013
I enjoyed this book. I haven't read science fiction for decades, Heinlein, Asimov. I know as much about computers as I do about the engine of my car. But for all that A Larger Universe explores the astral reaches from a computer programmer's point of view, I learned from it and enjoyed it. Well written (but for a few typos), it has hints of TNG, Life of Pi, and Crichton's Next about transgenic animals. A fresh story, well told.
February 2, 2013
This should have been classified as a young (very young) adult coming of age work. Even then it was a real challenge to finish for a couple of reasons; 1, there was far too much technical gobbly gook to wade through (maybe not for a real computer geek, but you want lots of people to read you work) and then 2, it was a bit of a reach for such a young person to exhibit very adult attitudes and thought processes. Only waded through it all to see what would happen in the end.
March 12, 2013
Kindle Freebie. The premise was interesting and the action that unfolded, as well as the implications, I found believable and worth the time to read. At the lowest level, this is a YA to Adult book about a boy kidnapped from Earth and what he does to get home. However, there is more to it than that - slavery, technology, aliens, fear and so forth.
I'm hoping there will be another book coming out soon.
I'm hoping there will be another book coming out soon.
June 9, 2013
One of the most entertaining books I've read lately. Very good pace, believable universe, and interesting characters.
The description of the efforts to reverse engineer the alien technologies will throw off more than a few readers: it is very detailed and technical, with words like "device driver" appearing several times. I really enjoyed it, since that is the way an engineer would do it in real life. But they will not be for everybody.
Looking forward to the next book.
The description of the efforts to reverse engineer the alien technologies will throw off more than a few readers: it is very detailed and technical, with words like "device driver" appearing several times. I really enjoyed it, since that is the way an engineer would do it in real life. But they will not be for everybody.
Looking forward to the next book.
April 17, 2015
Terrific scifi for all ages
It is unusual to read a story that would appeal to readers of all ages. While I initially wondered if this was aimed at a YA audience, I realize that it appeals to adults also. This is a wonderful, clean, interesting story with advanced computer concepts and no need for sex or violence. Great work!
It is unusual to read a story that would appeal to readers of all ages. While I initially wondered if this was aimed at a YA audience, I realize that it appeals to adults also. This is a wonderful, clean, interesting story with advanced computer concepts and no need for sex or violence. Great work!
October 14, 2012
A rpleasure if sometines hard-going read; Tommy is beautifully larger than life which I enjoy in my heros. I have to admit that I didn't understand a lot of the techno babble but that didn't hinder my interest.
February 24, 2013
Fun narrative.
Great for that network engineer in your life as it basically rearticulates the daily challenges of a network engineer in a fantastically strange alien context.
Protagnoist is valorised for his ingenuity. Thumbs up.
Great for that network engineer in your life as it basically rearticulates the daily challenges of a network engineer in a fantastically strange alien context.
Protagnoist is valorised for his ingenuity. Thumbs up.
June 8, 2012
This book pulled me in and would not let go until the very end. The story was AMAZING. Loved the characters and the plot. Hopefully, we will see more from this author soon!
June 23, 2012
Innovative story! Very niche, but .. that's not always a bad thing. Independent authors can be just as well-written as corporately published ones!
November 30, 2012
A very solid four stars. This book combines several classic themes, old-style writing, evolving characters, and a plot that kept me up past my bedtime.
June 9, 2013
Decent YA sci-fi book (which is fairly hard to come by as a category).
July 13, 2013
A highly enjoyable and original book that computer geeks will adore.
March 25, 2015
Great start
I really enjoyed reading this book. Wonderful plot and enjoyable characters. Would recommend it to anyone. I hope to get any sequels for it.
I really enjoyed reading this book. Wonderful plot and enjoyable characters. Would recommend it to anyone. I hope to get any sequels for it.
October 17, 2016
The technobabble gets pretty thick from time to time, but it was nice to find some good clean sci-fi that was just plain fun.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews