To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

I think this is three books that I listened to as a single book. Engaging but at times I was thinking “what is taking you so long to figure this out”. Aliens were quite alien but had human thought processes as well. I enjoyed it nonetheless, although I did not care for the Epilog.

I originally found a hardcover copy of this book in a "free books" bin, then borrowed the audiobook edition from the library. I definitely enjoyed it, but I never felt emotionally invested in the characters. The episodic nature of the plot made the book feel very long; whenever I expected things to wrap up another conflict was tacked on.

Loads of fun, but the longer it goes, the farther it gets from its promising start as "real" scifi. The author's afterword discussing the long process creating this book was quite interesting. I wonder if I personally might have liked one of the earlier versions?
The backdrop is great, the characters engaging. By all means read it, but I guess I was hoping for something it's not.