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  • A Beautiful Friendship

  • Star Kingdom, Book 1
  • By: David Weber
  • Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
  • Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (115 ratings)
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A Beautiful Friendship cover art

A Beautiful Friendship

By: David Weber
Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
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Summary

Stephanie Harrington had always expected to be a forest ranger on her homeworld of Meyerdahl until her parents relocated to the frontier planet of Sphinx in the far distant Star Kingdom of Manticore. It should have been the perfect new home - a virgin wilderness full of new species of every sort, just waiting to be discovered. But Sphinx is a far more dangerous place than ultra-civilized Meyerdahl, and Stephanie's explorations come to a sudden halt when her parents lay down the law: no trips into the bush without adult supervision!

Yet Stephanie is a young woman determined to make discoveries, and the biggest one of all awaits her: an intelligent alien species. The forest-dwelling treecats are small, cute, smart, and have a pronounced taste for celery. And they are also very, very deadly when they or their friends are threatened - as Stephanie discovers when she comes face-to-face with Sphinx's most lethal predator after a hang-gliding accident.

But her discoveries are only beginning, for the treecats are also telepathic and able to bond with certain humans, and Stephanie's find - and her first-of-its kind bond with the treecat Climbs Quickly - land both of them in a fresh torrent of danger. Galactic-sized wealth is at stake, and Stephanie and the treecats are squarely in the path of highly placed enemies determined to make sure the planet Sphinx remains entirely in human hands, even if that means the extermination of another thinking species.

Unfortunately for those enemies, the treecats have saved Stephanie Harrington's life. She owes them - and Stephanie is a young woman who stands by her friends. Which means things are about to get very interesting on Sphinx.

©2011 Words of Weber, Inc. (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about A Beautiful Friendship

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Hexapod..from the Greek hexapoda meaning six-foot

If you could sum up A Beautiful Friendship in three words, what would they be?

three word sum up? intelligent cat-alien story

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I found myself getting angry along with the main character at one point (which since I was out walking at the time meant I got some concerned looks but still. Never mind) when faced with a person who couldn't grasp the diference between pet and an intelligent creature.

Any additional comments?

David Weber appears to have a slight fixation on 6 limbed aliens based on reading this and the 4 book saga that starts with March up country (Prince Rodger books).That aside I really liked this book. It's not full of complicated scientific turms and ideas (or the sci-fi equivalent) so it's more accessible to people of a wider age range.The characters, both human and tree-cats, are well written and the places where the story takes you are easy to imagine. I think if you like animals and the struggle to overcome other peoples backward thinking in a story then this may just be the one for you. I'm certainly looking forward to listening to the second one!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful start to a new-to-me series

My Thoughts:
I'm glad I stumbled upon this book because it was a good read! Compelling story telling quality, beautiful world building, and likeable characters. Even though the plot is pretty basic, it was a solid plot. Not one of those flaky plots that require the characters to be "too stupid to live" to create a dilemma. I hate those!! Anyway, several chapters into the book and I was buying the second and third books in this series already. I am only hoping that this "trilogy" would finish and not end up like Robert Jordan's never ending Wheel Of Time. **fingers crossed**

Another plus for this book is the narration. The words are clear. The voice quality is not grating to the ears. And Khristine Hvam's interpretation of the book is just right, in my way of thinking. Kudos!!

So why, 4.5 and not 5?... because this might be a good read, but not up to Ilona Andrews' standards. Or Carol Berg's Lighthouse dou's category. But still, that does not change the fact that this book is a very good read!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 5
Pace = 4.5
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

It's always good to know the back story

Would you listen to A Beautiful Friendship again? Why?

Yes because I love being so wrapped up in the story that you feel that you are on the inside watching it as it happens.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It has to be Stephanie - the pure determination and intelligence of this girl is amazing plus I feel she has a good relationship with her parents - could do with a few friends mind you lol

What about Khristine Hvam’s performance did you like?

It was very good and the voices almost matched how I imagined them in my head

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but work and sleep kept getting in the way ....plus I wanted it to last for as long as I could.

Any additional comments?

I will be getting the other in the series. I feel this could be my new obsession

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great morals

For the bitter-klingers. If you look for a woke progressive story this is not the book for you.

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1 person found this helpful