Interesting story. Some of the science seems techno babble-y and some things don't really resolve themselves. ( )

Nucleation is a very clever twist on a space opera and a quantum physics story. Kimberly Unger's writing reminds me of the glory days of Asimov's short story magazines.

Combining a unique take on space exploration using quantum entanglement and the horribly real environment of corporate and government infighting, every page is a barn burner.

There is a freshness about the world building and the characters that I haven't seen in quite a while, Unger promises to be a strong contender in the Science Fiction field.

I'm going to eagerly watch for her next book. I hope it will be soon. This is a highly recommended read. ( )

While this novel is interesting from the perspective of high concept, a first-contact story via tele-operated nanites, the main character is such a cold fish that its hard to feel much involvement. Besides that this book either needed more world-building, or it needed to be pared down into a novella. I'm going to be charitable and give it three stars because I wouldn't mind seeing what happens next. ( )

Great science, nanotech in distant star systems controlled by human operators on Earth using VR via entangled particles.
Really cool book. Really.. ( )

Pretty good first novel.

Helen is an Operator. She controls little robots (waldos) far out in space through the entanglement of quantum pairs of particles. Solid science fiction concept. Pair this with the ability to open tiny wormholes and nonomachines, and you have a way to build something (a jump gate) at a distant star through which humans can go.

She is working from a settled planet (apparently not Earth). She and her Navigator partner Ted, are assigned the plum project of opening up a new star. The nanomachines with 1 part of a quantum particle pair are sent through a tiny wormhole and build a base (called the Golfball, which I could not stop reading as the Goofball). When she gets to the waldo, she finds the Golfball is not built out like it was supposed to be but looking partially dissembled. And the insides are covered in some sort of dust, which she thinks looks like nanomachine remains. Then some sort of feedback hits the quantum link and Ted is killed. All this is pretty much in the back cover blurb.

Much of the rest of the book concerns Helen trying to recover from an abrupt end of her mission and Ted's death. She joins the analysis team looking into the incident but wants to get back out there to the Golfball. it's clear to her that some sort of alien machines have infected it, but her corporate masters are not easily convinced.

The book as a strong female lead character and some good supporting male roles. The chief villain is also a woman but she is sketched rather thinly. Lots of techobabble but I like that sort of thing. The technology in use here, including the nanomachines, was a bit complicated. The author doesn't shy away from wider implications of the nanotechnology. Even the trash cans at the headquarters have them to dispose of and recycle trash.

As if a first contact situation isn't enough, there is clearly someone at headquarters who is trying to sabotage the mission. Who and why?

I thought it a pretty well written thriller and mystery. Not perfect but very readable. It also appears to be the first of a series and I'm sometimes dismayed at that but I thought the immediate story was resolved satisfactorily. There is plenty of story to tell. I'm mostly curious to learn if the aliens are actually some sort of nano-hive mind, or if the machines are directed by other aliens, much like the humans in the story use nanomachines in exploring and settling other planets. ( )