This took forever to read because it was so slow and boring...it felt like a college faculty was shot into the air with all their old gray desks. That said, the ideas in it were worth exploring, but could have been done better. The main character, Brad, obviously did not get the memo on the Star Trak "prime directive." Bova's forte, the interaction between humans, saved the book from complete and abject averageness. ( )

It's an interesting story but the plot lacks any sort of conclusion to the events and ignores the big mysteries it set up. ( )

A good story to follow Bova's earlier book _Death Wave_. Set a few centuries hence in a life-hosting 3-planet system 200 light-years from Earth, its characters have to deal not only with the galactic-scale threat talked about in _Death Wave_ but also with some other highly mysterious phenomena.

The third book in the Star Quest Trilogy and like the others it was a very good story with writing that was not all that good. The main question faced is should the mission include interfering with the culture of sentient life when it appears that forces have already conspired to keep that life form from developing and evolving. One wonders why those forces have done this and what would be the outcome if these beings are once again free to progress. We do not get an answer to those questions which is as it should be. ( )

Apes and Angels is first contact story, a study in the intricacies of the academic hierarchy and a love story.

I liked the premise of the book. It asks questions. What do you do when the prime directive says don't it interfere with a primitive culture yet your personal morality says you must. How do you know when a species is truly intelligent? How you determine when a series of sounds is a true language? Bova invites the reader to explore these questions while telling one of his best stories.

This novel although part of a larger story arch, the reader does not have to read the prior two books to know what's going on. There are no villains in this story. What Bova manages to do is give the reader insight into the competitive nature of academics. Each character has an agenda that at times come to cross purposes with each other and at times insurers cooperation.

Apes and angels is the 3rd book of Star Quest series. It's advertised as a trilogy but think there will be more books in the future. This book definitely lives room for stories in this universe. ( )