This was a read for a RL book group. It is a stand alone and quite a lot of fun.

The premise is that aliens abound, and in fact are part of a galactic empire. Earth is pretty low on the rung, and has made an alliance with another species that is also pretty lowly in status. The Nidu are much more technologically advanced (read better firepower) though, so humanity doesn't want to piss them off.

The Nidu are involved in export quota negotiations with Earth. The human diplomat manages to kill the alien diplomat by use of a specifically mixed chemical fart - don't ask how that works. The aliens communicate among themselves using scent, and very susceptible to odors. There is bad blood between the two diplomats, although only the human diplomat is aware of it. He is avenging a family injury from the past. The human becomes so aroused by his victory that he dies of a stroke. No, really.

The government dealing with the aliens (USA) then has to try to avert disaster, placate their anger, and try to pretend it wasn't premeditated murder. The departments of State, Commerce (Trade), Defense are all trying to find out what the others know, what the aliens want, and what really happened. There are government functionaries, Secretaries, and agents tripping all over each other.

Turns out the aliens will only be placated with a specific gift. It is needed for the upcoming coronation of the new alien king. It must be part of the ceremony. It is a sheep.

And not just any type of sheep but a specific breed called Android's Dream, which has electric blue wool. Humans created it for the aliens and only the Nidu have the right to own it. Problem is that there are other aliens who are Nidu, but a different clan than the present royal family, and they wish to stop the coronation so one of their members can become the king instead. These opposition Nidu have killed all the Android's Dream sheep being held by the Nidu.

So now the official Nidu want the humans to search the world and find a DNA match for this rare breed of sheep.

The POV character, Harry Creek is a low level State Department employee whose job is to be the bearer of bad news to Aliens: your wife's visa was denied, your car was used in a hit and run. The aliens start to see him as the Angel of Death.

He is tapped to run the secret search for the State Department, who are trying to stay ahead of Defense, and the anti-Alien private group who is also sniffing around. On top of that some of the agents are working for more than one agency/group. One group no one knows about is a rational religious group called The Church of the Evolved Lamb. They don't believe in a higher power, just in themselves making their scripture happen.

The book is a satire on many facets of modern life. It is funny, and quite a good adventure read. There are twists and lots of excitement. The characters are cool, and the settings are interesting. Good writing and a fast pace. ( )

ZB4

ZB4 ( )

It took me a couple of chapters to get into this, but once I did, it was a lot of fun. This is a comedy-action-adventure story, kind of along the lines of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but not quite so goofy. This is set a couple hundred years in the future where aliens abound but Earth is still pretty low in the interstellar pecking order. Long story short, a specific and rare breed of sheep that only lives on Earth is essential to keeping the peace between Earth and a neighboring interstellar power. The race is on to find and control one of these sheep. Very entertaining and fun. My only complaint really is with the editing. This book is chock full of typos and missing/extra words. Was somebody in too much of a hurry to get this published to bother with proofreading? ( )

The Android's Dream is a fast-moving humorous and satirical adventure about the fate of one sheep and two civilizations, including Earth. While the title is an allusion to Philip K. Dick's short story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" (made into the movie "Blade Runner"), perhaps to reach out to the right type of reader, the two stories have little in common, and "The Android's Dream" contains no androids, although it contains just about everything else imaginable, including The Church of the Evolved Lamb (a satire inspired by Scientology), con artists, genetically-engineered sheep, hackers, aliens with strange ways, blackmailers, intelligent computer programs, thugs, traitors, schemers, a cruise [space] ship full of veterans, and a diplomat who talks through his ass, literally.

My only complaint was that it was hard to keep track of the many characters and who was conspiring with whom (although my husband, who read the book aloud to me, managed to). A dramatis personae would have been helpful to me, and forgetful readers might want to jot down a few word's about each character's role. ( )