A Mission Bigger Than Any One Person
4 out of 5 stars
Assist by Steven Mathew Zellers, narrated by Melissa-Marie Shriner, feels less like a traditional novel and more like a time capsule. Something future generations might unearth and say, “This is where it all began.” It’s sweeping, ambitious, and more about humanity’s mission than any one character.
The premise is equal parts sobering and awe-inspiring: Earth is dying, and a team of pioneers embarks on a 300-year voyage with the DNA of a million species, determined to give our species a second chance. The sheer scale of that mission is staggering, and Zellers leans into that gravitas with a serious, almost reverent tone.
I say this with the good and bad that comes with it. Assist felt like paging through the detailed chronicles of a massive, history-defining undertaking. It was much less about the people and more about the purpose.
That’s not to say there aren’t people you’ll remember. Sarah and Shane make impressions, for sure, but they’re more supporting actors than leads. The real protagonist here is the mission itself: the dream of survival, of rebirth, of humanity not going gently into the dark. It’s a deeply idea-driven story, meditating on legacy, consequences, and what we choose to preserve when everything else is lost.
Some moments did feel a bit more like summaries than scenes—like someone guiding me through the blueprints of an incredible structure, rather than letting me walk the halls and run my fingers along its surfaces. Still, there’s something quietly powerful about that approach. It made me pause and reflect more than I expected to. This wasn’t a story pulling me along with plot twists; it asked me to sit with it, to really think.
Melissa-Marie Shriner’s narration fits the tone perfectly—steady, grounded, and thoughtful. She delivered the material with a calm clarity that made the generational shifts and big ideas easier to absorb, like a guide gently leading me through the centuries.
Assist isn’t a thrill-a-minute space romp. It’s a patient, solemn love letter to human perseverance. And in its quietest moments, it shines with a kind of hopeful melancholy I’ll be thinking about long after the credits roll.
Book Description:
Eight generations of pioneers embark on a 300-year voyage to escape Earth’s demise. Their mission: ensure humanity’s survival on a distant exoplanet. Armed with a DNA database of over a million Earth species, they establish a new world. Yet, what they discover will shatter every preconception. Brace for a jaw-dropping revelation connecting them to beings defying the very essence of the universe.
Assist by Steven Mathew Zellers
Narrator: Melissa-Marie Shriner
Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
Published by Self Published on January 27th 2025
Genres: Science Fiction
Format: Audiobook
I’ve loved reading since I was little when my dad would read me Dr. Suess books. Fast-forward a little and I noticed that he was always reading on his lunch breaks at work, and I wondered why.Then, I found a book that took me to another place and time, to another feeling,another sense of “being”.It was the first book that I ever fell in love with, and I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.
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