Scan barcode
radiodarrenfm's review
5.0
A triumphant finale!
Poor Terra has been through the wars. Literally.
As we meet Terra at the start of the third instalment of her story, she’s 16 and trying to decide whether to finish her education on Fnrr or Earth. A situation that not many 16 year olds find themselves in. Galaxy-wide events will put her decision on hold though.
Mitch Benn has created a remarkable series of books in his Terra trilogy. On the face of it they’re fantasy sci-fi with incredibly rich world building incorporating dozens of planets, species and races. Terra is the chosen one at the centre of the stories, events revolving around her, making it clear that she may well be the key to the strange occurrences. A deeper dive, however, shows that they’re actually pretty insightful windows into the world of a teenage girl. The trilogy deals with not fitting in with peers, with not knowing who they’re supposed to be or what’s expected of them. Strip away the sci-fi and you’re left with an equally rich story about a girl with her own agency struggling to work out how to position herself in a world she doesn’t always understand.
It takes skill and a real understanding of the sci-if genre to be able to do that, skill that Mitch has in spades.
This third book, Terra’s War, picks up on elements that are hinted at in the previous two instalments (Terra and Terra’s World) and draws them to a satisfying conclusion. Things that are barely mentioned in the first book were clearly planted and planned to be of use in the finale, which, as a reader, feels like a reward, a thanks for hanging on in there while he weaves his story.
If you have a teenage daughter, give her a copy of these books. If you have a teenage son, give him a copy of them too. If you’re an adult who likes satisfying, absorbing fiction that’s easy enough to read without having to dedicate weeks of your life to diving into epic world building and fully formed alien languages, then you should get a copy of these books.
Basically, if you’re a functioning human (or otherwise) who likes good stories, then Terra will be right up your alley.
Poor Terra has been through the wars. Literally.
As we meet Terra at the start of the third instalment of her story, she’s 16 and trying to decide whether to finish her education on Fnrr or Earth. A situation that not many 16 year olds find themselves in. Galaxy-wide events will put her decision on hold though.
Mitch Benn has created a remarkable series of books in his Terra trilogy. On the face of it they’re fantasy sci-fi with incredibly rich world building incorporating dozens of planets, species and races. Terra is the chosen one at the centre of the stories, events revolving around her, making it clear that she may well be the key to the strange occurrences. A deeper dive, however, shows that they’re actually pretty insightful windows into the world of a teenage girl. The trilogy deals with not fitting in with peers, with not knowing who they’re supposed to be or what’s expected of them. Strip away the sci-fi and you’re left with an equally rich story about a girl with her own agency struggling to work out how to position herself in a world she doesn’t always understand.
It takes skill and a real understanding of the sci-if genre to be able to do that, skill that Mitch has in spades.
This third book, Terra’s War, picks up on elements that are hinted at in the previous two instalments (Terra and Terra’s World) and draws them to a satisfying conclusion. Things that are barely mentioned in the first book were clearly planted and planned to be of use in the finale, which, as a reader, feels like a reward, a thanks for hanging on in there while he weaves his story.
If you have a teenage daughter, give her a copy of these books. If you have a teenage son, give him a copy of them too. If you’re an adult who likes satisfying, absorbing fiction that’s easy enough to read without having to dedicate weeks of your life to diving into epic world building and fully formed alien languages, then you should get a copy of these books.
Basically, if you’re a functioning human (or otherwise) who likes good stories, then Terra will be right up your alley.
More...