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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Unearthed delivered what it promised: Indiana Jones meets Tomb Raider in space.
This book was entertaining and a fun read, but I did have a few issues with the plot.
I was intrigued enough by the whole concept even though I was skeptical if I might like it as I am not into the trap after trap after trap kinda story. So I was hoping for really great characters and story around it.
As for characters, this books really delivered. I loved the two protagonists - a good guy and a badgirl. I totally loved how the book questions judgement and elitism and that they sort of had switched cliché skills. I am shipping the dynamic between the two, being introduced to a totally different world through the other. This carried the book for me.
As for the plot, this book only delivered with a surprise twist at the end (and I mean like last-sentence-of-the-book-end) - I am living for this kind of plot twists. Sadly, the rest of the book fell a bit short on the plot other than that. First off, if you came for the traps, you will be disappointed: they are far from being unsolvable and I did not really feel involved enough in solving them. If I am reading about a trap, give me the puzzle so I can try and solve it myself. In the case of this book, I felt like a spectator that did not really see the puzzle but only saw the person solving it. Not that interesting! And overall there was far less trap-solving involved than I would have expected after how the book is advertised. There also were a few holes in the plot for me that raised a few questions:
* If you really want humans to get through the traps why make them that lethal? If I wanted to create a maze that is intended for a human to actually get through - because hey, alternative motive - I would make it only a little bit challenging to keep their interest going, not insanely difficult and lethal and, well, likely even impossible if triggered once.
* Are we going to learn who was able to trigger the traps inside the temple before our team arrived?
* How the heck did they plan for Mia and Jules to run and hide the way they did after they hit the snow-area? It seemed like sheer luck and FAR from a planned out.
* Why bother creating a temple with traps leading to a ship that is probably as visible to anybody scanning the planet. If you find the temples, you most likely should have found the ship as well!
Overall I kinda hate that the plot twist at the end makes me want to read the second book because besides this plot twist, I totally do not feel like it would be worth my time. I am glad I was able to fly through the book in a day and I did not waste several days reading time on it.
This book was entertaining and a fun read, but I did have a few issues with the plot.
I was intrigued enough by the whole concept even though I was skeptical if I might like it as I am not into the trap after trap after trap kinda story. So I was hoping for really great characters and story around it.
As for characters, this books really delivered. I loved the two protagonists - a good guy and a badgirl. I totally loved how the book questions judgement and elitism and that they sort of had switched cliché skills. I am shipping the dynamic between the two, being introduced to a totally different world through the other. This carried the book for me.
As for the plot, this book only delivered with a surprise twist at the end (and I mean like last-sentence-of-the-book-end) - I am living for this kind of plot twists. Sadly, the rest of the book fell a bit short on the plot other than that. First off, if you came for the traps, you will be disappointed: they are far from being unsolvable and I did not really feel involved enough in solving them. If I am reading about a trap, give me the puzzle so I can try and solve it myself. In the case of this book, I felt like a spectator that did not really see the puzzle but only saw the person solving it. Not that interesting! And overall there was far less trap-solving involved than I would have expected after how the book is advertised. There also were a few holes in the plot for me that raised a few questions:
Spoiler
* If you really want humans to get through the traps why make them that lethal? If I wanted to create a maze that is intended for a human to actually get through - because hey, alternative motive - I would make it only a little bit challenging to keep their interest going, not insanely difficult and lethal and, well, likely even impossible if triggered once.
* Are we going to learn who was able to trigger the traps inside the temple before our team arrived?
* How the heck did they plan for Mia and Jules to run and hide the way they did after they hit the snow-area? It seemed like sheer luck and FAR from a planned out.
* Why bother creating a temple with traps leading to a ship that is probably as visible to anybody scanning the planet. If you find the temples, you most likely should have found the ship as well!
Overall I kinda hate that the plot twist at the end makes me want to read the second book because besides this plot twist, I totally do not feel like it would be worth my time. I am glad I was able to fly through the book in a day and I did not waste several days reading time on it.
2.5 stars. Aw man-I’m bummed as I’ve been waiting for this new release! The authors SLAYED in the Starbound trilogy but didn’t quite make the hyperjump with Unearthed. It feels like they started writing this book many years before the Starbound trilogy, lost interest or got hooked on the other novels, only to stumbled back on this while cleaning and decided to finish it up.
This seems like it was written for young teens or a new audience.
The twist at the end is the best part of this book and ends with a cliffhanger.
A lot of things didn’t work for me: super low key sci-fi ; like they can decipher an alien message on a new planet, but still write in journals, use walkie-talkies and in general don’t seem to have much futuristic technology while on a new world, with the exception of a much-admired camping stove. Jules character; middle-class Indiana Jones & Astronaut Chef. Eyerolling romance.
I’m disappointed but it is still an ok book. For me, this is like riding a bicycle after you’ve just gotten out of a learjet.
This seems like it was written for young teens or a new audience.
The twist at the end is the best part of this book and ends with a cliffhanger.
A lot of things didn’t work for me: super low key sci-fi ; like they can decipher an alien message on a new planet, but still write in journals, use walkie-talkies and in general don’t seem to have much futuristic technology while on a new world, with the exception of a much-admired camping stove. Jules character; middle-class Indiana Jones & Astronaut Chef. Eyerolling romance.
I’m disappointed but it is still an ok book. For me, this is like riding a bicycle after you’ve just gotten out of a learjet.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Scavenger Mia is willing to do just about anything to ensure the safety of her sister back on Earth; even if that means stowing away on a rocket ship to an unknown alien planet to try and find artifacts to sell for a high price.
Jules Addison on the other hand has the adventure for the unknown planet in his blood. His father is sitting jail because he decoded the alien message that led everyone to this planet. Jules hopes that he can work fast enough to save the human race from the unknown terror that could possibly be unleashed; the message inside the message that only he knows about.
When Mia and Jules' paths cross, they know that they really cannot succeed at either of their end goals without each other, even if that means lying and deceiving one another. Will Mia be able to save her sister can will Jules be able to save Earth before it's too late?
This book will appeal to many different readers. It has a little bit of everything; romance, adventure, science fiction. Told through alternating chapters, readers will get to explore this new world through both character's eyes. While in many cases I find this way of storytelling to be distracting and I often prefer one narrator over another, that wasn't the case with Unearthed. Both Mia and Jules had interesting aspects to their voices keeping me engaged throughout. The book will leave readers hanging on the edge of their seats to find out just exactly what is happening on this alien planet, and what the spiral glyph really means. Recommended for libraries where books by Kaufman and Spooner are popular, as well as libraries were science fiction is popular.
Scavenger Mia is willing to do just about anything to ensure the safety of her sister back on Earth; even if that means stowing away on a rocket ship to an unknown alien planet to try and find artifacts to sell for a high price.
Jules Addison on the other hand has the adventure for the unknown planet in his blood. His father is sitting jail because he decoded the alien message that led everyone to this planet. Jules hopes that he can work fast enough to save the human race from the unknown terror that could possibly be unleashed; the message inside the message that only he knows about.
When Mia and Jules' paths cross, they know that they really cannot succeed at either of their end goals without each other, even if that means lying and deceiving one another. Will Mia be able to save her sister can will Jules be able to save Earth before it's too late?
This book will appeal to many different readers. It has a little bit of everything; romance, adventure, science fiction. Told through alternating chapters, readers will get to explore this new world through both character's eyes. While in many cases I find this way of storytelling to be distracting and I often prefer one narrator over another, that wasn't the case with Unearthed. Both Mia and Jules had interesting aspects to their voices keeping me engaged throughout. The book will leave readers hanging on the edge of their seats to find out just exactly what is happening on this alien planet, and what the spiral glyph really means. Recommended for libraries where books by Kaufman and Spooner are popular, as well as libraries were science fiction is popular.
Definitely YA, though thankfully the romance isn't of the annoyingly unnecessary or overeager variety. The story is fun and fast-paced, and quite intriguing. The plot twist was a major twist (to me) - totally didn't see it coming. Huge downside? Cliffhanger. Not even a "half-off but scrambling up" cliffhanger with some sort of resolution, but a "barely hanging on by a single fingernail and one big toe" kind of ending.
Having said that - I did enjoy the story, and this will make it on to my shortlist of sequels to read ASAP.
Having said that - I did enjoy the story, and this will make it on to my shortlist of sequels to read ASAP.
Overall I enjoyed this book.
Mia was a solid main character to Jules’s naive, slightly obnoxious characters. The budding romance that all ya books seem to require was totally unnecessary and the book would have been far better without it. Honestly, that’s mainly the reason I knocked it down a star.
ROMANCE DOES NOT ALWAYS MAKE A BOOK BETTER!
For the love of god I hope authors realize that sooner rather than later.
I did see the major plot twist coming a mile away but there was part of the plot twist that they got me with. But they didn’t surprise me until the last page.
I definitely want to read the next book though. The last paragraph or so convinced me it would be worth reading the next book, for sure!
I wish there would have been more with the tests set by the Undying. I thought the whole book would be about passing their tests and I was slightly disappointed when it wasn’t. There was a point in the book where I wondered how the made the book 300 pages when it seemed like it was about to end.
Overall, it was a decent book and I would recommend giving it a shot.
Mia was a solid main character to Jules’s naive, slightly obnoxious characters. The budding romance that all ya books seem to require was totally unnecessary and the book would have been far better without it. Honestly, that’s mainly the reason I knocked it down a star.
ROMANCE DOES NOT ALWAYS MAKE A BOOK BETTER!
For the love of god I hope authors realize that sooner rather than later.
I did see the major plot twist coming a mile away but there was part of the plot twist that they got me with. But they didn’t surprise me until the last page.
I definitely want to read the next book though. The last paragraph or so convinced me it would be worth reading the next book, for sure!
I wish there would have been more with the tests set by the Undying. I thought the whole book would be about passing their tests and I was slightly disappointed when it wasn’t. There was a point in the book where I wondered how the made the book 300 pages when it seemed like it was about to end.
Overall, it was a decent book and I would recommend giving it a shot.
2.5 stars. I almost DNF’d this but decided to push on until 100 pages and by then the plot was juuuust interesting enough to keep me going. But the things I enjoyed will end with this book so I won’t finish the series.
“We may be the only ones who think that braving a series of crumbling death traps is proof of good decision making.”
Firstly 'Indiana Jones in space' is an excellent idea for a concept which Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner pull off beautifully, basically if you like fun fast witty sci-fi I’m pretty sure you’d like this book.
Read and enjoy
Firstly 'Indiana Jones in space' is an excellent idea for a concept which Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner pull off beautifully, basically if you like fun fast witty sci-fi I’m pretty sure you’d like this book.
Read and enjoy
Unearted is a sci-fi action story, written by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner. It follows Jules and Amelia, a linguist/archaeologist, and scavenger respectively, who both end up going to Gaia; a newly discovered planet with an atmosphere similar to Earth, and littered with the Temples of the Undying, an extinct alien race.
I haven't read the Starbound Trilogy, the previous endeavor of this author duo, so I went in completely blind, both on their writing and the type if sci-fi of this book. Sadly, I can't say I was too pleased with the result.
This book was compared to a lot of things; even I, in my early updates compared it to Mass Effect, Tomb Raider and Doom. However, all of these comparisons are mostly aesthetic, and in the case of Doom, thematically similar, like the destruction of the Earth because of an energy crisis, a shadowy international organization which is willing to sacrifice human lives and potentially cause an apocalypse "for the betterment of mankind", and so on.
The actual plot of this novel is straightforward, and there are a few twists here and there, but for the most part, they are all very predictable, and have little to do with the actual themes of the book. The most major twist, the one the book had been building up to from the very start, was so predictable that it barely registered as a twist by the time it happened. The other, more character driven twists were fine, but I had a problem with them too, which we will get to when we talk about the characters.
The other thing that left me very disappointed where the actual puzzles and traps Jules and Amelia had to go through in the Temples. Look, I grew up on Indiana Jones, the first two Tomb Raider movies, Dungeons and Dragons the movie, and a myriad of games, from Tomb Raider, to Prince of Persia to Uncharted, all of which contain some form of puzzle solving, traps, traversals and platforming. So to say that my expectations for the action levels of this book, especially when I heard it compared to Mass Effect and Tomb Raider were high, is an understatement.
There are 2 puzzles in this book, and both are repeated throughout. The only one I found original was the cups of water; everything else was copy pasted from Indiana Jones, from the pressure plates on the floor, to the collapsing cavern. The book did remind me of Tomb Raider; the new one, the one where my main complaint was that the traps and puzzles were near to non-existent and that Lara solved them because the script said she did, not because of any actual skill or logic on her part.
As for the characters, let's start with Jules. To me, he was the more infuriating out of the two; he had this naivete and innocence about him, which made sense with his upbringing. He had a loving if slightly absent family, he grew up rather sheltered in Oxford, and spent most of his time studying, exploring and learning, a classicist in a world on the brink of collapse, in an energy crisis so big, entire cities are abandoned due to natural disasters and lack of drinkable water. What illustrated the disconnect not just between Jules and Amelia, but Jules and the rest of the world perfectly, was a moment where Jules admits to Amelia that he plays water polo. How telling that even when the world is fighting over drinkable water, places that have it would waste it on leisure activities like a sport.
I found Jules so infuriating because his pursuit of knowledge and caution were so ill placed against a backdrop of a natural crisis back on Earth. I have never been a fan of the-one-man who-saw-it-coming narratives, and here I couldn't believe that I was siding with the evil corporation that executed people. Yes Jules, people maybe used to dream and look up at the stars, but now they are DYING, and are a little preoccupied trying to survive and find drinkable water. Their stargazing time is spent on dealing with more pressing matters, and if there is a possibility that whatever technology the Undying had could help the millions of people live, that's the priority. The joy of exploring, or the wonder of discovery are great, when they are not juxtaposed next to PEOPLE LITERARY DYING OF THIRST, and calling them selfish and stupid for wanting a solution to their crisis is beyond entitled and awful.
Amelia was less insufferable, if only because she actually called him out on how naive, sheltered and privileged he was. This didn't make her right mind you; her motives for coming to Gaia are as selfish as his, and she has no intention of saving mankind, but at least she acknowledged the crisis back on Earth, and explained to Jules why people turned to scavenging and stealing to survive. I liked how thrifty and careful she was with all of her resources and made sure Jules understood how lucky he had been to be born where he was.
In spite of this, she was the less interesting of the two, a pretty stock YA female character, who is suspicious, prone to outbursts of anger and emotionally shut off from the world. It made sense that she has become that way due to the life she lead, and I liked that she was willing to actively be unscrupulous to survive, but that didn't make her very compelling, or if nothing else, interesting.
I did like their dynamic, especially in the first third of the book when they were alone. However, as soon as other characters were introduced, something odd started happening. A lot of their interactions, had to do with them not trusting each-other, or being unsure of what the other one is planing or thinking. This is meant to keep the reader on their toes, guessing is Jules or Amelia switched sides. In practice, it didn't work, because this book is FPS, so when Amelia betrays Jules, we are in her head and we know that she is actually not betraying him, so all we are doing is waiting for Jules to catch up to us.
This made me start losing interest in the book after all these other characters got involved, and by the time the ending rolled around, and I got that suspicion this wasn't going to be resolved in one book, I was no longer interested.
Needless to say, I won't be reading the sequel and I don't recommend this book. All of these themes and even this same plot has been done before, and better and nothing that happened was engaging, or compelling enough to warrant a sequel.
I haven't read the Starbound Trilogy, the previous endeavor of this author duo, so I went in completely blind, both on their writing and the type if sci-fi of this book. Sadly, I can't say I was too pleased with the result.
This book was compared to a lot of things; even I, in my early updates compared it to Mass Effect, Tomb Raider and Doom. However, all of these comparisons are mostly aesthetic, and in the case of Doom, thematically similar, like the destruction of the Earth because of an energy crisis, a shadowy international organization which is willing to sacrifice human lives and potentially cause an apocalypse "for the betterment of mankind", and so on.
The actual plot of this novel is straightforward, and there are a few twists here and there, but for the most part, they are all very predictable, and have little to do with the actual themes of the book. The most major twist, the one the book had been building up to from the very start, was so predictable that it barely registered as a twist by the time it happened. The other, more character driven twists were fine, but I had a problem with them too, which we will get to when we talk about the characters.
The other thing that left me very disappointed where the actual puzzles and traps Jules and Amelia had to go through in the Temples. Look, I grew up on Indiana Jones, the first two Tomb Raider movies, Dungeons and Dragons the movie, and a myriad of games, from Tomb Raider, to Prince of Persia to Uncharted, all of which contain some form of puzzle solving, traps, traversals and platforming. So to say that my expectations for the action levels of this book, especially when I heard it compared to Mass Effect and Tomb Raider were high, is an understatement.
There are 2 puzzles in this book, and both are repeated throughout. The only one I found original was the cups of water; everything else was copy pasted from Indiana Jones, from the pressure plates on the floor, to the collapsing cavern. The book did remind me of Tomb Raider; the new one, the one where my main complaint was that the traps and puzzles were near to non-existent and that Lara solved them because the script said she did, not because of any actual skill or logic on her part.
As for the characters, let's start with Jules. To me, he was the more infuriating out of the two; he had this naivete and innocence about him, which made sense with his upbringing. He had a loving if slightly absent family, he grew up rather sheltered in Oxford, and spent most of his time studying, exploring and learning, a classicist in a world on the brink of collapse, in an energy crisis so big, entire cities are abandoned due to natural disasters and lack of drinkable water. What illustrated the disconnect not just between Jules and Amelia, but Jules and the rest of the world perfectly, was a moment where Jules admits to Amelia that he plays water polo. How telling that even when the world is fighting over drinkable water, places that have it would waste it on leisure activities like a sport.
I found Jules so infuriating because his pursuit of knowledge and caution were so ill placed against a backdrop of a natural crisis back on Earth. I have never been a fan of the-one-man who-saw-it-coming narratives, and here I couldn't believe that I was siding with the evil corporation that executed people. Yes Jules, people maybe used to dream and look up at the stars, but now they are DYING, and are a little preoccupied trying to survive and find drinkable water. Their stargazing time is spent on dealing with more pressing matters, and if there is a possibility that whatever technology the Undying had could help the millions of people live, that's the priority. The joy of exploring, or the wonder of discovery are great, when they are not juxtaposed next to PEOPLE LITERARY DYING OF THIRST, and calling them selfish and stupid for wanting a solution to their crisis is beyond entitled and awful.
Amelia was less insufferable, if only because she actually called him out on how naive, sheltered and privileged he was. This didn't make her right mind you; her motives for coming to Gaia are as selfish as his, and she has no intention of saving mankind, but at least she acknowledged the crisis back on Earth, and explained to Jules why people turned to scavenging and stealing to survive. I liked how thrifty and careful she was with all of her resources and made sure Jules understood how lucky he had been to be born where he was.
In spite of this, she was the less interesting of the two, a pretty stock YA female character, who is suspicious, prone to outbursts of anger and emotionally shut off from the world. It made sense that she has become that way due to the life she lead, and I liked that she was willing to actively be unscrupulous to survive, but that didn't make her very compelling, or if nothing else, interesting.
I did like their dynamic, especially in the first third of the book when they were alone. However, as soon as other characters were introduced, something odd started happening. A lot of their interactions, had to do with them not trusting each-other, or being unsure of what the other one is planing or thinking. This is meant to keep the reader on their toes, guessing is Jules or Amelia switched sides. In practice, it didn't work, because this book is FPS, so when Amelia betrays Jules, we are in her head and we know that she is actually not betraying him, so all we are doing is waiting for Jules to catch up to us.
This made me start losing interest in the book after all these other characters got involved, and by the time the ending rolled around, and I got that suspicion this wasn't going to be resolved in one book, I was no longer interested.
Needless to say, I won't be reading the sequel and I don't recommend this book. All of these themes and even this same plot has been done before, and better and nothing that happened was engaging, or compelling enough to warrant a sequel.