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wishfulfillment's review against another edition
1.0
Dropping at 10%. I appreciate how accessible this was and how extremely fast-paced, but it was too much too fast for me and I couldn't keep up. I might want to give this a second try in a couple of years.
frasersimons's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This went by much more fast than I thought it would. Though the scope of the plot was myopic and straight-forward, the interiority of the anxiety ridden main character did a good job of keeping and ramping up tension. The parts where it was contrived felt alright to me as well, since it’s from her perspective, which is clearly altered due to her health. As someone now medicated for their own anxiety, if you expect people to think and act rationally, or interpret, to some degree, what others are doing, rationally, that’s not how it works. It’s one of the reasons why simply pointing out solutions or the problems themselves tends to be highly ineffective.
It was easy to feel for the MC and the world building was interesting, but not new. I probably would have liked this even more had I read it closer to release, since now the ideas behind the sustainability and in general, technologically, feel fairly old hat.
Very curious as to where the series goes from here. Originally picked it up because the sequel is an often labelled as cyberpunk, and I have an ongoing interest and project, where I read through a lot of that subgenre. (Even if quite a few books shelved as such end up not actually being so.)
It was easy to feel for the MC and the world building was interesting, but not new. I probably would have liked this even more had I read it closer to release, since now the ideas behind the sustainability and in general, technologically, feel fairly old hat.
Very curious as to where the series goes from here. Originally picked it up because the sequel is an often labelled as cyberpunk, and I have an ongoing interest and project, where I read through a lot of that subgenre. (Even if quite a few books shelved as such end up not actually being so.)
being_b's review against another edition
4.0
Like many other reviewers, I was delighted by the excellent portrayal of a mentally ill protagonist (anxiety! OCD!) and pleased to have a queer protagonist. The novel reminded me of [b: Crime and Punishment|7144|Crime and Punishment|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1382846449s/7144.jpg|3393917]: It explores how a terrible secret can warp a person and eventually an entire community, and the awful winding tension it causes in Ren's internal life as it fractures her relationships to others.
This brings us to the SFnal elements. The worldbuilding for the Earth they left behind was excellent, detailed yet lying lightly on the story rather than weighting it down with infodumpery. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding for their new planet was absolutely sparse. I think this may have been an intentional choice meant to further illustrate the isolating effect of secrets, and how the great lie at the foundation of the colony has prevented them from becoming truly part of their new world. Since the SFnal elements are primarily in the setting, however, this has the effect of divorcing the genre elements from the plot:
The ending was disappointing:
Still, the first 90% of the book was fantastic.
This brings us to the SFnal elements. The worldbuilding for the Earth they left behind was excellent, detailed yet lying lightly on the story rather than weighting it down with infodumpery. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding for their new planet was absolutely sparse. I think this may have been an intentional choice meant to further illustrate the isolating effect of secrets, and how the great lie at the foundation of the colony has prevented them from becoming truly part of their new world. Since the SFnal elements are primarily in the setting, however, this has the effect of divorcing the genre elements from the plot:
Spoiler
The heart of the story could easily have been told without traveling to another planet.The ending was disappointing:
Spoiler
Ren's struggles are swept away by God's city, which seems to magically "cure" her mental illness. There's no real hint as to why Ren was able to see what the enigmatic Suh couldn't. Ren's discovery, "cure," and ascension feel tacked-on, like the author had written themselves into a corner- after a story so focused on Ren's interior life and her struggles relating to others, it felt really cheap to have an ending that takes her away from everyone else and uses an unknown mechanism to "fix" her.Still, the first 90% of the book was fantastic.
emmaloho's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this book never fails to absolutely crush me. the building of the plot with both past memory and present mental illness is so well done, and the ending is incredible. both times I've read it now the kick off to the climax had me breathless, shoulders locked, jaw hung open, nauseated. the scifi world building is in my opinion masterful, both the human tech to the alien gods city. anyone who enjoys scifi should read this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Eating disorder
Minor: Death, Child death, Death of parent, Vomit, Sexual content, Alcohol, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
ericmcdaniel's review
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
‘Planetfall’ by Emma Newman was the July pick for my online book club.
Renata Ghali followed Lee Suh-Mi into space, but that was 22 years ago and Suh is gone and Ren is one of the few holding on to the lie behind the disappearance. When Suh’s son shows up from the other landing site on the planet, Ren fights to keep her secrets, but the past is coming unraveled.
Ren is an interesting main character who suffers from some mental illness. It’s quite unlike a lot of characters I’ve read. The story seems to speed up towards the end, and I feel like there is a lot suddenly happening in the last 20 percent of the book, but I enjoyed reading it.
Renata Ghali followed Lee Suh-Mi into space, but that was 22 years ago and Suh is gone and Ren is one of the few holding on to the lie behind the disappearance. When Suh’s son shows up from the other landing site on the planet, Ren fights to keep her secrets, but the past is coming unraveled.
Ren is an interesting main character who suffers from some mental illness. It’s quite unlike a lot of characters I’ve read. The story seems to speed up towards the end, and I feel like there is a lot suddenly happening in the last 20 percent of the book, but I enjoyed reading it.
bookwormmuse's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
hivequeen's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a 5 star until the end. Newman did such a great job of building everything up and making me want to know what the big secret was, then it was all just kind of anticlimactic. I don't think the ending was bad necessarily, it just felt sortof like a letdown. I'm not sure what would've satisfied me tho tbh. Despite all that, I still gave it 4 stars because I was hooked throughout most of it!
Spoiler
I think the main problem for me wasn't what was in the final room of God's city, it was more that she built up this whole conflict with Sung-Soo and the others, and then just didn't really resolve it. Maybe the problem is that the whole ending felt unfinished, as if none of the narrative threads were really tied up. Maybe a few plot lines were ended, like Marco dying, but other than that it mostly felt like a cop out. I think I would've felt more satisfied with Renata's death if it didn't feel like the story was going a random direction when there was still action happening. Why put the attack on the colony in at all? It felt unnecessary and unfinished.karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
I am not sure that any review would equal the writing by the author. All I can say is that the story is amazing, and I have the feeling I will be thinking about it for a while.
billymac1962's review against another edition
4.0
Back in my 20s and 30s Science Fiction was my thing. And when it was good, wow, was it ever.
Giants like Arthur C. Clarke, Orson Scott Card, Dan Simmons, and John Varley gave me the escapism I was looking for: that sense of wonder and mystery. Other worlds.
Unfortunately, the genre has changed over the past twenty years or so. Nowadays the new stuff coming out seem to be focused more on cautionary tales, allegories to the world as we know it and how things will evolve socially and politically.
Phooey, I say. It's escapism I have always sought with this genre (all fiction in general, really), so if there isn't a sense of wonder and mystery and good characters, I will look elsewhere.
But even amid the drought for what I like, still there is hope that something will come out that harkens back to those wonderous older books.
And it did. Planetfall.
Finally, an engaging read about humankind's first visit to an alien world, rife with mystery, and as a bonus some mild mental illness to contend with.
I was racing to the end of this one to see what was going to happen. Emma Newman does a great job of luring the reader along, disclosing revelations along the way. The narrative doesn't get bogged down with over-descriptiveness, and yet I could totally picture and feel what our main protagonist was going through.
This is part of a series, but having said that, there is a lot revealed by the end of the book. Yet, there is enough unknown to entice me to read the next one really soon.
If I was to nitpick on one thing, it might be the repetitiveness of what was going through Ren's mind at times. But, even though this may be a nuisance for the reader, this stream of consciousness is totally viable given her predicaments.
A strong 4.5 stars for this very fast read, and I'm very much looking forward to book 2.
Giants like Arthur C. Clarke, Orson Scott Card, Dan Simmons, and John Varley gave me the escapism I was looking for: that sense of wonder and mystery. Other worlds.
Unfortunately, the genre has changed over the past twenty years or so. Nowadays the new stuff coming out seem to be focused more on cautionary tales, allegories to the world as we know it and how things will evolve socially and politically.
Phooey, I say. It's escapism I have always sought with this genre (all fiction in general, really), so if there isn't a sense of wonder and mystery and good characters, I will look elsewhere.
But even amid the drought for what I like, still there is hope that something will come out that harkens back to those wonderous older books.
And it did. Planetfall.
Finally, an engaging read about humankind's first visit to an alien world, rife with mystery, and as a bonus some mild mental illness to contend with.
I was racing to the end of this one to see what was going to happen. Emma Newman does a great job of luring the reader along, disclosing revelations along the way. The narrative doesn't get bogged down with over-descriptiveness, and yet I could totally picture and feel what our main protagonist was going through.
This is part of a series, but having said that, there is a lot revealed by the end of the book. Yet, there is enough unknown to entice me to read the next one really soon.
If I was to nitpick on one thing, it might be the repetitiveness of what was going through Ren's mind at times. But, even though this may be a nuisance for the reader, this stream of consciousness is totally viable given her predicaments.
A strong 4.5 stars for this very fast read, and I'm very much looking forward to book 2.