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knittyreader's review
4.0
I received a free copy through Netgalley, in return for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is sci-fi and shows things that are not possible by far, but the plot is realistic nonetheless. The characters were mostly very interesting, and it had some interesting twists that made the story different and better than I expected.
I do think that Alessia, Lydia and Rafe were a little too perfect, and especially Alessia's thoughts sometimes slightly too moralistic and preachy. They would have been even more interesting if their 'bad sides' had shown too. Still, this book is pretty awesome!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is sci-fi and shows things that are not possible by far, but the plot is realistic nonetheless. The characters were mostly very interesting, and it had some interesting twists that made the story different and better than I expected.
I do think that Alessia, Lydia and Rafe were a little too perfect, and especially Alessia's thoughts sometimes slightly too moralistic and preachy. They would have been even more interesting if their 'bad sides' had shown too. Still, this book is pretty awesome!
mattdoylemedia's review
5.0
Background: Australia’s Rebecca Langham is a self-confessed nerd, a Whovian, a Xenite, and a lover of coffee, comics and sci-fi.
Beneath The Surface is Rebecca’s debut novel, and was released on January 15th 2018 by NineStar Press. Here, aliens known as Outsiders have landed on Earth. Rather than welcome our new arrivals though, humanity has decided that demonizing them and relegating them to monitored dwellings below ground is more humane. Lydia, the daughter of a powerful governor, takes up a position teaching Outsider children in one of the camps, but a meeting with an Outsider named Alessia shakes the foundations of the ‘truth’ she thought she knew.
The Good: Right off the bat, I want to say that BTS does a great job of creating a balance between two things: layers and clarity. Not only the characters but the world itself has clearly been meticulously thought out and comes across as very three-dimensional as a result. Despite this though, the book never crosses into the sometimes over-technical realms of hard sci-fi. This is an intelligent book presented as an accessible piece of literature.
As species, we are at times prone to certain behaviours; namely the apparent need to judge, and the unshaking ability to view ourselves as being at the top of the food chain. Of course, this doesn’t apply to all people or even all of the time, but it is often something that we see presented to us. Here, this has spilled over in the sense that humans are essentially detaining a race and confining them to a world away from the public eye. While not pushing things so far as extermination, the fact is that the society presented has reached a point where imprisonment on the grounds of birth is seen as a reasonable step. In this regard, the book does a good job of reminding us of how far things could go if we lose compassion and reason. The tale of a species’ fight for freedom and desire for coexistence even after all that has been done to them is thoroughly engrossing to read, and one that remains timely in a world where discrimination is still a regular occurrence.
The romance between Lydia and Alessia was a definite plus point for the book. Even if we put aside the LGBT+ representation it provides, it’s still a sweet relationship to watch grow. Yes, it may be a little quick for some readers, but you get a real sense of closeness between the characters, and that’s a real pleasure to read. Not a romance fan though? That’s fine too. While it does form part of the plot, the romance is secondary to the main story arc, so you won’t find it too intrusive. On top of that, it manages to never feels tacked on, which is not an easy thing to achieve.
I would also say that, despite the actions of humanity as a whole, there aren’t any true villains here. Misguided decisions, yes, but no outright detestable types. As a fan of grey areas, I really enjoyed this approach.
The Bad: There isn’t anything specific that I would list as a bad point for myself here. However, there are a few things to note that may affect other people’s enjoyment of the story. First is that the book is not heavy on action. If you prefer a military bent to your futuristic adventures, for example, this will no doubt disappoint. BTS is not a book about flashy space battles or alien hunting, after all. The same can be said if you want to see all loose ends tied up by the end of the book. While this is part of a series, and I don’t doubt that Rebecca will cover all points going forward, some may find the lack of closure on some points off-putting.
Final View: A futuristic book that deals with modern day discrimination politics in an accessible manner. Rebecca Langham has created a debut novel that doesn’t feel like a debut, but rather something more seasoned. If you’re fine with low levels of action and a leaning towards softer sci-fi, this is a great recommendation.
Final Score: 4.5 / 5
Beneath The Surface is Rebecca’s debut novel, and was released on January 15th 2018 by NineStar Press. Here, aliens known as Outsiders have landed on Earth. Rather than welcome our new arrivals though, humanity has decided that demonizing them and relegating them to monitored dwellings below ground is more humane. Lydia, the daughter of a powerful governor, takes up a position teaching Outsider children in one of the camps, but a meeting with an Outsider named Alessia shakes the foundations of the ‘truth’ she thought she knew.
The Good: Right off the bat, I want to say that BTS does a great job of creating a balance between two things: layers and clarity. Not only the characters but the world itself has clearly been meticulously thought out and comes across as very three-dimensional as a result. Despite this though, the book never crosses into the sometimes over-technical realms of hard sci-fi. This is an intelligent book presented as an accessible piece of literature.
As species, we are at times prone to certain behaviours; namely the apparent need to judge, and the unshaking ability to view ourselves as being at the top of the food chain. Of course, this doesn’t apply to all people or even all of the time, but it is often something that we see presented to us. Here, this has spilled over in the sense that humans are essentially detaining a race and confining them to a world away from the public eye. While not pushing things so far as extermination, the fact is that the society presented has reached a point where imprisonment on the grounds of birth is seen as a reasonable step. In this regard, the book does a good job of reminding us of how far things could go if we lose compassion and reason. The tale of a species’ fight for freedom and desire for coexistence even after all that has been done to them is thoroughly engrossing to read, and one that remains timely in a world where discrimination is still a regular occurrence.
The romance between Lydia and Alessia was a definite plus point for the book. Even if we put aside the LGBT+ representation it provides, it’s still a sweet relationship to watch grow. Yes, it may be a little quick for some readers, but you get a real sense of closeness between the characters, and that’s a real pleasure to read. Not a romance fan though? That’s fine too. While it does form part of the plot, the romance is secondary to the main story arc, so you won’t find it too intrusive. On top of that, it manages to never feels tacked on, which is not an easy thing to achieve.
I would also say that, despite the actions of humanity as a whole, there aren’t any true villains here. Misguided decisions, yes, but no outright detestable types. As a fan of grey areas, I really enjoyed this approach.
The Bad: There isn’t anything specific that I would list as a bad point for myself here. However, there are a few things to note that may affect other people’s enjoyment of the story. First is that the book is not heavy on action. If you prefer a military bent to your futuristic adventures, for example, this will no doubt disappoint. BTS is not a book about flashy space battles or alien hunting, after all. The same can be said if you want to see all loose ends tied up by the end of the book. While this is part of a series, and I don’t doubt that Rebecca will cover all points going forward, some may find the lack of closure on some points off-putting.
Final View: A futuristic book that deals with modern day discrimination politics in an accessible manner. Rebecca Langham has created a debut novel that doesn’t feel like a debut, but rather something more seasoned. If you’re fine with low levels of action and a leaning towards softer sci-fi, this is a great recommendation.
Final Score: 4.5 / 5
lukiut's review against another edition
5.0
(( more of a 4.5 / 5 stars, not because there was anything specific I didn't enjoy about it, but it just didn't make my favorites list ))
Would totally recommend this book to science fiction fans - aliens, to be more specific -, as well as to people who are looking for a fantastically-done LGBT+ representation and romances and all that fun stuff. I also need to say, for a debut novel, it was totally amazing and I can't wait to see what else Rebecca Langham surprises us with next!
I went into this book not knowing too much, as well as not being the biggest fan of science fiction. For this matter, I feel like I need to mention that the book is not confusing whatsoever, you can go into it blindly and still enjoy it a lot.
Now, one thing that I really liked about this book, besides the cover, which instantly caught my attention and I feel that it suits the theme perfectly, is that there are warnings at the beginning of it. So I shall also warn you that it contains depictions of violence, death, racism/racist ideology and imprisonment, just in case some of you reading this might be triggered by any of the things listed.
Quick mention: I felt like every little aspect from the warning was done right.
So basically we have these colonies of aliens, who we call "the Outsiders", that once came on Earth to seek political asylum of some sort, running away from a civil war happening on their planet. Our government agreed to take them in, but being as hard as it is for someone so different to blend into the human society, a compromise was made: they still got to live on our planet, but sectioned up into these colonies, and in harsher conditions than a human could support. Well, given the fact that they are stronger beings than humans, this shouldn't have been too much of a problem. However, this life that they live is not what they were promised. They end up working like slaves and every single move of theirs is monitored. The ones that are supposed to keep them safe, living a peaceful life, are treating them as criminals most of the time. As if they were inferior to the human race, not worthy of at least medium living conditions. And this is where all of the warnings come into play.
Another very well-done aspect of the book was the LGBTQ+ rep. Not only do we have a main girl x girl romance (which melted my own little heart to its core the whole time), but the Outsiders are the most supportive community I have ever read about. The way they treat gender and sexuality fluidity - as something normal, not uncommon - spreads just so much love and positivity. There was also one boy x boy romance which I loved loved loved loved!
As far as characters go, we have some pretty strong personalities here. Some of them, it seemed to me, start pretty low on the... character development scale, let's say, in comparison with the other ones with who they mostly interact. For example, let's take Lydia and Alessia, human and Outsider. Without spoiling anything, my personal opinion is that Lydia was kind of low-ish at the beginning, but she managed to gain a lot from Alessia while they interacted. Was this the purpose of the book, achievement unlocked! If this wasn't, though... Still achievement unlocked, one more thing done great!
I managed to find myself in many, many passages from the book. The author did a very good job at portraying our society as well, with all its political intrigue and how the media kind of controls important people's lives - not as much in the fact that they are told what to do, but that they most of the times can't just be themselves because everything they do is put out there and can be turned into a bad thing.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book. It left on such a cliffhanger (at least for me) that I am dying for the next one and can't wait to pick it up once it's out!
Would totally recommend this book to science fiction fans - aliens, to be more specific -, as well as to people who are looking for a fantastically-done LGBT+ representation and romances and all that fun stuff. I also need to say, for a debut novel, it was totally amazing and I can't wait to see what else Rebecca Langham surprises us with next!
I went into this book not knowing too much, as well as not being the biggest fan of science fiction. For this matter, I feel like I need to mention that the book is not confusing whatsoever, you can go into it blindly and still enjoy it a lot.
Now, one thing that I really liked about this book, besides the cover, which instantly caught my attention and I feel that it suits the theme perfectly, is that there are warnings at the beginning of it. So I shall also warn you that it contains depictions of violence, death, racism/racist ideology and imprisonment, just in case some of you reading this might be triggered by any of the things listed.
Quick mention: I felt like every little aspect from the warning was done right.
So basically we have these colonies of aliens, who we call "the Outsiders", that once came on Earth to seek political asylum of some sort, running away from a civil war happening on their planet. Our government agreed to take them in, but being as hard as it is for someone so different to blend into the human society, a compromise was made: they still got to live on our planet, but sectioned up into these colonies, and in harsher conditions than a human could support. Well, given the fact that they are stronger beings than humans, this shouldn't have been too much of a problem. However, this life that they live is not what they were promised. They end up working like slaves and every single move of theirs is monitored. The ones that are supposed to keep them safe, living a peaceful life, are treating them as criminals most of the time. As if they were inferior to the human race, not worthy of at least medium living conditions. And this is where all of the warnings come into play.
Another very well-done aspect of the book was the LGBTQ+ rep. Not only do we have a main girl x girl romance (which melted my own little heart to its core the whole time), but the Outsiders are the most supportive community I have ever read about. The way they treat gender and sexuality fluidity - as something normal, not uncommon - spreads just so much love and positivity. There was also one boy x boy romance which I loved loved loved loved!
As far as characters go, we have some pretty strong personalities here. Some of them, it seemed to me, start pretty low on the... character development scale, let's say, in comparison with the other ones with who they mostly interact. For example, let's take Lydia and Alessia, human and Outsider. Without spoiling anything, my personal opinion is that Lydia was kind of low-ish at the beginning, but she managed to gain a lot from Alessia while they interacted. Was this the purpose of the book, achievement unlocked! If this wasn't, though... Still achievement unlocked, one more thing done great!
I managed to find myself in many, many passages from the book. The author did a very good job at portraying our society as well, with all its political intrigue and how the media kind of controls important people's lives - not as much in the fact that they are told what to do, but that they most of the times can't just be themselves because everything they do is put out there and can be turned into a bad thing.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book. It left on such a cliffhanger (at least for me) that I am dying for the next one and can't wait to pick it up once it's out!
iam's review
3.0
Somewhere between 3 and 3.5 stars. It was good to read but the more I think about it the more I'm left shuddering by how messed up this was.
Content warnings include:
Beneath The Surface plays in a future where after a virus and steadily worsening climate conditions no nations exist anymore and the earth is parted into four quadrants ruled by one big government. A few generations ago first contact with aliens happened - a group of pacific refugees fleeing from a war on their home planet. Humanity offered to take them in, just to then break the promise of a new home: a hundred years down the line the aliens, called Outsiders, live in controlled underground colonies where they have no autonomy over their lives whatsoever, cut off from the rest of the world and exploited to produce technology for the humans living on the surface.
Born into this setting is main protagonist Lydia. She's the daughter of the Governor of Quadrant Four (which seems to be mainly Australia.) Tired of a life in the spotlight due to who her father is, she decided to become a teacher - the book starts as she begins her first job as a substitude teacher for Outsider children in the local Outsider colony.
From the very start it's clear that something is off. The heavy atmosphere of the book is so overpowering it felt almost suffocating, made worse by how every single (human) side character seems to be antagonistic or just plain creepy.
Things quickly turn disturbing as Lydia sees how the Outsiders are treated and begins researching how they even came to be in these colonies. This is where things begin to turn weird and stop lining up.
Lydia is one of four main characters from whose POVs the book is told. The second and most important one after Lydia is Alessia, an Outsider who grew up on the surface and not in the colony. She's a well respected member of the Outsider community, not just within her peers but among the human staff of the colony as well. It's clear that there's something more going on in the background with her, but it's never really brought up until the very end.
I said Alessia is one of the more important POV characters, but I guess I just wanted that to be true - in fact, barely anything important happens from her POV, but that is true for the other two POV characters as well.
The third is Fermi, another Outsider who is mostly content with his life. He doesn't like to heard of Alessia's life on the surface but other than that considers her his closest friend.
The fourth POV character is Damon, Lydia's father and leader of 25% of the planet. He's.... I don't even really know what to say about him. Let me phrase it this way: I didn't really understand why his POV was needed. The information conveyed through him could have been implemented into the other POVs. He seems to be what comes closest to being an antagonist in this book, which brings me to one of the downsides.
The book lacks a clear antagonist. The plot is obviously focused on freeing the Outsiders, but even that feels sort of aimless. So much is going on in the background, from terrorist attacks to technology addicts,big companies controlling 99% of the market to political activists making trouble, contracts and charters being ignored behind the scenes and corrupt people.... Yet there is no action, the protagonist are never really doing anything, and there is no real climax to the whole plot either. Most of the big revelations and plot twists happen in long monologues, words instead of actions.
Luckily the words were good. This book was very well written. Even when the POV character was someone I didn't like (aka Damon) I never skimmed any of the paragraphs or had trouble focussing on the book. Despite the seeming lack of anything much happening, I was never actually bored while reading.
The atmosphere was masterfully done, though the book made me uncomfortable in a lot of ways. Not only is the scenario with aliens turning up and excitement quickly turning into ignorance and oppression painfully realistic, a lot of the characters are simply despicable with creepy comments, which combined with the almost clinical way of how anyone's appearance was described was very chilling and unsettling.
That fits with the themes of the book: there's manipulation, oppression and exploitation everywhere, which left me questioning what was even real and what really happened a lot of the time.
This would have been good and should have created suspension - instead it just felt like the book was riddled with plot holes. So many things just didn't make sense in the moment, and while a lot of if was later explained in a side sentence the exact HOW of it all was left open and just left me confused and upset.
The big reveal at the end to explain it all felt extremely weird because it was a conversation between two perceived antagonists to who the reader has barely any emotional connection, which removed it from the actual protagonists and didn't feel triumphant or happy at all.
Even the supposed happy epilogue had a very unsettling and upsetting turn due to more big reveals that seemed to just turn the earlier revelation around and made the entire plot vaguely nonsensical to me.
Overall this book definitely touched me - I couldn't stop thinking about it since I finished it, but it's leaving me disturbed instead of with positive feelings which makes it hard to paint this book in a good light.
One good thing the book has speaking for itself is the lack of queerphobia. Not everything is perfect, but most of the main characters are queer, the main couple is f/f and the secondary is m/m, though romance is definitely not the focus here. I also really liked the Outsiders approach to gender: their children (called younglings) are raised gender neutrally and there is a ceremony (the only thing coming close to culture they have) where a person can share and declare their gender with the community. It seems to be hinted that most Outsiders are intersex, but they can also change their physical traits when their identity changes, though this isn't explained in depth.
Ultimately I guess I did enjoy reading this book. It had many great concepts and touched a lot of important topics, but it frequently left me very unsettled and I'm confused by many of the turns so it seems to me that there are tons of plot holes and unrealized potential.
Content warnings include:
Spoiler
systematic oppression where one group of people is locked in underground facilities where they have no autonomy over anything in their life and people regularly get culled or relocated for no apparent reason, exploitation, erasing of culture, racism, graphic descriptions of death and injuries from bombsBeneath The Surface plays in a future where after a virus and steadily worsening climate conditions no nations exist anymore and the earth is parted into four quadrants ruled by one big government. A few generations ago first contact with aliens happened - a group of pacific refugees fleeing from a war on their home planet. Humanity offered to take them in, just to then break the promise of a new home: a hundred years down the line the aliens, called Outsiders, live in controlled underground colonies where they have no autonomy over their lives whatsoever, cut off from the rest of the world and exploited to produce technology for the humans living on the surface.
Born into this setting is main protagonist Lydia. She's the daughter of the Governor of Quadrant Four (which seems to be mainly Australia.) Tired of a life in the spotlight due to who her father is, she decided to become a teacher - the book starts as she begins her first job as a substitude teacher for Outsider children in the local Outsider colony.
From the very start it's clear that something is off. The heavy atmosphere of the book is so overpowering it felt almost suffocating, made worse by how every single (human) side character seems to be antagonistic or just plain creepy.
Things quickly turn disturbing as Lydia sees how the Outsiders are treated and begins researching how they even came to be in these colonies. This is where things begin to turn weird and stop lining up.
Lydia is one of four main characters from whose POVs the book is told. The second and most important one after Lydia is Alessia, an Outsider who grew up on the surface and not in the colony. She's a well respected member of the Outsider community, not just within her peers but among the human staff of the colony as well. It's clear that there's something more going on in the background with her, but it's never really brought up until the very end.
I said Alessia is one of the more important POV characters, but I guess I just wanted that to be true - in fact, barely anything important happens from her POV, but that is true for the other two POV characters as well.
The third is Fermi, another Outsider who is mostly content with his life. He doesn't like to heard of Alessia's life on the surface but other than that considers her his closest friend.
The fourth POV character is Damon, Lydia's father and leader of 25% of the planet. He's.... I don't even really know what to say about him. Let me phrase it this way: I didn't really understand why his POV was needed. The information conveyed through him could have been implemented into the other POVs. He seems to be what comes closest to being an antagonist in this book, which brings me to one of the downsides.
The book lacks a clear antagonist. The plot is obviously focused on freeing the Outsiders, but even that feels sort of aimless. So much is going on in the background, from terrorist attacks to technology addicts,big companies controlling 99% of the market to political activists making trouble, contracts and charters being ignored behind the scenes and corrupt people.... Yet there is no action, the protagonist are never really doing anything, and there is no real climax to the whole plot either. Most of the big revelations and plot twists happen in long monologues, words instead of actions.
Luckily the words were good. This book was very well written. Even when the POV character was someone I didn't like (aka Damon) I never skimmed any of the paragraphs or had trouble focussing on the book. Despite the seeming lack of anything much happening, I was never actually bored while reading.
The atmosphere was masterfully done, though the book made me uncomfortable in a lot of ways. Not only is the scenario with aliens turning up and excitement quickly turning into ignorance and oppression painfully realistic, a lot of the characters are simply despicable with creepy comments, which combined with the almost clinical way of how anyone's appearance was described was very chilling and unsettling.
That fits with the themes of the book: there's manipulation, oppression and exploitation everywhere, which left me questioning what was even real and what really happened a lot of the time.
This would have been good and should have created suspension - instead it just felt like the book was riddled with plot holes. So many things just didn't make sense in the moment, and while a lot of if was later explained in a side sentence the exact HOW of it all was left open and just left me confused and upset.
The big reveal at the end to explain it all felt extremely weird because it was a conversation between two perceived antagonists to who the reader has barely any emotional connection, which removed it from the actual protagonists and didn't feel triumphant or happy at all.
Even the supposed happy epilogue had a very unsettling and upsetting turn due to more big reveals that seemed to just turn the earlier revelation around and made the entire plot vaguely nonsensical to me.
Overall this book definitely touched me - I couldn't stop thinking about it since I finished it, but it's leaving me disturbed instead of with positive feelings which makes it hard to paint this book in a good light.
One good thing the book has speaking for itself is the lack of queerphobia. Not everything is perfect, but most of the main characters are queer, the main couple is f/f and the secondary is m/m, though romance is definitely not the focus here. I also really liked the Outsiders approach to gender: their children (called younglings) are raised gender neutrally and there is a ceremony (the only thing coming close to culture they have) where a person can share and declare their gender with the community. It seems to be hinted that most Outsiders are intersex, but they can also change their physical traits when their identity changes, though this isn't explained in depth.
Ultimately I guess I did enjoy reading this book. It had many great concepts and touched a lot of important topics, but it frequently left me very unsettled and I'm confused by many of the turns so it seems to me that there are tons of plot holes and unrealized potential.
becandbooks's review
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5 star
I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. A big thank you to Rebecca Langham and NineStar Press!
This is one of those books that makes you stop and think about life and humanity and where the heck we are going as a species.
Beneath the Surface, while still holding onto a lot of traditional sci-fi concepts, delves into so many big, big themes of racism, segregation, detainment, and sexuality and gender, in a way that I really enjoyed.
Okay, the big thing that I loved – and actually don’t want to say too much about because I want you guys to experience this for yourself! – was the aliens.
Okay, of course, I liked the aliens?!
But hold on. I swear by the end of the book I basically just wanted to forego all my humanity and become an Outsider, because what the heck, I wanna just join their society thank you very much.
I refuse to give any sort of spoiler. But. If you are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community you will agree with me after reading this book.
I also super loved the world-building in this book.
I loved the inclusion of futuristic technology, as well as the new and developed government system, government and corporation overlap, and the evolution (but also the limitations of this evolution) of modern societal norms.
And then there are the Outsiders and how humanity decided to deal with the issue.
I truly enjoyed the concept and investigation of aliens coming to Earth and being treated as asylum seekers and refugees, rather than the typical B-rate movie alien invasion. While it is not completely unique, I much prefer this line of plot and thought it was the foundation of some excellent insight into the human society featured in the story.
It also made the book so relatable in a modern sense. I just sat there the entire time nodding my head thinking “yep that is exactly the same stupid governments that run the world now”.
I did experience some minor drawbacks with the writing style.
For the first half of the story, I found the pacing was a little slow for me personally. There is a lot of world-building and character introduction implemented throughout the first half of the book, and while there wasn’t a great deal of info-dumping, it did slow the pace a fair bit. While the story was more engaging afterwards, I felt the pacing was still inconsistent.
I was also left wanting more character development. While the character personalities are set pretty early on, I wanted more feeling and emotion and personal dissonance, particularly considering the social climate and the circumstances the characters are facing.
But really guys. The ending absolutely cemented me in the decision that I want to see how this series progresses. Just the enormity of the discussion that can stem from this debut makes me excited (and may possibly result in me coercing someone into a buddy read).
Full review | More reviews | Twitter | Pinterest | You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me (C.S. Lewis)
I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. A big thank you to Rebecca Langham and NineStar Press!
“The Outsiders had arrived as pacifists escaping a civil war…humans expressed a great deal of empathy at first. Within months, however, words like ‘asylum’ and ‘refugee’ were replaced by ‘interlopers’ and ‘intruders'”
This is one of those books that makes you stop and think about life and humanity and where the heck we are going as a species.
Beneath the Surface, while still holding onto a lot of traditional sci-fi concepts, delves into so many big, big themes of racism, segregation, detainment, and sexuality and gender, in a way that I really enjoyed.
Okay, the big thing that I loved – and actually don’t want to say too much about because I want you guys to experience this for yourself! – was the aliens.
Okay, of course, I liked the aliens?!
But hold on. I swear by the end of the book I basically just wanted to forego all my humanity and become an Outsider, because what the heck, I wanna just join their society thank you very much.
I refuse to give any sort of spoiler. But. If you are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community you will agree with me after reading this book.
"The truth usually lies beneath the surface of things"
I also super loved the world-building in this book.
I loved the inclusion of futuristic technology, as well as the new and developed government system, government and corporation overlap, and the evolution (but also the limitations of this evolution) of modern societal norms.
And then there are the Outsiders and how humanity decided to deal with the issue.
I truly enjoyed the concept and investigation of aliens coming to Earth and being treated as asylum seekers and refugees, rather than the typical B-rate movie alien invasion. While it is not completely unique, I much prefer this line of plot and thought it was the foundation of some excellent insight into the human society featured in the story.
It also made the book so relatable in a modern sense. I just sat there the entire time nodding my head thinking “yep that is exactly the same stupid governments that run the world now”.
"'The world is full of possibilities,' Lydia said. ' You are not a bad person just because you're not the same as everyone else. In fact, it's what makes you spectacular. You deserve to be seen. To be happy. To be loved. To love yourself.'"
I did experience some minor drawbacks with the writing style.
For the first half of the story, I found the pacing was a little slow for me personally. There is a lot of world-building and character introduction implemented throughout the first half of the book, and while there wasn’t a great deal of info-dumping, it did slow the pace a fair bit. While the story was more engaging afterwards, I felt the pacing was still inconsistent.
I was also left wanting more character development. While the character personalities are set pretty early on, I wanted more feeling and emotion and personal dissonance, particularly considering the social climate and the circumstances the characters are facing.
But really guys. The ending absolutely cemented me in the decision that I want to see how this series progresses. Just the enormity of the discussion that can stem from this debut makes me excited (and may possibly result in me coercing someone into a buddy read).
"You have a rare light inside of you. It's why I haven't been able to look away"
Full review | More reviews | Twitter | Pinterest | You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me (C.S. Lewis)
emhamill's review
4.0
Beneath the Surface brings readers into the plight of a refugee group of humanoid aliens, segregated from humanity in underground facilities. Lydia Barrett is quick to empathize with the Outsiders and cannot resist the pull she feels toward Alessia, the de facto leader of the group. The very title of the book is multilayered: there is so much more going on beneath the surface of the conflict than is readily apparent.
I have always been a huge fan of "Alien Nation", and this book attracted me because of the passing similarity. It's definitely not a lightning paced adventure but character-driven. It was a very enjoyable read. I will be the first to admit that if a book does not grab me, I won't finish it. This had no problems keeping my attention, and I absolutely adored the building relationship between Lydia and Alessia. If there was a problem with the book, it wasn't in the writing but the pacing. Plenty of things are happening to keep interest, but the last third of the book holds so many revelations that built and built and had me going "OMG" every five pages or so, that it just felt uneven.
That being said, it's well written, the characters are fully formed and I developed a fondness for many of them. I'm looking forward to reading what happens next.
I have always been a huge fan of "Alien Nation", and this book attracted me because of the passing similarity. It's definitely not a lightning paced adventure but character-driven. It was a very enjoyable read. I will be the first to admit that if a book does not grab me, I won't finish it. This had no problems keeping my attention, and I absolutely adored the building relationship between Lydia and Alessia. If there was a problem with the book, it wasn't in the writing but the pacing. Plenty of things are happening to keep interest, but the last third of the book holds so many revelations that built and built and had me going "OMG" every five pages or so, that it just felt uneven.
That being said, it's well written, the characters are fully formed and I developed a fondness for many of them. I'm looking forward to reading what happens next.
book_banshee's review
3.0
Actual Rating: 2.75 stars
Beneath the Surface is a book I admire for tackling the important issues of equality and discrimination, which is why I’m sad to also say this book was not for me. I like to visit the science fiction genre for its tendency to overlap with fantasy, but that was not the case here (and probably why the book and I didn’t get along as well as I had hoped). Though extremely well detailed, this sci-fi world was one I struggled to immerse myself it, and with some weak storytelling elements, I felt that is novel failed to deliver the punch it was trying to relay.
This novel follows a variety of perspectives, but its two main protagonists are Lydia, the daughter of the Quadrant 4 Governor (human civilization is divided into 4 quadrants in this futuristic world), and Alessia, one of the many repressed Outsiders (aliens) living under the jurisdiction of humans. When Lydia decides to take a job as a teacher for Outsider children, she moves to the colony where the Outsider population lives. As she begins to develop friendships and connect with her students, she starts to realize how inhumane and discriminatory her world is. Alessia, on the other hand, is already well aware of this, and struggles with how to peacefully progress towards equality for her people.
As I stated before, I loved the clear advocacy for respect towards the LGBTQIA community and the protest against racist ideology. Though it could have been a little more subtle, I appreciated the clear relevance of this message for the world today.
Along with the important message of this book, I loved the ideal culture that Langham crafted for the Outsiders and how she used it to lay out an example of how accepting the world should be of sexuality and the way people chose to identify. Honestly, Langham was amazingly detailed in all the worldbuilding she did for this book, both inside the Outsider community and for the rest of human civilization. Right from page one readers are thrown right into this well thought out world.
Despite this noteworthy message, I felt that the writing weighed down impact was this book was trying to have. Right from the beginning, I was off put by the usage of weird adjectives and the awkward & excessive dialogue of the characters. Additionally, I found a couple instances of missing words or phrases that didn’t seem grammatically correct.
Another weak element of the book that I noticed was the characters. They felt very bland and only minimally fleshed out. Additionally, I felt that Lydia’s character development was way too rushed and set too early on. I wanted to see her struggle more with the stereotypes and lies she had been fed her entire life.
My biggest pet peeve for this story was the fricking insta-love and attraction. Two characters have met what, three times(?!?!), and then there’s already roaming hands and kissing? WHAT? I get that instant attraction is a perfectly normal and regular occurrence, but to have a character’s thoughts instantly bombarded with touching their future love interest? I love romance, but this immediate obsession almost seemed a little, I don’t know…creepy?
My final issue with the book was the ending. The conclusion felt rushed and anti-climactic. Additionally, I felt that there were a few minor plot holes that only seemed to expand by the ending’s plot twist. I concluded the book feeling confused and relieved to be finished, which is not how I like to feel when I complete a book. It was very unsatisfying, and not the unsatisfying-because-I-want-the-next-book.
To summarize, Beneath the Surface was a well thought out book that would have been ten times better with some fine tuning in terms of writing style, character development, and plot-hole-patching. Despite my multiple critiques, this book was in no way a bad one, but by being in a genre that’s very hit or miss for me and with writing that wasn’t as strong as I would have liked, I’m sticking with a mediocre rating for this book. I do believe that there are readers out there who would enjoy this novel, so I recommend this book to anyone who loves intense science fiction and a star-crossed romance!
“What worth do we have if we don’t love our own people, even when they lose their way?” (Ch. 9)
***I received a free ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can see this review, my other reviews & additional bookish posts at my blog: Are You My Book?
Beneath the Surface is a book I admire for tackling the important issues of equality and discrimination, which is why I’m sad to also say this book was not for me. I like to visit the science fiction genre for its tendency to overlap with fantasy, but that was not the case here (and probably why the book and I didn’t get along as well as I had hoped). Though extremely well detailed, this sci-fi world was one I struggled to immerse myself it, and with some weak storytelling elements, I felt that is novel failed to deliver the punch it was trying to relay.
This novel follows a variety of perspectives, but its two main protagonists are Lydia, the daughter of the Quadrant 4 Governor (human civilization is divided into 4 quadrants in this futuristic world), and Alessia, one of the many repressed Outsiders (aliens) living under the jurisdiction of humans. When Lydia decides to take a job as a teacher for Outsider children, she moves to the colony where the Outsider population lives. As she begins to develop friendships and connect with her students, she starts to realize how inhumane and discriminatory her world is. Alessia, on the other hand, is already well aware of this, and struggles with how to peacefully progress towards equality for her people.
As I stated before, I loved the clear advocacy for respect towards the LGBTQIA community and the protest against racist ideology. Though it could have been a little more subtle, I appreciated the clear relevance of this message for the world today.
Along with the important message of this book, I loved the ideal culture that Langham crafted for the Outsiders and how she used it to lay out an example of how accepting the world should be of sexuality and the way people chose to identify. Honestly, Langham was amazingly detailed in all the worldbuilding she did for this book, both inside the Outsider community and for the rest of human civilization. Right from page one readers are thrown right into this well thought out world.
Despite this noteworthy message, I felt that the writing weighed down impact was this book was trying to have. Right from the beginning, I was off put by the usage of weird adjectives and the awkward & excessive dialogue of the characters. Additionally, I found a couple instances of missing words or phrases that didn’t seem grammatically correct.
Another weak element of the book that I noticed was the characters. They felt very bland and only minimally fleshed out. Additionally, I felt that Lydia’s character development was way too rushed and set too early on. I wanted to see her struggle more with the stereotypes and lies she had been fed her entire life.
My biggest pet peeve for this story was the fricking insta-love and attraction. Two characters have met what, three times(?!?!), and then there’s already roaming hands and kissing? WHAT? I get that instant attraction is a perfectly normal and regular occurrence, but to have a character’s thoughts instantly bombarded with touching their future love interest? I love romance, but this immediate obsession almost seemed a little, I don’t know…creepy?
My final issue with the book was the ending. The conclusion felt rushed and anti-climactic. Additionally, I felt that there were a few minor plot holes that only seemed to expand by the ending’s plot twist. I concluded the book feeling confused and relieved to be finished, which is not how I like to feel when I complete a book. It was very unsatisfying, and not the unsatisfying-because-I-want-the-next-book.
To summarize, Beneath the Surface was a well thought out book that would have been ten times better with some fine tuning in terms of writing style, character development, and plot-hole-patching. Despite my multiple critiques, this book was in no way a bad one, but by being in a genre that’s very hit or miss for me and with writing that wasn’t as strong as I would have liked, I’m sticking with a mediocre rating for this book. I do believe that there are readers out there who would enjoy this novel, so I recommend this book to anyone who loves intense science fiction and a star-crossed romance!
“What worth do we have if we don’t love our own people, even when they lose their way?” (Ch. 9)
***I received a free ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can see this review, my other reviews & additional bookish posts at my blog: Are You My Book?
abiofpellinor's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so so good! 4.5/5* from me. Firstly thank you to NetGalley and NineStar for a free ebook of this novel in return for an honest review. I had attempted to read a NineStar published Sci-Fi already this year (again thanks to NetGalley) and disliked it so much that it's the first book I have ever DNF'd. I was pretty worried coming into this book that I would end up doing the same but [a:Rebecca Langham|17523263|Rebecca Langham|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1513894148p2/17523263.jpg] has written an absolutely engrossing novel. It isn't a faced paced Sci-Fi, instead, it is a slow moving, dystopian world, where you gradually learn more about the characters and their backgrounds and start to form certain suspicions about the Outsiders (one of my suspicions was confirmed near the end of the book). As anyone who knows me is aware, I really really don't like romance in books. The mushiness has always just annoyed me in the past, but I absolutely love how it was written here and the way it plays so naturally into the story and does not feel forced at all. The only issue I had with this book was that the ending felt a little rushed to me, as everything was wrapped up very quickly. I understood how the author was attempting to make the reader feel, but I don't think she quite managed to capture it the way she wanted. All in all, this was an amazing book and I will 100% be reading any sequels to learn more about these characters and the world they live in. The writing in this book is very well done, and without having read up on it I would never have known it was Rebecca Langham's first novel. Looking forward to seeing more from this author!
broomesbooks's review
4.0
Beneath the Surface is Rebecca Langham’s debut novel. It’s a science-fiction novel that delves into the tougher issues of what any society can and does experience. Lydia, who is the daughter of a powerful politician, choses to teach in an underground community where the Outsiders are housed. She teaches an extremely scripted version of history as to what happened and why the Outsiders were kept underground. It was for their own good, a way to protect them and one day they’ll get out of the underground societies. Once it’s safe for them.
Upon her arrival, Lydia first meets Jez, her teaching partner who is also a hybrid of the human/outsider species. That’s why she’s always remained underground, teaching and denying herself the chance to fall in love and to find friends. I think this is a moment that makes Lydia stand still and think. As she begins to get situated and teach she starts to interact more with the Outsiders. She sees Alessia throughout and she feels drawn to her. It’s definitely a tough pill to swallow. You’re taught a certain rhetoric all your life and you start to see something different. Then you’re attracted to an Outsider? That’s a lot.
Romance took a backseat to the main plot of Beneath the Surface. I think that if there had been more written about their romance, it wouldn’t have fit in the story. There were breathless kisses, scenes that could have been more detailed but you knew how the two felt about each other. It was more than attraction for them.
Fermi also had a bit of a romance going as well. I loved Fermi. He was so bright, happy and full of energy. So to see a secondary character get attention was exciting.
I found myself throughout the entire novel making connections to past and current events. I blame the historian in me but I saw segregation, racial tensions, and refugee issues. There were so many ways that this made me stop and think.
I enjoyed the amount of detail that had been needed to create such a huge, diverse world. There were at times I felt myself walking through the hallways, experiencing the rush of emotion. I could feel happy, sad, anxious and angry in a rapid manner. And it was all essential to the plot.
This is one you should definitely give a read.
Upon her arrival, Lydia first meets Jez, her teaching partner who is also a hybrid of the human/outsider species. That’s why she’s always remained underground, teaching and denying herself the chance to fall in love and to find friends. I think this is a moment that makes Lydia stand still and think. As she begins to get situated and teach she starts to interact more with the Outsiders. She sees Alessia throughout and she feels drawn to her. It’s definitely a tough pill to swallow. You’re taught a certain rhetoric all your life and you start to see something different. Then you’re attracted to an Outsider? That’s a lot.
Romance took a backseat to the main plot of Beneath the Surface. I think that if there had been more written about their romance, it wouldn’t have fit in the story. There were breathless kisses, scenes that could have been more detailed but you knew how the two felt about each other. It was more than attraction for them.
Fermi also had a bit of a romance going as well. I loved Fermi. He was so bright, happy and full of energy. So to see a secondary character get attention was exciting.
I found myself throughout the entire novel making connections to past and current events. I blame the historian in me but I saw segregation, racial tensions, and refugee issues. There were so many ways that this made me stop and think.
I enjoyed the amount of detail that had been needed to create such a huge, diverse world. There were at times I felt myself walking through the hallways, experiencing the rush of emotion. I could feel happy, sad, anxious and angry in a rapid manner. And it was all essential to the plot.
This is one you should definitely give a read.
jenny_librarian's review
4.0
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
4.25 ⭐️
I really, REALLY liked this book. It is quite slow-paced and there's not actually that much action happening (or when it does, it's mostly in the background), but it raises questions about genetics, technology, the environment, etc.
There's a lot to process with this novel. Aliens are kept in facilities, hidden from the public. Technological advances are subjected to incredibly hard laws about development and limits. Earth is this close to being completely hostile to humans. The government and a technology business seem too close. These are only few of the many themes seen in this story. And the more you read, the more you discover what you first thought this book was about might not be right. That's one of the aspects I loved the most about it.
My favourite aspect, though, was THE DIVERSITY!!!! With the exception of one tiny acephobic sentence, this was a masterpiece of sexual and gender diversity. And the author didn't write it so that only the aliens would be diverse (which is a trap a lot of authors fall into), but so that humans would accept people as they are and not try to invalid them and their feelings.
I look forward to reading more of that author (and hoping for a sequel soon).
4.25 ⭐️
I really, REALLY liked this book. It is quite slow-paced and there's not actually that much action happening (or when it does, it's mostly in the background), but it raises questions about genetics, technology, the environment, etc.
There's a lot to process with this novel. Aliens are kept in facilities, hidden from the public. Technological advances are subjected to incredibly hard laws about development and limits. Earth is this close to being completely hostile to humans. The government and a technology business seem too close. These are only few of the many themes seen in this story. And the more you read, the more you discover what you first thought this book was about might not be right. That's one of the aspects I loved the most about it.
My favourite aspect, though, was THE DIVERSITY!!!! With the exception of one tiny acephobic sentence, this was a masterpiece of sexual and gender diversity. And the author didn't write it so that only the aliens would be diverse (which is a trap a lot of authors fall into), but so that humans would accept people as they are and not try to invalid them and their feelings.
I look forward to reading more of that author (and hoping for a sequel soon).