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yourbookishbff's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Futuristic sci-fi meets multi-generational family-ish saga meets climate crisis, with a three-part plot tracing three different generations of terraforming Environmental Rescue Team (ERT) engineers as they fight their planet's corporate owner and its greedy colonizing violence. A few key things that worked really well for me:
1) The structure. Short, fast-paced chapters within a clearly defined three-part story. This seems trivial, but I honestly felt like this accessible structure made it easy to follow the characters and the action and kept the plot moving. In each of the three parts we have a core cast (with connections between each generation) and an evolving picture of Sask-E, and because each generation has its own corporate obstacles, there is always a clear (and unique) central conflict.
2) The world-building. For as many creatures and constructs of human-level intelligence as there are in this story, it's surprisingly easy to get acclimated. A world in which "The Great Bargain" has determined which creatures can participate as equals in self-governance means a world in which a moose or a cow or an earthworm may be your partner in the field. I loved our wacky cast of characters, and appreciated that the moments of levity are counterbalanced with moments of uncomfortable reflection. Ideas of defining personhood and measuring intelligence reminded me of Martha Wells' Murderbot universe, as did the futuristic corporate-colonizing space-race.
3) The audio! There are so many implied/described sound effects in the story that are brought to life in the audiobook - Crisp and Hellfire's doubled speech, our various bots' conversational sound effects, the train song in part three (perhaps my favorite part of the entire story!). This narration elevated the reading experience for me (and I say this as a reader who generally has not enjoyed Graphic Audio productions that include sound effects).
I wouldn't consider this a sci-fi entry point for newer readers to the genre, but it is a thought-provoking and unique read for sci-fi fans!
1) The structure. Short, fast-paced chapters within a clearly defined three-part story. This seems trivial, but I honestly felt like this accessible structure made it easy to follow the characters and the action and kept the plot moving. In each of the three parts we have a core cast (with connections between each generation) and an evolving picture of Sask-E, and because each generation has its own corporate obstacles, there is always a clear (and unique) central conflict.
2) The world-building. For as many creatures and constructs of human-level intelligence as there are in this story, it's surprisingly easy to get acclimated. A world in which "The Great Bargain" has determined which creatures can participate as equals in self-governance means a world in which a moose or a cow or an earthworm may be your partner in the field. I loved our wacky cast of characters, and appreciated that the moments of levity are counterbalanced with moments of uncomfortable reflection. Ideas of defining personhood and measuring intelligence reminded me of Martha Wells' Murderbot universe, as did the futuristic corporate-colonizing space-race.
3) The audio! There are so many implied/described sound effects in the story that are brought to life in the audiobook - Crisp and Hellfire's doubled speech, our various bots' conversational sound effects, the train song in part three (perhaps my favorite part of the entire story!). This narration elevated the reading experience for me (and I say this as a reader who generally has not enjoyed Graphic Audio productions that include sound effects).
I wouldn't consider this a sci-fi entry point for newer readers to the genre, but it is a thought-provoking and unique read for sci-fi fans!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Colonisation, Death, Classism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Animal death
Minor: Sexual content
greystory's review
DNF 47% - I would rate what I read so far 4 stars, for what it's worth, but the overall feeling of being misled or bamboozled by the book as a whole would have ultimately dropped any rating to 3 max.
Sooo when I borrowed this book from my library, the blurb for it only mentions Destry's story and that it spans thousands of years. Nowhere is Misha or another major character mentioned like the Goodreads blurb so I was completely unprepared for the sudden time jump and announcement that the vast majority of all characters I'd come to know and was invested in were now dead.
Had I known that - had I seen the blurb here where it mentions a second story about Misha, I would have looked into it more. I would have tried to determine if these are two stories told at the same time or what, and discovered that they're told chronologically. Had I done all that, I would have decided to not read this book.
I feel like I'm starting a second book after the first book had only a mildly satisfying but too short ending. I get that the overall story for this book is meant to be about the planet and the very, very long-term repercussions of ecological decisions but I can't bring myself to give a shit. I'm not invested in the planet. The planet is a backdrop, an interesting place to build your story but not strong enough to be The Story itself. Even in the universe Newitz created, the planet Sask-E could have easily been replaced with any other planet in the system and the story would have felt the same.
It was the people, the characters, making the story special and that's what you spent half the book getting me invested in. I don't want to start over with a second story about new characters, and judging from the goodreads blurb mentioning a future child, I don't even trust that I wouldn't have this second set of characters ripped from me as well to have a third character story going at the end. No thank you.
ETA: I skimmed a lot of other reviews after I decided not to continue and I agree that the good vs bad distinction was pretty black and white, that the ecoconservatism was very heavy handed (although it didn't bother me as much), and a lot of stuff was cool in terms of world-building but storywise not necessarily nuanced.
Sooo when I borrowed this book from my library, the blurb for it only mentions Destry's story and that it spans thousands of years. Nowhere is Misha or another major character mentioned like the Goodreads blurb so I was completely unprepared for the sudden time jump and announcement that the vast majority of all characters I'd come to know and was invested in were now dead.
Had I known that - had I seen the blurb here where it mentions a second story about Misha, I would have looked into it more. I would have tried to determine if these are two stories told at the same time or what, and discovered that they're told chronologically. Had I done all that, I would have decided to not read this book.
I feel like I'm starting a second book after the first book had only a mildly satisfying but too short ending. I get that the overall story for this book is meant to be about the planet and the very, very long-term repercussions of ecological decisions but I can't bring myself to give a shit. I'm not invested in the planet. The planet is a backdrop, an interesting place to build your story but not strong enough to be The Story itself. Even in the universe Newitz created, the planet Sask-E could have easily been replaced with any other planet in the system and the story would have felt the same.
It was the people, the characters, making the story special and that's what you spent half the book getting me invested in. I don't want to start over with a second story about new characters, and judging from the goodreads blurb mentioning a future child, I don't even trust that I wouldn't have this second set of characters ripped from me as well to have a third character story going at the end. No thank you.
ETA: I skimmed a lot of other reviews after I decided not to continue and I agree that the good vs bad distinction was pretty black and white, that the ecoconservatism was very heavy handed (although it didn't bother me as much), and a lot of stuff was cool in terms of world-building but storywise not necessarily nuanced.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, War, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Animal death
wlewis98's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The premise is fascinating. The setting earns it two stars by itself. The author also plays with gender in a far-future setting in ways that help deconstruct contemporary gender/sexual mores. As an abstract story premise or piece of queer analysis it might be good, but as an actual story it falls far short of its potential. The sex scenes are gratuitious and regularly involve animals (albeit intelligent ones), the prose is awkward, and the plot contains disorienting time jumps, preventing characters from sticking around long enough to develop well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Sexual content, and Animal death
schnaucl's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This wasn't really what I was expecting. For some reason I was expecting a book about climate change (which is on me). Instead, this was a story about terraforming (...hence the title), colonialism, gentrification, class solidarity and the ravages of capitalism.
The most horrifying part to me was the constraints the corporations put on creatures with a low intelligence assessment except what a low rating really meant was that their brains were designed so that they physically couldn't verbalize other than what they were allowed. In the case of a mount, the limitation was polysyllabic words, in the case of a cook, it was anything not related to her job. They can still understand other words and concepts, but they couldn't verbalize them. It's discovered in the first book what the limitation does, and that it can be at least partially reversed and then it just...isn't? I get that it was possible because the mount was injured and in the course of treating him they were able to mitigate the limitation. But there's no real discussion about whether it might be possible to use the same technology even in the absence of a severe wound. The people with the artificial limiters can and do find ways around the limitation but it's exhausting.
I did like the concept of the minority getting one concession from the majority that the minority gets to specify when a vote is taken, although I feel like that only really works if there's agreement on why the minority is voting against the majority. And if everyone is operating in good faith, of course.
I did like the concept of the minority getting one concession from the majority that the minority gets to specify when a vote is taken, although I feel like that only really works if there's agreement on why the minority is voting against the majority. And if everyone is operating in good faith, of course.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Colonisation, and Gun violence
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Death of parent, and Animal death
laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
The Terraformers is a story told in three parts, set years apart with only the slightest overlap in characters. The plot is set on Sask-E, a planet being terraformed to resemble a Pleistocene era Earth; it begins with the Environmental Rescue Team, whose members are working on the terraforming project. The second section follows a character trained by the protagonist of section one who is on a team strategizing for the development of inter-city transportation. The final section follows one of the sentient flying trains developed by this team as they and their allies work in hopes of creating a Sask-E for everyone rather than just for wealthy H sapiens.
What I liked: I quite liked the incorporation of multiple POVs using jumps in time period, and the incorporation of items like reports and transmissions into the text. I liked the exploration of speciesism & the world-building in which animals of all types are, in at least some contexts, meaningfully conceived of as persons. I like SFF that contrasts societies with dramatically different worldviews and that look at political decision-making as a process, and felt like this was handled well.
What I didn't love: I feel like there was very little ethical ambiguity in the characters, and that many (most) of the characters read as rather immature despite their lengthy lifespans. The antagonists at times felt like cartoon villains. Of the three, I found the middle section dragged on a bit and was less compelling than the other two.
Content warnings: violence, murder, animal death, human death, slavery, classism, war
What I liked: I quite liked the incorporation of multiple POVs using jumps in time period, and the incorporation of items like reports and transmissions into the text. I liked the exploration of speciesism & the world-building in which animals of all types are, in at least some contexts, meaningfully conceived of as persons. I like SFF that contrasts societies with dramatically different worldviews and that look at political decision-making as a process, and felt like this was handled well.
What I didn't love: I feel like there was very little ethical ambiguity in the characters, and that many (most) of the characters read as rather immature despite their lengthy lifespans. The antagonists at times felt like cartoon villains. Of the three, I found the middle section dragged on a bit and was less compelling than the other two.
Content warnings: violence, murder, animal death, human death, slavery, classism, war
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Slavery, Classism, War, Violence, Murder, and Animal death
maryellen's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Oh, I loved this book so much! All the characters were lovable, and the world building was so deep and layered. I think it's destined to be one of my all-time favorites.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Animal death, Colonisation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Police brutality
maeverose's review
I was interested in this for the environmentalism focus and because it seemed becky chambers esque but It didn’t grab my attention, and the humor didn’t jive with me (lots of poop jokes). Plus based on other people’s reviews I can tell this book is just way too weird for me.
One thing also bothered me a bit.. I love animals and personally don’t eat meat but this book seems to have a strong anti meat eater take, and I can’t tell if that was the author’s intention or if it’s just because the animals in this world are basically people. It was giving virtue signaling.. The damage that the meat industry does is not an individual’s problem but a problem with those industries. Not everyone can just stop eating meat, either for health or accessibility/financial reasons. Again, I could be reading into something that wasn’t even intended by the author, but I wanted to point it out because it felt a tad too similar to some of the crazy vegan youtubers I used to watch before I realized they were actually assholes.
One thing also bothered me a bit.. I love animals and personally don’t eat meat but this book seems to have a strong anti meat eater take, and I can’t tell if that was the author’s intention or if it’s just because the animals in this world are basically people. It was giving virtue signaling.. The damage that the meat industry does is not an individual’s problem but a problem with those industries. Not everyone can just stop eating meat, either for health or accessibility/financial reasons. Again, I could be reading into something that wasn’t even intended by the author, but I wanted to point it out because it felt a tad too similar to some of the crazy vegan youtubers I used to watch before I realized they were actually assholes.
Also there was a whole thing about the sex life of two moose and reading other people’s reviews apparently a cat and a train also have sex so… no thank you
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Excrement, Sexual content, and Animal death
meat_muffin's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I am… torn. Was this book well-written? Yes. Was the author very skilled at condensing insanely complicated subjects down to comprehensible concepts? Also yes. But do I kind of feel like flinging myself (and humanity) into the sun after reading it? Also yes.
Listen. It’s a good book! But this has totally ruined my faith in the future of humanity. (They’re not wrong, though! I fully believe this whole thing could come true in a few thousand years. I just… hate that!)
Listen. It’s a good book! But this has totally ruined my faith in the future of humanity. (They’re not wrong, though! I fully believe this whole thing could come true in a few thousand years. I just… hate that!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Deportation, and Slavery
Moderate: Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Cursing, War, Death of parent, and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual content, Animal death, and Police brutality
mandkips's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, and Slavery
Moderate: Classism, Sexual content, and Ableism
Minor: Death of parent and Violence
azrah786's review against another edition
3.5
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was gifted a copy of the book from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, injury, death, animal death, animal cruelty, medical content, ableism, sexual content, colonisation, displacement
--
This book is something totally different to anything I’ve read before.
Sectioned into 3 stories which take place in the far future each a couple of centuries apart, The Terraformers narrates the development of a planet called Sask-E which is being made into an “old Earth” away from Earth by the private corporation that owns it.
The first story follows a member of the Environmental Rescue Team – who help oversee the terraforming project – and a conundrum that she faces when she stumbles across a civilisation believed to be extinct living in secret on the planet. The second story follows another group of characters developing a viable transit system for the planet who start to uncover some of the questionable dealings that the ruling corporations are involved with, and this particular storyline is further explored in the third story.
Each story is linked to the next through certain actions and events that occur in the previous one and I really liked how through this span of time we got to see the long term evolution of the setting and the communities of this world. This is something that much longer series fail to do but Newitz has done really well to capture in just over 300 pages.
The extensive worldbuilding which encompasses such a distinctive future is full of feats in science and technology which will equally awe and perplex you. There are a vast array of characters that come into the fray ranging from humanoids to animals and even robots all of varying levels of intelligence and personhood – this includes a flying sentient train who is one of the leading protagonists. Outlandish concepts aside, it allowed the story to bring into discussion many prominent social and ecological issues.
However, just how many moving parts there were in this book was probably the greatest drawback. There was always so much going on that the individual character arcs didn’t feel like they were given enough room to breathe. Also the flow of time made the relationships that were developed feel sort of rushed. From the three parts it was Destry’s story that I was most engaged with because the direction of the plot and her character development was the clearest.
That’s not to say that the other characters weren’t good because I was very much invested in the welfare of the various individuals we meet across the whole book, they just didn’t stand out much on their own.
All in all this is an admirable book that both has a cosy feel to it but is also one that gives the reader much to think about. Definitely one to check out if you’re a fan of the work of Kim Stanley Robinson in terms of themes and Becky Chambers in terms of characters.
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars
**I was gifted a copy of the book from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, injury, death, animal death, animal cruelty, medical content, ableism, sexual content, colonisation, displacement
--
This book is something totally different to anything I’ve read before.
Sectioned into 3 stories which take place in the far future each a couple of centuries apart, The Terraformers narrates the development of a planet called Sask-E which is being made into an “old Earth” away from Earth by the private corporation that owns it.
The first story follows a member of the Environmental Rescue Team – who help oversee the terraforming project – and a conundrum that she faces when she stumbles across a civilisation believed to be extinct living in secret on the planet. The second story follows another group of characters developing a viable transit system for the planet who start to uncover some of the questionable dealings that the ruling corporations are involved with, and this particular storyline is further explored in the third story.
Each story is linked to the next through certain actions and events that occur in the previous one and I really liked how through this span of time we got to see the long term evolution of the setting and the communities of this world. This is something that much longer series fail to do but Newitz has done really well to capture in just over 300 pages.
The extensive worldbuilding which encompasses such a distinctive future is full of feats in science and technology which will equally awe and perplex you. There are a vast array of characters that come into the fray ranging from humanoids to animals and even robots all of varying levels of intelligence and personhood – this includes a flying sentient train who is one of the leading protagonists. Outlandish concepts aside, it allowed the story to bring into discussion many prominent social and ecological issues.
However, just how many moving parts there were in this book was probably the greatest drawback. There was always so much going on that the individual character arcs didn’t feel like they were given enough room to breathe. Also the flow of time made the relationships that were developed feel sort of rushed. From the three parts it was Destry’s story that I was most engaged with because the direction of the plot and her character development was the clearest.
That’s not to say that the other characters weren’t good because I was very much invested in the welfare of the various individuals we meet across the whole book, they just didn’t stand out much on their own.
All in all this is an admirable book that both has a cosy feel to it but is also one that gives the reader much to think about. Definitely one to check out if you’re a fan of the work of Kim Stanley Robinson in terms of themes and Becky Chambers in terms of characters.
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content and Ableism