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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
Thank you so much to Tor Books and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Told in three parts, we follow people on the planet of Sask-E in the far-flung future. We have conquered the universe and bioengineering, making it possible to imbue robots, animals, and humanoids with human-level intelligence and consciousness. Anyone with consciousness is considered a "person," though some are created with artificial limiters on their speech, making others view them as less of a person than them. In this story, three generations do their part in making Sask-E a free place to live for all types of people.
Newitz's The Future of Another Timeline is one of my favorite books, so I jumped at the opportunity to read this one early. As with Timeline, I was astonished by the amount of imagination here and how different this society is from our own. Our characters include humans, cows, moose, and even trains, all of which have a natural lifespan of hundreds of years. Cities and buildings can be grown by things called trellises. Life of the current day is so far in the past that it is mythology. However, there are several things that are not new to the reader - video games, fights for autonomy from indigenous communities, clubs, and control of communication lines from those in power. Newitz again brings their expertise as a historian of urban centers to use as they show how this planet develops over time under different corporate regimes. Different sets of characters each have their own battles to fight - literal battles to legal ones - to fight the corruption the world faces. This novel is dedicated to keeping balance in the environment amidst development, ensuring that urban centers are there to serve the public, and being staunchly against eugenics. I would have liked to see more development from our characters, but this story is more about the big ideas. With fun protagonists and a hopeful message, The Terraformers is a great story about our impact on the environment and each other.
Overall, I really enjoyed the themes and worldbuilding in this scifi story. I'd recommend this to fans of Becky Chambers, but who want to see more worldbuilding!
Told in three parts, we follow people on the planet of Sask-E in the far-flung future. We have conquered the universe and bioengineering, making it possible to imbue robots, animals, and humanoids with human-level intelligence and consciousness. Anyone with consciousness is considered a "person," though some are created with artificial limiters on their speech, making others view them as less of a person than them. In this story, three generations do their part in making Sask-E a free place to live for all types of people.
Newitz's The Future of Another Timeline is one of my favorite books, so I jumped at the opportunity to read this one early. As with Timeline, I was astonished by the amount of imagination here and how different this society is from our own. Our characters include humans, cows, moose, and even trains, all of which have a natural lifespan of hundreds of years. Cities and buildings can be grown by things called trellises. Life of the current day is so far in the past that it is mythology. However, there are several things that are not new to the reader - video games, fights for autonomy from indigenous communities, clubs, and control of communication lines from those in power. Newitz again brings their expertise as a historian of urban centers to use as they show how this planet develops over time under different corporate regimes. Different sets of characters each have their own battles to fight - literal battles to legal ones - to fight the corruption the world faces. This novel is dedicated to keeping balance in the environment amidst development, ensuring that urban centers are there to serve the public, and being staunchly against eugenics. I would have liked to see more development from our characters, but this story is more about the big ideas. With fun protagonists and a hopeful message, The Terraformers is a great story about our impact on the environment and each other.
Overall, I really enjoyed the themes and worldbuilding in this scifi story. I'd recommend this to fans of Becky Chambers, but who want to see more worldbuilding!
I don’t know, man. I loved Newitz’s non fiction, Four Lost Cities, but this lost the plot for me. Going so far in the future but being so clearly beholden to early 21st century Twitter-discourse-level ideology about urbanism, capitalism, gender, environmentalism. In its attempts to be utopian, it failed to actually conceive of a believable world with believable characters.
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I appreciated what the book was going for, but I didn’t enjoy the execution.
Ambitious. Hopeful. At times, science-heavy, at times, silly and sweet. A reminder of what humanity is capable of and a dream for what life be able to accomplish in the future.
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was okay. I read it with one of my book clubs, and I have to give it points for the cyberpunk elements at the end and the solarpunk themes.
It's abundant with queer characters, but the representation felt a bit weird in a way I couldn't put my finger on. Regardless, the science and the vegan philosophy are meant to be thorough and consistent, but actually had some weird holes in them. Also, oh my god, so much talk about soil composition. So much. The pacing and voice didn't really work for me, and my friend who's Indigenous had some serious critiques of the way the themes and some plot elements were accomplished. I don't think it's a bad book, truly, but it didn't really suit my tastes, and frustrated me sometimes.
It's abundant with queer characters, but the representation felt a bit weird in a way I couldn't put my finger on. Regardless, the science and the vegan philosophy are meant to be thorough and consistent, but actually had some weird holes in them. Also, oh my god, so much talk about soil composition. So much. The pacing and voice didn't really work for me, and my friend who's Indigenous had some serious critiques of the way the themes and some plot elements were accomplished. I don't think it's a bad book, truly, but it didn't really suit my tastes, and frustrated me sometimes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
The book very much had A Point and it wants to make sure you Get The Point and after about a third of the book I didn't need to keep getting hit over the head with the point. The worldbuilding was interesting and the writing was good, but I wanted the characters to be a bit deeper and more compelling.
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No