Reviews

Atlas Alone by Emma Newman

scottpm's review against another edition

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4.0

I have really enjoyed this series. I love how the books are connected and yet separate. Each story has a different writing style as well which is a great touch.

chirson's review

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4.0

I received the ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I am not quite sure what to say about this novel! I have been enthralled by this series since I read the first volume, and the fourth novel continues to complicate the world and the story - one not only of individuals but humanity in this dystopian near future. This story is satisfactory, fascinating and complex. I cannot wait for its next chapter. The themes of freedom and enslavement, capitalism and religious fundamentalism, working on one's trauma and wanting justice are explored and at the same time, this novel is a well-paced sf thriller with a central mystery and plot twists. I know what novel I most want to compare it to, but to name it would serve as a spoiler - thinking about it in the beginning certainly primed me to guess the central mystery ahead of its reveal.

The second most direct comparison for me would be with an episode of Black Mirror - a lot of story beats and construction seems similar, both as a strength and a weakness. Which also means that I think Black Mirror fans could find this book quite interesting.

At the same time, this novel has some issues with its choice(s) of/for central character. While I found the plot twists interesting and mostly earned, the voice was a little off, and the representation is not necessarily for me to dissect, but falls into some problematic tropes.

Spoiler I think much should be made of the implications of the ending in the context of the central character's past (as an enslaved person) and identity (asexuality), and so much depends on the continuation, but this review is not the place for it.
All I can say is that the ending makes me want to read the next book sooner rather than later and I will be looking forward to it.

grid's review

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3.0

Mostly did not like this all that much. The ending was good. I liked the twist in the last few pages almost enough to redeem the tortureporn in the first half of the book.

georgina_bawden's review

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5.0

I continue to adore the Planetfall series - sci fi books with interesting near-future world building that are nevertheless very tightly focused on individual characters and plotted as thrillers. They are complete page-turners and I'm adoring how the books are starting to weave together tighter and tighter.

This might be my favourite one of the sequels? It is very tightly plotted and deals entirely in shades of grey. I can't wait for more books!

patti66's review

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4.0

4.5 stars

oceloctopus's review

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

The series keeps getting better

charlibirb's review against another edition

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5.0

Love this series so much!

gaykittens's review against another edition

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2.0

Unfortunately, Atlas Alone isn't as good as its predecessors. If I could pick one word to describe the book, it would be "ham-fisted." The religious fundamentalist Americans were entertaining when they were side characters, but now that they're central to the plot, Newman didn't bother to flesh them out at all. Really, the whole book seems to be a colonialist pot calling its kettle offspring black: timely criticism of America (though only through its hyperbolic religious inclinations) abounds, but apparently Norope, the series' equivalent of the EU, is...fine? That's a laugh. It makes me wonder how much the author is aware of "institutionalized racism and sexism" in Europe, complete with religious persecution. Perhaps it doesn't matter to her, as the only religiously oppressed individuals in Atlas Alone are white atheists.
SpoilerThere's even a small section where the American Christian fundamentalists assert that darn it, they would've converted all of Europe if democracy hadn't fallen! Because, as we all know, modern American fundies in the real world are targeting white European atheists right now...not Roma, not Africans, not Asians... For someone who worked hard to inject basic Social Justice 101 observations into the book, Newman has a penchant for reimaging who the victims of injustice are.


Continuing the "ham-fisted" theme, you've got a blonde, blue-eyed white protagonist frequently criticizing white people, often with convenient qualifiers to exclude herself. No criticism of racism or sexism ever goes deep, and
Spoilerthe book culminates in Dee shooting a dark-skinned masculine woman, the head of the ship, without the book even acknowledging her as an individual character, as she's part of an amorphous "big bad." This unacknowledgement is arguably part of Dee's own framing of the situation, as it's a first-person novel, but did the author intend for this racial dynamic? I doubt it.


Also, as much as I hate to say it, as far as criticizing corny games goes (and the book goes there, multiple times), the twist at the end comes straight out of corny game territory.
SpoilerIf you played Bioshock like literally everyone else did, you've got an idea of where the plot heads. It was groundbreaking then, but it's done to death now.


It's unfortunate, too, because you have a fundamentally interesting, complicated character with trauma -- just like the first book! For whatever reason, the character's thoughts and opinions about power felt like more of a mouthpiece for the author than a whole, rounded person. I think the author's imagination partially failed her in attempting this traumatized former corporate slave's inner life. I adored when we saw Dee's faulty thinking and coping mechanisms - that was realistic and good! so good! - yet her shallow asides about power didn't work, and they happened frequently enough to, again, feel "ham-fisted."

Otherwise, it's an easy read that mostly gets by on the interesting world crafted in the first three books. In the acknowledgements, there's a small section that suggests this book was written while doing things for the release of another book; perhaps that's why this one fell flat.

jvilches's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

4.25

geekcliche's review against another edition

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5.0

Yet again, one of the Planetfall novels hits me in the feels that other books can’t reach.