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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
Though I didn't love Planetfall (the first book), the other second and third were absolutely amazing! I love how every book is a new character playing a completely different role and that we're getting different viewpoints into this dystopian society. The society and technology Newman has created is equal parts fascinating and terrifying. I also love how real the characters and their struggles are. Can't wait to read the fourth one that just came out!
Well, I guess since I read this before Ariadne, I guess I'll have to write an actual review this time! So, once again, this series follows a completely different set of characters (though there are mentions of familiar ones) and takes a different kind of story and a different example of mental trauma in a protagonist. (well, actually, several examples in this one!)
Newman does an excellent job with characterization and with exploring the mental states of her protagonists, as well as the causes and possible paths to healing. The story itself, however, didn't work for me very well. Now, while thrillers are typically hard sells for me, the bigger issue is that I understood almost every secret before it was revealed. It's partly because the clues seemed rather obvious, but also because events of the prior book also provide plenty additional clues. (I wonder if this would be more satisfying for me if it were read as book two? But then aspects of book two would be spoiled by this one...) I believe it would have been a more satisfying read for me if the curtains were pulled earlier and the ramifications explored at more length.
That said, the book certainly sets up yet another intriguing plot thread that should connect to the climax of the series... It makes me wonder how many novels are planned for the series and how things will work out once each thread meets. Will it become a tangle or a tapestry? And which would be more satisfying?
Newman does an excellent job with characterization and with exploring the mental states of her protagonists, as well as the causes and possible paths to healing. The story itself, however, didn't work for me very well. Now, while thrillers are typically hard sells for me, the bigger issue is that I understood almost every secret before it was revealed. It's partly because the clues seemed rather obvious, but also because events of the prior book also provide plenty additional clues. (I wonder if this would be more satisfying for me if it were read as book two? But then aspects of book two would be spoiled by this one...) I believe it would have been a more satisfying read for me if the curtains were pulled earlier and the ramifications explored at more length.
That said, the book certainly sets up yet another intriguing plot thread that should connect to the climax of the series... It makes me wonder how many novels are planned for the series and how things will work out once each thread meets. Will it become a tangle or a tapestry? And which would be more satisfying?
Jee-Muh! These books keep getting better!
Anna arrives on Mars after 6 months space travel. She's greeted by a small science team, who react a bit nervously to her arrival. The doctor is careful, one scientist is pissed off for some reason, and another feels like someone she's known before. And then some discrepancies in her surroundings and the station-AI become apparent, which causes Anna to start doubting herself and what she sees alternatively.
This is a psychological mystery novel with a sci fi setting. The novel deals with depression, motherhood and parents, marriage and relationships... and possibly a break from reality...?
Hugely engaging from the opening chapter until the very end. You may figure some of the end out, but not all. Certainly not the why.
Sounds interesting? Read it! You don't need to read the Planetfall books in order, though the end of this one kind of makes it pointless to read the second one after.
Anna arrives on Mars after 6 months space travel. She's greeted by a small science team, who react a bit nervously to her arrival. The doctor is careful, one scientist is pissed off for some reason, and another feels like someone she's known before. And then some discrepancies in her surroundings and the station-AI become apparent, which causes Anna to start doubting herself and what she sees alternatively.
This is a psychological mystery novel with a sci fi setting. The novel deals with depression, motherhood and parents, marriage and relationships... and possibly a break from reality...?
Hugely engaging from the opening chapter until the very end. You may figure some of the end out, but not all. Certainly not the why.
Sounds interesting? Read it! You don't need to read the Planetfall books in order, though the end of this one kind of makes it pointless to read the second one after.
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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:
Yes
I wish that Newman had written this series as though it was supposed to be read sequentially. I was LOVING this series until I got to this book. It's a decent read, there are things that I like about it but the big reveal at the end doesn't feel as powerful because if you've read the other books in the series you can kind of guess where it's going.
As a first person narrative, I think we're supposed to feel the claustrophobia of the main character's setting and paranoid thoughts but after a while it became a bit tedious. For the first time in the series the characters felt one-note to me.
I thought I was going to like it more because I'm a visual artist who is interested in geological formations and I was looking forward to spending time with a main character who also shares those traits. But we don't really get a chance to feel like we're in a Martian landscape for very long. And that might have been intentionally on the author's part, but I think it would have been nice even for a little bit to get a sense and feel the wonder of what that would feel like to look out at that dusty, red world.
As a first person narrative, I think we're supposed to feel the claustrophobia of the main character's setting and paranoid thoughts but after a while it became a bit tedious. For the first time in the series the characters felt one-note to me.
I thought I was going to like it more because I'm a visual artist who is interested in geological formations and I was looking forward to spending time with a main character who also shares those traits. But we don't really get a chance to feel like we're in a Martian landscape for very long. And that might have been intentionally on the author's part, but I think it would have been nice even for a little bit to get a sense and feel the wonder of what that would feel like to look out at that dusty, red world.
Before Mars is once again a very different novel to both of its predecessors and I can't help but admire the way the author has written such a variety of different styles and twisted the genre slightly on every novel. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as After Atlas, but that isn't such a gripe when you consider that After Atlas was an easy five star read. It's worth noting that each of these novels could be read as a stand-alone, but there are narrative threads and characters that tie over to each one making it more rewarding to read them in sequence.
When Anna leaves her home and her family behind to take up a contract on Mars, she isn't quite sure what she's expecting. She definitely isn't expecting to find a note written from herself telling her not to trust the psychologist on the Mars base though. And from there she finds more and more things that are just subtly wrong, leading her to question her very sanity as she struggles to build relationships on this strange planet.
As with all of these novels, Newman doesn't shy away from difficult topics and mental health still plays a huge part in this. I love the way the narrative is very much built around the characters; in some ways it makes for a slow burn novel, but it also allows you to really get inside the head of the protagonist. What I wasn't expecting was the focus on motherhood and the realistic of post-partum depression, but as with all of the other issues Newman has explored I suspect this comes from personal experience. It's raw and honest and made me think of pregnancy and parenthood in a different way. I was also impressed by the exploration of the various relationships, particularly those off base. It's difficult to write relationships that are separated by miles, let alone relationships that are separated by planets.
Having read the previous book, I had a fairly strong idea of how this one was going to end and it still managed to throw a few twists and loops into the equation. The finale is unexpectedly heart-shattering, even knowing what I did in advance. I admit, I had guessed how the mystery was going to resolve itself fairly early on, but I hadn't anticipated a few of the spanners thrown into the works.
What Newman does expertly is build a strong and almost visible future world, making the unknown into the expected. All the technology and social constructs she has been building throughout these three novels are beautifully interwoven, supported by strong and capable characters that are still very flawed and breakable. This is one of the strongest science fiction series that I have read in a long time, in honesty.
When Anna leaves her home and her family behind to take up a contract on Mars, she isn't quite sure what she's expecting. She definitely isn't expecting to find a note written from herself telling her not to trust the psychologist on the Mars base though. And from there she finds more and more things that are just subtly wrong, leading her to question her very sanity as she struggles to build relationships on this strange planet.
As with all of these novels, Newman doesn't shy away from difficult topics and mental health still plays a huge part in this. I love the way the narrative is very much built around the characters; in some ways it makes for a slow burn novel, but it also allows you to really get inside the head of the protagonist. What I wasn't expecting was the focus on motherhood and the realistic of post-partum depression, but as with all of the other issues Newman has explored I suspect this comes from personal experience. It's raw and honest and made me think of pregnancy and parenthood in a different way. I was also impressed by the exploration of the various relationships, particularly those off base. It's difficult to write relationships that are separated by miles, let alone relationships that are separated by planets.
Having read the previous book, I had a fairly strong idea of how this one was going to end and it still managed to throw a few twists and loops into the equation. The finale is unexpectedly heart-shattering, even knowing what I did in advance. I admit, I had guessed how the mystery was going to resolve itself fairly early on, but I hadn't anticipated a few of the spanners thrown into the works.
What Newman does expertly is build a strong and almost visible future world, making the unknown into the expected. All the technology and social constructs she has been building throughout these three novels are beautifully interwoven, supported by strong and capable characters that are still very flawed and breakable. This is one of the strongest science fiction series that I have read in a long time, in honesty.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Mental illness
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Emma Newman is the only author that can dangle an alien mystery in front of me and then go on a two book tangent, concentrating on very human mysteries and make me glad about it.
It was a bit hard to witness Anna's struggle and pain.
It was a bit hard to witness Anna's struggle and pain.