A review by greifi
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

While I liked the overall „good-vibes“ style of this book, it lacked tension to me. The threats in the story never really felt that dangerous, as they were often resolved again after a few pages, making it hard to get too excited. Especially in part one and two – whereas in the third part the story finally got a little more dramatic. 

And while I like being thrown into settings and scenes with weird tech and characters that only make sense later on in the story, some of it felt a bit too fantastical for me to really hold my attention. A moose that communicates with humans by sending texts, has a drone for their best friend and is able to fly around a planet in couple of days? Feels a bit over the top. Surprisingly I liked the third part most, which is told from the perspective of a sentient flying train – but this character seemed so much more well rounded that I enjoyed reading from their pov most. 

Overall the themes and ideas are great, but it didn’t really work for me in regards to plot and pace to make it a great book.