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A review by flowerranger
The Planets We Become: A Science Fantasy Novella by Nathaniel Luscombe
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
As a Sci-Fi reader, I enjoyed this novella a lot. It seems to have taken inpiration from Dune, which I adore to this day, The 100, which got me into Sci-Fi, and perhaps even Solaris, which blew my 20 years old mind. There are definitely more inflences from other works that I am not acquainted with and some that I haven't discovered yet.
The Cover art is gorgeous and perfectly captures the spirit of the novella. The colours!!! Big wows!
This has been a pleasure to read and might even be beginner friendly for those who want to get into speculative, philosophical sci-fi.
"Power always equates to some form of pain." Nathaniel, Sir, how are you in your early 20s and this reflected?
"When history is the only guide, what room is there for the future?"
Open questions like this give us as readers space to develop our own answers but it isn't too challenging of a question, it doesn't hurt to think about. I enjoyed grinding my neurons to find possible answers and further develop the ideas. After all, isn't creativity what carves our paths into the future?
"[…] one abandoned me because I told him I no longer needed him. It hurts nonetheless." This paragraph on grief did not make me cry but it made me sit with my emotions for a bit and it had me question my path of becoming independent from my parents.
While it is a challenge to incorporate feelings like loneliness and grief and the like into a story that counts less than 100 pages, Nathaniel Luscombe did well enough IMO. Here is, where I can't give the novella 5 stars, though. Considering the amount of editing and improvments that this novella has been through, I would have liked to feel more deeply with the MC. 4 stars is still a high rating and I have already read the sneak peak of Moon Soul and can say that I already feel improvements in the writing. I've preordered Moon Soul, which also has gorgeous cover art.
It also feels like this story was about breaking a vicious cycle and the feeling of contentment that comes with doing better than those who have come before us and I appreciate the story unfolding the way it did after that (trying to spoil the plot here).
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Check out the author on social media, he's a pretty cool dude.
The Cover art is gorgeous and perfectly captures the spirit of the novella. The colours!!! Big wows!
This has been a pleasure to read and might even be beginner friendly for those who want to get into speculative, philosophical sci-fi.
"Power always equates to some form of pain." Nathaniel, Sir, how are you in your early 20s and this reflected?
"When history is the only guide, what room is there for the future?"
Open questions like this give us as readers space to develop our own answers but it isn't too challenging of a question, it doesn't hurt to think about. I enjoyed grinding my neurons to find possible answers and further develop the ideas. After all, isn't creativity what carves our paths into the future?
"[…] one abandoned me because I told him I no longer needed him. It hurts nonetheless." This paragraph on grief did not make me cry but it made me sit with my emotions for a bit and it had me question my path of becoming independent from my parents.
While it is a challenge to incorporate feelings like loneliness and grief and the like into a story that counts less than 100 pages, Nathaniel Luscombe did well enough IMO. Here is, where I can't give the novella 5 stars, though. Considering the amount of editing and improvments that this novella has been through, I would have liked to feel more deeply with the MC. 4 stars is still a high rating and I have already read the sneak peak of Moon Soul and can say that I already feel improvements in the writing. I've preordered Moon Soul, which also has gorgeous cover art.
It also feels like this story was about breaking a vicious cycle and the feeling of contentment that comes with doing better than those who have come before us and I appreciate the story unfolding the way it did after that (trying to spoil the plot here).
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Check out the author on social media, he's a pretty cool dude.