Scan barcode
A review by kynan
Before Mars by Emma Newman
4.0
Before Mars is the third of Ms Newman's Planetfall series, a series that I'm increasingly suspecting was a significantly cathartic experience to write! If you've not read the previous two books, stop reading here as there will be spoilers for them shortly (not for Before Mars though).
I read Planetfall back-to-back with After Atlas. I loved After Atlas, partly because of the unexpected change of perspective from Planetfall and partly because the character building continued to be so real and so well done! I had a crisis of conscience regarding the sci-fi filter bubble I found myself in and took a break to read Americanah before hitting Before Mars and, feeling refreshed and ready for something new and interesting I dived in...and immediately felt like I was re-reading a slightly disguised After Atlas.
Before Mars describes some of what was going on in the Gabor-side of the court prior to and during the events chronicled in After Atlas. We're now hanging out with a scientist/painter/newish mother named Anna who's been sent off to Mars on a special mission for Stefan Gabor. She's a bit like Ren and a bit like Carl but she is, very definitely, her own person.
I guess that Ms Newman is on a mission to normalise frequently stigmatised things, be they mental health issues, gender or, in the case of this book, post-natal depression.
I really like the way that we get inside the heads of the major characters. We get a view into their decision making process but, more interestingly, get an understanding of how their various neuroses are impacting those decisions. Often in ways that may not seem rational to someone else. There's a real possibility for empathy with the characters and less opportunity to brush off a "poor" decision as just irrational or stupid.
There's also the gender neutral pronouns again which seemed a little jarring at first in After Atlas, but this is purely due to lack of exposure. Further exposure like this is probably an awesome way to normalise it!
I read Planetfall back-to-back with After Atlas. I loved After Atlas, partly because of the unexpected change of perspective from Planetfall and partly because the character building continued to be so real and so well done! I had a crisis of conscience regarding the sci-fi filter bubble I found myself in and took a break to read Americanah before hitting Before Mars and, feeling refreshed and ready for something new and interesting I dived in...and immediately felt like I was re-reading a slightly disguised After Atlas.
Before Mars describes some of what was going on in the Gabor-side of the court prior to and during the events chronicled in After Atlas. We're now hanging out with a scientist/painter/newish mother named Anna who's been sent off to Mars on a special mission for Stefan Gabor. She's a bit like Ren and a bit like Carl but she is, very definitely, her own person.
I guess that Ms Newman is on a mission to normalise frequently stigmatised things, be they mental health issues, gender or, in the case of this book, post-natal depression.
I really like the way that we get inside the heads of the major characters. We get a view into their decision making process but, more interestingly, get an understanding of how their various neuroses are impacting those decisions. Often in ways that may not seem rational to someone else. There's a real possibility for empathy with the characters and less opportunity to brush off a "poor" decision as just irrational or stupid.
There's also the gender neutral pronouns again which seemed a little jarring at first in After Atlas, but this is purely due to lack of exposure. Further exposure like this is probably an awesome way to normalise it!