Warning: you'll want to read this book again

Here's a look at the second book I remember re-reading immediately after reading it the first time. 

Book Review:  Planetfall by Emma Newman
 
“Someone’s coming toward the colony.  From outside.”

Lee Suh-Mi felt called to establish a colony on a world far beyond Earth and 1,000 people felt called to join her.  Something happened when they arrived at the planet in Suh-Mi’s vision however, and a couple of decades later, Ren is still haunted by it.  She and Mack are the only two who know the truth; whatever happened was considered so potentially devastating that the other members of the original landing team were murdered to prevent them from telling the other colonists.  Or were intended to be murdered.  When Suh-Mi’s  twenty-something grandson approaches the colony, it’s clear that at least some members of the team managed to survive.  What’s not immediately clear is what Sung-Soo knows.

Sung-Soo’s close resemblance to Suh threatens Ren’s ability to continue playing along with Mack’s carefully constructed tale.  Told from Ren’s perspective, hints at what happened are slowly revealed, as she reflects back to the beginning of her relationship with Suh, what she left behind back on Earth, and the events of that first Planetfall.

There’s a lot to love about this story.  To begin with, it’s beautifully written and stunningly subtle.  Set in the future, it features advanced technology including 3D printers capable of printing everything a self-sustaining colony requires, and chip implants capable of connecting individuals to the web and to each other.  It also features an environmentally-friendly, successful colony established on an Earth-like planet.  It’s not a utopia — while there are advantages to being as connected as they are, the story points out that there are disadvantages as well.  And people will always be people.  Add a mysterious alien structure,  a slow reveal from a character slowly cracking under the burden of guilt, and a twist I didn’t see coming, and you have a story worth reading again and again.

The question of religion versus science underlies the story but the reader isn’t pushed one way or the other.

I was exasperated by Ren but that’s not a bad thing.  Tormented by whatever happened, she can’t face it directly, but the arrival of Sung-Soo won’t let her continue to bury it.  Hence the slow reveal.  I like having to work for my mystery so I was hooked even though I was never able to connect with her.   I didn’t pick up on her illness right away and when Sung-Soo discovered it, I knew it was important but I didn’t realize how important it was — I was mostly stuck on not understanding the illness itself. 

I love it when an author can genuinely catch me off-guard and Newman did just that when the book hit its climax.  The clues were there — I just didn’t pick up on them.  Stunningly subtle.  Reading the book through a second time, I couldn’t believe that I’d missed what was so obvious.

I did have a few quibbles with the book but they were minor.  There was a detail that seemed like it would be bigger than it was — ah well.  In addition to Planetfall, there was another “event” that was mentioned but never really fleshed out.  And for all of the description provided, there wasn’t any about the local wildlife — it’s mentioned on a few occasions, so you know it exists, but that’s it.  I want to know what’s roaming the grasslands and why nothing ventures close to God’s City.

The first time I read the book, I thought the ending felt rushed.  The second time, I appreciated it more.  I would love to see a sequel.

*Originally posted on my first blog (Lighthearted Librarian) in February 2016.

Zombies, politicians, and social media, oh my!

Book Review:  Feed by Mira Grant

In 2014, cures for the common cold and for cancer have been found but together they combine to create something far worse: a viral infection that reanimates the dead.  Believing reports of zombies to be hoaxes, the traditional news media doesn’t follow up; bloggers do.  By the time siblings Georgia and Shaun Mason are ready to launch their own blog, blogs have become the news medium most people trust.  Senator Peter Ryman recognizes this and invites their team to join him as he treks across the country, campaigning for the Presidency.  Zombie attacks follow but when it comes to Zombies Vs. Politicians, the politicians are still scarier.

I could not put this book down—I LOVED it, even when it made me cry.  Grant has done an amazing job creating a believable world that includes zombies but it’s far more than a book about the ravenous, reanimated dead.  The heart of the story revolves around Georgia, Shaun, journalism & politics and Grant explores each facet well.  Exceptional world-building, strong characters and snappy dialogue.  I’m definitely reading the next book in the trilogy, Deadline, and anxiously awaiting the third book, Blackout.

*Originally posted on my wordpress blog, Lighthearted Librarian, on November 1, 2011.  Despite my best intentions, I haven't read Deadline or Blackout yet, but they are still on my To Read list.  There's also a corresponding collection of short fiction, Rise, which is now on my list as well.

Here there be monsters

Book Review:  Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant

An excerpt from the 2017 fictional documentary, Modern Ghost Ships:  The Atargatis, introduces this novella.  It states that the Atargatis was found adrift, two hundred miles from its last reported location -- minus its passengers and crew.  None have been found in the two years since the Atargatis was located and the Ghost Ships documentary was made.  What happened?  

After the introduction, the reader is taken back to 2015, to the beginning of the Atargatis expedition.  The cruise ship has been hired to take a crew of scientists and entertainment personnel to the Mariana Trench to search for mermaids.  No one expects to find the mythical creatures, but the "documentary" provides an opportunity to conduct some groundbreaking research on the Imagine Network's dime.  From this point on, we experience the events as they happen, with brief excerpts from the Ghost Ships documentary appearing before chapters.  The transcripts make it all too clear that the horror is coming to all of those aboard the ship.

Loved this book!!!  It's short but compelling.  Mira Grant, aka Seanan McGuire, writes monsters incredibly well (I've also read Feed which makes zombies entirely believable).

Book Review:  Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

It's been seven years since the Atargatis was found adrift, not a single person aboard.  Film footage of an apparent assault on the ship's occupants was leaked but many dismiss it as a hoax.  Marine Biologist Tory Stewart knows that it was not -- her sister was one of those aboard the vessel.  So, when Imagine invites her to participate in a second expedition, she accepts.  She wants to find the creatures responsible for her sister's death.

The Imagine Network also knows that the footage was real -- if possible, they would have kept it from the public, but it was leaked as soon as the Atargatis was found.  Profits are down but the CEO has a plan to turn things around.  The ship he sends on this expedition was designed with the mermaids in mind.  And, he's sending along a couple of big game hunters as an added precaution.

Despite my irritation with some of the characters, I enjoyed this sequel.  As with Rolling in the Deep, the reader knows that the characters are sailing into danger.  We have new characters, making new mistakes -- costly, but mostly believable mistakes.  We again have that slow creep of horror the longer the ship remains in the area of the Mariana Trench.  And we learn more about the mermaids -- their biology, their intelligence, and something of their culture.
 
It seems likely that Grant will continue this as a series.  I hope she does.
 

One small colony for earth, one harsh but awe-inspiring frontier for mankind

Book Review:  Artemis by Andy Weir

Established by the Kenya Space Corporation, the city of Artemis sustains itself by smelting the anorthite ore found on the lunar surface.  Smelting breaks the rock into aluminum, calcium, oxygen, and silicon.  The aluminum, calcium, and silicon are sold -- the oxygen supplies the city's five habitable domes with breathable air.   Enough is produced that there's a regular surplus and that's sold as well.

Jazz Bashara came to live on Artemis when she was six years old.  She's now in her twenties, legally working as a delivery person and illegally working on the side as a smuggler.  She makes enough money to rent a bunk-sized space to sleep in and to afford a daily diet of flavored algae.  She'd planned to earn her EVA license, allowing her to lead tours outside the domes and earn a decent wage, enabling her to pay off her debt and rent a place with its own bathroom.  She failed the test however, so when one of the wealthy businessmen she regularly smuggles for offers her a huge amount of currency to sabotage a competitor, she accepts.  Things do not go according to plan.

I loved The Martian.  I enjoyed Artemis, in spite of a few details.  If it's made into a movie, I will watch it.  And, if there's a sequel, I will read it.

The story starts off a bit slow, but once the second sabotage attempt was enacted, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.  Weir makes a lunar colony believable.  He even makes it someplace I'd think about visiting, if I were wealthy enough to afford a vacation there.  He's at his best when he's describing the colony and its inner workings.  And if you like nitty-gritty details about welding, hull pressure etc, you'll be in heaven.  (I skimmed over the nitty-gritty details.  I just wanted to know what happened next.) 

His character development needs work I think, especially if he's going to continue this as a series with Jazz as the protagonist.  I like that the story is told as if she's having a conversation with the reader.  I like that's she's snarky.  That said, there were a few times I was taken out of the story by a particularly crude reference.  I watched Sex and the City when it was on HBO and Weir wrote statements/reactions for Jazz that I think would have been out of bounds for Samantha.  Yes, women talk about sex and women joke about sex, but the instances I'm referring to just didn't seem believable, even for a character completely comfortable with her sexuality.  I don't know a single woman who would find it funny if a man implied that she regularly received shots to the face (I'm not talking about botox).  Basically, scenes like this felt more in context with Beavis & Butthead than the perspective of an adult woman.

There were other character development problems as well.  Once the history between Dale and Jazz was revealed, their first scene together in the book didn't ring true either.  And Svoboda is more cartoonish than awkward.    

My only other quibble is that the resolution seemed a bit too easy.  Maybe appearances are deceiving, however.  There's speculation that Weir may turn this into a series.  Things may not be wrapped up as neatly as we think.