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Planetfall

Planetfall, Book 1

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Planetfall

By: Emma Newman
Narrated by: Emma Newman
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About this listen

From Emma Newman, the award-nominated author of Between Two Thorns, comes a novel of how one secret withheld to protect humanity's future might be its undoing....

Renata Ghali believed in Lee Suh-Mi's vision of a world far beyond Earth, calling to humanity. A planet promising to reveal the truth about our place in the cosmos, untainted by overpopulation, pollution and war. Ren believed in that vision enough to give up everything to follow Suh-Mi into the unknown.

More than 22 years have passed since Ren and the rest of the faithful braved the starry abyss and established a colony at the base of an enigmatic alien structure where Suh-Mi has since resided alone. All that time Ren has worked hard as the colony's 3-D printer engineer, creating the tools necessary for human survival in an alien environment and harbouring a devastating secret.

Ren continues to perpetuate the lie forming the foundation of the colony for the good of her fellow colonists, despite the personal cost. Then a stranger appears, far too young to have been part of the first planetfall, a man who bears a remarkable resemblance to Suh-Mi.

The truth Ren has concealed since planetfall can no longer be hidden. And its revelation might tear the colony apart....

Read by Emma Newman.

©2018 Emma Newman (P)2018 Blackstone Audio
Science Fiction Fiction
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Great world building, good dialogue, interesting characters, thin story, predicable twist, poor ending. The telling of it would have benefited from being performed by a professional reader.

Not all that it could have been.

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A story of revelation, any further discussion a spoiler; another six words to make fifteen. Thanks

Originality, humanity.

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Every plot point of this book (except one) occurs in the TV show Lost. That show wasn't as profound as it thought it was, and neither is this book.

Juvenile writing style, with lots of emoting in ways that the narrator seems to think are so unique and interesting, but which I found kind of teenage.

I was more affected by the Acknowledgements, than anything in the story.

Is this book Lost fanfiction?

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thoroughly enjoyed this well written sci-fi story. it's extremely efficient in that it has a limited cast and very few locations. it drives a strong plot through the eyes of a flawed protagonist which slowly reveals the mystery.

I will go on to read Newman's back catalogue on the strength of this

thoughtfully written sci-fi with a soul

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The novel starts with an outsider being rescued by a small group of people from a small colony on a far away planet. The colony appears quite technologically advanced compared to the naif outsider, and its members seem to also be living quite long if simple lives. The novel alternates the narrating character's point of view with flashbacks from her past, and readers slowly realise the huge differences between the ways of life she used to have on earth and those they all have in the colony. Secrets and lies abound, accurately kept and perpetuated both personally by the protagonist, and by a very small group of leaders from the rest of the colony. Rituals that are supposed to renew life and hope among the colonists are revealed to be only a peacekeeping show, and apparent friends are just temporary allies, secret oppressors or hostile bullies. As the story unfolds, death, threats, trauma and mental illness turn out to be at the root of planetfall and still heavily influencing life in the colony, while an attack from unexpected, revengeful enemies threaten their very existence.

Secrets and lies

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