Emma Newman, Emma Newman: Planetfall (French language, 2017)
288 pages
French language
Published May 1, 2017
Planetfall is a 2015 science fiction novel by British writer Emma Newman. It was first published in the United States as a paperback original in November 2015 by Roc Books, and in the United Kingdom by Gollancz in paperback in February 2018. An audio edition of the book, narrated by Newman, was published in the United States by Blackstone Audio in November 2015, and in the United Kingdom by Orion Publishing in December 2017. Planetfall was Newman's first science fiction novel and is about a 3D printer engineer in a colony on a remote planet inhabited by a large bio-mechanical alien structure called "God's City". Writing in "Newfound Futures", Caroline Koegler said Planetfall utilizes "exile from earth" and "planetary exile" science fiction tropes.The novel is the first book in Newman's four-book Planetfall series, which she said can be read in any order. It was generally well received by critics, and …
Planetfall is a 2015 science fiction novel by British writer Emma Newman. It was first published in the United States as a paperback original in November 2015 by Roc Books, and in the United Kingdom by Gollancz in paperback in February 2018. An audio edition of the book, narrated by Newman, was published in the United States by Blackstone Audio in November 2015, and in the United Kingdom by Orion Publishing in December 2017. Planetfall was Newman's first science fiction novel and is about a 3D printer engineer in a colony on a remote planet inhabited by a large bio-mechanical alien structure called "God's City". Writing in "Newfound Futures", Caroline Koegler said Planetfall utilizes "exile from earth" and "planetary exile" science fiction tropes.The novel is the first book in Newman's four-book Planetfall series, which she said can be read in any order. It was generally well received by critics, and was shortlisted for the 2016 Gaylactic Spectrum Award for best novel. The Planetfall series was nominated for the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Series.
omg this is a gem, and I've slept on it for ten years!
Planetfall is a scifi novel about space exploration, community, betrayal, and mental illness, in no particular order. It's superbly written, and the characters are deep and complex, and the gradual unpacking of the narrative is masterful.
Close whatever you're reading this on and go read Planetfall!
boring endless self-centered monologue of the cliché-like main personage with overcoming personal problems. unnecessary gay love all over the place that fails to look real or bring context to the story. short and impotent descriptions that completely fail to make you imagine the setting… idk, this novell has it all, it's as boring as modern sci-fi can get :-(
Story a bit dull. But world building is good. Nice concepts. Already find the second book much better even though i'm just a quarter through.
An enigma wrapped in mystery under the shadow of a devastating lie.
Planetfall and After Atlas have been on my wishlist for a while. I was hesitant to start them because of mixed signals about skipping the first book.
After reading a couple of chapters from Planetfall, I was enthralled and immediately added the rest of the series to my to-read list.
This big not entirely dumb object first encounter novel focuses on the human reactions to the mystery rather than the technological challenges of space flight and colonization.
The planet is challenging enough to provide for elegant descriptions of the technologies developed to adapt, however it is not the source of tension.
I enjoyed the interaction between Ren's perspective as a person trying to hide their mental illness while continuing to function in society and the big lie that threatens to tear the colony apart.
3.5/4 stars. On a re-read, the rating for this one dropped for me. I think when I read it the first time I was really starved for some SF with some decent character work that wasn't sexist or racist. :')
My favorite part is the character of Ren and her journey. She has conflict that really lives on its own, separate from the plot, so she feels fully realized. Her mental health struggle, her unlikeability, her cowardice, etc. are all a strong part of the story for me.
I also still like the ending, even though I can see how it's easily divisive. It reminds me of the weirdness of Annihilation, which is not a winner for everyone either.
Newman really tried, but I found many of the descriptions of tech and setting beyond me. I have a hard time picturing SF as authors describe it in general, so this …
3.5/4 stars. On a re-read, the rating for this one dropped for me. I think when I read it the first time I was really starved for some SF with some decent character work that wasn't sexist or racist. :')
My favorite part is the character of Ren and her journey. She has conflict that really lives on its own, separate from the plot, so she feels fully realized. Her mental health struggle, her unlikeability, her cowardice, etc. are all a strong part of the story for me.
I also still like the ending, even though I can see how it's easily divisive. It reminds me of the weirdness of Annihilation, which is not a winner for everyone either.
Newman really tried, but I found many of the descriptions of tech and setting beyond me. I have a hard time picturing SF as authors describe it in general, so this is no different. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but there's a lot of it here, so it's noticeable.
I also found it too slow on a re-read, though it's hard to tell if that's because I'd read it before and knew generally what would happen. Maybe it'd be stronger as a novella, or just a shorter novel. You kind of go in circles in Ren's head for a while which is pretty exhausting.
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4.5 stars. Not what I thought it would be, more of a personal journey in a sci-fi setting. Really moving ending.
I thoroughly enjoyed 90% of this book, but the ending felt a bit rushed and/or confusing. The rest more than makes up for it, though. It's a fascinating read where all the pieces of the plot and the world assemble slowly but beautifully - once I got out of the "wait what I don't understand exactly what they're referring to here" and let myself being transported by the rhythm of the reveals, this was a brilliant book and I loved it.
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