paperback, 320 pages
Published April 16, 2019 by Ace.
Newman keeps me guessing as usual.
After Atlas follows Dee, an ancillary character from After Atlas, in her quest to figure out what the hell is going on.
This one gets very dark, but it's wonderfully written, and I devoured it.
This book takes place 6 months after the events of Planetfall #2 ("After Atlas"). We have Dee as our main character and she gets unknowingly involved in a suspected murder inside the colony ship. As we know from the previous book, Dee is an avid gamer, and she soon joins elite game servers, or "leets" where the gamers real life abilities are represented in game, making these games extremely challenging. This is another unputdownable book by Emma Newman with virtual reality immersive games, discussions about AI and consciousness, corporate indenture, social justice and revenge. It's all intertwined with the main character's journey confronting her traumatic past while she investigates and plans for the future. It's intense, thrilling and has the ending was breath taking.
If I was rating Atlas Alone as just part of the series, it would get a solid 4*, but as a standalone book it was exciting, fascinating and I could not put it down. It delves into some deep themes, has a tight plot that carries you along and keeps the overall Atlas story ticking along.
There are so many story threads dangling from all four books, and each book so far has been so different, that this series has a lot more to give.
I love Emma Newmans writing so much!
Such wonderful character journeys set within a Sci-Fi world that speaks to both the novice and veteran reader.
Now that I have finished the Planetfall series, I understand why I was told that Planetfall the novel can be skipped.
One of my only issues with the series is that we never get to see the Pathfinders World again. I kept expecting one of the forces in the subsequent books to have the City of God behind it.
I enjoyed the Planetfall novel very much and I really hope that at some point Newman will be able to continue the series and complete this incredible journey.
