VLK249 reviewed Atmosphere by David Scott Moyer (The Chara Series, #1)
When connection and empathy is dangerous
4 stars
Other world science fiction. A small "first contact" collective lands on a habitable world several light years away from Earth in hopes of discovery. What they find is a psychic planet plagued by the omnipresent All and a peoples and ecosystem exploited.
I like this genre of science fiction because it's always interesting to see what lifeforms and ecosystems the authors can come up with, and this one was no exception. The struggles of communication and connection with the crew were an ongoing theme and felt realistic as any other. Through their willingness to eventually connect with the world around them, they learn what is really driving the sentience of the planet and who is in it for keeps.
Premise wise, great. Writing wise, not so awesome. This needs proofreading, particularly in the quotes, commas, and paragraphs category. Sometimes I couldn't figure out who was talking because one of the …
Other world science fiction. A small "first contact" collective lands on a habitable world several light years away from Earth in hopes of discovery. What they find is a psychic planet plagued by the omnipresent All and a peoples and ecosystem exploited.
I like this genre of science fiction because it's always interesting to see what lifeforms and ecosystems the authors can come up with, and this one was no exception. The struggles of communication and connection with the crew were an ongoing theme and felt realistic as any other. Through their willingness to eventually connect with the world around them, they learn what is really driving the sentience of the planet and who is in it for keeps.
Premise wise, great. Writing wise, not so awesome. This needs proofreading, particularly in the quotes, commas, and paragraphs category. Sometimes I couldn't figure out who was talking because one of the three went missing plus the head hopping. Other vexation, the speed of the story. It plods at the start and ramps up with new events and new antagonists so rapidly towards the end that they are barely introduced before the narrative twists again. This meant I couldn't be invested in any particular character narratives outside the first few introduced by chapter 2.
The world building is intriguing. The linguistic struggles are realistic. If you're the type to be interested in a novel for those constructs, you'll be pretty happy reading this.
