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dejahentendu's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
timinbc's review against another edition
4.0
Didn't care for the ending at all, but the first three quarters is so good that I will forgive it.
A future AI-assisted police procedural, really well done, and a protagonist who, despite his skills, is in quite a deep hole. Is it the same hole in which a 1940s reader would find a hard-boiled PI with a gun in one drawer and a bottle of cheap scotch in the other? You decide. The investigation just rips along, with one egregious exception: That's fake tension and it got annoying, especially after repeated references. Is Newman trying to show us that Carlos isn't such a great 'tec? Hardly - it's made clear that he's among the best. That he's distracted? Nah, he's not missing much else.
I also liked this book for being free of the standard plot tropes - I can sleep later, I can't eat right now, it's just a flesh wound, etc. And the gentle relationship with Linda was a nice touch.
Spoiler
including its tie-in to Planetfall,A future AI-assisted police procedural, really well done, and a protagonist who, despite his skills, is in quite a deep hole. Is it the same hole in which a 1940s reader would find a hard-boiled PI with a gun in one drawer and a bottle of cheap scotch in the other? You decide. The investigation just rips along, with one egregious exception:
Spoiler
the deliberate delays - Travis with "interview me last" and the inevitable "block all calls from that reporter" - when either one will obviously blow things open if he talks to them.I also liked this book for being free of the standard plot tropes - I can sleep later, I can't eat right now, it's just a flesh wound, etc. And the gentle relationship with Linda was a nice touch.
tregina's review against another edition
4.0
Exploring the lives of the people left behind after a mass exodus or disappearance isn't necessarily a new idea, but it feels very fresh and effective here. After the Pathfinder and her followers leave on Atlas (their journey and future followed in the first Planetfall novel), they leave some profoundly damaged people in their wake, who go on to cope in various ways. The book ostensibly follows the investigation into the death of cult leader Alejandro Casales, who was left off the final manifest for Atlas, by one of his former followers and the youngest of those left behind, Carlos Moreno, but the investigation exists more to provide a framework for an exploration of the conditions on the Earth that Atlas left behind, and the whys and hows of Casales' (and Carlos') lives. The solution to the investigation isn't the point--it's not even really that much of a mystery before long--but they why of it all is most important, and how it ties into Atlas and the people and information it left behind.
I wasn't wholly pleased with some of the elements of the story, particularly the widespread acceptance of slavery (or indentured servitude, as it were, but there's not a functional difference), and some of the unexamined villainy. But I think I was pleased with the ending, after the initial shock of it (to be honest, I'm still processing that, though) because I had no idea how everything in the book was going to get tied up and then somehow it did.
I wasn't wholly pleased with some of the elements of the story, particularly the widespread acceptance of slavery (or indentured servitude, as it were, but there's not a functional difference), and some of the unexamined villainy. But I think I was pleased with the ending, after the initial shock of it (to be honest, I'm still processing that, though) because I had no idea how everything in the book was going to get tied up and then somehow it did.
cecile87's review against another edition
5.0
An enjoyable read. Much more than a sci-fi murder mystery. It moved along at a moderate pace and started speeding up rapidly towards the end. So the end had a rushed feel to it. I found I was unable to savor Carlos’ new status as much as I would have liked.
Anyway, I did like the characters. So richly described or shown. The diversity of those characters was important to me. And not only were the races of people of color mentioned, but white people weren’t always treated as the norm and not described as white.
The world-building had a few vague spots, or spots I didn’t grasp, but ultimately, the story and the writing were satisfying for me. How he got trapped into hot-housing and indentured servitude, the unreasonableness of his higher-ups—I just road over that and tuned into the other parts of the story.
I’m not sure I’ll read the next installment. The injustices and exploitations carried out by the corporations-turned-government, the apparent racism of said corp/gov, the destruction of simple human dignity, seem all too real for me these days. I may cave in and go ahead and read that book somewhere down the line, as I did like the bits of Dee that showed up in this edition.
Anyway, I did like the characters. So richly described or shown. The diversity of those characters was important to me. And not only were the races of people of color mentioned, but white people weren’t always treated as the norm and not described as white.
The world-building had a few vague spots, or spots I didn’t grasp, but ultimately, the story and the writing were satisfying for me. How he got trapped into hot-housing and indentured servitude, the unreasonableness of his higher-ups—I just road over that and tuned into the other parts of the story.
I’m not sure I’ll read the next installment. The injustices and exploitations carried out by the corporations-turned-government, the apparent racism of said corp/gov, the destruction of simple human dignity, seem all too real for me these days. I may cave in and go ahead and read that book somewhere down the line, as I did like the bits of Dee that showed up in this edition.
mebius's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
crimsoncor's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely incredible book. Such a bleak future, though it avoids the completely depressing feel of [b:84K|35511975|84K|Claire North|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1508570699l/35511975._SY75_.jpg|56923809]. A fascinating main character and an interesting mystery that becomes so much more as it unravels. This is clearly a series about the "broken" people of the world; the ones for whom their differences makes everything harder and yet also in some ways easier.
bookwormmuse's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
emath98's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
frasersimons's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Colour me pleasantly surprised.
The first book was good but not like this at all. An indentured detective back on Earth is tasked with solving the murder of a cult leader he has a tumultuous and complicated history with. We get much more world building around the Gov-Corps and world powers, but I think you could certainly read this or the first books as stand alone and not feel like you’d miss anything pivotal, yet still feel rewarded for seeing the connective tissue.
My favourite part is how everyone is chipped, and how Newman makes the concept of immersive UI and technologies accessible. Rather than info dump the idea of hybrid reality, she is incorporates it seamlessly into the everyday negotiation of life, and educates the reader as needed. Hybrid reality is still rather rare in scifi and especially cyberpunk trappings, probably because people like the idea of a more analog retro future in the subgenre. Seeing it done well is a treat.
This is a more plot heavy book than the first, though the character work is still very good, and the world convincing. It is less concerned with larger thematics, which isn’t a bad thing. I think much of what can be said about capitalization, Corportocracy, labour, stratification of class—has lost its heft, after being tread on over and over. While the themes are still present, Newman has at the centre the feelings around the loss of agency around digging yourself further in the hole to feel any semblance of humanity, and how crushing it is to feel owned.
It is a bleak world, as one expects from cyberpunk, and perhaps a bit of a surprise after the first book, with the idea of humanity on another planet bringing the assumption that maybe the world has pulls together somewhat, even if it’s overshadowed by the government corporations mentioned in the first book. Anxiety, though, permeates the main characters of both books, as well as the future. Yet there is a nice balance of embodied humanity in the characters, attempting to fight for any scrap of agency they can. It’s not about fighting back against the corporations, it’s about the human condition in such a place and future, which makes everything relatable.
The first book was good but not like this at all. An indentured detective back on Earth is tasked with solving the murder of a cult leader he has a tumultuous and complicated history with. We get much more world building around the Gov-Corps and world powers, but I think you could certainly read this or the first books as stand alone and not feel like you’d miss anything pivotal, yet still feel rewarded for seeing the connective tissue.
My favourite part is how everyone is chipped, and how Newman makes the concept of immersive UI and technologies accessible. Rather than info dump the idea of hybrid reality, she is incorporates it seamlessly into the everyday negotiation of life, and educates the reader as needed. Hybrid reality is still rather rare in scifi and especially cyberpunk trappings, probably because people like the idea of a more analog retro future in the subgenre. Seeing it done well is a treat.
This is a more plot heavy book than the first, though the character work is still very good, and the world convincing. It is less concerned with larger thematics, which isn’t a bad thing. I think much of what can be said about capitalization, Corportocracy, labour, stratification of class—has lost its heft, after being tread on over and over. While the themes are still present, Newman has at the centre the feelings around the loss of agency around digging yourself further in the hole to feel any semblance of humanity, and how crushing it is to feel owned.
It is a bleak world, as one expects from cyberpunk, and perhaps a bit of a surprise after the first book, with the idea of humanity on another planet bringing the assumption that maybe the world has pulls together somewhat, even if it’s overshadowed by the government corporations mentioned in the first book. Anxiety, though, permeates the main characters of both books, as well as the future. Yet there is a nice balance of embodied humanity in the characters, attempting to fight for any scrap of agency they can. It’s not about fighting back against the corporations, it’s about the human condition in such a place and future, which makes everything relatable.
myriadreads's review against another edition
4.0
A fast-paced genre bender, sci-fi/murder mystery. I couldn't put it down! In a future where several large gov-corps rule the world, many people find themselves working under contract just to survive, with no hope of ever living free lives. Carlos is a detective, using the tools of a new age to solve crimes, but his only joy is in coming and eating real food, expensive and hard to come by. When the charismatic leader of a powerful cult is found dead, Carlos will apply himself to the puzzle, though it means confronting a past that he's successfully hidden from for years.
Newman has a gift for bringing a future world to life in the details without being heavy handed. Note: while this follows in the same universe as Planetfall, it is only connected, not a sequel. I think you could read this one as a standalone, or read it first, and still understand the premise perfectly.
Newman has a gift for bringing a future world to life in the details without being heavy handed. Note: while this follows in the same universe as Planetfall, it is only connected, not a sequel. I think you could read this one as a standalone, or read it first, and still understand the premise perfectly.