Paradise-1

By: David Wellington

Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow

Length: 21 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

An electric blend of sci-if and horror, Paradise-1 begins a terrifying new trilogy of exploration and survival in deep space from Arthur C. Clarke Award-nominated author David Wellington.

"A superior space thriller that never flags....Readers will be on the edge of their seats."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Paradise-1. Earth’s first deep space colony. For thousands of people, it was an opportunity for a new life. Until it went dark.

No communication has been received from the colony for months. And it falls to Firewatch inspector Alexandra Petrova and the crew of the Artemis to investigate.

What they find is more horrifying than anything they could have imagined.

©2023 David Wellington (P)2023 Orbit

Good story, sometimes weird narration

Overall the book was good. I liked the characters and the premise a lot. For a sci-fi horror book it wasn’t that scary. Some body horror, but not terrifying otherwise. I don’t mind the abrupt ending so much as I thought it was a good enough book that I’d be happy to read the sequel. Sometimes the narration fell flat. She was good for the most part, but for some of the really serious dialogue, the narrator spoke in a way that was very sarcastic and kind of pulled you out of the story. I also noticed some errors toward the end where she’d do the voice of one character, but it was actually a different character that was speaking. All in all I’d recommend!

Excellent sci-fi horror

Great story. I love the crew, especially Rapscallion (which is a fantastic name for a robot).

Could have been much better, it drags

First off, the narration was poor
second, the story didn't flow well at all

couldn't really stick the landing

I really enjoyed most of the book. but like last 150 pages felt like a very rushed conclusion and like more could have been done or a better ending could have been made. I am still intrigued and I like the characters enough that I might consider getting the second book when it comes out.
I was disappointed tho cause the entire premise is cool and the lead up to making contact with the basilisk was so intense and enjoyable to read. but the actual meeting was disappointing

Great book abrupt ending

The book was great the ending was horribly abrupt.

I would give it a 2.5 out if 3 instead of a 4 that I wanted to.

If I could go back in time I wouldn’t read it unless there was a sequel already published.

Great blend of sci-fi and horror

Paradise-1, Earth’s first colony planet in another star system, goes silent. The government assembles a crew to investigate the case. Leading the charge is Alexandra Petrova, the detective who just caught the galaxy’s worst serial killer but botched a years-long investigation in the process. She’s assisted by Zhang Lei, a survivor of a massacre on Titan who isn’t exactly in the best of shape, and Sam Parker, a pilot who’s easy on the eyes but light on impressive accomplishments. And then we have Rapscallion, a robot who prints and changes bodies like they’re going out of style. A curious bunch here, for sure, but are they fit to save the planet?


Especially since they’ll have to deal with infected AIs, contagious delusions, and murderous zombies. Not to mention more serious obstacles. Paradise-1 is long (700 pages), but for a reason. There’s hardly any filler, so don’t let the length scare you off. Especially if you’re looking for a sci-fi horror hybrid filled with terrifically terrifying ideas.

The action and plot twists kept me riveted and provided enough tense moments to keep the suspense going. Even in the middle section, which slowed down a bit. Moments of disturbing body horror and psychological terror appealed to me; I prefer the feeling of lingering dread and frightening ideas to bloody explosions of violence. That we got both was a plus.

Well-realized world-building introducing an utterly alien world to the crew and readers impressed me. It’s not fully explored, but I liked what we got. I loved how skilfully and creatively Wellington played with hard light holograms and other futuristic concepts. And finally, we have a crew and AIs. I found all the crew members fascinating and well-developed. Their relationships and dynamics drive the story forward.

Paradise-1 is a clever sci-fi horror novel that provides enough thrills and cool ideas to keep readers entertained until the end.

Hyped

I really wanted to enjoy this after reading so many reviews. It’s rough. And the narration is not the ideal fit.

A book without an ending, nor a conclusion

I was enjoying this audiobook until I got to the part that said, "To be continued." If I had known prior to beginning this book that it lacked a complete story, and required me to purchase another audiobook sometime in the future, I would not have started it. This just ended without reaching any sort of conclusion. I thought the narrator did an excellent job, I had to look her up about halfway through the book because I wondered why I had not heard her work before.

Much improved, good story

Dave’s last space novel was okay but a little dry. This novel was much improved over the last space novel. The character had good development and the story was engaging. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next book of this series.

A great slow burn scifi horror

My first experience with a Sci Fi horror book was excellent. It was definitely a little bit slow at times but that added to the suspense and slow burn mystery of beginning to understand what was happening. Some great twists and turns. I grew to really like all of the characters. The ending felt a little bit rushed and that cliff hanger was a bit cheesy. However I will certainly grab the next installment when it becomes available.