Planetfall

Renata Ghali believed in Lee Suh-Mi's vision of a world far beyond Earth, a planet promising to reveal the truth about our place in the cosmos, untainted by overpopulation, pollution, and war. Ren believed in that vision enough to give up everything to follow Suh-Mi into the unknown.

More than 20 years have passed since Ren and the rest of the faithful braved the starry abyss and established a colony at the base of an enigmatic alien structure where Suh-Mi has since resided alone. Ren has worked hard as the colony's 3-D printer engineer, creating the tools necessary for human survival in an alien environment - and harboring a devastating secret.

For the good of her fellow colonists, Ren continues to perpetuate the lie forming the foundation of the colony, despite the personal cost. Then a stranger appears, far too young to have been part of the first planetfall, a man who bears a remarkable resemblance to Suh-Mi.

The truth Ren has concealed since planetfall can no longer be hidden, and its revelation could tear the colony apart.

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone Audiobooks

Good

Good story, but short and with little depth into the interesting themes presented. Worth the buy however.

Not what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprise

I guess I was expecting more of a standard scifi story, but I was surprised to get a well written character drama in a scifi setting. I think the author did a really good job of portraying mental illness from a first person perspective and I genuinely felt sorry for the main character. I've never read anything quite like that and it was refreshing. The ending escalates pretty quickly and then ends kind of abruptly but it was a great read overall.

Amazing sci-fi, perfect ending

A true original. I couldn't put it down. A very satisfying ending. You won't be disappointed.

Perfection - A Real Treat

This is one of the best self contained science fiction stories I've ever read. Told through the perspective of one woman, this story has some of the very best first person writing. The insight this story has into the mind of someone dealing with anxiety and guilt is profound. As an introvert I related to the character's feelings while at the same time feeling repulsed at the lengths she went through to remain distant from others.

At the core of the plot is a mystery. Its an intriguing puzzle that hooked me right from the very first pages.On top of how well the mystery is set up and how expertly Newman teases and deepens it as it goes along, it also has one of the most satisfying and mind blowing conclusions I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Its the perfect ending, to a perfect story. The conclusion wraps up the characters journey while solving the core mystery, along with leaving some things open to interpretation in a completely non-frustrating way.

Emma Newman does the narration herself and I can't imagine it being any other way. You can tell she has a very personal connection to the character and she captures her voice perfectly.

I cannot recommend this strongly enough! It works as a stand-alone piece as well, so reading the sequels is not at all required. Though, if you like this, I would recommend those as well.

An incredible sci-fi

Definitely a good listen. The fact the the author read it definitely made it even better. I won’t spoil anything, but the author has done a great job of using an undeniably human and flawed character to be our guide through a fantastic story. The 4/5 is honestly mostly because the ending was a bit abrupt to me, but that really is likely just a me problem. I look forward to reading the next one.