Atlas Alone

Planetfall, Book 4

By: Emma Newman

Narrated by: Emma Newman

Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Hugo Award-winner Emma Newman returns to the captivating Planetfall universe with a novel about vengeance and the lengths to which one will go to save the future of humanity.

Six months after she left, Dee is struggling to manage her rage toward the people who ordered the nuclear strike that destroyed Earth. She's trying to find those responsible, but she's not getting very far alone.

A dedicated gamer, Dee is endeavoring to discover a mersive good enough to enable her to escape her trauma. When she is approached by a designer who asks her to play test his new game, she hopes it will be what she needs - but it isn't like any mersive she's played before. When a man suddenly dies in the real world, she realizes that at the same time in the game, she killed a character who bears a striking resemblance to the dead man - a man she discovers was one of those responsible for the death of millions on Earth.

Disturbed but thinking it must be a coincidence, Dee continues the hunt for information. But when she finds out the plans for the future colony, she realizes that to save what is left of humanity, she might have to do something that risks what remains of her own.

©2019 Emma Newman (P)2019 Tantor

Great book

Great book. Reading and actually enjoyed the proper physics. Thank you for putting in the effort and work required to make this a plausible story

great series

I've really enjoyed this series and it's rare that a writer can Aldo be such a delightful reader!! enjoy!!

Pretty Good

I enjoyed this book, but still found that I enjoyed Book 1 & 3 the most. I absolutely love the Author/Narrator's voice. I am dissapointed that this is where the series ends!

Emma Newman is a goddess and enchantress

As a cisgender 72-year-old white male who has little interest in gaming, mysteries, sci-fi, or violence, I AM NOT Emma Newman’s target audience. However, I fell into her web of intrigue and excitement when I listened to her narrate a 23-hour book and then discovered that she is a storytelling writer of this great series (PlanetFall). I have read the series and this book was the most difficult for me, but I persevered and am so very glad I didn’t miss the clever twists and turns leading to the surprise ending.

Religion IS one of my interests, and Ms. Newman consistently alludes to religious themes and philosophical questions. I would not recommend this book to anyone in the U.S. who identifies as a conservative Christian (some other reviews point out that they felt the author has an agenda opposing that worldview.) But if you can handle some suspense, gaming and real world violence, cynicism, and realistic speculation about the world’s future, you will be amply rewarded (as I was/am) by the writing, the plot lines, and the heavenly narration of this book (and the entire series)!

My kind of Sci-Fi

Love the story line for its imaginative and vividly described scenes. Listened to all four books of this excellent series all in a row. Hoping for more to follow. Thank you, Emma Newman, for sharing your great story telling ability!

A secret admirer

Emma Newman’s Atlas Alone is her fourth entry in the Planetfall series. While each entry is standalone, the tales are interconnected. This one concerns the second Atlas ship that left Earth at the end of the third installment. Most of the passengers are in storage. Dee, who was govcorp employee focused on VR gaming and Carl, an investigator (from the second installment) had their contracts bought out to join the trip. Dee is offered a job involving gaming which leads to a killing in VR that turns out to have actually happened. At this point, she becomes suborned to hunting down the individuals responsible for nuking Earth, while needing to stay ahead of Carl investigating the murder. Her secret admirer provides IT assistance.

Newman crafts a respectable mystery, although Carl gets less attention than Dee. The eventual reveal of the secret assistance devolves to a philosophical excursion while the blurring between VR and the real world is stressed throughout.

The narration is quite respectable with solid character distinction. Pacing is smooth and a bit brisk.

The Journey of Atlas!

This has been another amazing entry into the Planetfall series! I love Emma Newman's characters and her use of the ship's atmosphere throughout the story. You really feel like you're right there with the main character on board the ship. I love how the story really dives into the human psyche and our need to heal and to face ourselves. I'm very grateful to have experienced another brilliant story by one of my favorite authors and narrators, Emma Newman! I'm a huge sci-fi fan and I highly recommend this book and series!!! Thank you.

Best Book in the series!!

I really enjoyed the first three books, and this one took it over the top for me. It’s partly because I love the contacts, the game are working through illusory worlds to find herself. Good job Emma! I can’t wait for the next series.

Incredible Finish to the Planetfall Series

I am impressed by Emma Newman's understanding of human psychology and her ability to integrate it into the story. Atlas Alone is a psychological drama in a science fiction setting. Her storyline is compelling, and like the other is the series, has a "drop a bomb" ending that I won't spoil here. She is also a gifted narrator, I highly recommend Atlas Alone and the entire Planetfall series.

What a Ride!

Really pleased with the twists and turns, but also the character development throughout the series. Sad this is the last one of this world.