I have a huge admiration for Emma for being able to write so brutally realistically. A big, big warning to any anxiety sufferers – this was probably the closest I’ve gotten to having to physically stop reading a book because of the level of anxiety I was feeling whilst reading. Renata’s mental illness was very overwhelming to read. And yet, at the same time it is very clear she has suffered, and is suffering. She is by no means a likeable character – she is shown at times to be ruthless and uncaring. The writing was hugely visceral when within the city, and you very much got the impression it was definitely a living thing – this was paritcularly evident in scenes where Renata was forced to cut through the city. The mystery was very engaging and I really wanted to find out what this city was and more about it. There seem to be remenants of intelligent live within the city, and we know the events of first planetfall happened here. The mystery around the events of planetfall centre on this living organism called God’s City – a giant structure that we see as Renata explores within it. The mystery and tension of the story is brilliant – Newman creates a very thriller-esque sci-fi, as we get hints and reveal of murder and trauma that happpened at planetfall, but we see these glimspes from the eyes of Renata, someone who has hidden these memories away so deeply she can’t remember. Something happened all those years ago when the crew made planetfall, and Renata has buried the trauma so deeply, it tears her apart as the truth is revealed. And who shouldn’t exist.Īs Renata reacts to this new arrival, we find out there’s move involved than meets the eye. Out of the wilderness of the planet walked Sung-Soo, a person who bore a remarkable resemblence to the Pathfinder who had led them to the planet. Planetfall follows Renata, an engineer in the colony of a new planet, as she reacts to a surprise new arrival from somewhere else on the planet.

The ending really didn’t satisfy me, hence why this isn’t a 5 star read. This book was absolutely amazing – until the last 20 pages. Planetfall is very much a character-driven sci-fi novel with more of a focus on people and trauma than on science or technology. The mental health represenatation is absolutely exceptional. Planetfall is just as good – in fact, I’d even say I enjoyed it more. Both Planetfall and Before Mars (#3) are stand alone novels and I read Before Mars earlier in the year and really enjoyed it. Planetfall is the first of Emma Newman’s Planetfall series. Content warnings: severe warning for anyone suffering from anxiety as this book is very difficult to read.

Planetfall series by emma newman