Before Mars

The Planetfall Series, Book 3

De: Emma Newman

Narrado por: Emma Newman

After months of travel, Anna Kubrin finally arrives on Mars for her new job as a geologist and de facto artist-in-residence. Already she feels like she is losing the connection with her husband and baby at home on Earth - and she'll be on Mars for over a year.

Throwing herself into her work, she tries her best to fit in with the team. But in her new room on the base, Anna finds a mysterious note written in her own handwriting, warning her not to trust the colony psychologist. A note she can't remember writing. She unpacks her wedding ring, only to find it has been replaced by a fake.

Finding a footprint in a place the colony AI claims has never been visited by humans, Anna begins to suspect that her assignment isn't as simple as she was led to believe. Is she caught up in an elaborate corporate conspiracy, or is she actually losing her mind?

Regardless of what horrors she might discover, or what they might do to her sanity, Anna has to find the truth before her own mind destroys her.

©2018 Emma Newman (P)2018 Tantor

Hit me hard

This is my favorite so far in the Planetfall series. Each protagonist has struggled with mental illness stemming from past trauma. I found this character’s response very relatable. I felt the world building layering in a way that was more satisfying than the jump from Planetfall to After Atlas. I also appreciate the Thriller style mystery (similar to Atlas) more than the murder mystery of After Atlas. The world that has been built is a grim one and the emotional impact of the denouement had me in tears for the characters and concerned for our society. Between the mental health struggles and anxiety provoking themes, I this is not a feel good book. Kudos for a book that I could feel so deeply.

Book clubs look no further!

Amazing novel that dares to focus on a female character who is experiencing post partum depression and feelings about motherhood that are practically never spoken aloud, let alone dealt with in science fiction. This book is a tour de force, one of the best novels I've read all year. I hope people who don't normally read scifi pick this up, it can be read without having read the other books in the series. Would make a great book club book for any group that is looking for something meaty that will engender a great discussion.

[I listened to this as an audio book read by Emma Newman, she does a great job]

Great third installment

This was a satisfying third installment to the series with continued interesting development of the universe Newman has developed. The book drags at times, but there is just enough action to move it forward to another provocative conclusion. I particularly like how this book explores the relationship between humans and the AI tech embedded in Newman’s universe.

My only complaint is that the book is slightly bloated with the main character’s inner speech centering on her own perceived failings. This has been the case with all three novels in this series so far. Every main character has obsessively lingered over their own flaws, grinding away at how terrible they feel about themselves and their actions. I have no quibble with flawed protagonists—and Newman has chosen interesting flaws to give her characters. But she (or her editors) needs to ease up on the gas pedal when it comes to giving them pages and pages of repetitive inner monologues focusing on those flaws. It may seem to make her characters more realistic, but it also dulls the edge of her novels.

I am obsessed with this series!

Each book in this series captivated me, haunted me and I could barely force myself to stop listening. This third book was remaniscent of the first, the author has such a gift for slowly peeling back the layers of the main character, leaving you yearning to know more. I love how this series jumps to a different lead character, but is also tied into the previous events of the other lead characters. The huge web of interconnected events, characters and critical choices made linking each of the books is astounding and so beautifully woven by the author. I didn't think I would love the second book as much as I loved the first, but I did. I didnt thinK I would love the 3rd book as much as I loved the second, but I did. Each book is built apon the previous and has made me fallen more and more in love with each book. I cannot wait to start the 4th book!

Another brilliant performance - good book, too

Ms. Newman continues to outdo herself with voice performance. The story was really good. However, in this series, I'm just about over unreliable narrators. This isn't a spoiler as the trustworthiness of the narrator is doubtful from the outset.

Excellent Read and Talented Author

This is the first book I picked up from this author and I was blown away by her writing skills and the story itself. this was a fantastic read and I'm definitely picking up more of her work.

Thoughtful extrapolation

Part mystery, part cyber psychological thriller, this book does such a great job of utilizing science fiction to explore humanity in the current age. I also appreciate the thoughtful extrapolation of social structures into the near future, bearing warnings to us in a fragile age of rapid change.

What a great book!

This was not only a great science fiction novel but a sterling example of how having diverse authors broadens and strengthens the field. Ms. Newman is a wife mother and daughter and all of those experiences went into making the female protagonist very realistic and engaging.

I always wonder why female characters in SF/ Fantasy are oftentimes so one dimensional. Teenaged heroines, or hard bitten soldiers/tough girls etc. I now realize that the female characters are just a reflection of the authors knowledge and respect for all types of women. If you are a man, whose appreciation of women extends to dutiful wives or your own pre adolescent fantasies, that is the type of heroine that you will produce. If you are a woman writer and are also a wife mother sibling and friend to different women then the female characters you produce will of course be much broader and multi faceted than a writer with a different experience.

Any how, this is a great book. And Emma Newman’s narration is just as good as some of the professional actors I’ve heard.

Another winner from Emma Newman

Having read After Atlas, I knew a major outcome already. So I was skeptical that this book would be worth it. It is worth reading and is gripping and powerful.

Amazing

Fantastic
Couldn’t put it down
The theme of the ambivalent mother was so well done
Tied in great with the last 2 books