The fourth has a strong mystery-thriller plot. The first feels like a first landing story, about the hardships of colonization and the history of the group on Earth. Unsurprisingly, they read like separate novellas. The first three sections occur almost thirty years apart, encompassing different generations of colony evolution. Narrative is broken into seven sections, narrated by seven different people. Of that of the fifty people who had left Earth “We had hoped to create a new society in full harmony with nature, but nineteen people had died of accidents and illnesses since we arrived.” (spoiler: without genetic engineering, our humans are going to face a serious bottleneck).

In the first few pages we learn three people have gone missing and are presumed dead. Only, in the tradition of first colonization stories everywhere, stuff happens. They are looking for peace, but to no reader’s surprise, end up on a planet that only seemed hospitable. The premise is straightforward: a group of colonists has landed on Pax, fleeing Earth’s environmental catastrophes and endless wars. endurance fashion, persevered, and found it to be a very uneven experience.

(spoiler: though with reviewing, I edged further into the negative). A buddy read with Cillian, she found this one far more displeasing than I. I need a good solid hate read in my life, or at least I need to find a book that doesn’t leave me with this much ambivalence.

Sue burke books