I listened to this as an audiobook. I really struggled with the first few chapters, there was just. So.Much.Swearing. If I had had access to a paper book I probably could have skipped over some of the frequent F-bombs. The first few chapters also seem to be about how angry the main character is at the whole of existence. He has reasons to be angry but it did not make for a story I was interested in pursuing. Once I got past that part and into the middle section it got much more interesting as it was primarily a police procedural. Carlos is a sort-of slave/indentured servant to the MOS and is sent to investigate the death of someone who was once his mentor.. As he uncovers the past of his mentor we learn more about Carlos as well. At about the 2/3 point the story changes again into a more dystopian SF future. Carlos goes to Texas to attend the funeral of the man he was investigating and also reunite with his father. He uncovers a massive international plot and chooses to leave Earth.
The ending is hugely depressing., possibly because with world politics the mess they are I can see all this happening.
I don't think I am up to another book by this author.
Read for the British author challenge Feb 2024
audiobook completed 2/26/2024 ( )

As a murder mystery in a science fiction setting, this book hit both of my favorite genres. I don't usually read the second book in a series without having read the first (Planetfall), but the ebook was a BookBub deal and I went for it. Clearly what happened in the first was important to the development of the characters and I was eager to read it (and I will), but only in the final couple of chapters and pages did events develop that are only clear if you've read the first book.

Still, the mystery, the investigation, and the characters were interesting and I read this one straight through, which is unusual for me. ( )

Hm. I liked this sci-fi mystery well enough, but the ending felt like it didn't fit. It also didn't feel at all connected to the first Planetfall book.

Carlos Moreno's mom left him behind, as a baby, to keep her place on the starship Atlas. Baby Carlos and his Dad were rejected. Dad couldn't face life after this rejection, so he gave up on the world and left little Carlos to fend for himself. Cult founder Alejandro rescues little Carlos and his Dad and bring them into cult-land, in Texas. Carlos struggles to fit in as his Dad worships the ground that Alejandro walks on.

Long story short, Carlos ends up owned by a very scary billionaire, who demands obedience or face torture, and that's when the author seemingly changes horse in mid-stream. I ask myself"what just happened?"

( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/after-atlas-by-emma-newman/

This is the second in the four-volume Planetfall series by Emma Newman, which I have read completely out of order. (Third, fourth, first.) I’m afraid this lost me pretty early on when the protagonist, a police detective, was compelled by his bosses to investigate the murder of a former close friend. Sure, he is indentured through an ‘orrible system of cyber-slavery, but really, assigning someone like that is a crazy thing for a police force of any size to do. I read patiently through for the payoff, but it didn’t come. ( )

Emma Newman's ability to craft a story is just blowing my mind. I loved every detail about this book: the characters and their arcs, the main murder mystery, the complex background plotlines, the little clues for each plotline throughout, and how they all intersect in the end.

The best part might be how the author creates a totally believable futuristic world with tech we don't have, but she never infodumps how it works. She weaves it into the narrative seamlessly so that we don't just understand what exists, but the context in which it's used in society. This feature is especially important when shit hits the fan and I, as a reader, am feeling the exact impact it has on the main character because the author wrote it all so well. At one point about 3/4 in the main character was basically going "WTF? WTF?!?!?!" and I was caught up WTFing right with him.

The audiobook narrator was just as perfect as Emma Newman was for the first book, really bringing the main character to life. So goddamn perfect. ( )