Tag: Emma Newman

Review – After Atlas

Posted April 12, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of After Atlas by Emma NewmanAfter Atlas, Emma Newman

It’s been far too long since this came out, and I have no excuse — especially since I originally had an ARC. It’s a follow-up/companion to Planetfallbut it doesn’t rely on it too much and can be read alone. Personally, I think I’d prefer to read it after Planetfall, though. That novel gives a lot of context for this one, even though it doesn’t share any characters or anything beyond the idea of the Atlas mission. It doesn’t even feel like the same genre, even though they fit perfectly together; this is more of a detective story, with a whole mystery that needs to be unravelled.

This one didn’t connect with me on the visceral level that Planetfall did, because one of the reasons that book got to me was the description of the main character’s anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. That’s something I’m familiar with, much more so than with Carlos’ circumscribed existence — even though that is evocatively written too.

All in all, I wish I’d got to this sooner, and I’d love to read more in this world and find out what happens, particularly to Dee, Carlos and Travis, but to all of them. My only criticism is that the end felt like it happened so fast — that last chapter covers so much time!

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Brother’s Ruin

Posted March 9, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Cover of Brother's Ruin by Emma NewmanBrother’s Ruin, Emma Newman

Received to review via Netgalley; publication date 14th March 2017

Brother’s Ruin is another of the Tor.com novella series, though this one is very obviously just the beginning of a series of novellas, rather than standing alone (as, for example, Passing Strange does). So it mostly seems to function as a way of setting up the world: there is a story here as well, but more important is the alternate reality being created. It’s sort of vaguely Victorian, but with magic as a relatively commonplace event, and some steampunky elements. There’s some politics around magic and its practitioners that is obviously going to become more important as the novellas go on.

The main character, Charlotte, is pretty cool. She’s part of a family and has a fiancé, but she also earns her own money through illustration work and hides her own strong magic. She’s prepared to take risks to take care of her family, and she’s fine with supporting them from her own funds. She has her weaknesses — a pretty face, apparently, as well as her strong and almost uncontrollable magic — but she also has great strengths.

The reason I’m not rating this more highly is that it does feel very much like an introduction, and it only grazes the surface of the male character who is presumably going to become a much bigger part of Charlotte’s life. I don’t know what motivates him and why he’s interested, and nor do I understand why Charlotte finds him so fascinating. The scenes where she’s suddenly finding him amazingly attractive don’t quite ring true to me, given her otherwise practical nature.

There’s a lot of potential here, but I’m not 100% sold — yet.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Between Two Thorns

Posted October 30, 2013 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Between Two Thorns by Emma NewmanBetween Two Thorns, Emma Newman

Technically, I’ve both received this to review on Netgalley and received a copy as a competition prize from Angry Robot, so it’s high time I got round to it. My review will, of course, be an honest one.

In fact, I’m not entirely sure what to make of this. I enjoyed reading it, but it didn’t seem to pull together at the end — instead of the first book of a trilogy, it felt like the first part of a book. It’s not even exactly a cliffhanger ending, it’s just… some things wrap up, but most things don’t, leaving several plot threads dangling and a major mystery unsolved. I’m interested in reading the rest of the trilogy, but this way of ending the book didn’t feel right.

Anyway, the most interesting thing about this book is the world-building, the Fae world and our world, and Exilium. There were times when that felt rather like other books (Daughter of Smoke and Bone came to mind pretty strongly during the Shopkeeper chapters, and Tad Williams’ War of the Flowers comes to mind as a comparison too), but it was intriguing enough to keep my attention. The characters, less so — Cathy is made a bit too average, I think, and Will a bit too perfect, but in that cocky self-assured way that never fails to irritate. I want to know what happens to them, but I’m not convinced I care.

There’s nothing about this book (other than the ending issues I mentioned above) that makes me dislike it, but I think my feelings on it will alter (or not) depending on what the other two books of the trilogy are like. Unfortunately, I don’t have Any Other Name, so that might be a while from now.

Review on Goodreads.

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