REVIEW: Atlas Alone

Atlas Alone
Author: Emma Newman

Atlas Alone is the 4th book in the Planetfall series. The prior three books could be read as standalone novels. Each book told the story of the aftermath of a cult's exodus from Earth from a different perspective. Atlas Alone brings the prior plots full circle, bringing back characters from previous books and making references to events in all of the prior Planetfall novels. This isn't a standalone story a reader can jump into before reading the other books in the series. There are spoilers regarding the endings of a couple of the prior novels and characters whose back stories are essential to understanding the events in this book.

I accidentally requested this review copy months ago. I don't usually jump in mid-series. The concept sounded so interesting that I backed up and started reading the Planetfall series from the beginning before starting this book. I'm glad I did. This is by far the best science fiction series I've read in a long time. The plots and characters are complex. The first three books showed the aftermath of one event from different perspectives. This fourth book brings it all together to move the storyline along in a way I didn't expect.

Atlas 2 has left Earth, carrying what's left of humanity after nuclear strikes destroyed much of the planet. Dee speculates that the person who ordered those strikes is on board the ship. She contemplates revenge and submerges herself in "mersives''....complex video games.....to keep herself occupied during the voyage to the colony planet. I liked the gaming aspect of the plot. And as usual with this series the plot was quite complex and sucked me right in. I couldn't stop reading -- totally binge read this book!

Awesome book!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**