Castaway Planet

Quick but good read, A-list scientific family responds to the challenge of being stranded on an alien planet with only some odds and ends. Outstanding world build with very creative but feasible flora and fauna. Quite 1632 like with a Boy Friday Bemmie added for a little alien flavor,

Not really the sequel to Portal - this is the beginning of an entirely new arc in the same universe, with quite a different flavor. A.J. is mentioned once, but the story is set about 150 years later (about a lifespan, with medical advances, we're told). An entirely new set of characters, most of whom - including the primary viewpoint character - are young (the primary is a 14-year-old girl). I don't see it as particularly YA, though. And one character is a Bemmie - from Europa, but genetically modified to be amphibious rather than purely aquatic. I see a _lot_ of Swiss Family Robinson here, and love it. A small family - father, mother, and four children, all girls - plus the Bemmie, who is the best friend of one of the girls - are show more separated from their colony ship in a lifeboat and manage to make it to a new planet, unknown to Earth. With very limited resources, they have to survive on this _very_ strange planet - which isn't generally or actively hostile, but between the predators and environment there are plenty of threats. Again, although there's plenty of action, it's the characters that make it worth reading for me. It does end in a cliffhanger, though - a hopeful but rather confusing one. Next, please! show less

A good retelling of the Swiss Family Robinson in space. The science seems solid. The story comes across a little juvenile at times but still worth the read.

Swiss Family Robinson, but with Daughters and Bug-Eyed Monster (BEM)

Castaway Planet, by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor, is an adventurous story focussing on family values, self-reliance, the uses of a natural world, and the heroism of four girls and an alien. There are two main characters - Sakura Kimei, a small and skinny 14 year old girl and student pilot and her Best Friend Forever, "Whips", an engineering student more formally named "Harratrer," a Bemmie ( Bemmius novus sapiens - a genetically engineered amphibious being derived from an intelligent aquatic species found on Europa, a moon of Jupiter.) Sakura and Whips are accompanied by the rest of Sakura's family - Laura, mother and physician; Akira, father and biologist; Hitomi, a show more very focused 7 year old video game lover; Melody, a very put-upon ten-year-old; and Caroline, a well-organized and precise young woman of 17 and an aspiring geologist. They are heading, along with over a thousand other would-be colonists, to a planet in the Tantalus system when the Kimei family and Whips are cast away from the mother ship in a disastrous event.

The steps they take to survive on the planet on which they are marooned, the flora, fauna and physical aspects of the planet and how they are used, the cooperation exhibited by the family members and especially the heroism of the daughters and the Bemmie are featured. The science behind it all is also a critical part of the story telling, as each of the characters lectures the others, explaining the physical, chemical, medical, biological or geological aspects of the phenomena they encounter.

The story isn't all hard science, however. There are encounters with terrifying animals and the unusual make-up of the planet, itself, exudes the possibility of disaster. The characters are deftly envisioned, with each acting appropriately to their age and role and developing the reader's respect. This is a well-imagined and dangerous world, populated by likable characters that the reader grows to care about.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

Enjoyed this quick read a lot! For whatever reason, I can't seem to read this "series" in order, but since this one appears to be separated by about 150 years from the prior one, it's no big deal. The authors acknowledge Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson, and Jules Verne in the beginning - anyone who's a fan will enjoy this. I also liked how the idea of family transcends species lines. And the ending was a nice set up for the next!

Good clean fun with a Swiss Family Robinson vibe.
A change for the series. Previous books have been space adventure books where this is similar to Heinlein or Sheffield young adventure stories.

YA. An oldie but a goodie but a little simplistic. Nice family, good Bemmie, harsh environment. They all have to work together to survive.