Outsphere

I found this book to be frustrating because I really wanted to like it. Reading the author's note helped lessen some of them, but it wasn't enough to change my opinion of the book.
My biggest gripe with Outsphere is the way in which the narrative is conveyed. We are constantly flitting between characters, never staying with one for long enough to get a good sense of who they are beyond a physical trait or motivation that is stated directly to the reader instead of being shown through the character's actions. Additionally, it wasn't always clear when the pov had switched from one character in the scene to another. I often had trouble telling when a piece of information was an author-given fact about the world and what was something the show more current pov character simply believed to be true. Many discoveries about the world of Eden happened off screen and are relayed to the reader through dialogue, lessening the emotional impact.
All of these things accumulated in me spending the vast majority of the story not invested in what was happening to the characters. Reading in the Author's Note that this was originally conceived of as a tv show put things into perspective and when reading this as a screenplay, the narrative does flow slightly better. However, this was published as a book and not a screenplay and what is allowed or encouraged in a screenplay does not always work well in a book, such as the outright stating of character motivations and seamless switching of povs.
However, I did genuinely enjoy one section of Outsphere, that being Part V: Erebus Beneath. This section followed a single character and so the narrative wasn't hindered by me constantly checking whose pov I was currently reading. show less

Overall I liked this book. It was fast paced and immediately threw you into the action. The various factions were quickly brought to life and you understood their motivations driving each group settling or already living in Eden. The downside to this setup means it feels like this is some sort of prequel setting up everything else that needs to happen for future books as we brush up so many interests things that the narrative just rushes past. Lastly, not sure if I haven’t read enough translated works, but if felt somewhat clunky in wording or phrasing sometimes which I attributed to the translation, but I could be wrong. Overall, if you are a fan of sci-fi, I would encourage you to read this work as a brisk ride through a messy show more colonization effort. show less

Disclosure: I won a free copy of this book in a LibraryThing giveaway.

Outsphere follows a colony ship sent from Earth to an alien planet where they struggle to build a community, having to deal with internal tensions, dangerous wildlife, hostile natives, and a second rival colony ship that arrives shortly after them. On the positive side, I found the exploration of the mysteries of the alien planet to be engaging; on the negative, the characters came off as pretty flat and uninteresting. On the whole, I enjoyed it enough that I'm interested in reading the sequels.