3 out of 4 stars
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Two hundred years into the future, Earth is crumbling. Becoming more and more uninhabitable. In the Science Fiction read, From Earth to Terra by Beverly Jenness, the reader follows a group who is led away from their home in order to save the human race.
Strong-willed siblings Amanda and Paul are prepared for their departure from planet Earth. They say goodbye to their high-ranking and prestigious parents to accept their new fate. By joining The Life Trust Guild, along with several others, they have agreed to enter space in hopes of smoothly transitioning to a new planet, Terra.
After being asleep for a long time, the passengers are woken up to see Terra for the first time. Slowly, they begin to establish their roles in this new world. Roles include plant gatherers, hunters, seamstresses, those who think outside the box, and many more. Though as everyone is settling in, it becomes more apparent that not all are contributing. As a result, stress levels increase. Eventually, the hard-working citizens come to realize that perhaps their once idealistic planet may not be what they have bargained for.
Told in the third person omniscient point of view, there is an interesting balance between the future and the past. The characters have the ability to access the internet, virtual reality rooms, and even 3D printers. But then, they quickly learn that they must use the environment’s natural resources for survival. I had to continually remind myself this story is set in the future, not during the hunter/gatherer era.
What I also found interesting is how the science fiction genre is woven in. One example is Abraham’s work; this older gentleman is in charge of the embryo lab, where babies are formed in gestation tubes. Those who favor motherhood, visit their little ones in tubes to provide comfort until the babies are ready for their birthing agents in order to be born; it was a bit odd and fascinating at the same time. I also found the creatures on this planet compelling. Monstrous lake dragons, odd-looking spike-tongued frogs, and dish-sized scavenger spiders are the ones that stuck out to me.
Unfortunately, there are an extreme number of errors throughout this book. Most of the errors are missing periods, missing quotation marks, and inconsistencies of word usage. For instance, the word “smokehouse” was later changed to “smoke house” within the same page. The other big one I noticed was a character’s name misspelled. She was referred to as “Chloe’ ”, “Chloe”, and “Cloe” within a page or two. These are easy fixes, but were extremely distracting.
Also, I found the world building a bit disjointed where I felt I couldn't grasp certain aspects of these people's lives and the world they are living in. Lastly, I felt some of the relationships between pod companions was a bit unrealistic; they seemed forced and fast.
Though with its need of another edit job, I did find From Earth to Terra fairly enjoyable. Therefore, I rate this Sci-Fi a 3 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy reading about how a set of people live and survive in somewhere vastly different from their previous lives.
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From Earth to Terra
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