I can’t wait to read the second instalment of this trilogy. I am still thinking about the characters and the hard life they led on Mars, trying to grow enough to eat, like early settlers in the United States. And then their journey away from their initial homestead and all that happens there.
I felt unsettled and spooked out early on reading this – it seemed fitting to finish it on Halloween. It wasn’t a cosy read, though it seemed to get cosier when I understood more about what was happening in the world. Because of this, it’s not a YA book I would introduce to a middle grade reader or younger, but I would be pleased to recommend it to readers aged 12 or older. It’s an interesting and thought-provoking read about the nature of people, academia and civilisation itself.
I own many of Paul Magrs’s books and I think this is one of the best. I’m excited by the potential of the YA space novel and wonder what new level Paul will take it to, a pioneer in this genre as the settlers are pioneers on Mars.