Christopher Martucci

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

My uncle recommended this post-apocalyptic title to me, and while it has weaknesses, I can see what attracted him to the story. This is very much a tale about taking ownership of your life rather than just maintaining the patterns you were trained in. Oddly, those patterns make up some of the weaknesses. Though Avery is trained in survival, she has blind spots that either came from the author or her father. In one case, modern sensibility interferes with survival, and in another, her ignorance where I’d expected basic knowledge stood out.

The book starts slowly because Avery is the first person point of view, and she doesn’t recognize the personhood of her sister, June. We learn how they got to this moment and what’s going on through Avery ruminating on what had happened and how June is her first priority.

Don’t get the impression it is all navel gazing though. There is a lot of danger, struggle, and fear as well as truly terrible things happening in flashback and in the present. This is a time of monsters, of bare survival against all odds, and a planet in turmoil because the different sapient species choose competition over cooperation.

I enjoyed seeing Avery grow up, not so much in age as the book occurs in a matter of days, but in recognizing her sister’s strengths, in taking responsibility for the safety of strangers, and in opening her worldview. Her sudden onset of puberty feels a little overdone and littered with the idea of base drives (envy and sexual rivals). I believe these drives are at least in part a construct of our culture as they are not constant among human cultures nor do they appear in every animal. However, those changes also bring more voices into the story and allow for an interaction previously lacking.

There is a moment (not describing because it’s a spoiler) that leads me to suspect the world she knows is not quite accurate. Then, she destroys that moment so I don’t know if it’s a sign of what’s to come or a fluke. I certainly hope for the first, as complex narratives are my favorite, especially where cultures clash. This is a tight narrative, and there’s a lot Avery doesn’t know, so the hints could be wishful thinking or elements the series can build on. That those possibilities exist offers the chance for many interesting opportunities going forward.

The world, its people, and the story setup are intriguing enough for me to read the second book, though I haven’t yet done so. The first, this one, is largely a journey from stasis to action, with strong character development along the way. It’ll be interesting to see their next step, and if it offers surprises. The relationships and character growth saved the book when the events were somewhat predictable to me. This is especially true of the two biggest moments, one of which stripped away a dynamic I thought would be fascinating.

The first book ends with a commitment to action as opposed to just survival. With so many ways it can go from this point, I look forward to seeing what choices these characters make in their future.… (altro)

This review contains spoilers and was originally written in March of 2014.

At first glance, Planet Urth by Jennifer and Christopher Martucci, has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, the book didn’t quite live up to the expectations I had for it. After losing their mothers six years prior admidst an Urthmen massacre, main characters Avery and June, are taken under their father’s wing and taught to fend for themselves in a post-apocalyptic North America. Beginning a year after their father’s passing, Avery finds herself struggling to meet the needs of her younger sister while simultaneously lamenting the fact that June cannot live a normal life. Together, they hunt for food surviving against the harsh dangers of this new world.

Alone, the plot of this novel is fantastic and easily could have been written into a more promising read. In fact, were I to rate Planet Urth on plot alone, I could easily give it a four- or five-star rating without a second thought. Naturally, that begs the question: Why did I not? There were two factors that came into play while reading this book that not only made it difficult to continue reading it, but also forced me to have to go over lines a second and sometimes even third time to ensure that I had correctly understood what was meant.

Our heroine, Avery, is seemingly written as a smart youth; strong and witty, she’s the perfect savior for little June. It’s a lovable, mother-like quality to see in a character that has no choice but to do whatever is necessary to safely see her sole surviving family member through life, and yet Avery seems to be lacking the common sense, or even instinct, that most characters of her protective nature tend to have. For example: when the Lurkers, a mutant, wolf-like creature, track Avery to the cave that she and June call home and marks it as their territory, Avery is frightened and, as she should, determines that the cave is no longer a safe place for the two girls to live.

That is, all in all, a pretty solid reason to stay away and find a new home, right? Nope. Apparently Avery isn’t quite that bright, because after she saves her love-interest Will and his siblings from a near massacre at their waterfront cave, she knowingly brings them back to the very same cave that she knows must be abandoned for safer refuge. This sudden change in the way Avery behaves, gives me, the reader, the feeling that it was forgotten why Avery and June were leaving their cave, and then later re-added as if it was a sudden epiphany after Avery, June, Will, and his relatives had already made themselves comfortable. Given how Avery had been portrayed up until this point, this decision seemed extremely unusual and out-of-character.

The second major issue I encountered while reading Planet Urth, and the one that most heavily affects my rating, is the choice of words used and the originality that encompasses them. I don’t feel as if it is necessary for me to go into the reasons why I don’t care much for the word “Urth.” That one is, in my opinion, fairly self-explanatory. What really, truly, pressed my buttons in regards to language, is the fact that it seemed as if the authors (for those that didn’t read the acknowledgment at the end prior to the new book cover or simply bypassed studying it, Planet Urth was actually written by a husband and wife duo) tried a bit too hard to expand their vocabulary when a more simplistic approach would have worked just fine, if not better. For instance: the line regarding Will’s muscles and how they “intertwined and galloped” down his arm. Muscles. Galloped. I don’t know about you, but when I think of galloping muscles, an attractive boy is hardly the first image on my mind: rather, I picture a horse. I’m fairly certain that “horselike” is not the image they meant to pain for Will, but that is how he will be forever ingrained in my mind.

At least the plot was good, right?… (altro)

The story was good, but it could have been much better. The dystopian world the authors built was interesting and so were the characters but there were parts that were repetitious. The death of Avery's mother, father, and their unborn child are mentioned enough to nauseate. Same goes with her protection of her sister, June. At times the book meandered in directions that felt like nothing but space-filler. A bit more editing wouldn't have hurt either.

I did like the main character Avery. She's pretty brave without being arrogant. Avery has a nice balance of fear, confidence, love and the burgeoning awareness of becoming a woman and a warrior.… (altro)

It's unfortunate, no ending...

These two novels had no ending. After the end of the first novel, I felt I had reached the middle of a novel that actually had a plot. Good thing this was a box set so I could keep reading. Well, book two just went nowhere, and I mean nowhere. No solid story at all. The characters were leaving because of the Lurkers. But they had no idea where they were going. They just walked right out onto the streets where the savage Urthmen lived. What?! Why?! Bangs head on wall.

Book two was pointless. Book one had merit.

The novel is told in first person by Avery, the main character. Her thoughts are too redundant. As soon as you get the emotion of the character, several paragraphs down, a page later, or even a chapter later, she is rehashing the same things, in the same words. The novel could have been told in half as many words.

The first novel typically began most scenes with the character waking and ended them with her falling asleep. Blackouts where common too.

The romantic interest was the only thing that kept me reading, and the main character screwed that up as well. I don't understand the romantic issue that developed between Avery and Will in the second novel. One moment the scene was sparking with electricity and then the next, the characters are mad at each other. I reread like three times and determined that another paragraph needs to be written for clarity, because I had no idea what happened. They just roll away pissed with each other.

I did like Avery's childish mindset. Keep in mind she grew up with no other contact with humans except her dad and sister. So her immaturity and naivety were spot on. Sometimes she didn't realize danger when she should have, even though most of the novel she was paranoid of the dangers around where she lived. Her reaction to finally seeing Will and his family was priceless.

The novel needed a good read through to pick up the plentiful typos. Seriously, if the novel was read aloud, wrong words and missing words would have been found. Urthmen was spelled Urtmen and Urthnmen too. Groan.

Reader rated for ages 14 for mild violence. Heads get smashed in a lot.… (altro)