[HDQ]≡ PDF Free Earth Star Janet Edwards 9780007443505 Books

Earth Star Janet Edwards 9780007443505 Books

Download As PDF : Earth Star Janet Edwards 9780007443505 Books

Earth Star Janet Edwards 9780007443505 Books

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Earth Star ever since I finished Earth Girl, and I enjoyed this second book of the series just as much as the first. I love the setting, which is several hundred years in the future when most of humanity is living in off-planet colonies, and I love all the details about the different cultures of those colonies and their thoroughly thought out histories. Like the first, this second book is a few notches down from perfect and that keeps me from recommending it unreservedly--for one thing the main character is a bit of a knows everything and is good at everything Mary Sue type who giggles a lot--but both books held me enthralled and both times I couldn’t help loving the overly talented Jarra because she’s full of enthusiasm and good intentions, and she has some very big challenges. For me Jarra’s Mary Sue qualities are mitigated because the story is wonderful and told in the first person. The reader hears Jarra’s insecurities in her own voice, and she doesn’t brag or see herself as exceptional. On the contrary.

Since most humans now reside in one of the many off-planet colonies connected by easily traversed portals, people like Jarra with an immune system that only allows them to live on Earth are considered handicapped, and rudely referred to as “apes”. Growing up Jarra hadn’t had much contact with “normals” but in the last book she got herself into the first year Earth-based program of a university from Gamma colony by hiding her identity and “condition” from her classmates. It’s a history program and the off-planet students have come to Earth to study what remains of its abandoned settlements. Jarra has already had some experience in the dangerous dig sites of New York City’s ruins so compared to her classmates she’s a superstar. While she had expected to be enemies with her fellow students, assuming they would despise her for her disability, she ends up making friends, falling in love, and is largely (but not completely) accepted by her peers when her unfitness for off planet travel is revealed.

In this second book Jarra and her class are excavating the ruins of what was once the most advanced city on Earth, Eden in Africa. Constructed just before most of humanity fled the planet Eden had advanced technologies humans no longer understand so it’s thrilling work, but the students have barely gotten started when Jarra and her boyfriend are abruptly and secretly drafted into the military and put in charge of a new history division created to research possible past contact with intelligent alien life. That new division is needed because an alien probe has been spotted--not in one of humanity’s faraway colonies, but hovering just above Earth--and the powers that be don’t yet know what to make of it.

Jarra has Earth-bound experiences and a military family background that make it a little less absurd that bigwigs high up the chain of command turn to her for leadership and advice. We learn more about Jarra’s family in this book, which is both interesting and moving, and seeing the future Earth from Jarra’s lively perspective is definitely fun--at one point the whole planet is temporarily evacuated into a huge network of caverns carved under Australia where they proceed to party like it’s the end of the world (and it just might be.)

Earth Star is the middle book of a trilogy and as sometimes happens with that placement its conclusion in my opinion is not strong, but that didn’t much affect my pleasure while reading and I can’t wait to get my hands on the conclusion of the series.


Tags : Earth Star [Janet Edwards] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers.,Janet Edwards,Earth Star,Harper Voyager,0007443501

Earth Star Janet Edwards 9780007443505 Books Reviews

This is Absorbing, both from the viewpoint of following the story and from the mixture of strange and familiar making up a possible future world. The best science fiction extrapolates from both the present and our past to create a future. This future is fascinating, populated by people both plausibly and likable. it has the pull, the one that has you look up some time later bewildered by the return to our present, wanting to find out what next.
Don't get too excited. The aliens don't actually appear, just one of their devices. The author and the heroine are very trusting of the military, which is very manipulative but pictured as benevolent. They continue to use Jarra to manipulate public opinion, and luck and pluck continue to put her on top, which everyone is not happy about. The author has a way of turning things that aren't usually very exciting, like ceremonies, into events one experiences almost personally. At least the writing affects me that way.
I began this series last year in October after some serendipity scrolling titles on Goodreads. This sequel one-ups the debut (Earth Girl) and still manages to indulge in all elements of sci-fi without our lead character stepping foot off Earth soil. And I can’t wait to tackle the next in this series later in the year.

I liked Jarra better in this instalment, she is more confident and ready to accept her destiny. The plot line felt a little contrived, forcing the situation to make Jarra indispensable, and many of the mechanisms in the story adding to that were eye-roll inducing. You could really feel Janet Edwards shaping the path of the novel rather than Jarra experiencing her narrative organically. But nonetheless, I really enjoyed it, much like I would an after school special.

The story is unique, and even with the author pulling the strings for much coincidence, remained true to its core predicament – there was no ‘cop out’ and magical discoveries to change the story and make it more sensational. Which I felt added to the tension throughout, making it a real page turner.

We still get more of the site excavation and its unusual technological advances that were present in the first book, and Jarra gets to use her knowledge and military background (well, faux background) to her strengths. As well as seeing some expanded group dynamics and see her stepping outside of the school environment.

There is still some lingo (and slang) which felt unnecessary, and many of the secondary characters lacked depth. But Edwards writing style possesses an easy flow that allows you to delve into the new world and enjoy the pace and action. With a few comical moments to lighten the narrative, I found I was hoping for more, and with any luck we’ll see the characters returning in the third book of the series, Earth Flight, and embellish this fun read. But overall an easy and entertaining read to spark imagination.

Earth Star still managed to surprise me, some plot twists I could see a mile away, and others came out of nowhere – so it’s not totally predictable. Still a series I’d recommend to a young adult audience with a love for science fiction. I loved the additional threat… or benign threat… that is woven into the series - masterful!

Overall feeling Pretty cool!

Heaps of sci-fi all from the ground - 3 and a half out of 5 stars.
I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Earth Star ever since I finished Earth Girl, and I enjoyed this second book of the series just as much as the first. I love the setting, which is several hundred years in the future when most of humanity is living in off-planet colonies, and I love all the details about the different cultures of those colonies and their thoroughly thought out histories. Like the first, this second book is a few notches down from perfect and that keeps me from recommending it unreservedly--for one thing the main character is a bit of a knows everything and is good at everything Mary Sue type who giggles a lot--but both books held me enthralled and both times I couldn’t help loving the overly talented Jarra because she’s full of enthusiasm and good intentions, and she has some very big challenges. For me Jarra’s Mary Sue qualities are mitigated because the story is wonderful and told in the first person. The reader hears Jarra’s insecurities in her own voice, and she doesn’t brag or see herself as exceptional. On the contrary.

Since most humans now reside in one of the many off-planet colonies connected by easily traversed portals, people like Jarra with an immune system that only allows them to live on Earth are considered handicapped, and rudely referred to as “apes”. Growing up Jarra hadn’t had much contact with “normals” but in the last book she got herself into the first year Earth-based program of a university from Gamma colony by hiding her identity and “condition” from her classmates. It’s a history program and the off-planet students have come to Earth to study what remains of its abandoned settlements. Jarra has already had some experience in the dangerous dig sites of New York City’s ruins so compared to her classmates she’s a superstar. While she had expected to be enemies with her fellow students, assuming they would despise her for her disability, she ends up making friends, falling in love, and is largely (but not completely) accepted by her peers when her unfitness for off planet travel is revealed.

In this second book Jarra and her class are excavating the ruins of what was once the most advanced city on Earth, Eden in Africa. Constructed just before most of humanity fled the planet Eden had advanced technologies humans no longer understand so it’s thrilling work, but the students have barely gotten started when Jarra and her boyfriend are abruptly and secretly drafted into the military and put in charge of a new history division created to research possible past contact with intelligent alien life. That new division is needed because an alien probe has been spotted--not in one of humanity’s faraway colonies, but hovering just above Earth--and the powers that be don’t yet know what to make of it.

Jarra has Earth-bound experiences and a military family background that make it a little less absurd that bigwigs high up the chain of command turn to her for leadership and advice. We learn more about Jarra’s family in this book, which is both interesting and moving, and seeing the future Earth from Jarra’s lively perspective is definitely fun--at one point the whole planet is temporarily evacuated into a huge network of caverns carved under Australia where they proceed to party like it’s the end of the world (and it just might be.)

Earth Star is the middle book of a trilogy and as sometimes happens with that placement its conclusion in my opinion is not strong, but that didn’t much affect my pleasure while reading and I can’t wait to get my hands on the conclusion of the series.