Review: Do You Dream of Terra Two? by Temi Oh

Recommended Read!

“…each character was complex and multifaceted and the story itself was interesting and compelling.”
~ Under the Covers

When a planet is discovered that can support human life, a plan is formed. Along with a crew of veteran astronauts, a crew of six highly trained teenagers will embark on the twenty year trip to start settling the planet. For twenty years they will travel the stars together working as a team to counter any problems that arise and be the first generation to make a home on Terra Two. At least… that’s the plan.

This is set on an alternative Earth, with a slightly different history. The UK Space Agency has been training a cohort of teenagers whittling them down until they get the best six of that generation. The they will send them to space with the expectation that they won’t ever be coming back to Earth. But, this isn’t an action adventure set in space with a band of intrepid teenagers battling the odds to reach Eden and bring hope to humankind.

Instead, when you open the pages of Do you Dream of Terra Two? you are met with a character study of a group of flawed human beings trying to find hope in the dark. Each character isn’t always likable, but they are always human. We watch as six bright but ultimately troubled minds slowly unravel in different ways. It did a great job of displaying the psychological pressures each person was subject to, all catalysed by the claustrophobia of living in close quarters with people you don’t always like, but can’t escape. Despite being afloat in the vastness of space, there is no where to go.

This was a beautifully written with the feel of a space opera but the pacing was a little slow. It did suit the style of the book, however, it seemed to have a purposefully meandering tone through most of the book, then suddenly there was a lot happening at once toward the end. Although each event logically proceeded the next, it may have benefited from having a more even pace through out.

However, this was a fantastic debut by Temi Oh each character was complex and multifaceted and the story itself was interesting and compelling. I can’t wait to read whatever she brings out next.

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[about-author author=”Temi Oh”]