After Atlas

by Emma Newman

Overview

Acclaimed author Emma Newman returns to the captivating universe she created in Planetfall with a stunning science fiction mystery where one man’s murder is much more than it seems—an Arthur C. Clarke Award Nominee.
 
Gov-corp detective Carlos Moreno was only a baby when Atlas left Earth to seek truth among the stars. But in that moment, the course of Carlos’s entire life changed. Atlas is what took his mother away; what made his father lose hope; what led Alejandro Casales, leader of the religious cult known as the Circle, to his door. And now, on the eve of the fortieth anniversary of Atlas’s departure, it’s got something to do why Casales was found dead in his hotel room—and why Carlos is the man in charge of the investigation.
 
To figure out who killed one of the most powerful men on Earth, Carlos is supposed to put aside his personal history. But the deeper he delves into the case, the more he realizes that escaping the past is not so easy. There’s more to Casales’s death than meets the eye, and something much more sinister to the legacy of Atlas than anyone realizes...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425282403
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/08/2016
Series:	A Planetfall Novel , #2
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Emma Newman is the author of Planetfall, After Atlas, Before Mars, and the upcoming Atlas Alone and is also a professional audiobook narrator, narrating short stories and novels in all genres. She also cowrites and hosts a Hugo nominated podcast called “Tea & Jeopardy.” Emma is a keen role-player, gamer, and designer-dressmaker.

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Excerpted from "After Atlas"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Emma Newman.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

★ 10/24/2016
In this richly written companion novel to Planetfall, Newman returns to the Earth that the interstellar explorers in the first book left behind. Carlos Moreno’s mother was selected to leave Earth on the legendary star cruiser Atlas. Carlos was not only abandoned by her but neglected by his father and betrayed by an idealistic cult leader. After being captured by the corporate government and sold under a contract that amounts to slavery, he works as an investigator and eventually is forced to solve the murder of the man he holds responsible for his plight. Despite his grief and anger, Moreno’s training compels him to leave no stone unturned, even when he reveals secrets that might destroy any chance he has of ever being free again. Newman again portrays a world of luxury bought with pain and suffering, built on lies and sustained by powerful individuals who exploit the ignorance of the masses. Both new and returning readers will be drawn into this tale of those who suffered the loss of loved ones who put the Atlas mission ahead of their own families, never to be heard from again. With details like diamonds, the gumshoe adventure reveals the destruction of those left behind when Atlas left Earth seeking God. Peril and despair seep into the fabric of society until every avenue of escape leads only to a new kind of danger. Gripping and sorrowful, this imaginative story is a satisfying return to Newman’s future of greed and hope. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

A Publishers Weekly Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Book of the Year

"Newman writes with exquisite precision of grief, divided loyalties, and the struggle for self-actualization in this noir-inflected standalone...Gripping and sorrowful."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A lovely locked room mystery in which the stakes are incredibly high and the world is so very engaging....Emma Newman creates addictive page turners."—Starburst Magazine

"Newman combines the classic mystery-novel whodunit with a frighteningly possible reality of corporate-owned governments...The overall feeling of something more sinister happening keeps the pages turning until the unexpected conclusion."—Booklist

"A detective novel on acid...Newman's psychological insight is astute."—The Washington Post

Praise for Planetfall
 
“Cathartic and transcendent.”—The New York Times
 
"Exceptionally engaging...A vivid, riveting read."—The Washington Post
 
“Think Interstellar, think Prometheus...Beautifully written.”—Stephen Baxter, national bestselling author of The Light of Other Days
 
“Gripping, thoughtful science fiction in the vein of Tiptree or Crispin. Unique, timely, and enthralling.”—Seanan McGuire, author of Once Broken Faith
 
“A fascinating and propulsive tale.”—Locus
 
“Incredibly well-realized world building…Thrilling.”—io9.com

From the Publisher

11/15/2016
Carlos Moreno is considered one of the best cops in London, but he is still the property of the Ministry of Justice. After his mother left Earth with the Pathfinder on the Atlas (whose story is told in Planetfall), Carlos's father fell in with a cult of antitechnologists. Carlos, now Carl, escaped as a teen, but had to indenture himself to survive. He made the most of his situation, training as an investigator. When the leader of the cult, Alejandro Casales, is murdered, Carl is assigned to the case. VERDICT The investigatory elements of this near-future novel are strong enough to satisfy any mystery fan, with the intriguing addition of such sf elements as embedded brain chips that allow people to talk to a virtual personal assistant. While this title can be read as a stand-alone, readers would benefit from starting with the first book in the series.—MM

Library Journal