Official Review: From Earth to Terra by Beverly Jenness

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 22 Nov 2016, 10:33

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "From Earth to Terra" by Beverly Jenness.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Two hundred years into the future, Earth is crumbling. Becoming more and more uninhabitable. In the Science Fiction read, From Earth to Terra by Beverly Jenness, the reader follows a group who is led away from their home in order to save the human race.

Strong-willed siblings Amanda and Paul are prepared for their departure from planet Earth. They say goodbye to their high-ranking and prestigious parents to accept their new fate. By joining The Life Trust Guild, along with several others, they have agreed to enter space in hopes of smoothly transitioning to a new planet, Terra.

After being asleep for a long time, the passengers are woken up to see Terra for the first time. Slowly, they begin to establish their roles in this new world. Roles include plant gatherers, hunters, seamstresses, those who think outside the box, and many more. Though as everyone is settling in, it becomes more apparent that not all are contributing. As a result, stress levels increase. Eventually, the hard-working citizens come to realize that perhaps their once idealistic planet may not be what they have bargained for.

Told in the third person omniscient point of view, there is an interesting balance between the future and the past. The characters have the ability to access the internet, virtual reality rooms, and even 3D printers. But then, they quickly learn that they must use the environment’s natural resources for survival. I had to continually remind myself this story is set in the future, not during the hunter/gatherer era.

What I also found interesting is how the science fiction genre is woven in. One example is Abraham’s work; this older gentleman is in charge of the embryo lab, where babies are formed in gestation tubes. Those who favor motherhood, visit their little ones in tubes to provide comfort until the babies are ready for their birthing agents in order to be born; it was a bit odd and fascinating at the same time. I also found the creatures on this planet compelling. Monstrous lake dragons, odd-looking spike-tongued frogs, and dish-sized scavenger spiders are the ones that stuck out to me.

Unfortunately, there are an extreme number of errors throughout this book. Most of the errors are missing periods, missing quotation marks, and inconsistencies of word usage. For instance, the word “smokehouse” was later changed to “smoke house” within the same page. The other big one I noticed was a character’s name misspelled. She was referred to as “Chloe’ ”, “Chloe”, and “Cloe” within a page or two. These are easy fixes, but were extremely distracting.

Also, I found the world building a bit disjointed where I felt I couldn't grasp certain aspects of these people's lives and the world they are living in. Lastly, I felt some of the relationships between pod companions was a bit unrealistic; they seemed forced and fast.

Though with its need of another edit job, I did find From Earth to Terra fairly enjoyable. Therefore, I rate this Sci-Fi a 3 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy reading about how a set of people live and survive in somewhere vastly different from their previous lives.

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From Earth to Terra
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Kia · Post by **Kia** » 09 Dec 2016, 13:16

It's too bad about the errors. A decent editor should have caught those. It sounds like they were very distracting from and otherwise really intriguing story.

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 09 Dec 2016, 17:41

Kia wrote:It's too bad about the errors. A decent editor should have caught those. It sounds like they were very distracting from and otherwise really intriguing story.

Thank you for your thoughts, Kia. Yes, if they were fixed, this book would hand soared. Nonetheless, it was still pretty enjoyable.

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 10 Dec 2016, 08:23

Wow this sounds like a really intriguing book! Loved the examples of the technology in this review - the embryo tubes especially sounded interesting. Great review, thanks!!

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 10 Dec 2016, 14:13

MarisaRose wrote:Wow this sounds like a really intriguing book! Loved the examples of the technology in this review - the embryo tubes especially sounded interesting. Great review, thanks!!

Thank you, MarisaRose! It was an intriguing read that the author can take her characters in so many directions. I thought the embryo tubes were interesting too. I kept trying to picture how the whole laboratory would look like on TV or in a movie. Thank you for reading and commenting!

Ripley3131 · Post by **Ripley3131** » 27 Dec 2016, 15:55

Thank you for the review. This type of survival storyline does appeal to me, and now I will know what to expect as far as the inconsistencies go, and will try not to let it bother me.

Thimble · Post by **Thimble** » 27 Dec 2016, 20:32

Thank you for the great review. The premise sounds like it could make any interesting story, but I think I'll give this book a pass. I've never found settlement stories very interesting.

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 10 Jan 2017, 16:44

Ripley3131 wrote:Thank you for the review. This type of survival storyline does appeal to me, and now I will know what to expect as far as the inconsistencies go, and will try not to let it bother me.

Thank you for your thoughts, Ripley3131. Yes, it was enjoyable, aside from the inconsistencies. If you read it, hope you enjoy!

-- 10 Jan 2017, 23:45 --

Thimble wrote:Thank you for the great review. The premise sounds like it could make any interesting story, but I think I'll give this book a pass. I've never found settlement stories very interesting.

Thank you, Thimble! I understand what you mean about not finding settlement stories very interesting. But, I do appreciate you reading and commenting here.

gali · Post by **gali** » 27 Jul 2018, 06:51

A science Fiction book that follows a group of people who leaves Earth in order to save the human race and build a better world sounds exciting. The weaving of science fiction elements in the tale sounds intriguing. Too bad about the errors and the disjointed world building. Still, I will give it a try as I love the concept. Thank you for the review!

Post by **Eileen R** » 27 Jul 2018, 06:58

This sounds like a very interesting concept. Science-fiction has always been a favourite of mine. I think i'll gove this book a try.

Kendra M Parker · Post by **Kendra M Parker** » 27 Jul 2018, 07:02

I agree that the premise of having some technology along with the hunger/gatherer idea is really interesting. It’s too bad that there are so many errors though.

Ruba Abu Ali · Post by **Ruba Abu Ali** » 27 Jul 2018, 07:04

The concept is intriguing. I appreciate a well-woven plot and a realistic scenario. I will give this book a try. Thanks for the nice review.

Preeti5 · Post by **Preeti5** » 27 Jul 2018, 07:07

From Earth to Terra by Beverly Jenness

A science fiction where a pair of sibling by joining The Life Trust Guild, along with several others, they have agreed to enter space in hopes of smoothly transitioning to a new planet, Terra & colonized it .

Ellie Gatillo · Post by **Ellie Gatillo** » 27 Jul 2018, 07:10

This seems like a good way to explore the idea of what it would be like to live in a new planet similar to Earth. After all, our environment is really dying now because of our own doing. The errors you found can be distracting, though. Thank you for your review.

María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda · 27 Jul 2018, 07:12

Thank you for your review.
Unfortunately, this kind of science fiction that involves environmental catastrophes is not for me. I find it too close to reality and a little nerve wrecking.
Hopefully, it´ll get a better editing for fans of this genre. Although I´m afraid that plot and character flaws that seem unrealistic might not be fixed with editing.