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The Reach #2
Landfall
The Earth is suffocating under toxic skies and there’s only one way for those left behind to escape – the space elevator that sits atop the massive structure known as the Reach.
Knile Oberend has returned from exile and faced the demons of his past. Having climbed to the top of the Reach, he now faces his toughest challenge – finding a way to save those he left behind.
For years Talia Anders lived alone and in poverty. Now as she makes her way toward the Reach to rescue an old friend, a mysterious man shadows her movements and threatens to destroy her dreams of escape.
Meanwhile, disgraced cop Alec Duran has reached rock bottom. Alienated by his own colleagues, he finds himself at the mercy of a group of vigilantes who may turn out to be his only chance at salvation.
And, in the habitat far above the Reach, a discovery is made that will impact all of their futures in ways they could never anticipate.
Landfall (Book 2 of the Reach) chronicles the continuing saga of the last days of Earth and the characters whose lives become intertwined as they try to escape.
Alternative cover edition: B01410WNFY
Knile Oberend has returned from exile and faced the demons of his past. Having climbed to the top of the Reach, he now faces his toughest challenge – finding a way to save those he left behind.
For years Talia Anders lived alone and in poverty. Now as she makes her way toward the Reach to rescue an old friend, a mysterious man shadows her movements and threatens to destroy her dreams of escape.
Meanwhile, disgraced cop Alec Duran has reached rock bottom. Alienated by his own colleagues, he finds himself at the mercy of a group of vigilantes who may turn out to be his only chance at salvation.
And, in the habitat far above the Reach, a discovery is made that will impact all of their futures in ways they could never anticipate.
Landfall (Book 2 of the Reach) chronicles the continuing saga of the last days of Earth and the characters whose lives become intertwined as they try to escape.
Alternative cover edition: B01410WNFY
- GenresScience Fiction
342 pages, Unknown Binding
First published October 2, 2015
6 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Mark R. Healy
16 books63 followersMark R. Healy is an author and musician from Brisbane, Australia. From an early age he loved to create, and often assembled his own illustrated books with accompanying stories - and then forced his parents to buy them.
Unfortunately this model was not scalable and Mark now seeks to promote his works to a wider audience.
Mark has also combined his storytelling prowess with music, creating a project called ‘Hibernal’ through which he interweaves original sci-fi stories with his own music to create an immersive theatrical experience for the listener. Combined with a professional voice cast and sound effects, these “audio movies” are available online through iTunes, Bandcamp and Amazon under the name ‘Hibernal’.
Unfortunately this model was not scalable and Mark now seeks to promote his works to a wider audience.
Mark has also combined his storytelling prowess with music, creating a project called ‘Hibernal’ through which he interweaves original sci-fi stories with his own music to create an immersive theatrical experience for the listener. Combined with a professional voice cast and sound effects, these “audio movies” are available online through iTunes, Bandcamp and Amazon under the name ‘Hibernal’.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 15, 2015
The Reach Series continues with this exciting and worthy sequel. Landfall presents a whole new set of challenges for Knile and the other major characters, and touches every base with exciting action, great characters, and quality world-building.
Knile Oberand survived his ascent of the Reach but opted to let Ursie leave Earth in his place. On his descent he must save Roman, who was captured in a human trafficking ring. On the surface, Talia receives the surprising news of Knile's decision and tries to reach him only to run into problems of her own. The disgraced lawman Alec Duran is left in complete despair after watching Knile escape a second time. A mysterious group of vigilantes save his life and try to give him new purpose. Finally, we get a glimpse off world on Habitat One where Ursie awaits an uncertain future.
There is no shortage of action in Landfall. All the main characters face unique challenges trying to survive the slow dying Earth and the corrupt regime that controls the Reach and everything above it. There is little regard for human life, especially when you belong to the lower classes. Most live on with little hope for the future.
Knile pledges to get Talia and Roman off Earth somehow after realizing he doesn't want to be alone anymore. Talia reaches the same realization after seeing Knile reenter her life in the first book. The strong character development is a great aspect of the series and separates it from many other sci-fi action novels.
The world-building is straightforward, consistent, and plausible. Earth is dying and the only way off world is through the Reach. Unfortunately it is tightly controlled by the Consortium who isn't interested in saving the poor remaining people on Earth.
Knile and Talia are great characters but at times seem to possess otherworldly clarity. In my experience people who grow up in such rough and impoverished conditions are rarely so stable. In times of stress, both are very articulate and focused. Roman, a teenager with a very rough upbringing, also seemed to mature rapidly. However, there are only two or three instances and they didn't really take me out of the story. Other readers may not notice or care.
The story of Alec Duran and Ursie do not intersect with the other plot lines, and instead run parallel. Duran is trying to find a reason to live after his nemesis escaped and his career is ruined. Ursie is trying to escape Earth only to find space presents its own unique problems for her.
Unfortunately Duran is not as strong of a character as Knile or Talia. Ursie is a neat character but her story in Landfall isn't particularly compelling. The real meat of this one is the Knile/Talia story line.
A number of series do parallel storytelling with numerous POV characters, e.g. Game of Thrones. The drawback is the reader may feel like they are reading two or three novels simultaneously. Some may prefer to get fully immersed in one story and find it challenging to do it in several at a time. Healy does an excellent job keeping all the parallel story lines interesting but it is uneven in terms of strength. I believe Alec and Ursie will have major roles to play in the third novel.
Landfall takes place in a post-apocalyptic dying world but it is more about personal journeys. Knile is a thief but his personal code of ethics is honorable. He is a reluctant hero in the mold of Logan/Wolverine or Han Solo. It is when he meets similar people of character that he sheds his cynicism and commits to something other than himself. The same goes for Talia, who realizes Knile and Roman were more than just criminal associates. Unlike her other contacts, they meant something to her. She becomes a hero in her own right.
I would say the main point of the book is "people matter more than comfort or treasure." The importance of love, friendship, and resilience are at the center of the series and give it surprising dramatic dimension that many sci-fi novels lack.
I highly recommend Landfall, and the series as a whole.
Knile Oberand survived his ascent of the Reach but opted to let Ursie leave Earth in his place. On his descent he must save Roman, who was captured in a human trafficking ring. On the surface, Talia receives the surprising news of Knile's decision and tries to reach him only to run into problems of her own. The disgraced lawman Alec Duran is left in complete despair after watching Knile escape a second time. A mysterious group of vigilantes save his life and try to give him new purpose. Finally, we get a glimpse off world on Habitat One where Ursie awaits an uncertain future.
There is no shortage of action in Landfall. All the main characters face unique challenges trying to survive the slow dying Earth and the corrupt regime that controls the Reach and everything above it. There is little regard for human life, especially when you belong to the lower classes. Most live on with little hope for the future.
Knile pledges to get Talia and Roman off Earth somehow after realizing he doesn't want to be alone anymore. Talia reaches the same realization after seeing Knile reenter her life in the first book. The strong character development is a great aspect of the series and separates it from many other sci-fi action novels.
The world-building is straightforward, consistent, and plausible. Earth is dying and the only way off world is through the Reach. Unfortunately it is tightly controlled by the Consortium who isn't interested in saving the poor remaining people on Earth.
Knile and Talia are great characters but at times seem to possess otherworldly clarity. In my experience people who grow up in such rough and impoverished conditions are rarely so stable. In times of stress, both are very articulate and focused. Roman, a teenager with a very rough upbringing, also seemed to mature rapidly. However, there are only two or three instances and they didn't really take me out of the story. Other readers may not notice or care.
The story of Alec Duran and Ursie do not intersect with the other plot lines, and instead run parallel. Duran is trying to find a reason to live after his nemesis escaped and his career is ruined. Ursie is trying to escape Earth only to find space presents its own unique problems for her.
Unfortunately Duran is not as strong of a character as Knile or Talia. Ursie is a neat character but her story in Landfall isn't particularly compelling. The real meat of this one is the Knile/Talia story line.
A number of series do parallel storytelling with numerous POV characters, e.g. Game of Thrones. The drawback is the reader may feel like they are reading two or three novels simultaneously. Some may prefer to get fully immersed in one story and find it challenging to do it in several at a time. Healy does an excellent job keeping all the parallel story lines interesting but it is uneven in terms of strength. I believe Alec and Ursie will have major roles to play in the third novel.
Landfall takes place in a post-apocalyptic dying world but it is more about personal journeys. Knile is a thief but his personal code of ethics is honorable. He is a reluctant hero in the mold of Logan/Wolverine or Han Solo. It is when he meets similar people of character that he sheds his cynicism and commits to something other than himself. The same goes for Talia, who realizes Knile and Roman were more than just criminal associates. Unlike her other contacts, they meant something to her. She becomes a hero in her own right.
I would say the main point of the book is "people matter more than comfort or treasure." The importance of love, friendship, and resilience are at the center of the series and give it surprising dramatic dimension that many sci-fi novels lack.
I highly recommend Landfall, and the series as a whole.
September 15, 2015
This is the second in The Reach series of books and follows immediately on from its predecessor Earthbound. I said in my review of Earthbound that I hoped some of the less featured characters in that book would be featured more in this one and thats exactly what has happened. Whereas Earthbound focussed almost solely on the main character Knile and his interaction with others Landfall is almost equally split into 4 story streams. This works really well and It makes for a page turning and exciting novel. I've written before that Mark's books could easily be adapted into movies and this one is no different. Well defined characters in a story that never runs out of breath is an achievement indeed, especially in Sci-Fi and the writing is excellent.
I am very much looking forward to the next part of this series (I think from Mark's comments at the end of the book there will be 4in total) and recommend these books to anyone looking for well written thriller/Sci-Fi entertainment
I am very much looking forward to the next part of this series (I think from Mark's comments at the end of the book there will be 4in total) and recommend these books to anyone looking for well written thriller/Sci-Fi entertainment
June 20, 2020
I liked the book.
I liked the characters even the bad guys and hoping everybody wins. Well not everyone. Even though I can relate to the bad guys, they still can't win.
Give us book 3, we still need questions answered and we can't leave our little psycher in space alone and we can't leave our earthbound hero's on earth
Good read.
I liked the characters even the bad guys and hoping everybody wins. Well not everyone. Even though I can relate to the bad guys, they still can't win.
Give us book 3, we still need questions answered and we can't leave our little psycher in space alone and we can't leave our earthbound hero's on earth
Good read.
January 21, 2021
3.5 stars, liking the story so far.
March 13, 2017
Decent story but...
He is short on depth of details. For example if there is no more soul there is no more asphalt, things like this either in plot details or the action of the characters, will not stand up to a moment of thought.
He is short on depth of details. For example if there is no more soul there is no more asphalt, things like this either in plot details or the action of the characters, will not stand up to a moment of thought.
October 21, 2015
Landfall is the excellent 2nd book in Mark Healy's "The Reach" series. Landfall is a stand-alone book, but you might consider reading Earthbound first for the best Reach experience.
Before I begin a synopsis of Landfall and tell you the myriad reasons you should read it, I want to congratulate Mark on delivering such a powerful sophomore effort in this series. Earthbound was a great introduction to an amazing world, but he hit it out of the park with Landfall. Mark honed his craft between the two books. The creation of his world, pacing, characters, dialogue and story have somehow improved even from the first installment. It's so exciting to see this development in an author whose work I already enjoyed-thanks for the hard work, Mark!
In Landfall our main hero, Knile Oberend, realizes that there is more to life than selfish pursuits. He seeks to reunite with the family he almost left behind. Ursie, one of the protagonists from the first book, escapes Earth only to find new challenges. I enjoyed Ursie's character development and look forward to seeing how Mark brings all his characters together in books three and four of the series.
Vivid character development is a consistent theme in Landfall. Aron Lazarus is a compelling character introduced later in the book. Lazarus is a fallen former member of the Crimson Shield-an elite group of soldiers who maintain order for the Consortium. The Consortium is the mysterious ruling class who determine what people can do on a dying Earth and who gets to go off-planet. Lazarus is a fighting machine , but also a deeply principled and religious man. Inspector Duran is our main protagonist once again. But his world changes in Landfall also. He seems to be trying on a hero coat when he joins the rebel Skybreach faction. But at the end of Landfall, I was left not knowing whose side Duran was on.
Landfall is a book I found difficult to put down. There are multiple plot threads that are set down after a chapter and picked up later, but this writing style worked for me in Landfall. I became invested in all the characters and found myself guessing how their lives would intersect. I can't wait until Mark serves up Skybreach, the third installment of his excellent "The Reach" series.
Mark provided me with an ARC copy in exchange for a review. Thanks, Mark!
Before I begin a synopsis of Landfall and tell you the myriad reasons you should read it, I want to congratulate Mark on delivering such a powerful sophomore effort in this series. Earthbound was a great introduction to an amazing world, but he hit it out of the park with Landfall. Mark honed his craft between the two books. The creation of his world, pacing, characters, dialogue and story have somehow improved even from the first installment. It's so exciting to see this development in an author whose work I already enjoyed-thanks for the hard work, Mark!
In Landfall our main hero, Knile Oberend, realizes that there is more to life than selfish pursuits. He seeks to reunite with the family he almost left behind. Ursie, one of the protagonists from the first book, escapes Earth only to find new challenges. I enjoyed Ursie's character development and look forward to seeing how Mark brings all his characters together in books three and four of the series.
Vivid character development is a consistent theme in Landfall. Aron Lazarus is a compelling character introduced later in the book. Lazarus is a fallen former member of the Crimson Shield-an elite group of soldiers who maintain order for the Consortium. The Consortium is the mysterious ruling class who determine what people can do on a dying Earth and who gets to go off-planet. Lazarus is a fighting machine , but also a deeply principled and religious man. Inspector Duran is our main protagonist once again. But his world changes in Landfall also. He seems to be trying on a hero coat when he joins the rebel Skybreach faction. But at the end of Landfall, I was left not knowing whose side Duran was on.
Landfall is a book I found difficult to put down. There are multiple plot threads that are set down after a chapter and picked up later, but this writing style worked for me in Landfall. I became invested in all the characters and found myself guessing how their lives would intersect. I can't wait until Mark serves up Skybreach, the third installment of his excellent "The Reach" series.
Mark provided me with an ARC copy in exchange for a review. Thanks, Mark!
May 2, 2016
As much as I enjoyed the first book in this series, I loved book two even more. I really got the feeling that the author sat down at his writing desk, cracked his knuckles and thought 'So, you liked book one, eh? Well, wait'll you get a load of this!’
Landfall flicks the nitro switch and burns through the reader's brain with the soundtrack turned up to eleven. I loved every minute of this book. My favourite characters from book one are back, including a couple I honestly didn't think I'd see again, and there's a bunch of engaging new characters to keep them company. We delve deeper into the world of the Reach and it really is becoming a rich tapestry of a society... Not one I'd care to live in, of course, but it's a Hell of a lot of fun to visit!
This really is shaping up into a great science fiction series. If you're a fan of action-packed dystopian worlds, you really could do a heck of a lot worse than to check this series out. I'm diving straight into book three; see you on the flip side...
Landfall flicks the nitro switch and burns through the reader's brain with the soundtrack turned up to eleven. I loved every minute of this book. My favourite characters from book one are back, including a couple I honestly didn't think I'd see again, and there's a bunch of engaging new characters to keep them company. We delve deeper into the world of the Reach and it really is becoming a rich tapestry of a society... Not one I'd care to live in, of course, but it's a Hell of a lot of fun to visit!
This really is shaping up into a great science fiction series. If you're a fan of action-packed dystopian worlds, you really could do a heck of a lot worse than to check this series out. I'm diving straight into book three; see you on the flip side...
January 8, 2016
I am a person how is a proud in my late years
Some things I distaste One is taking the lords name in vain. It will stop me reading a book or talking to a friend .there is other words that can be used, . This book is will retain.. A great storyline very good caricatures fast past it flows. Clean it up a little then you will have the teenage reader and adult readers looking for you story's
Some things I distaste One is taking the lords name in vain. It will stop me reading a book or talking to a friend .there is other words that can be used, . This book is will retain.. A great storyline very good caricatures fast past it flows. Clean it up a little then you will have the teenage reader and adult readers looking for you story's
February 9, 2016
This episode of the Reach is a real page turner!!! Knile's gut feelings could not let him escape the poisoned Earth and leave the only two people that he considers friends to fiend for themselves and it's a good thing too! Street thugs, organized mobsters, enforcers around every corner! A very unexpected companion appears when all hope is lost!
Skybreach..... here i come!
Skybreach..... here i come!
April 8, 2016
Good follow up.
Not quite as satisfying as The Reach, but Landfall is more of a bridge story. We get the next steps of what happen to Knile, Talia, Roman, and others, and I ended the book feeling more invested in the characters. Looking forward to checking out the next installment and seeing where all these folks go from here.
Not quite as satisfying as The Reach, but Landfall is more of a bridge story. We get the next steps of what happen to Knile, Talia, Roman, and others, and I ended the book feeling more invested in the characters. Looking forward to checking out the next installment and seeing where all these folks go from here.
December 4, 2015
*Fry voice* Take all my money.
December 5, 2015
Nonstop action
This book was hard to put down. Characters, story, and the ways they are intertwined make for a very good read. I could do without some of the profanity.
This book was hard to put down. Characters, story, and the ways they are intertwined make for a very good read. I could do without some of the profanity.
April 14, 2016
Great Series
This book and the one before were very good. I am waiting for the third book and I believe it will be just as good.
This book and the one before were very good. I am waiting for the third book and I believe it will be just as good.
January 24, 2017
Awesome
What a good read I couldn't wait to get to the next book.
At this time I have read all four book in the series. I will say it was time well spent.
What a good read I couldn't wait to get to the next book.
At this time I have read all four book in the series. I will say it was time well spent.
April 27, 2017
Excellent follow up to the first Reach Novel, while not perhaps as action packed as the 1st book it does a great job of opening up the world and introducing (what I imagine will be series highlight) new characters whilst catching up with everyone from book 1. Everything came together brilliantly and a twist that slapped me in the face out of nowhere!
Now onto book 3....
Now onto book 3....
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews