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Liminal Sky: Redemption Cycle #1
Dropnauts
Over a century after the end of the Earth, life goes on in Redemption, the sole remaining lunar colony, and possibly the last outpost of humankind in the Solar System. But with an existential threat burrowing its way to the Moon’s core, humanity must recolonize the homeworld.
Twenty brave dropnauts set off on a mission to explore the empty planet. After training for two and a half years, four of them—Rai, Hera, Ghost and Tien—are bound for Martinez Base, just outside the Old Earth city of San Francisco.
But what awaits them there will turn their assumptions upside down—and in the process, either save or destroy what’s left of humanity.
Twenty brave dropnauts set off on a mission to explore the empty planet. After training for two and a half years, four of them—Rai, Hera, Ghost and Tien—are bound for Martinez Base, just outside the Old Earth city of San Francisco.
But what awaits them there will turn their assumptions upside down—and in the process, either save or destroy what’s left of humanity.
418 pages, ebook
Published May 10, 2021
7 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
J. Scott Coatsworth
90 books188 followersScott lives with his husband in a leafy Sacramento, California suburb, in a cute yellow house with a pair of pink flamingoes in the front yard.
He has always been in the place between the here and now and the what could be. He started reading science fiction and fantasy at the tender age of nine, encouraged by his mother. But as he read the golden age classics and more modern works too, he started to wonder where all the queer people were.
When Scott came out at 23, he decided he wanted to create the kinds of stories he couldn't find at the bookstore. If there weren't gay characters in his favorite genres, he would reimagine them, filling them with a diverse universe of characters. He'd remake them to his own ends, and if he was lucky enough, someone would even want to read them.
Scott's brain works a little differently from most folks - he sees connections where others don't. Born an introvert, he learned how to reach outside himself and connect with other queer folks.
Scott's fiction defies expectations, transforming traditional science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary worlds into something fresh and surprising. He also created both Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, and is an associate member of the Science Fiction Writer's Association (SFWA).
His writing, both romance and genre fiction, brings a queer energy to his work, infusing them with love, beauty and strength and making them fly. He imagines how the world could be, and maybe changes the world that is, just a little.
Scott was recognized as one of the top new gay authors in the 2017 Rainbow Awards, and his debut novel "Skythane" received two awards and an honorable mention.
He has always been in the place between the here and now and the what could be. He started reading science fiction and fantasy at the tender age of nine, encouraged by his mother. But as he read the golden age classics and more modern works too, he started to wonder where all the queer people were.
When Scott came out at 23, he decided he wanted to create the kinds of stories he couldn't find at the bookstore. If there weren't gay characters in his favorite genres, he would reimagine them, filling them with a diverse universe of characters. He'd remake them to his own ends, and if he was lucky enough, someone would even want to read them.
Scott's brain works a little differently from most folks - he sees connections where others don't. Born an introvert, he learned how to reach outside himself and connect with other queer folks.
Scott's fiction defies expectations, transforming traditional science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary worlds into something fresh and surprising. He also created both Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, and is an associate member of the Science Fiction Writer's Association (SFWA).
His writing, both romance and genre fiction, brings a queer energy to his work, infusing them with love, beauty and strength and making them fly. He imagines how the world could be, and maybe changes the world that is, just a little.
Scott was recognized as one of the top new gay authors in the 2017 Rainbow Awards, and his debut novel "Skythane" received two awards and an honorable mention.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 10, 2021
The true strength of this novel lies in its worldbuilding - and the author does this very well. How things work, how things are laid out, what would keep a society running are all lovingly detailed. I hesitate to call this post-apocalyptic, since that conjures certain images, but it's rather pre-recovery and humanity has split into three distinct pieces. The generation ships are long gone. The moon settlements are threatened. Those few remaining on Earth have no knowledge any longer of those who left the surface.
And in the best space opera tradition, if stuff can go wrong, it will.
Perhaps we don't get to spend as much time as we would like in individual POV's in order to connect with characters, but there is a lot happening and the action is fast-paced. The only part that didn't quite work for me is towards the end - and I won't spoil - but we run into a society that jarred me a bit. It harkened back to older, mid-century SF works and didn't quite fit the tone of the rest of the story.
Recommended for fans of space opera and lovers of space exploration everywhere.
And in the best space opera tradition, if stuff can go wrong, it will.
Perhaps we don't get to spend as much time as we would like in individual POV's in order to connect with characters, but there is a lot happening and the action is fast-paced. The only part that didn't quite work for me is towards the end - and I won't spoil - but we run into a society that jarred me a bit. It harkened back to older, mid-century SF works and didn't quite fit the tone of the rest of the story.
Recommended for fans of space opera and lovers of space exploration everywhere.
May 13, 2021
I will start by saying that the world building is absolutely fantastic. As always with this particular author, we’re simply placed into the action without a lengthy description beforehand. I appreciate that, and I love how each part builds on the previous one. There’s enough detail to understand the setting but not so much as to get bogged down with unnecessary descriptions.
Overall, this is a good story. It’s very plot-heavy, in part because the attention is split among many characters. There’s not a whole lot of time spent on character development, but it’s made up for by way of good narration.
The down side to the lack of character development is some unfortunate tropes. For example, the bi character refers to himself as “toxic,” and there’s some allusion to him “charming” everyone. This has the side effect of contributing to a pretty negative stereotype of bisexual people, and it’s never really remedied. I was also very uncomfortable with the flashbacks relating to the trans character. I didn’t feel there was any need to deadname her, for example, or misgender her in general. The flashbacks were all in her POV, so that seemed like just trying to scream, “trans person here.” More fully fleshed-out characterization would’ve taken care of most of the issues.
Aside from that, it’s well-written and enjoyable with plenty to hold my attention.
Overall, this is a good story. It’s very plot-heavy, in part because the attention is split among many characters. There’s not a whole lot of time spent on character development, but it’s made up for by way of good narration.
The down side to the lack of character development is some unfortunate tropes. For example, the bi character refers to himself as “toxic,” and there’s some allusion to him “charming” everyone. This has the side effect of contributing to a pretty negative stereotype of bisexual people, and it’s never really remedied. I was also very uncomfortable with the flashbacks relating to the trans character. I didn’t feel there was any need to deadname her, for example, or misgender her in general. The flashbacks were all in her POV, so that seemed like just trying to scream, “trans person here.” More fully fleshed-out characterization would’ve taken care of most of the issues.
Aside from that, it’s well-written and enjoyable with plenty to hold my attention.
May 18, 2021
The thing I always know I’m going to enjoy with any Scott Coatsworth novel is the worldbuilding because (i) it is my JAM and (ii) Scott is very good at it. Dropnauts is no exception. This is a well-realised, fully-fleshed world he has created here, of a destroyed Earth, thought unpopulated, and the attempt to reclaim and recolonise it from the Lunar colonies that are humanity’s last home. The devil’s in the details, and I just loved the way Scott builds pictures of Martinez base, and the Lunar city Redemption – particularly the latter. Very well thought through, very clearly shown to us. Minor quibble – the numbers on Earth don’t seem high enough for any sort of viability, and the genetic pools seem so shallow they’re merely a smear of moisture. Other than that, though, bring it on! Scott delivers, as ever.
The tale follows the crew of one exploration ship. The four-person crew embodies disability, bisexuality, transsexualism and gayness. Earth, of course, isn’t completely dead, and the two Earthers they meet (the two being on a hunt of medicines for their sick mother) one is gay and the other heavily implied ace; while another part of the crew run into some seriously matriarchal women who like gelding men (every incel’s nightmare…). That is a lot of angles covered. It made the story feel, well, densely packed, with many relationships to untangle. Marry that to quite a few relationship/history flashbacks that – to my mind -slowed the pacing and plot, and the story felt quite busy.
That said, the central themes of redemption and renewal shine through clearly, and the final few chapters with characters on both Earth and the moon racing to save humanity were excellent in building tension and excitement.
I had a couple of laugh-out-loud moments too. When the AI Sam reflects “Humans thrived on news and gossip. Of course they did. He should have thought about that sooner. …schedule reminder > media… We’re going to need a media strategy.”, cue the shriek of laughter from the one-time government communications officer who heard that shit every single week of her working life. Yup. Next time call us in when you’re planning, Sam. I can guarantee that we’d help you manage the comms in, you know, a proactive way.
Also sniggered at the “You probably didn’t do laundry for someone you planned to murder.” Don’t know about you lot, but I’m far more likely to be feeling murderous when Himself has used his best shirt to mop up an oil spill.
All in all, a good read with a really smashing finish.
The tale follows the crew of one exploration ship. The four-person crew embodies disability, bisexuality, transsexualism and gayness. Earth, of course, isn’t completely dead, and the two Earthers they meet (the two being on a hunt of medicines for their sick mother) one is gay and the other heavily implied ace; while another part of the crew run into some seriously matriarchal women who like gelding men (every incel’s nightmare…). That is a lot of angles covered. It made the story feel, well, densely packed, with many relationships to untangle. Marry that to quite a few relationship/history flashbacks that – to my mind -slowed the pacing and plot, and the story felt quite busy.
That said, the central themes of redemption and renewal shine through clearly, and the final few chapters with characters on both Earth and the moon racing to save humanity were excellent in building tension and excitement.
I had a couple of laugh-out-loud moments too. When the AI Sam reflects “Humans thrived on news and gossip. Of course they did. He should have thought about that sooner. …schedule reminder > media… We’re going to need a media strategy.”, cue the shriek of laughter from the one-time government communications officer who heard that shit every single week of her working life. Yup. Next time call us in when you’re planning, Sam. I can guarantee that we’d help you manage the comms in, you know, a proactive way.
Also sniggered at the “You probably didn’t do laundry for someone you planned to murder.” Don’t know about you lot, but I’m far more likely to be feeling murderous when Himself has used his best shirt to mop up an oil spill.
All in all, a good read with a really smashing finish.
February 1, 2023
3.5/5 rating
This is a fast paced story and I loved all the world building (it's a post apocalyptic world with AIs), but there's a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track of them at times. And could have done with a bit more explanation / a slower pace sometimes (or maybe just less characters?). I found the Preserve really disturbing. Liked the disability and LGBTQ representation too (and it even has dogs / horses!).
This is a fast paced story and I loved all the world building (it's a post apocalyptic world with AIs), but there's a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track of them at times. And could have done with a bit more explanation / a slower pace sometimes (or maybe just less characters?). I found the Preserve really disturbing. Liked the disability and LGBTQ representation too (and it even has dogs / horses!).
May 11, 2021
Sci-fi done right !
SciFi is a genre that both the bibliophile and nerd in me enjoy, and I can't put in enough words how much I loved this one.
Right from page one I was hooked on the world of words so beautifully crafted by Author Coatsworth. With great world building, a great plot (I loved the bioengineering and AI themes) and the perfect balance of adventure, emotions and action, I felt like a little child reading Asimov.
The plot follows a team of astronauts on their mission to look for signs and try experimenting a possible future back on Earth. Whilst they face tough times, they also learn a lot about the spirit of humanity and togetherness.
This is my first novel by this author, but I am so hoping to remedy that soon. The writing flows well and my readers' heart loved Ghost and Hera.
Looking forward to the next one in the series.
If you are a SciFi geek like me, get to this goodness, ASAP!
SciFi is a genre that both the bibliophile and nerd in me enjoy, and I can't put in enough words how much I loved this one.
Right from page one I was hooked on the world of words so beautifully crafted by Author Coatsworth. With great world building, a great plot (I loved the bioengineering and AI themes) and the perfect balance of adventure, emotions and action, I felt like a little child reading Asimov.
The plot follows a team of astronauts on their mission to look for signs and try experimenting a possible future back on Earth. Whilst they face tough times, they also learn a lot about the spirit of humanity and togetherness.
This is my first novel by this author, but I am so hoping to remedy that soon. The writing flows well and my readers' heart loved Ghost and Hera.
Looking forward to the next one in the series.
If you are a SciFi geek like me, get to this goodness, ASAP!
May 25, 2021
Rarely are post-apocalypse tales so full of hope. This is the book The 100 could have been – and then it all goes a bit Sherri S Tepper.
Rai, Tien, Hera, Ghost, and Sam are part of a mission to reclaim the Earth more than a hundred years after all life there was wiped out. Aidan and Ally live under a mountain with their mother and brothers: the last five people alive – or so they think.
More than 400 pages of found family, hope for the future, and celebration of all types of diversity. It's got everything you could want in a story: compelling characters, intricate world-building, and a story that keeps you turning the pages long after you should have gone back to working on your own novel. Deadlines, schmeadlines.
Trigger warnings: deadnaming, memories of child abuse, death, cruelty to animals (it's a robot dog, but still).
Rai, Tien, Hera, Ghost, and Sam are part of a mission to reclaim the Earth more than a hundred years after all life there was wiped out. Aidan and Ally live under a mountain with their mother and brothers: the last five people alive – or so they think.
More than 400 pages of found family, hope for the future, and celebration of all types of diversity. It's got everything you could want in a story: compelling characters, intricate world-building, and a story that keeps you turning the pages long after you should have gone back to working on your own novel. Deadlines, schmeadlines.
Trigger warnings: deadnaming, memories of child abuse, death, cruelty to animals (it's a robot dog, but still).
October 13, 2021
The year 2282.
Over a century has passed since the Crash and the end of human civilization on Earth. There were no victors in the Last War. As far as they know, humanity's sole survivors, some 12,000+ souls, are living on the Moon. The colony of Redemption (formerly Moon Base Alpha) has created something of an egalitarian society, one which accepts the diversity of humanity, and strives to live up to the Redemption Creed: "I will not take another life's. I will not take what is not mine. I will not violate another. I will not lie. I will help build a better world" (385). More and more lunar quakes spell trouble. It's time to go home. The first two ships are dropping to Earth, with crews of dropnauts, primed for any number of possibilities. Or so they think. One ship is destroyed, with all aboard, the other shot out of the sky as it comes down for a landing. It seems the old world is not devoid of human life after all. Someone had to fire those missiles, right? Or a lot of booby-traps were left behind...
Complications ensue.
J. Scott Coatsworth has created a richly detailed and believable dystopian future, yet one with the promise of utopian solutions. The main characters, the four dropnauts on the Zhenyi, the craft shot out of the sky, are diverse indeed: a disabled individual, a gay man, a transgender woman, and a bisexual man. Back home on Luna, the Return project is shepherded by a sentient AI, Sam. These people are not, however labels or symbols. Rai Ramirez, for example, is a man who is gay, and a botanist, and a man who spent a good part of his childhood in a creche, a friend, a lover, among other things. Rather, here Coatsworth is exploring the possibilities of what it means to be a human, humans who are flawed and imperfect and engaging, annoying and lovable, as we all are,. The AIs are equally diverse, and are also people in their own right. I found myself cheering for them all, human and AI.
The diverse cultures that survived and evolved after the Crash are a testament to Coatsworth's skill as a world-builder. These cultures include the lunar attempt at an egalitarian society, to a matriarchal society living underground on Earth, and not willing to forgive men for past crimes. The details of each are varied, well-crafted, and believable, on the Moon and on the Earth, a post-Crash world of ecological catastrophe and global war.
Dropnauts is both a dystopian and a utopian novel, and a novel about what it means to be human, and how, when things are at their worst, sometimes we are our best. We can redeem ourselves, repair out mistakes. As author Lee Hunt says, the novel is "Fast, optimistic and entertaining. Coatsworth's Dropnauts shows that forgiveness may the best fuel for redemption" (back cover). This is a novel of hope.
According to the review in Publisher's Weekly, "Redemption, perseverance, and identity ... Readers will enjoy the diverse cast and high-tech adventure" (front cover). This reader sure did. A real page turner.
Recommended.
Over a century has passed since the Crash and the end of human civilization on Earth. There were no victors in the Last War. As far as they know, humanity's sole survivors, some 12,000+ souls, are living on the Moon. The colony of Redemption (formerly Moon Base Alpha) has created something of an egalitarian society, one which accepts the diversity of humanity, and strives to live up to the Redemption Creed: "I will not take another life's. I will not take what is not mine. I will not violate another. I will not lie. I will help build a better world" (385). More and more lunar quakes spell trouble. It's time to go home. The first two ships are dropping to Earth, with crews of dropnauts, primed for any number of possibilities. Or so they think. One ship is destroyed, with all aboard, the other shot out of the sky as it comes down for a landing. It seems the old world is not devoid of human life after all. Someone had to fire those missiles, right? Or a lot of booby-traps were left behind...
Complications ensue.
J. Scott Coatsworth has created a richly detailed and believable dystopian future, yet one with the promise of utopian solutions. The main characters, the four dropnauts on the Zhenyi, the craft shot out of the sky, are diverse indeed: a disabled individual, a gay man, a transgender woman, and a bisexual man. Back home on Luna, the Return project is shepherded by a sentient AI, Sam. These people are not, however labels or symbols. Rai Ramirez, for example, is a man who is gay, and a botanist, and a man who spent a good part of his childhood in a creche, a friend, a lover, among other things. Rather, here Coatsworth is exploring the possibilities of what it means to be a human, humans who are flawed and imperfect and engaging, annoying and lovable, as we all are,. The AIs are equally diverse, and are also people in their own right. I found myself cheering for them all, human and AI.
The diverse cultures that survived and evolved after the Crash are a testament to Coatsworth's skill as a world-builder. These cultures include the lunar attempt at an egalitarian society, to a matriarchal society living underground on Earth, and not willing to forgive men for past crimes. The details of each are varied, well-crafted, and believable, on the Moon and on the Earth, a post-Crash world of ecological catastrophe and global war.
Dropnauts is both a dystopian and a utopian novel, and a novel about what it means to be human, and how, when things are at their worst, sometimes we are our best. We can redeem ourselves, repair out mistakes. As author Lee Hunt says, the novel is "Fast, optimistic and entertaining. Coatsworth's Dropnauts shows that forgiveness may the best fuel for redemption" (back cover). This is a novel of hope.
According to the review in Publisher's Weekly, "Redemption, perseverance, and identity ... Readers will enjoy the diverse cast and high-tech adventure" (front cover). This reader sure did. A real page turner.
Recommended.
May 10, 2021
Dropnauts is the first part of the Redemption Cycle and takes place in the Liminal Sky Cycle universe. If you haven’t read any of the latter books don’t worry as Dropnauts feels very much like a stand alone novel, a good one at that.
Redemption is a colony based on the moon. The inhabitants of Redemption are, as far as they know, the only humans left alive in the solar system. Redemption needs to recolonise the Earth for a number of reasons which you will find out about when you read the book. The Return project is the name for this venture. They have been planning for this for a long time by seeding the planet with genetically modified trees. These trees are helping to clean up the pollution and green house gases that have made Earth a dangerous and toxic place to live. Earth is a dangerous place on many levels as the Dropnauts find out.
The story follows Rai, Hera, Ghost and Tien, four of the twenty Dropnauts sent down to Earth to discover the true state of the planet and find what transport facilities still exist to make the trips from Earth to the moon and back easier. Their team is the only one to make it down to Earth safely. By safely I mean they are alive but separated into two teams who then set about travelling to their target, Martinez Base, and, hopefully, meeting up there. Along the way Rai and Tien link up with Ally and Aidan, human sister and brother survivors on Earth. The other team made up of Hera and Ghost are joined by Sam. Sam is in charge of the Return project and he has come to Earth to rescue his team.
Not all is well, not only on Earth but also back on Redemption and Launchpad, the space station stop off point for the Return expedition. Reporter Sanya, with the help of Rafe, Redemption’s top press agent, set off to investigate what is happening on the moon.
There is a lot going on in this story but it all gets good coverage so you are not left with unanswered questions. There are some exciting moments to be had ranging from warring AI’s to weird underground societies with murderous drones thrown in for good measure. Stick with it as it all works out in the end, although there are many opportunities for the main characters to fail. Some characters get a better deal than they deserve, others die before their time but that’s life. At least they get a chance to grow and become better people.
All in all an excellent read with some very clever moments.
Redemption is a colony based on the moon. The inhabitants of Redemption are, as far as they know, the only humans left alive in the solar system. Redemption needs to recolonise the Earth for a number of reasons which you will find out about when you read the book. The Return project is the name for this venture. They have been planning for this for a long time by seeding the planet with genetically modified trees. These trees are helping to clean up the pollution and green house gases that have made Earth a dangerous and toxic place to live. Earth is a dangerous place on many levels as the Dropnauts find out.
The story follows Rai, Hera, Ghost and Tien, four of the twenty Dropnauts sent down to Earth to discover the true state of the planet and find what transport facilities still exist to make the trips from Earth to the moon and back easier. Their team is the only one to make it down to Earth safely. By safely I mean they are alive but separated into two teams who then set about travelling to their target, Martinez Base, and, hopefully, meeting up there. Along the way Rai and Tien link up with Ally and Aidan, human sister and brother survivors on Earth. The other team made up of Hera and Ghost are joined by Sam. Sam is in charge of the Return project and he has come to Earth to rescue his team.
Not all is well, not only on Earth but also back on Redemption and Launchpad, the space station stop off point for the Return expedition. Reporter Sanya, with the help of Rafe, Redemption’s top press agent, set off to investigate what is happening on the moon.
There is a lot going on in this story but it all gets good coverage so you are not left with unanswered questions. There are some exciting moments to be had ranging from warring AI’s to weird underground societies with murderous drones thrown in for good measure. Stick with it as it all works out in the end, although there are many opportunities for the main characters to fail. Some characters get a better deal than they deserve, others die before their time but that’s life. At least they get a chance to grow and become better people.
All in all an excellent read with some very clever moments.
May 10, 2021
Make that a 4.5 stars. The one very small thing that kept this novel from being five stars likely won't bother anyone else, so we'll pretend it never happened.
Full disclosure. Scott sent me a copy before release to see if I'd like to review this novel. If I'd hated the book, or thought it wasn't worth my time, I wouldn't be posting this right now. I don't review books I don't like. This is a really good book.
One-hundred seventeen years before this story started, a combination of war and climate collapse wiped out most of humanity. A lunar colony survives, and as far as they know, the 12,000 souls living in Luna are the only humans who remain.
The people living in the colony are thriving until potential disaster looms. The moon has become unstable, forcing the people living in Luna to launch a plan to reclaim, cleanse, resettle the earth. Their ingenious plan is a combination of bioengineering, clean technology, and advanced AI, as well as a talented group of young explorers that have been trained to go back to earth first.
Their trip back to a world they've never known is marred by tragedy and surprises. But if everything went smoothly, there wouldn't be a story, so don't take that as a mark against this book.
Coatsworth's world building is first rate, both back on the Luna colony and on a slowly recovering earth. Solutions to the problems they encounter don't appear by magic, the characters work for them.
But where Dropnaunts really excels is the diverse cast of characters. I could feel what it was like to see the sky for the first time, or discover you weren't alone in the world, to find birds and other life returning to an empty earth. To feel soft grass under your feet and feel rain on your skin, all things you'd never known before. Characters are what hook me into a book and keep me there.
Ghost and Hera made me cry. People who know me will recognize that crying means I'm invested in the characters.
Full disclosure. Scott sent me a copy before release to see if I'd like to review this novel. If I'd hated the book, or thought it wasn't worth my time, I wouldn't be posting this right now. I don't review books I don't like. This is a really good book.
One-hundred seventeen years before this story started, a combination of war and climate collapse wiped out most of humanity. A lunar colony survives, and as far as they know, the 12,000 souls living in Luna are the only humans who remain.
The people living in the colony are thriving until potential disaster looms. The moon has become unstable, forcing the people living in Luna to launch a plan to reclaim, cleanse, resettle the earth. Their ingenious plan is a combination of bioengineering, clean technology, and advanced AI, as well as a talented group of young explorers that have been trained to go back to earth first.
Their trip back to a world they've never known is marred by tragedy and surprises. But if everything went smoothly, there wouldn't be a story, so don't take that as a mark against this book.
Coatsworth's world building is first rate, both back on the Luna colony and on a slowly recovering earth. Solutions to the problems they encounter don't appear by magic, the characters work for them.
But where Dropnaunts really excels is the diverse cast of characters. I could feel what it was like to see the sky for the first time, or discover you weren't alone in the world, to find birds and other life returning to an empty earth. To feel soft grass under your feet and feel rain on your skin, all things you'd never known before. Characters are what hook me into a book and keep me there.
Ghost and Hera made me cry. People who know me will recognize that crying means I'm invested in the characters.
May 6, 2021
One thing you can expect from this author is superlative world-building, as I discovered when reading other books in the Liminal Sky series. There are a ton of them, and I’ve given up making sense of which book belongs where, but it doesn’t matter. This is a standalone novel as far as I can tell, although by the end, you may well be wishing for another in the series. The blurb does a good job of describing what to expect. Basically, the titular Dropnauts are on a quest to see if the Earth could be recolonised.
It’s an accepted belief there is no one left down there but they are wrong. The team get split up, meet a couple of Earth dwellers and get split up again into teams of two. With sinister drones and the dawning realisation that the AI designed to protect them is actually working against them, this is a familiar story to anyone who loves their sci-fi. Familiar, but not tired. There are sparky characters with history, new attractions, a diverse range of gender and sexuality, a tribe of vengeful women and two Earth-dwellers wanting to find medication for their sick mother.
There are great human stories within all the tech-speak. The hard-core sci fi nuts will love the intellectual-speak, the science-y stuff and the various AI’s doing battle inside each other’s heads. Lovers of human stories will enjoy the frisson of attraction between Hera and Ghost, Sanya and Rafe and Rai and Aidan. There’s a heart-stopping finale as everyone races to save both Luna and the Earth from doom. It’s all very exciting and intelligent and fun, with relatable characters and a thrilling denouement.
It’s an accepted belief there is no one left down there but they are wrong. The team get split up, meet a couple of Earth dwellers and get split up again into teams of two. With sinister drones and the dawning realisation that the AI designed to protect them is actually working against them, this is a familiar story to anyone who loves their sci-fi. Familiar, but not tired. There are sparky characters with history, new attractions, a diverse range of gender and sexuality, a tribe of vengeful women and two Earth-dwellers wanting to find medication for their sick mother.
There are great human stories within all the tech-speak. The hard-core sci fi nuts will love the intellectual-speak, the science-y stuff and the various AI’s doing battle inside each other’s heads. Lovers of human stories will enjoy the frisson of attraction between Hera and Ghost, Sanya and Rafe and Rai and Aidan. There’s a heart-stopping finale as everyone races to save both Luna and the Earth from doom. It’s all very exciting and intelligent and fun, with relatable characters and a thrilling denouement.
August 4, 2022
The Review
This was such a brilliant and emotionally-driven sci-fi read. The author did such an amazing job of connecting readers to the larger narrative through dynamic character development. Not only was the emotional core of all four protagonists felt intensely as the story progressed, but the way their story intersected with the survivors on Earth was so great to read. The tensions and stakes that this created for the survivors both on Earth and the lunar colony of Redemption were amazing to read and watch unfold on the page. The inclusion of LGBTQ characters and relationships made the story feel more well-rounded, and the emphasis on AI-driven character developments was a great sci-fi element to include in this discussion.
The world-building and setting really became the heart of this narrative. So many sci-fi stories involve space exploration and focus on the colonies primarily, whether it be on the moon, Mars, or outside our solar system, but the whole concept of “Returning” to Earth to find a means of survival was a brilliant creative decision on the author’s part. The imagery and atmosphere this helped create really showed in the author’s writing style.
The Verdict
Captivating, entertaining, and thrilling, author J. Scott Coatsworth’s “Dropnauts” is a must-read sci-fi novel and the perfect start to the author’s Liminal Sky: Redemption Cycle series. The vivid and detailed settings were perfectly paired with the gritty narrative that was being told and balanced out the heartfelt and emotional character beats that made readers fall in love with this cast of characters.
This was such a brilliant and emotionally-driven sci-fi read. The author did such an amazing job of connecting readers to the larger narrative through dynamic character development. Not only was the emotional core of all four protagonists felt intensely as the story progressed, but the way their story intersected with the survivors on Earth was so great to read. The tensions and stakes that this created for the survivors both on Earth and the lunar colony of Redemption were amazing to read and watch unfold on the page. The inclusion of LGBTQ characters and relationships made the story feel more well-rounded, and the emphasis on AI-driven character developments was a great sci-fi element to include in this discussion.
The world-building and setting really became the heart of this narrative. So many sci-fi stories involve space exploration and focus on the colonies primarily, whether it be on the moon, Mars, or outside our solar system, but the whole concept of “Returning” to Earth to find a means of survival was a brilliant creative decision on the author’s part. The imagery and atmosphere this helped create really showed in the author’s writing style.
The Verdict
Captivating, entertaining, and thrilling, author J. Scott Coatsworth’s “Dropnauts” is a must-read sci-fi novel and the perfect start to the author’s Liminal Sky: Redemption Cycle series. The vivid and detailed settings were perfectly paired with the gritty narrative that was being told and balanced out the heartfelt and emotional character beats that made readers fall in love with this cast of characters.
July 17, 2021
Dropnauts is an intriguing story with a hopeful ending, and I have a fond spot for such tales. Though the first chapter throws an exploding spacecraft at the reader, be warned that this isn’t all action. A complex story follows. Stick with it through the build-up as it does sort itself out and soon you’ll be rooting for this unusual cast of four young people as they set foot on what they believe is a planet devoid of human life. It isn’t of course. We’re a more resilient species than that, and much of the story involves these dropnauts coming to terms with the survivors they meet.
Two small things took me out of the story. The dropnauts are barely in their twenties and if I were one of 12,000 surviving humans on a failing moon colony, I’d have sent a more mature group. Also, one pocket of survivors is truly cringe-worthy to an old feminist like me. You'll know what I mean when you encounter them.
However, the book is also packed with things I loved. One favorite was the way the moon colony worked from afar to return Earth to livable status. Another was the intriguing involvement of AI entities. I enjoyed this part so much I would have liked more details.
Do I recommend this book to you? Well, it depends on what you enjoy. I liken this novel to eating crab legs. You have to work a bit at first, but what you get for your effort is well worth it. Me? I eat crab legs every chance I get, so, you know, I really liked the book. (4.5 stars and I always round up.)
Two small things took me out of the story. The dropnauts are barely in their twenties and if I were one of 12,000 surviving humans on a failing moon colony, I’d have sent a more mature group. Also, one pocket of survivors is truly cringe-worthy to an old feminist like me. You'll know what I mean when you encounter them.
However, the book is also packed with things I loved. One favorite was the way the moon colony worked from afar to return Earth to livable status. Another was the intriguing involvement of AI entities. I enjoyed this part so much I would have liked more details.
Do I recommend this book to you? Well, it depends on what you enjoy. I liken this novel to eating crab legs. You have to work a bit at first, but what you get for your effort is well worth it. Me? I eat crab legs every chance I get, so, you know, I really liked the book. (4.5 stars and I always round up.)
May 10, 2021
A Joyfully Jay review.
3.75 stars
Dropnauts is the first in a new series that has decent characters and a generally interesting plot, but that becomes bogged down in excessive storytelling and haphazard world building.
There are more than a few characters in Dropnauts and most of them read as well developed and fully dimensional. It was hard to connect with some over others, but that seemed natural and believable in this situation. The characters blended well with one another and the dropnauts acted with the instinctual fusion of a team that has long trained together. I felt like the characters on Redemption were a little less well constructed and difficult to know as a reader, but they still had plenty of depth. The general plot to the book is both ambitious and interesting, but ultimately isn’t well executed. That isn’t to say it is without merit and certainly the author has attempted to construct a strong foundation. It just doesn’t play out as smoothly as I hoped.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
3.75 stars
Dropnauts is the first in a new series that has decent characters and a generally interesting plot, but that becomes bogged down in excessive storytelling and haphazard world building.
There are more than a few characters in Dropnauts and most of them read as well developed and fully dimensional. It was hard to connect with some over others, but that seemed natural and believable in this situation. The characters blended well with one another and the dropnauts acted with the instinctual fusion of a team that has long trained together. I felt like the characters on Redemption were a little less well constructed and difficult to know as a reader, but they still had plenty of depth. The general plot to the book is both ambitious and interesting, but ultimately isn’t well executed. That isn’t to say it is without merit and certainly the author has attempted to construct a strong foundation. It just doesn’t play out as smoothly as I hoped.
Read Sue’s review in its entirety here.
March 24, 2023
Dropnauts is an excellent foray into hard scifi, a bit of cli-fi, and lots of relationships. Although the very beginning starts a little slow, the story soon ramps up and had me finding chances to read. It follows four young people as they discover how Earth has and has not changes since the Collapse a hundred years before, when survivors were forced to live on the moon.
There are some unique storytelling methods here, and although I'm not a great fan of flashbacks, I think they were used will in this story, occasionally dropping into the main story to give us some perspective on why characters are making the choices they do. I love the LGBTQ representation in the book, coming at it from multiple perspectives and ways of thinking.
I also really love the worldbuilding that went into this, and the attention to detail in crafting the AIs that work alongside the humans. We get to see both them and the human characters working through failings to work on the problems that arise on a post-collapse Earth. While this is a good scifi story, it's also a story about challenging yourself and getting past what's stopping you.
There are some unique storytelling methods here, and although I'm not a great fan of flashbacks, I think they were used will in this story, occasionally dropping into the main story to give us some perspective on why characters are making the choices they do. I love the LGBTQ representation in the book, coming at it from multiple perspectives and ways of thinking.
I also really love the worldbuilding that went into this, and the attention to detail in crafting the AIs that work alongside the humans. We get to see both them and the human characters working through failings to work on the problems that arise on a post-collapse Earth. While this is a good scifi story, it's also a story about challenging yourself and getting past what's stopping you.
January 11, 2023
Liminal Sky: The Redemption Cycle was apparently only one book to date (I read it in mid-2022). It starts from an interesting place. Earth has fallen, as far as anyone knows the population is dead or has fled. Above, a colony of what are possibly the last humans live in a lunar colony called Redemption, but they face a cataclysm which forces them to send scouts back to Earth. Naturally, not all is as they expected. Good pacing, and an interesting premise.
The characters are under-done and come across as flat and immature. Overall, I had no problems finishing but wasn’t excited by the book. Although while not the book per se, I noticed and appreciated that this had high quality cover art. This is something I increasingly appreciate with indie/self-published authors, largely because so many don’t have it.
May 10, 2021
This is a page-turner! Like the author's previous novels, this one rounds up a sympathetic (mostly) cast of well-rounded characters who grapple with issues of identity and loyalty while tackling global and lunar threats. When core instabilities threaten the lunar colony that is apparently the last stronghold of humanity after the earth's environment was rendered uninhabitable many years earlier, teams of young dropnauts prepare to land on earth to see if it can be resettled. We get to know the young heroes intimately as they respond in their own ways to accelerating disasters and challenges with human and AI failures. Excellent technical details flesh out the action and create immersive scenes. My favorite parts are on the transformed earth, where imaginative new flora and fauna and mysterious remnants of lost history are explored. And the heroes are inclusive of all races and genders, a welcome approach. Bravo!
April 20, 2022
What a wonderful read! So rewarding and interesting. Exciting and hopeful. I enjoyed it in so many ways. Most of the characters are fully fleshed human beings, as friends, lovers and exes. The people and AI’s are strong and most try to do good, yet have weaknesses that sometimes hurt themselves and others, and they are different from each other in so many interesting ways. The author has managed to create a truly impressive cast of characters so I won’t spoil with details, but I loved them. The plots are complex and goes unexpected ways, the world building is superb! I have long missed such a sense of wonder as I have been treated to in reading this novel.
November 20, 2023
There is a good story in here, somewhere, but it was hard to see it because of the clunky characters and rough writing. I felt like I was reading a first draft and at almost every sentence I wanted to take out my red pen and give tips on improving the prose. The characters are all very one dimensional, driven only by one thing. For one, it's his dick. For the other it is their desire to shoot from the rooftops that they once were of a different sex. While I love these subjects in books, sadly this book doesn't do those subjects justice, making it very unrealistic and forced.
May 11, 2021
First, this is a great story, with post-apocalyptic societies clashing, and a cast of believable characters navigating complicated politics & technology. Lunar colonists return to Earth to see if it can be rebuilt, and meet a lot of surprises. I found the treatment of technology, particularly AI, really well done (and I’m an AI scientist). Even better is the realistic emotional human characters, with Coatsworth’s trademark mix of gay and trans and straight cis people. Reality well done.
May 12, 2021
This novel is a superb blend of sci-fi, dystopian, and post-apocalyptic genres, as lunar colonists return to their destroyed planet to reconnect with the few survivors that were left behind. Each character's storyline weaves together organically in excellently crafted world building. Amazingly realistic characters, but Hera's arc is my favorite. Cannot wait to read more.
September 16, 2021
Overall the book is fairly good until near the end when it gets somewhat tiring. I also can't see any reason for putting gay characters into the story. It doesn't add anything and is just distracting. I think I will stick with other authors.
October 27, 2021
A mix of gayness and straights in space
Read it quickly for the story of how this generation will screw up our world and not for the story's gayness. It gets a little cloying but a gay author who specializes in gayness doesn't bring much to the straight reader.
Read it quickly for the story of how this generation will screw up our world and not for the story's gayness. It gets a little cloying but a gay author who specializes in gayness doesn't bring much to the straight reader.
June 11, 2021
Complex.
Patience is needed to sift through very complex initial story layers. But OMG! The characters mesh! and we get to read an absorbing finale!
Patience is needed to sift through very complex initial story layers. But OMG! The characters mesh! and we get to read an absorbing finale!
August 20, 2021
He did it again. Another masterpiece.
dnf
February 7, 20232023 DNF - a lot to like here, nice prose, characters I liked, but the multithreaded narrative and overuse of flashbacks absolutely wrecked the narrative flow. DNF at 20%.
September 1, 2025
2.5 stars but not rounding up
Initially I’d dnf’d this book but it was more about me than the book. I realized I loved the core cast. They are very diverse. I also get the sense that their society isn’t hung up on gender or the particulars of sexuality. “I like you, do you like me? Y/N.” No one is offended because things are closer to pan, I think, than anything else. Something to strive for.
As for other characters, the AI were oddly interesting because they were essentially humans in behavior. Beyond the core group and AI, I wasn’t a fan of nearly anyone else.
The plot had a lot of holes. Why would a handful of people in Nevada think they would be the last humans in existence? Why not assume that there likely were others scattered around the planet. Why was the mother of Ally and Aiden a racist given that she believed there were only five people left in the world?
The tech on Earth bothered me. It was essentially useless but somehow they had access to trideevids and were able to learn a lot about the history of the world, including sexuality and gender. This felt like a missed opportunity to let Ally and Aiden learn more about themselves.
I actually liked the setup they had for Earth and Mars but, as I said, there were too many plot holes. Funny enough, I would like to see more of the cast from this book as they continue to build a better society and save the planet.
Initially I’d dnf’d this book but it was more about me than the book. I realized I loved the core cast. They are very diverse. I also get the sense that their society isn’t hung up on gender or the particulars of sexuality. “I like you, do you like me? Y/N.” No one is offended because things are closer to pan, I think, than anything else. Something to strive for.
As for other characters, the AI were oddly interesting because they were essentially humans in behavior. Beyond the core group and AI, I wasn’t a fan of nearly anyone else.
The plot had a lot of holes. Why would a handful of people in Nevada think they would be the last humans in existence? Why not assume that there likely were others scattered around the planet. Why was the mother of Ally and Aiden a racist given that she believed there were only five people left in the world?
The tech on Earth bothered me. It was essentially useless but somehow they had access to trideevids and were able to learn a lot about the history of the world, including sexuality and gender. This felt like a missed opportunity to let Ally and Aiden learn more about themselves.
I actually liked the setup they had for Earth and Mars but, as I said, there were too many plot holes. Funny enough, I would like to see more of the cast from this book as they continue to build a better society and save the planet.
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