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Posterity
Fifty years ago, Captain Nina Brooke hand-picked a crew from across the world to accompany her on the mission of a lifetime. Today, they’re all waking up. The Posterity is making her final approach to their new home planet, and the work is about to begin. Humanity wasn’t an endangered species when they set off on this mission, but it’s a darn sight closer to being one now. No pressure, then.
The new planet seems perfect; plenty of resources, good settlement locations, habitable climates. After what happened to Earth, Nina is conscious that they need to take better care of this one. It takes all sorts to make a world, and Nina’s got all sorts asleep in her cryobay; not only the people required to build it, but the ones to make it feel like home, too. After all, what good is saving humanity if you leave the best parts of it behind?
Some people find it easier than others to start new lives here on the other side of the galaxy, but then, it all depends on what they left behind. As Nina navigates relationships old and new, will she finally find the one thing she’s never had: a home?
The new planet seems perfect; plenty of resources, good settlement locations, habitable climates. After what happened to Earth, Nina is conscious that they need to take better care of this one. It takes all sorts to make a world, and Nina’s got all sorts asleep in her cryobay; not only the people required to build it, but the ones to make it feel like home, too. After all, what good is saving humanity if you leave the best parts of it behind?
Some people find it easier than others to start new lives here on the other side of the galaxy, but then, it all depends on what they left behind. As Nina navigates relationships old and new, will she finally find the one thing she’s never had: a home?
377 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2021
3 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Jess Newton
2 books7 followersJay fell into writing as a teenager, tempted by the dark world of fanfiction, but it wasn’t until they hit their thirties that they started seriously writing original works. He has a tendency towards science fiction, although lately he has started to broaden his horizons, with his fantasy debut The House of Mages releasing later this year.
Jay's stories are the ones they wished they could have read as a teenager, when as the only queer kid with lesbian mums in school he often struggled to find characters he could identify with. Their motto is that everyone should be able to find themselves on the page of a book, no matter who they are.
Outside of making things Jay enjoys theatre, music and dancing, indoor climbing and sitting in the garden of a pub with a pint. They have two children without fur and one with.
Jay's stories are the ones they wished they could have read as a teenager, when as the only queer kid with lesbian mums in school he often struggled to find characters he could identify with. Their motto is that everyone should be able to find themselves on the page of a book, no matter who they are.
Outside of making things Jay enjoys theatre, music and dancing, indoor climbing and sitting in the garden of a pub with a pint. They have two children without fur and one with.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 21, 2022
An absolute delight in every way, this queer sci-fi will go on my bookshelf as one of my favorite books that's sure to be reread multiple times.
I am blown away by the level of thought that author Jess Newton put into this book. If I were planning to colonize a planet, I would hire her as captain. The care that went into the worldbuilding felt like it was done by an actual team of scientists, psychologists, and other smart people. I felt like I was reading a chronicle of what would actually happen if people colonized a planet. That is, sometimes it didn't even feel like fiction, it was so grounded in reality - but it's imaginative at the same time.
Although I do love my young adult fiction, it was refreshing to read about a group of mature adults who don't stoop to drama. They handled all conflicts with grace - perhaps a bit too easily at times, but I can suspend my disbelief when a book is this enjoyable to read.
I have never read a "cozy sci-fi" before, which is what POSTERITY is described as. From what I gather, "cozy" just means that it doesn't get super scary, dark, or sad. This means that the stakes never feel super high because you don't really worry for the characters. That's one of the things I ended up liking most about the book, though - it's just a feel-good read that really helps you escape. Sometimes I just want to read about queer characters going on adventures without having my heart ripped out, and that's what this book delivers.
POSTERITY is plot-driven more than character-driven, but we still get to know a variety of interesting characters and see the relationships between them. I was very pleased with the assortment of LGBTQ+ characters and relationships. It never feels forced. It just feels real.
I really, truly hope that there will be a sequel to POSTERITY, and I know that I would be the first in line to order it. Whatever the case, I will pounce on whatever Jess Newton writes next, because her writing hooked me that much.
*I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. I pleaded for the ARC, let's be real.*
I am blown away by the level of thought that author Jess Newton put into this book. If I were planning to colonize a planet, I would hire her as captain. The care that went into the worldbuilding felt like it was done by an actual team of scientists, psychologists, and other smart people. I felt like I was reading a chronicle of what would actually happen if people colonized a planet. That is, sometimes it didn't even feel like fiction, it was so grounded in reality - but it's imaginative at the same time.
Although I do love my young adult fiction, it was refreshing to read about a group of mature adults who don't stoop to drama. They handled all conflicts with grace - perhaps a bit too easily at times, but I can suspend my disbelief when a book is this enjoyable to read.
I have never read a "cozy sci-fi" before, which is what POSTERITY is described as. From what I gather, "cozy" just means that it doesn't get super scary, dark, or sad. This means that the stakes never feel super high because you don't really worry for the characters. That's one of the things I ended up liking most about the book, though - it's just a feel-good read that really helps you escape. Sometimes I just want to read about queer characters going on adventures without having my heart ripped out, and that's what this book delivers.
POSTERITY is plot-driven more than character-driven, but we still get to know a variety of interesting characters and see the relationships between them. I was very pleased with the assortment of LGBTQ+ characters and relationships. It never feels forced. It just feels real.
I really, truly hope that there will be a sequel to POSTERITY, and I know that I would be the first in line to order it. Whatever the case, I will pounce on whatever Jess Newton writes next, because her writing hooked me that much.
*I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. I pleaded for the ARC, let's be real.*
December 18, 2021
Thanks to #Pridebooktours for making this book available to me as part of its IG tour.
Captain Nina wakes from her cryogenic sleep across the galaxy with a hand picked team of space explorers. They are arrived on a destination planet that they have to now make their home. Once they set the foundation on the new planet, they can them wake up the other citizens of earth that have come with them, while at the same time maintaining communication with Earth which is ahead of them in the future.
Thorough the book we get to see Nina grow has a leader and understand the importance of delegation and the help of her team. The only issue I had with this book was that everything was just a bit too smooth. I mean it is a whole new planet, I expect that they should have at least faced more tribulations than they did. Maybe it is just my dark heart showing there.
The relationship between the diverse characters was just beautiful.
Captain Nina wakes from her cryogenic sleep across the galaxy with a hand picked team of space explorers. They are arrived on a destination planet that they have to now make their home. Once they set the foundation on the new planet, they can them wake up the other citizens of earth that have come with them, while at the same time maintaining communication with Earth which is ahead of them in the future.
Thorough the book we get to see Nina grow has a leader and understand the importance of delegation and the help of her team. The only issue I had with this book was that everything was just a bit too smooth. I mean it is a whole new planet, I expect that they should have at least faced more tribulations than they did. Maybe it is just my dark heart showing there.
The relationship between the diverse characters was just beautiful.
December 12, 2021
Seeing this described as cosy scifi with a lesbian main character and a queer found family immediately piqued my interest. I tend to love scifi, but the stakes are often incredibly high and there's often a lot of tension and drama, which means that if I want a cosy, fluffy read, I usually need to read contemporary. Even though this, the slice-of-life, seeing people settle into a new life, it what's so fun about scifi!
In this book, you basically just follow the ship's captain, Nina, around while she's working with a team on setting up a colony on a new planet, and eventually more people get woken up from cryosleep and they ease into a smalltown community. It was just so nice seeing the community dynamics, and there's a lovely central sapphic romance too.
In this book, you basically just follow the ship's captain, Nina, around while she's working with a team on setting up a colony on a new planet, and eventually more people get woken up from cryosleep and they ease into a smalltown community. It was just so nice seeing the community dynamics, and there's a lovely central sapphic romance too.
December 16, 2021
Sci-fi is a genre which I always enjoy and find comfort in, and this book was no exception to that. It was really enjoyable and I loved the concept, especially with how realistic it felt. It seems as though it’s something that could genuinely happen in the future.
The representation of LGBTQ+ characters and how they were portrayed, was something I loved but mostly, the way they were written. This book wasn’t about LGBTQ+ people discovering a new planet, and it wasn’t written that way but was written about people in space who just happened to be LGBTQ+. I especially loved the non-binary character who wasn’t written in a way which made the reader aware on page but it was inferred by the pronouns the main character addressed them with, which I loved the most.
The only way I would’ve loved this book even more was if there was more drama and trepidation. This is an adult novel so the characters are grown up and they don’t need to make a big issue out of everything but I would’ve loved something to happen to make me feel more worried or concerned about what was going to happen next.
That being said, this is a very cosy, quick read that I definitely recommend for all space lovers!
The representation of LGBTQ+ characters and how they were portrayed, was something I loved but mostly, the way they were written. This book wasn’t about LGBTQ+ people discovering a new planet, and it wasn’t written that way but was written about people in space who just happened to be LGBTQ+. I especially loved the non-binary character who wasn’t written in a way which made the reader aware on page but it was inferred by the pronouns the main character addressed them with, which I loved the most.
The only way I would’ve loved this book even more was if there was more drama and trepidation. This is an adult novel so the characters are grown up and they don’t need to make a big issue out of everything but I would’ve loved something to happen to make me feel more worried or concerned about what was going to happen next.
That being said, this is a very cosy, quick read that I definitely recommend for all space lovers!
Read
December 26, 2023A cheerful crew embark on a quest to settle a new home planet for humanity, whose population has dwindled to 10 million after the melting of the North and South poles and wars over what's left. Captain Nina has carefully selected a team of specialists not only for their specialties, but also the balance of their personalities and the likelihood they would work well together as a team. Its an international and diverse cast, with a number of queer identities sensitively and respectfully represented.
I found this a very well written story, and between that, its promising well-described setting on a new planet and its diverse cast, I really wanted to enjoy this book. But as an epic fantasy lover of high stakes and high levels of story tension, I found this cozy SciFi too cozy for my tastes, and having not found my fill of plot tension by 50%, had to dnf it.
I found this a very well written story, and between that, its promising well-described setting on a new planet and its diverse cast, I really wanted to enjoy this book. But as an epic fantasy lover of high stakes and high levels of story tension, I found this cozy SciFi too cozy for my tastes, and having not found my fill of plot tension by 50%, had to dnf it.
February 20, 2022
Cosy Sci-Fi at it's best! This book made me want to go into space and find a new planet to live on. The food sampling scene was my favourite.
December 13, 2021
𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 🚀
𝐄𝐧𝐝? 𝐍𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.
If you liked the films; Passenger's & Interstellar and the books; It's Not Never & The Martian, you will love this.
𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 is the story of Captain Nina Brooke and her hand picked crew from across the globe on the mission of a lifetime. 50 years suspended in space, they begin their new lives on another planet. When they left, humanity was safe, now it is endangered. After leaving behind a damaged and broken Earth, is it really possible to start again, find one place they can all call home?
This was a Sci fi/dystopian novel with beautiful LGBTQ characters, making it whole, relatable, inclusive. The story moved quickly, too quick at times, I needed to know more.
The imagination that went into this book was outstanding, the chapter length perfect, the characters names unique, I felt this was a story like no other.
It was incredibly interesting how science could allow everything you could ever need to set up home for an entire new world on the other side of the orbit, in one spaceship suspended for half a century. I loved the slow and blossoming lesbian relationship and the inclusivity of transgender and same sex parents, making a new world the only world - perfect 🌎
#bookstagram #books #book #bookworm #reading #bookish #booklover #bibliophile #booksofinstagram #london #booknerd #instabook #bookaddict #bookstagrammer #read #bookphotography #bookshelf #booklove #bookaholic #igreads #bookclub #readersofinstagram #bookblogger #reader #goodreads #pridebooktours #posterityjessnewton #lgbtqbooks #loveislove #girlswholovegirls
𝐄𝐧𝐝? 𝐍𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.
If you liked the films; Passenger's & Interstellar and the books; It's Not Never & The Martian, you will love this.
𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 is the story of Captain Nina Brooke and her hand picked crew from across the globe on the mission of a lifetime. 50 years suspended in space, they begin their new lives on another planet. When they left, humanity was safe, now it is endangered. After leaving behind a damaged and broken Earth, is it really possible to start again, find one place they can all call home?
This was a Sci fi/dystopian novel with beautiful LGBTQ characters, making it whole, relatable, inclusive. The story moved quickly, too quick at times, I needed to know more.
The imagination that went into this book was outstanding, the chapter length perfect, the characters names unique, I felt this was a story like no other.
It was incredibly interesting how science could allow everything you could ever need to set up home for an entire new world on the other side of the orbit, in one spaceship suspended for half a century. I loved the slow and blossoming lesbian relationship and the inclusivity of transgender and same sex parents, making a new world the only world - perfect 🌎
#bookstagram #books #book #bookworm #reading #bookish #booklover #bibliophile #booksofinstagram #london #booknerd #instabook #bookaddict #bookstagrammer #read #bookphotography #bookshelf #booklove #bookaholic #igreads #bookclub #readersofinstagram #bookblogger #reader #goodreads #pridebooktours #posterityjessnewton #lgbtqbooks #loveislove #girlswholovegirls
December 23, 2021
(Thank you to #PrideBookTours for having me as part of the ig tour for this book!)
50 years ago Captain Nina Brooke and her crew set off on the ship Posterity, heading for a new world.
The book follows the ship as they begin to build a colony on a new planet. I mean it whole heartedly when I say, this book is just so interesting! The way Newton breaks down and explores all these different pathways of necessities for building a new society - from the logistic of buildings to the science of food and the importance of schools, activities, human interactions. So much thought and knowledge has clearly been poured into every page and if I were to ever be a part of starting a new settlement, I'd want Newton on my team!!
Having the science explained through Nina's eyes also meant that there was never a point where it felt too technical or overwhelming.
I adored and really cared for all of the characters - their different skills, their relationships, the way they held conversations about their own views of what was important to them. The diversity in the cast too is so wonderful to read - it's all over the page and the story but without it being a big deal. It just, is.
One thing in particular that I loved was the focus on what these people needed mentally - the impact that this journey they're all taking has. How each person handles and reacts in their own way. Adults and children. The dynamics between the community. Taking the truly important bits of humanity.
Posterity is a slice-of-life sci-fi story which was exactly the kind of calm and escapism I needed this month!
50 years ago Captain Nina Brooke and her crew set off on the ship Posterity, heading for a new world.
The book follows the ship as they begin to build a colony on a new planet. I mean it whole heartedly when I say, this book is just so interesting! The way Newton breaks down and explores all these different pathways of necessities for building a new society - from the logistic of buildings to the science of food and the importance of schools, activities, human interactions. So much thought and knowledge has clearly been poured into every page and if I were to ever be a part of starting a new settlement, I'd want Newton on my team!!
Having the science explained through Nina's eyes also meant that there was never a point where it felt too technical or overwhelming.
I adored and really cared for all of the characters - their different skills, their relationships, the way they held conversations about their own views of what was important to them. The diversity in the cast too is so wonderful to read - it's all over the page and the story but without it being a big deal. It just, is.
One thing in particular that I loved was the focus on what these people needed mentally - the impact that this journey they're all taking has. How each person handles and reacts in their own way. Adults and children. The dynamics between the community. Taking the truly important bits of humanity.
Posterity is a slice-of-life sci-fi story which was exactly the kind of calm and escapism I needed this month!
March 13, 2022
I love sci-fi, both the ones trying to be as scientifically correct as possible and those who are a bit more flexible in that sense. Therefore I had high hopes for this one and it started off ok, I was thinking it was somewhere between a 3 and a 4.
I think the premise, the world and possibilities that were drawn were interesting, but it felt like nothing really happened. Or, actually a lot of things happened, they built lots of stuff and did some exploring, but it only scratched the surface. There were lots of descriptions where it was stated that things were happening, but we were not really part of it. It was more described as: they built things/explored, it was warm, then it was time for lunch, time flew by and it was time for bed.
By the second half of the book I was more or less bored, I was waiting for something to happen, but it really didn't. So overall I'd say the book really just scratches the surface, everything just went by smoothly and the characters weren't deeply explored and therefore hard to connect with since we didn't really get to know them that well. The science really didn't make sense a lot of the time and why would cartographers explore by truck instead of starting off flying to get a general lay of the land? Most impressive was the storage space, it seemed unlimited.
So, in summary. There was an interesting premise and a good shell created for the book, but unfortunately I didn't feel it was filled with much of substance which became more apparent in the second half of the book.
I think the premise, the world and possibilities that were drawn were interesting, but it felt like nothing really happened. Or, actually a lot of things happened, they built lots of stuff and did some exploring, but it only scratched the surface. There were lots of descriptions where it was stated that things were happening, but we were not really part of it. It was more described as: they built things/explored, it was warm, then it was time for lunch, time flew by and it was time for bed.
By the second half of the book I was more or less bored, I was waiting for something to happen, but it really didn't. So overall I'd say the book really just scratches the surface, everything just went by smoothly and the characters weren't deeply explored and therefore hard to connect with since we didn't really get to know them that well. The science really didn't make sense a lot of the time and why would cartographers explore by truck instead of starting off flying to get a general lay of the land? Most impressive was the storage space, it seemed unlimited.
So, in summary. There was an interesting premise and a good shell created for the book, but unfortunately I didn't feel it was filled with much of substance which became more apparent in the second half of the book.
May 15, 2024
If you like a book where nothing happens then this is for you. No drama, no suspense, no confrontation. It describes how to colonise an ideal planet with an ideal crew and an ideal set of colonists. Tedious.
January 7, 2023
I think it's pretty good!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews