DW Review: Wetworld

Completing this set: Wetworld by Mark Michalowski. Wow, other worlds do exist!

Huzzah, it's not set on Earth! Boo, I had trouble envisioning this planet. Yeah, pros and cons to the off-world approach, but it was significant that there was a settlement set up by a village that was on the riverbank (which got flooded) and another settlement that was... an hour away? Several hours away? It seemed very far at the beginning, and yet at the end of the book they were popping back and forth like it was just around the bend. (And I'm also dubious about the timeline that saves Martha...)

Still, this is an action packed book that keeps things on the go, and it doesn't feel at all padded (in some ways, it might have been better to slow down, but the page count wouldn't have allowed it). The basic idea is "unknown alien menace threatening the Earth colony", but Mark doesn't let the readers dwell on this as he keeps the pace going. The monster manages to be extremely original in how it interacts with the other races, although I did flash back to Hellraiser II (for reasons I won't reveal because it makes for a good moment).

Character-wise, Martha and the Doctor come across well. Martha is a bit underwritten (and I did wonder, during the beginning, if she was going to be written out so Mark didn't have to bother with her). The colonists are a little bit vague, I'm still not sure how important Col was supposed to be, but two stick out, only because of the attention Mark devotes to them. One is Ty, elderly scientist, who... actually, can't describe her as her appearance was that notable, but she was in the book a lot. And Candice "Don't call me Candy" Kane, the obligatory teen, who wasn't obnoxious but managed to be more capable that most of the adults, as all written kids must be.

A very readable book, and one I recommend, even with the geographical problems.


ORDER: Reference to Family of Blood, so between that and Utopia.

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