Philosophical, contemplative, and quietly unsettling…
In Verson’s second installment in the Strange Planets We Settle series, a gifted young investigator joins her legendary parents on a planet where peace becomes peril. Sienna, fresh from a philosophy-focused university on the color-shifting planet Prism, receives a twenty-first birthday gift unlike any other: her first real mission with Escape, the interstellar agency that once employed her parents. The assignment? Trek, a lush, Edenic world with perfect weather, abundant food, and no threats. Marketed as a destination for outdoor enthusiasts, Trek has a darker mystery. Visitors vanish. Some return years later, unchanged and disturbingly blank. They aren’t harmed. They’ve simply let go of who they were.
Verson builds this quiet horror with ironic precision. The planet, Trek, invites endless wandering, but leads nowhere. The danger here isn’t death, but dissolution. Sienna remains at the heart of the story. Her introspective arc is compelling. She doesn’t fight villains—she fights numbness. Verson gives her room to feel, reflect, and observe. She doesn’t leap into action, but neither does she drift. Her dynamic with her parents, particularly the quiet reverence and occasional friction between generations, gives the story emotional weight.
The worldbuilding is subdued and unnerving. The PSD drive, which allows interstellar travel via time manipulation, further underscores the story’s obsession with dislocation. At its core, the novel is about identity and purpose. Sienna doesn’t fight monsters; she resists apathy. She questions ease. Her bond with her parents forms a rare intergenerational team dynamic in sci-fi: one rooted in trust, not tension.
For readers who value introspective, idea-driven sci-fi, this is a slow-burning, thought-provoking journey.
Pub date January 23, 2025
ISBN 979-8308048275
Price $19.99 (USD) Hardcover, $13.99 Paperback, $4.99 Kindle edition
