Harare Review of Books

299 pp. March 1, 2026, 47North. SF.

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A bunch of astronauts land on a newly discovered planet to prepare it for terraforming. The three who are planetside are in different sections, and a fourth stays in orbit to monitor. But things are weird down there, as the astronauts realise in those first few hours. Like: It would appear the planet may be adapting itself to them. Like: Cleo is very sure the weather was clear before she left her hab … So, why is that category one storm—from nowhere—suddenly heading in her direction? Why is there a limit to how far she can explore? Is there something both malevolent and intelligent with its eye on her?

The tone of the book improves markedly as the story proceeds. This is one of those novels where the writer’s style initially got in the way of my enjoyment of the novel, but I pressed through, and the story transported me. Worrell really shines when the action starts. The world-building is phenomenal; there are so many fantastical places and worlds within this world—called biospheres—to which the MC travels. To describe a few: One has clouds described as ‘wart-like cumulus’; another is completely monochrome; a sulphur desert has a network of egg-shaped brains; and there’s a landscape made up of threads resembling hair. Usually my imagination is sufficient when I read, but I found myself wishing for pictures; these landscapes would be amazing to see.

One of the novel’s hooks is that these astronauts are from the Caribbean: they were sent by the Atlantic Space Trade, described as the youngest space agency on Earth. So the success of the astronauts is a matter of both pride and self-worth for all of the nations cheering them on. They’ve undertaken the furthest terraforming mission from Earth that humans have ever attempted; failure is not an option, and that raises the stakes greatly. That, with the increasing danger the astronauts find themselves in, sets the reader up for a dramatic and climactic finish.

This is a novel that’s particularly wonderful for its vividly imagined setting, but also—a great trope in stories set in the uncontrolled environments of space and other planets—for showing its characters in great peril. If you like drama in space—and I do, and SF with Black people—which this is, then this will absolutely be your jam. Highly recommended.

Thanks to 47North and to NetGalley for DRC access.

Fun works with similarly multi-dimensional settings that I recommend (this list will be continuously updated):

• Edwin Abbot Abbott’s Flatland
• Wick Welker’s Dark Law series

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