Terra: What the Geeks make of it

We were absolutely overwhelmed with responses when we asked our Gollancz Geeks if they would like to review Terra by Mitch Benn. A lucky few were picked at random to receive a copy and let us know their thoughts – and they are already coming in thick and fast! We thought we’d share parts of our first few reviews with you, as it’s been so positive and delightful to have them flooding into the inbox.

You can still read extracts from the first and second chapters, or listen to an audio clip here.

‘The story is fascinating, often wrong-footing the reader’s expectations, often being moving where it might be funny, worrying where it might be calm. Benn tells the story well. On the whole, Terra is a gentle, witty, enjoyable book, and a fine debut in a genre that is underpopulated: science-fiction with a sense of humour. Terra is most definitely a book with heart and a smile.’ A.F.Harrold

”Terra is a story about a little girl who is raised by aliens. Except that it’s really about fathers, and daughters, and learning who you are, accepting your differences and being yourself, just as hard as you can. Mitch Benn’s style at the beginning owes a lot to Douglas Adams, but soon develops into something new and interesting. He has a light touch, making it an easy read, suitable for younger readers but also a delightful dip for adults. He’s produced a novel that’s written with charm, and wit – and music.’ Jane Nicholson

‘Mitch Benn succeeded in creating a vivid and imaginative world in space, with detailed descriptions of amazing gadgets and how they work. He also brought to life some brilliant and well rounded characters and put it all together in a fast paced, smart and sometimes funny way. The only thing I found quite difficult was trying to get my head round some of the alien names and language, it is something you can have a bit of fun with in your head, but you wouldn’t want to try and pronounce it out loud! All in all I loved this book, and for Mitch Benn’s next novel I can’t wait for more!’ Emma Peyton @AcathlaDawn

‘This is a beautiful, touching story, which, while clearly being Science Fiction, brings to mind fairytales, made all the more impressive by it being a debut novel. A great starter, I eagerly await the main course.’ Samantha Chisnall 

‘I absolutely LOVED this book!! The whole idea of a child bringing together two alien planets is great and that young child is constantly trying to fit in while searching for her own identity. This book could be great to teach children that it doesn’t matter that they are different, we can all adapt to live with each other. I loved the imagination behind the whole story and the overall idea that humans are aliens, which I suppose we are in some respects.’ Lisa Parkinson