Fantastic Worldbuilding: Planet Song by T. K. Boomer

by MK French

The Fahr are an ancient and long-lived race of aquatic aliens. Songs are like drugs, and recordings of the sounds animals make are strictly controlled. It's a lucrative business to bring new songs to their planet. A song that was found on a scanning mission was so addictive and potentially lethal that high ranking religious, political, military and company Fahr are interested in getting new recordings and taking a breeding population back with them. Usually, planets that they found the animal on are too primitive to really fight back, and this one is no different: Earth.
Amazon affiliate links are used in this post. A free book was provided for an honest review.

July 2016; Greg McKitrick; 9780995166714
ebook, print (322 pages); science fiction

It's definitely an interesting take on aliens coming to Earth. They're not interested in humans at all, only the whale species that make the addictive songs the Fahr males crave.

There aren't chapters in this book, exactly, but scenes intercut between the Fahr homeworld and back on Earth as it spans the centuries. It was difficult for me to picture what the Fahr look like, but the characterizations were familiar. There are the scientists, the political figures, the company staffers that fully admit it is all about profit and not the Will of the Giver.

This is book one of a trilogy, so the ending felt abrupt. What happens next? There's nothing to give a hint of what will occur in the second book. I can't decide if I'm curious enough about what will happen next, as some of the characters aren't particularly likable. For that reason, I'm not sure if I like this book or not.

I certainly liked it enough to finish and was curious how the different threads of the story would tie together. From a worldbuilding perspective, this was fantastic and had so many details in it to really flesh out the worlds that the characters inhabit. They felt real, and their motivations were believable.

Buy Planet Song at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and golden retriever.

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