Summary: Seeds need water, sun, ... and soil.
Elyse was a forbidden child. Her parents gave up their youth for the dream of a new start for humanity. They broke the rules to give their daughter a head start. But when their colony ship arrives, the target planet is a ball of ice, and Elyse is left to watch the adults around her cope with devastating failure, and try to make something out of her own life at the same time.
The Speed of Winter is the first in the Four Seasons quintet, which explores the voyages of four arkships and the fate of those left on Earth. Winter will be followed by A Heading for Fall, The Loss of Summer, A Commitment to Spring, and Salted the Earth.
Review: A story of interstellar colonization gone horribly wrong.
Humans will eventually need to leave the confines of the earth and travel beyond the solar system. Of course we still need a faster propulsion system than we do now. Even an ark ship would take too many years to get to wherever it's going. I also was surprised with how little information was truly known about the planet that thousands of people were going to. Perhaps it's because while I know that we are searching for earth-like planets, I am not truly aware of how much detail is obtained about those planets. Still, I would have expected a second or third probe to have been sent to any planet that humans would be traveling to.
This is a pretty depressing story. It starts out with hope and joy, including the birth of Elyse. Once the truth is known about the planet (it's covered with ice and snow), everything goes to hell. There is death, murder, rape, violence, despair, grief, resentment, and jealously. Elyse is a complicated character. After her traumatic experience as a child, it is understandable how she reacts and deals with life. What does surprise me is how at times she seems rather sane, but at others is downright insane. The ending is very creepy.
Rating:
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy science fiction stories.
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