The Good: picking up where we left off with the last book, which was attempting to fly back into the space warp in the hopes that it would be enough to send them back to earth

dan notes that nobody's chatting it up but at the same time no one is panicking this time around, which is, you know, something at least. compared to the jack shit that's been happening as they wait inside the space warp

betty wonder why jack shit is happening and dan quips maybe they should complain to someone about it, because he's trying to lighten the mood

the theory is explained once more that earth and the giant planet are on some kind of parallel if not connected wavelength that allows the space warp to act as an in-between place for them. especially since both worlds seem to have developed on near-identical lines of evolution/technology/wahey, except for the most obvious difference: size

dan tries to joke about steve being the optimist when steve is like "whelp we tried, what else were we supposed to do?"

dan attempting to be steve's wingman for betty by explaining he was trying to give steve the opportunity to calm betty down but no dumbshit oblivious steve told betty the truth. though at least steve recognizes that betty would've seen right through him if he had lied

valerie bitching about not being able to play solitaire because of the lack of gravity a+++

fitzhugh thinking they've all died and that even if they did return to earth, no one would believe they're who they say they are or that they landed where they say they did or survived all of it to return to earth afterwards. steve is just like "yup that sure would suck huh"

steve basically slams into the ceiling thanks to the anti-grav and almost brains himself trying to return to the cockpit when dan says the instruments are coming back on

steve and dan arguing about whether they need to stop and check out what the Nearest Object detector is detecting or staying in the warp for whatever else could happen, plus they're getting radio signals again a+++

and now a sighting! snow! a shit ton of snow! and they're heading right for it!

the description of what 3Gs does to the human body as they attempt to get the ship steady again after no gravity is a nice touch

steve somehow manages to flip the switch to turn off the drive which he can't explain (adrenaline rush in a life or death situation perhaps?) and as soon as he does he passes the fuck out

when steve wakes up they've passed by the planet they nearly crashed into but hey! there's stuff to see again! including the stars and shit that went missing while inside the space wrap!

The Bad: i checked ahead to determine the page count and it looks like they're back to doing just line breaks between chapters and not page breaks, which isn't the worst thing ever but it upsets me greatly they value space/page count for budget reasons over having something legible for potential readers

they're using "kidnapped" again instead of "abducted" which isn't, again, you know, terrible, but it does feel like the wrong word to use. but then again this was the late 60s when did it become popular to say abducted when it comes to aliens anyway?

steve exposition dumps the backstory of the first 2 books and it's not that it's unneeded, but it probably should've been worked in more...naturally than just dan asking "hey steve, what's the story so far?" (paraphrasing)

oh fuck you steve, don't snap at betty just because she's trying to get info on the non-situation, has it occurred to you that she could just be nervous about all this for herself and not because one of the crew is being an asshole about it?

FUCK YOU DAN ERICSON FOR TRYING TO MAKE THE STEVE/BETTY THING HAPPEN BY PLAYING WINGMAN

there appears to be a typo about fitzhugh's career choice that clearly got mixed up with the tv!fitzhugh version of the character: when describing him in the book, the word used is "professional embezzler" which, arguable, you can claim cowardly criminal conman tv!fitzhugh is. but his role in the book series is "engineer"

A SHIT TON OF SNOW IS STILL A SHIT TON OF SNOW THESE GUYS ARE GONNA DIE IF STEVE CAN'T GET THE SPINDRIFT RIGHTED AND ON ITS WAY IN TIME

look, just because it happens to mean "without restraint; immediately; at once; forthwith" doesn't mean the word "incontinently" was the right word choice for steve passing out, mr leinster

Salvageable: 25% maybe?

and honestly that has more to do with fitzhugh's theory of them being dead or "dead" and having the people back on earth doubting their experiences AND their identities because holy shit who the absolute fuck would believe they managed to survive on a land of giants for thrombeldinbar knows how long with so little supplies AND make it back home too? wouldn't be hard to spin this into something more like fitzhugh worried about his own identity being found out in his absence and the ramifications that would come from his theft of the Mystery Valise. same would go for well known/popular people like mark (CEO of a high falootin'-tech company) and valerie (international pop star) and what would happen to their companies/reputations/careers while they've been "dead". of course the same goes for the rest of the crew but not to the same degree, obvs

it goes without saying the book trying to make steve/betty happen is out and will be beaten to death if it ever comes within 10 miles of my version of this goddamn intellectual property

   “Before there was light or love, sound or sin, there was the void; Endless, incomprehensible, and alone. Through countless eons, the Void was always everything and nothing. Its only purpose was Gaia. In the centre of nothing, encompassing everything, there lay a seed of infinite potential. The void knew not what it stood vigil over, only that it had a duty to uphold. Billions of years passed, and nothing changed, the void remained empty save for Gaia. Even though love and hate did not yet exist, the void found itself sorrowful and despairing in its loneliness. Until a time when deep within its heart of singularity something changed, its despair and loneliness shifted into the first feeling of sadness and longing. With those first emotions came a tear, a single dew drop of the cosmos itself, everything the void is or ever could be solidified into a flow of consciousness. That consciousness fed the seed at the centre of everything, and with its hunger sated, the seed finally sprouted. It shed its skin of magnificent white.. tearing into thousands of tiny pieces that became the stars to fill the void, the 3 largest of the pieces became the constellations the people would come to know as Hadron, the morning bow, Celeste, the night's light, and the southern watchmen. Within the seed burst forth a radiant form that seemed to encompass the entire void, her skin as black as the void she now inhabits, hair like the flare of a sun, eyes that burned with all her infinite potential, and a flowing gown made of all the stars, nebulae, and cosmic clouds that her progeny are destined to create. She knows not her name, purpose, or destiny, all she knows is the void one could call father and her dreams of the fields of Elysian.

 It was over millennia of watching its purpose breathe life into the stars that the vast void grew pleased and, through the whispers of the solar winds, implanted within the great lady of the cosmos the first sparks of ambition. And it was then that with a whisk of her hand, the vines of time grew. Ever-growing flora that brought about the beginnings of the great expansion. Their home grew, but alongside it, the passage of time affected her dearest creations in an unfathomable way. The years passed and the stars, unlike before, withered, crumpled into themselves. Their grandiose deaths brought her ambition to find a way to save the things she took such meticulous care of since her birth.  

It was found that her attempts were futile. She tried to mold together the remains of the other stars, and continuously failed to create the life she had once seen, to light the fire of the great lights of her world. Just as her father, the darkness and emptiness of her home left her with an emptiness inside of her being she hadn’t ever felt. As she held the lifeless husks of the stars she tried to revive, her body curled around them to protect them better than she ever could when they were alive.

In her mind, she dreams of them and of a world unlike her own, one that isn’t lifeless and dark… She saw visions of things unlike anything she ever had, creatures roaming around a world with fauna and flora so beautiful that a single tear fell from her eyes and onto one of the husks. 

        From within something awoke, and a faint glow emanated from within. She, with her eyes closed, had not noticed the light, but over time the light grew brighter, and it was only when, similar to her seed, the husks broke, shattered, and large grey chunks of matter spread throughout the cosmos, and in their stead lay four figures in her large hands. One was made of pure light and had eyes as searing as the sun itself, his name is Wouktujosa. The God of the Sun. The man encapsulated within a star, who brought about the life of the sun people. Beside him lay a woman, her hair as green as the Vines of Time, small flowers grew and bloomed on her pale green skin, and within was the resting place of the very first beating heart. Her gentleness and beauty earned her the name Fhuyiya. The Goddess of the Earth and Life itself. Alongside her lay another male, one with rock as his skin, eyes as deep as the ocean, and clouds that act as his cover; he was given the name Taakegosa, the god of Earth, and the last figure, a woman with skin white as snow and face gentle and soft, her name would be Koerandin. 

        After each awoke from their deep slumber, they were met with the stagnant darkness in which their mother had been stuck for billions of years. It was in that very darkness they imagined the same visions and world that filled the dreams of their mother. With that, deep within them their purposes bloomed. As thanks to their great mother and father, they built a great altar from a piece of their souls, upon a planet the great sister of life made especially for their show of devotion. The name of this planet: Karthea. 

Such a beauty it was, with the aid of the tiny minions of the goddess of Life brought about. Together they created the fauna that stretched across the vast planet. Flowers that only bloomed when underneath the water, vines and shrubs that glowed in the darkness of their world. Trees that reached high into the sky, and that harbored creatures that thrived in the cover of darkness. They were small, at first, tiny little amoebas that thrived off of the sap of the trees, but it wasn’t long before these small creatures grew to become grand creatures of the sky and land. 

But these beautiful creatures could not survive without water, and it was Taakegosa who made the vast oceans on the surface of the altar to sustain the holy creatures. But along with the water, he brought about the first winds, and the first storms. But his storms, despite their destruction, nourished the land; with the dead creatures that lit it, the plants continued to grow, and more animals in turn were born. It was here that Koerandin resided alongside her sister and all the animals.

Koerandin was not the most formidable, nor the most ambitious, she had not a single clue what she wanted nor what to do. She was the only one that hadn’t found her purpose. She could feel it within her mother's vision; it was within her reach, but just as she reached her hand out, she was whisked away back into the darkness. Ever since the altar had been created, she wandered, without a purpose, without a semblance of an idea of what time held in store for her. But through her travels of the world her sister built with her own hands and observing the creations of her brothers and sister, she found that there was a balance.

It was only the year that her dear brother Wouktujosa had betrayed them that everything seemed to change. Koerandin, while on her walks throughout the illuminated forests that she noticed from the horizon, an orange light that blazed blindingly so, and the heat from the great blazing ball of fire wilted the beautiful fauna that hadn’t yet experienced such a light.

It was as if in a blink of an eye their altar had shifted, a once serene place now left with only wilted flowers and fragile creatures in her wake. 

It was only after she had left Karthea to converse with the great mother that she and her siblings discovered the true meaning of the sudden appearance of the large object that decimated their altar. She explained that their dear brother Wouktujosa, had betrayed them all by bringing about monstrosities he was never supposed to. The stars had birthed them, and they were destined to remain dark thereafter, but their brother had revived them, and in turn destroyed millions of years of work and nurturing of a holy ground for their parents.

To say all the children and mother alike were furious was an understatement of immense proportions. Except for all but one, Koerandin. Within her, she could feel the pang of something odd, she could not quite place it, the way they listened so easily. Yes, his fire did kill the animals they had all cared for, but just as easily as the scale is tipped, it can be recentered. It did not seem as though the trio cared, only focused on coming up with a way to punish the man for his transgressions. 

Koerandin rushed to her brother's side before anyone else could get to him, riding her great celestial deer, made of what she called dreamdust. It glittered throughout the cosmos, unmissable even to her brother's shielded eyes. As her companion halted to a stop, she looked down upon her brother, evident concern on her face, but alongside it accompanied eyes filled with hurt and confusion.

“Dear brother, what is the meaning of this? Betrayal, I hear mother mutter of… Is this true?” She spoke with a softness that nearly made it impossible to tell what emotions –and what storm– lay within her. 

“Dear sister, I commit not the betrayal mother speaks of. I only wished to bring light to this world. The vision long ago, there was light, I only wished to please mother, to bring about her a gift, to show her my devotion to this world,” he winced at the way her eyes hardened, but deep within his light showed her true feelings. She had been upset, but within, she held a heart and mind that allowed her to feel more than any of them ever could. With this glimpse, he knew what he had to do…

“Please, dear sister, take these,” he muttered as he placed hundreds of small seeds in her hand, “ plant these upon the altar, allow them to grow, and I will nurture them with my light, and you shall give them the rest in the night. Together, we must work, promise me, sister?” It was then that the others arrived. After much bickering and negotiations, the punishment of Woutkjosa was decided. He would be banished into the very star he created first, the one for Karthea, and for all eternity until the great altar was destroyed would he be set free. 

And so, he was banished to the star, and from then on would be known as the god of the great sun. At least, in Koerandin’s memory anyway. 

After their brother was banished to the sun, they were all left without a part of them. Just as much as one complemented the other, it left them all empty when even one was missing. They continued to nurture the altar, Taakegosa learning to create the very first atmosphere of the planet to protect the life they had built from the ground up for a second time. And Fhuyiya, had learned to improve her animals, not only did she produce flora that was beautiful and aidful to those who ate them, but she created the first inklings of poison to allow the planets to survive and created the very first creature to hunt her creatures and allow them a chance to survive alongside every other creature. 

But Koerandin, she was the same as she had been, continuously wandering day and night, watching her siblings create such beautiful things while she was stuck, still lost in her own mind and heart with what she was meant for. 

It was one day during a rough storm that from her dress made of silk the seeds slipped out, some red as the sun and the others a pale-white. She attempted to catch them, she had promised her brother to do it together, to watch over them together… But with the great winds she was unable to grab ahold of them, and they scattered about Karthea resting in the moist or dry soils across Karthea, and from them bloomed the first moon and sun people.

The great sun people, followers of the Great Sun God Wouktujosa, revered him for his light that he brought. Despite the fact that not much life was active during the daylight but despite that, and the land that they inhabited, Fhuyiya still graced them with the crops they needed, and the animals with enough food and water to always drink. And although Taakegosa could be cruel with his treatment, his creations and weather created the beautiful mountains and climates of the Earth for all creatures to thrive within.

And then there were the Moon people, who followed none other than the great Goddess of the Moon, Koerandin. Once the seeds had spread, she, out of sadness at breaking her promise, banished herself to the other side of Karthea. She promised to stay until the very day that her dearest brother was set free from his prison, she would watch other people each night and ensure their safety and comfort. With the aid of her Dreamdust deer, Varisusa, she aids the people in their slumber and will, for eternity, continue to watch over all creatures along with her brothers and sisters…”

With that, the Great Shaman closes her dusty old book and looks up at the children. She chuckles as they look at her, astonished. They chat amongst themselves and share their own ideas. As the Great Shaman looked around at each of the faces of the children gathered from all over, a smile on her face as she ushers them out of her hut. She wished them a peaceful slumber, but as she stepped outside, lit incense in hand, she looked into the twinkling night sky and up to the shining moon. She saw a cluster of comets rain down and race through the sky. She silently bowed her head in reverence, holding the lit incense into the sky; she muttered in prayer, 

Her eyes burned, just as much as her legs stung from her constant running. It had been what felt like an hour of nothing more than a burn within her lungs, only taking shallow breaths as she ran through the woods. Oh, how the woods scared her to death, but she couldn’t stay, no matter how much she wanted to… If she did, she knew what her fate would be, and that she’d be yet another body thrown carelessly into the pile of many others. 

It was something to see an animal such as a bird be shot, or shooting it yourself, but witnessing an entire family be murdered in front of you was completely different. It filled the small girl with fear, and she trembled as she watched the men with the suits drag them away. All she wanted to do was cry out, but she knew well that she couldn’t… And so with that in mind, she sucked it up and only sniffled, covering her mouth with her trembling hands. 

But their heads snapped in her direction… They’d heard her. And they were coming for her next. 

Her eyes shot open wide, and she shrank farther back into the protection of the shadows, but even that wasn’t enough to hide her form. She cried out as a man grabbed her by the forearm, dragging her out of the area she had hidden in… She clawed and screamed, attempting to get away… They were too strong. And she was too weak. 

She wanted to scream louder, but she knew that wouldn’t help. It’d only make them more upset, and her death all the more slow and painful. They had made it quick for some, simply putting a bullet in their brain, but for others they drew it out. She’d seen them do it, and she was terrified that if she continued to fight back, she’d end up the same way. But she knew no matter how compliant she was, they’d kill her… They were trained to show her no emotion, no matter how much a person begged to live.

No matter how much one cried, or screamed, or begged, they couldn’t give in, they just had to do their job, even if that meant killing a kid as small and helpless as her.

It pained her that she had been as stupid as to make even a single sound when her parents had tried so hard to keep her safe and hide her. They had died to protect her, and now their love and bravery was being repaid by their own child's death? In her mind, this was ridiculous; she never let that happen. She had to hold on for a little longer… She could just feel it in her heart, that she could live, that she would make it out. 

The men holding her had dragged her somewhere she wasn’t familiar with. The dried yellow grass was stained red and brown, and the smell of smoke wafted through the air. And that made her heart pound even faster in her chest. Was she going to be burned alive? No, they would surely kill her first, unless they truly were heartless. 

Tears fell from her eyes, and she tugged her arms away, planting her feet down onto the ground, trying to give herself at least a little more time to think. She couldn’t just let this happen- she had to try again, and again, until she was thrown into the fire pits, or had someone but a bullet between her eyes or in her heart. But what could she do? She was small and frail, unable to even lift a brick, yet she wanted to escape men that were five times her size?