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Pallas Kindle Edition

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

For Kylan Bence, hauling freight through the Belt is lonely work, and when his ship malfunctions that loneliness might kill him. Stranded on the asteroid Pallas, in view of a concrete dome long thought abandoned, he chances a distress signal—and gets a response.

As he enters the settlement, a secret paradise greets him. Lush and vibrant plants, real food, clean water—and a population desperate to keep him inside . . . with everything else they've kept hidden in the soil, the air, and under the skin.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C7SBJHQQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (July 18, 2023)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 18, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4517 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1739041712
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

About the author

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Lisa Kuznak
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Lisa Kuznak is an author of fantasy, science fiction, and literary works from Thunder Bay, Canada. The Highwayman Kennedy Thornwick is her latest novel.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
15 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2023
    Lisa Kuznak’s debut novel Pallas is a traditional bit of science fiction that takes its inspiration from the weird and horror strains found in classic pulp sci-fi and 80’s science horror films. It pleasantly reminded me of the vibes out of the more classic Star Trek episodes which pushed the line between straight sci-fi and Twilight Zone weirdness, yet Pallas never crosses the line into supernatural horror, it remains firmly planted in the scientific. One way I described it to myself was that I was reading one of the Away Mission Star Trek episodes, the ones set on a strange planet where nothing is as it seems but set in a world more akin to William Gibson’s Neuromancer.

    Pallas, in case you didn’t know is the name of 2 Pallas the second-largest protoplanet asteroid in the belt. Discovered in the 19th century and is difficult to study due to its eccentric orbit making it hard to approach by spacecraft. And of course, it’s on Pallas that the main character, Kylan Bence, a long-haul corporate space trucker, has to land his malfunctioning ship.

    When the novel starts, Kylan has accepted his fate. The corporation he works for will not come to his rescue. His life, the old ship, and his cargo are worth less than a rescue and salvage operation would cost. So, he sets his distress signal to be monitored by his AI copilot and awaits his imminent death due to thirst and starvation once his supplies run out. But, someone on Pallas responds to the signal. A strange response from the abandoned mining colony that hasn’t been in contact for over one hundred years.

    Now he has a chance at surviving, so Kylan suits up and makes his way to the massive dome of the abandoned mining colony. He expects it to be a derelict station, an abandoned place where he might be able to salvage equipment or supplies to keep him alive for a while longer and maybe entice the corporation to come to rescue him. Instead, he finds himself walking into an ecological paradise. Not only is Pallas not abandoned but it’s thriving. The mining colony is now a strange biodome with grass, houses, plants, fields, fruit, and a population of humans that must be the descendants of the original colonists from over a hundred years ago.

    At this point Pallas turns from a straight sci-fi novel and embraces the influence of Folk Horror, it becomes a sort of Midsommer in space. Kylan goes from imminent starvation and death in his stranded space truck to a bucolic fertile paradise of beautiful women, friendly men, and plenty of great food. He is escorted around the colony by the beautiful Thalie, wined and dined by the jubilant colonists eager to learn about the outside world, and intrigued by the meek and mysterious Sarah, the woman who first responded to his distress call.

    Of course, it doesn’t take long for things to start falling apart. In genre tradition, not everything is as it seems, there is more to Pallas than a sort of asteroid Amish paradise. The machinations of the council, strange, hooded figures whose bodies seem to be decaying, begin to affect the colonists, who themselves it quickly becomes clear to the reader aren’t exactly what they seem, maybe not even human at all. Pallas descends into a chaotic catastrophe of violence, murder, terror, disease, and alien biology, which leads Kaylan and his only ally Sarah down to the depths of the asteroid colonies' abandoned mines, where the truth of what happened to the original colonist is revealed.

    Pallas is a great bit of Friday evening science fiction. Kuznak nails this debut, tackling traditional genre tropes by writing a tight novel using contemporary middle-brow prose that is often elevated by her experimentation with style and perspective. This is intelligent, well-written, independent pulp science fiction, updated and done well. She has earned her place on my bookshelf next to a few other great Indy writers like Schuyler Hernstrom who take their love of classical science fiction and fantasy and transmute it into relevant contemporary fiction. It was Hernstrom’s novella Mortu and Kyrus in the White City that came to mind while reading Pallas. It’s clear that Lisa Kuznak is well educated in Vance, Wolfe, and PKD, but also well-read when it comes to literary works such as Pynchon, Delillo, and McCarthy.

    Pick up Pallas, a debut worth reading, one that makes me excited and hopeful that Lisa continues to write and hopefully push the literary envelope away from genre tropes and expand her work into original territories.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2023
    Story took a couple of big leaps; some more effectively executed than others. It became incoherent for a while, started to make sense with a good little twist and then fell apart at the end.

    Good books always make me excited to get back to the story. This never happened here. I did make it all the way to the end and was surprised by a few things but overall there’s nothing memorable here

    Writing is above average, plot meanders at times, and the characters are a bit hit or miss. A solid 3.
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2023
    I found this book a very compelling read, with vivid characters and a dynamic story that keeps you reading to find out what happens next. The main characters are very human in that they have transcend their limits in ways they didn’t think possible, and they do so in fine style.

    My only criticism is that sometimes the shifts in perspective can be a little jarring, but even so I really enjoyed it.

    I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2023
    Pallas is a wild ride through a utopian paradise that strains to survive when Kylan Bence arrives. What follows is a literary, dreamy, and horror-filled sci-fi trip that will keep you turning pages as you navigate cramped quarters where mycelium threaten your escape. An excellent debut novel, and I look forward to the next one!
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2023
    Nothing is at it seems. Great read ! Something was off , wrong, But Kylan would probably not make it anyway. Rescue was too far away. No spoilers /. this is a good read . I enjoyed it and recommend it .

    I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Top reviews from other countries

  • MW
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping from cover to cover
    Reviewed in Canada on July 29, 2023
    Gripping from cover to cover

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