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Planet Urth  By  cover art

Planet Urth

By: Jennifer Martucci,Christopher Martucci
Narrated by: Emma Lysy
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Publisher's summary

The world has changed. It's dangerous, deadly. Inhuman creatures rule the planet. Animals have mutated. The land is hostile. But it's all I've ever known. Hunger. Fear. Panic. Those emotions are my reality. I am Avery, and I am 17. My father died a year ago. Since then I've been responsible for my eight-year-old sister, June.

I worry we are the only humans left.

Humans have been hunted for centuries, to the brink of extinction. I must fight each day to protect my sister. It is the reason I wake, the reason I breathe. But how long can I go on fighting? How long will it be before they find us?

More than 200 years into the future, human beings are an endangered species. The planet has been battered by war, its inhabitants plagued by disease and death. Few humans survived and remained unaffected. Most changed dramatically and evolved into something else entirely. Irrevocable alterations caused by chemical warfare have created a new species. North America is in ruins and has been overtaken. Humanity has fallen at the hands of mutants known as Urthmen.

Seventeen year-old Avery is alive and unchanged. But she has not been immune to the harshness of the new world. She has lived on the run for much of her life, in terror.

After losing her father, Avery is the sole guardian of her eight-year-old sister, June. Avery is now charged with June's safety as well as her own, a nearly impossible task.

Forced to hide deep in the forest and away from the cities overrun by Urthmen, Avery and her sister are constantly hunted. Danger awaits them at every turn. They fear they are the only human beings left, that they are the last of their kind.

But are they truly alone?

Find out in this raw and riveting first installment of the Planet Urth series.

©2013 Jennifer Martucci (P)2016 Jennifer Martucci

What listeners say about Planet Urth

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good but had the potential to be great!

Sigh, another book I'm torn with!! This had the potential to be so so good but unfortunately, fell a little flat. I mean, the synopsis sounded amazing, this part especially: "More than two hundred years into the future, human beings are an endangered species. The planet has been battered by war, its inhabitants plagued by disease and death. Few humans survived and remained unaffected. Most changed dramatically and evolved into something else entirely. Irrevocable alterations caused by chemical warfare have created a new species. North America is in ruins and has been overtaken. Humanity has fallen at the hands of mutants known as Urthmen." but the overall plot had more holes in it that plot!

Avery had to flee their village after it was attacked by Urthmen, her mother died at their hands but she, along with her dad and sister escaped and were living in a cave.Her dad passed peacefully and now it's up to Avery to look after June. Now this is where things just go wrong! We have Urthmen (mutated humans, I think), Lurkers that only come out at night (mutated.... wolves, I think) and for some strange reason a giant mutated spider! These all had the potential to be awesome, but we never really get a reason, nor an explanation, behind them. They just kind of exist.

Onto Avery herself. Her manner of speech was, at times annoying. Every one else talked normally but for some reason, Avery was very stilted. Eg: in stead of saying haven't, she'd say have not. She never used a contraction and it made for difficult stilted listening!! Also, when she meets the first humans she's seen in a long time, she immediately starts making doe eyes at the boy. A lot of eye rolling ensued from me at this part!! It was so so bad. According to her, he had galloping muscles, or some such rubbish!!! Ugh. The "romance" was so over the top and totally unnecessary.

Anyway, enough ranting from me!! You'd think I hated the book, but I actually didn't. I enjoyed parts and thought that with good editing and a little refinement, this could be perfect. There was enough things to interest me that I do think I'll pick up book 2 to see what happens, and I just hope the world building progresses a bit more!

Now Emma Lysy did a good job with this, though I think with the stilted way Avery talked, it made me enjoy the narration less. I found it hard to listen to at times. Emma did have enough different tons to differentiate each character, and she was clear and concise, I just think with the way this was written was a negative. I will try something else by her though, just to make sure!!

*I received a copy of this for review. This in no way affected my thoughts.*

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent post apocalyptic story

Excellent post apocalyptic story! People and animals have mutated. Only a few normal humans remain. Wolves have mutated into warewolf like monsters. Spiders and huge! It's an apocalyptic nightmare! I'm definitely looking forward to hearing the rest of the series!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Earth has become a scary and different place

What did you love best about Planet Urth?

I really liked the start of this series , definitely written for a YA audience . The descriptions in this book can place you in the scenes. The author not only describes what you see , but what you hear what you smell and what the character Senses around them.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Planet Urth?

I think it was at the scene at the lake with the other family they had just met . The first other humans that the youngest daughter could remember that were not related to her .

Have you listened to any of Emma Lysy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I have never listen to any of her performances before but I really enjoyed listening to her and will enjoy hearing her narrate other stories in the future .

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No I did not listen to this in one sitting I did listen to it all in one day while I was working . The story flowed nicely it did not tire me , there was nothing taxing so I needed to stop and think , it was just right for a day that I wanted to listen to something without having to be deeply involved .

Any additional comments?

At times the book did get repetitive , there were a few info dumps that could have been done more smoothly , but all in all this is a book that I definitely will go onto the next of in the series . This book was provided to me free by the author for an honest review .

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Eh...

I'm with the other reviews, the narrator is good but so not right for this part. She sounds like an older woman telling a story or giving a lecture. For some reason I see her as the Erudite leader from Divergent or an old English school marm . The story is good but I think one more edit would have made it great. I just can't see the small amount of humans hundreds of years after society, and especially not talking to another human since 8yrs old, uses words like poise, undulate, illuminating, lustrous, etc.
The last part is me being picky.
Basically, this is one where the book is better.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Hello, Urth!

What does Emma Lysy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I actually read the book before getting this copy. I enjoyed her voice and it's nice to listen to books while at work.

Any additional comments?


A good start to a potentially great series. Dystopian future, where mutated “Urth” men rule the decimated towns and mutated “lurkers” rule to nights. I enjoyed Avery as a character, she’s as normal as normal can be when there are no stores, towns, or people around you, except for her little sister June. I want to know why she’s so good with the sword and fighting. They allude to a special power but nothing is ever specifically called out.
There are a few plot holes, such as, if it’s been 200 years since Earth changed into Urth, how do they still have antibiotic cream? Riddle me that.
I purchased this book in kindle form when it was on sale for .99$ about a year ago, read it and forgot about it. I’m in the middle of reading the 2nd book in this series.
*I received this book from audiobookblast, for free, in exchange for an unbiased review*

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, can't wait for the next one!

Overall, the story is gripping and you fall in love with the sisters immediately. The plot is very simple but so well done.

The cliffhanger at the end was brilliant and I'm really looking forward to the next story.

This was provided to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Nice

What made the experience of listening to Planet Urth the most enjoyable?

The narration was emotional without being annoying.

What other book might you compare Planet Urth to and why?

I don't have another to compare to. It's unique.

What does Emma Lysy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She brought passion and emotion to the words. She kept me interested.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Welcome to Urth.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book and am disappointed that the rest of the series isn't available through audible yet.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Skip it

I hate giving negative reviews. I really do. I feel so bad writing negative things about a book that someone spent time and energy (and probably emotion) into writing. But, as this audiobook was provided to me by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast, I am providing my honest opinion.

I had high hopes for this book. The premise was good; it has overall good ratings on Goodreads. I figured I would totally enjoy it and perhaps find a new series to explore. Sadly, that was not the case. The writing itself felt stilted and awkward. One reason for this that I could put my finger on was that the author(s) barely used any contractions. The first person narrative is told from the viewpoint of 17 year old Avery. Avery never uses a contraction in her thoughts and only very occasionally in her speech. It felt weird. It sounded even weirder listening to it. Her little sister June used contractions when she spoke and sounded completely normal. Another issue I had with the writing was the grammar. I lost track of the number of times Avery said "June and I" when it should have been "June and me". Drove me crazy, every time.

Storywise...honestly, I was totally bored for at least the first third of the book and if I hadn't said I'd provide a review, I'd have abandoned it there. I kept wondering if the story was going anywhere or if the whole book was just going to be Avery and June going about their daily activities. This book is short-- only 5 hours on audio-- and yes, the bulk of it is Avery and June doing every day stuff or telling us about doing every day stuff. We hear about what an awesome hunter and fighter Avery is, then see it a few times. Then Avery acts like a silly teenage girl in hormone overdrive when she sees a teenage boy for the first time. Then, instead of being the level headed, focused young woman that she was for the earlier part of the book, she becomes obsessed with his rippling muscles, sunkissed skin and thick, dark hair. What little storyline there was seemed to go in circles and not get anywhere. I understand this is the first book in the series and a setup for the rest, but there has to be something of substance to engage the reader and keep them wanting to read (or in this case, listen). This book did neither for me.

As far as the audiobook production, the reader is decent but nothing spectacular. I loved her voice for June but thought she did not do a good job with the male voices. Her general narrative voice was OK but the cadence felt a little off, though this is most likely due to the writing itself and not the reader. I read a chapter or two on my kindle (it was free on Amazon) and the writing had that same strange cadence I was hearing on the audio. I think the reader would likely do a fine job with better material.

All in all, I'd recommend skipping this book-- both the audio and the print versions.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Even better than I expected! :)

They lived in a dystopian world thinking they were the only ones left. Our main character is a strong female who will do anything for her younger sister. I think it was explained they aren't related by blood, but they are sisters in every way that matters. I liked the strength of their relationship. A few other characters are introduced later in the story and I look forward to seeing how they get along together. I expected to like this book, but was surprised by how much I loved it! The narrator of the audiobook was great, and her voice fit the story perfectly. I also liked the shorter length. There were no slow parts at all and I think the length may be part of that. I really enjoyed this audiobook and I can not wait to find out what happens next. I definitely recommend this if you are into dystopians!
**I was provided this audiobook in exchange for an honest opinion

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Can't wait until the next book is released

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided to me for free through Audio Blast. Love Avery and June. I was totally immersed in this book. I love how the authors relayed the day to day struggles of living in a world where you are the endangered species. I'm definitely looking forward to more from this series.

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