The Planet Whisperer

It feels like a very, very long time since I read a science fiction novel. Which is odd since I've loved this genre ever since I discovered the 'Dragonriders of Pern' series when I was a young girl. When I read the description for 'The Planet Whisperer' I was intrigued, as I've always considered terraforming to be a fascinating concept. I was looking forward to the world building this author was going to bring my way.
For fifteen years Jonah and his manager, Wes, have been accepting contracts and terraforming planets throughout the galaxy. A much better life for Jonah than the brothel his mother sold him to at eight, and where Wes found him. Now Wes has disappeared, emptied all of their bank accounts, and left Jonah holding the bag for three contracts that Wes got paid up front for. What nobody knows about Jonah's process, what holds the power to the planet so it continues to accept the energy Jonah pours into it, is Jonah's sexual release by another. Wes kept all of this information a mystery, in fact he kept Jonah a mystery, in order to garnish the contracts. Since Jonah has a 98 percent success rate and can get a dead planet ready to be seeded within two months, nobody has ever questioned the methods.
\"If Marcus did this thing, he’d never be the same again. It wasn’t just his parents and being disowned. It wasn’t even destroying his career that he was worried about. He’d be changed inside. There would never be another moment where he could contemplate a future, a wife, or a family. He’d have to stop lying to himself about everything that had brought him to this point.\"
Marcus is the youngest child of two brilliant but emotionally distant parents who work for the Think Tank. His mother is ruthless in getting what she wants, always in the name of science, and his father is just malleable enough for her to control, although he also shares her views that the science and research are worth everything. Marcus has, for the most part, followed along with their career and life choices, but meeting Jonah has changed everything. Accepting he's gay means he can never return to Earth as it's a death sentence there. But working with Jonah, talking with him, spending time together, has shown Marcus who he wants in his life, and the career he wants to pursue in ecosystems on newly terraformed planets. Something his parents scornfully refer to as humanitarian.
Jonah and Marcus. The miscommunications and lack of true discourse almost drove me crazy a few times. But I had to sit back and remember that Jonah was a whore for eight years, and has no concept of having a friend or even believing someone might want him for more than his terraforming abilities and sex. Plus, Wes really did a number on him manipulating him for all of those years. Marcus was a virgin, and grew up in an emotional and soulless vacuum. Their feelings get hurt and misinterpreted constantly, until they both reach the conclusion that they're going to have to trust the other in order to make a future together.
'The Planet Whisperer' is a fascinating novel. The drama that surrounded Marcus's parents was a little soap opera-y, in my opinion, but I still enjoyed the angst. And, as I said, the constant miscommunication was definitely frustrating at times, but I was very happy to see Jonah and Marcus get their happy ever after. I found the terraforming process to be imaginative and definitely would have loved to see more of Jonah's abilities and his background. All in all, if you like science fiction, then I can easily recommend this book.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews