This story has it all, wonderful characters, great world building and an engrossing story.
So, you may be asking why only 3 stars?
I just felt that the end of the story let the whole thing down and appeared to be rushed.
Still worth a read though.

This is an Author new to me …………………..the book is complex , with great world building , diverse characters . showing what can happen when lands change hands multiple times '

Humans have created space bridges to travel further around the universe - the events in this book take place on the planet Paludis , called Musk by the natives . The natives are kept in restricted areas by an ocean and walls - life is basic leading to resentment .

An important discovery has been found on the planet and shared with Earth ………. those in charge have vanished .
Police agent Stefan is sent to investigate matters and gets involved with a Martian botanist, Clare, and a Seer, Serpentine, who lives in isolation out in the wilds . Pas-Elno, of a local native has also joined in the search as his father, Tak-Elno, has also disappeared .
This small group find themselves in great danger and are the targets from lots of different factions . Their path is fraught with danger …….who is the enemy , can all out war be prevented
Whoever has the technology could change the face of the universe and take total control of travel throughout the planetary systems .

This was an interesting book with many different strands - reflecting the problems that can occur with colonisation both on the local inhabitants and the colonisers .

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own .

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"Saving Paludis" eBook was published in 2018 and was written by Clayton Graham (https://claytongraham.com.au). Mr. Graham has published two novels. 

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence, Mature Situations and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future where humanity has spread across the stars. The primary character is Police agent Stefan Lattanzis. 

The scientists on the planet Paludis have made a discovery that will affect all of mankind - a drug that will put humans to sleep for days, even months at a time, and which will slow down aging while they sleep. Now as Paludis begins to grow in power, Earth begins to see it as a threat to its domination human space. 

Lattanzis and a few close friends must try to save the planet both from their own politicians who want to take advantage of the power the drug brings Paludis, as well as the Earth forces sent to bring Paludis to heel. Complicating this, and acting as an excuse for Earth to take action, is a series of attacks on Earth that have been traced back to Paludis.  

I thought that his was an interesting 10+ hours spent reading this 435 page science fiction novel. The story has a much broader scope than most, covering several months of time. While I like the basic plot, I really felt that the implementation was a little weak and the characters mostly one dimensional. The cover art is OK. I give this novel a 3.5 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

The publishers kindly provided my a complimentary copy of Saving Paludis to review through NetGalley but I simply cannot get past about 40% of the novel.  The characters and plot are all over the place, disorganized and incoherent, and not enjoyable.  I read to enjoy so this one is, sadly, a Did Not Finish.

The basic plot is Earth has colonized Paludis and shoved the natives to a small peninsula.  Now the natives have managed to attack Earth (apparently it is the natives or some other unknown race from the same planet, it isn't real clear at the 40% point) for revenge? freedom? (also not clear).  The human colonists meanwhile have discovered a sleeping pill that enables long hibernation without side effects, thus opening more of the galaxy to exploration and exploitation.  It's not real clear yet why the sleeping pill and attacks on Earth are connected, or even whether they are connected; after reading so far I'd expect some hints that the novel is pulling together the disparate strands.

There are three main characters per the blurb, but it isn't entirely clear what the other characters are doing or why they are present.  The novel is uneven in narrative flow, pacing, character development and plot, and I cannot keep focused.  Please note that many of the Amazon reviews are 4 and 5 stars, so I may be the outlier.

I am very sorry, but I cannot read any more.  There are far too many other books out there to enjoy.