OVERALL: If Blake Crouch and Christopher Nolan wrote a book together. Which is just saying that Justin Cronin is that amazing. This book blends speculaOVERALL: If Blake Crouch and Christopher Nolan wrote a book together. Which is just saying that Justin Cronin is that amazing. This book blends speculative fiction with utopia and sci-fi, and then to top it off, throws in relationships in the form of partners, children, and friends. It’s well layered, and seriously kept me wondering almost through the end.
20 SECOND “WHAT’S THIS ABOUT�: Director Proctor Bennett ferries people at the end of their life, or when they are running less than 10%, per their monitor, to The Nursery. When he gets the notification that his father has requested to retire, this sets off a complex journey that includes his own rapidly decreasing percentage, revolts from the laborers, and the constant question of what is real.
My favorite part: Unfortunately, I cannot talk about my favorite part without spoiling, but
ARC provided by Netgalley. Definitely grab this as soon as it comes out on May 2nd!...more
First 60% were ohmygodohmygodohmygod (as Tristin would say) BORING. Seriously. Alot of anti-climatic stuff, then FINALLY there was some action. Don't First 60% were ohmygodohmygodohmygod (as Tristin would say) BORING. Seriously. Alot of anti-climatic stuff, then FINALLY there was some action. Don't get me wrong, the sciencey stuff was cool, but nothing was happening.
I figured out what was going on pretty quickly, but at least there was anticipation after 60-65% of the story.
Narrator: loved. McLeod Andrews has a beautiful voice.
Playlist at the end: missing quite a few appropriate songs, including "Stars" by Hum, "Stars" by Switchfoot, "Space Wrangler" by Widespread Panic, and "Valkyrie Missile" by Angels and Airwaves...more
OVERALL: In Huaxia, Chrysalises are piloted by males and females. The females� qi is there to counterbalance the intensity of the male qi, which is neeOVERALL: In Huaxia, Chrysalises are piloted by males and females. The females� qi is there to counterbalance the intensity of the male qi, which is needed for the Chrysalis to transform into robots. These robots fight mechanical aliens.
Enter Zetian, a female who is desperate to get away from her family, and eager to exact revenge on the pilot who killed her sister. And…she does.
After this she is linked with the strongest pilot (who is also a murderer—but has super high qi).
This is where things get fuzzy to me. It feels like an action book, where we need to figure why the Hunduns are attacking and how to finish them. But there’s a huge section just about Zetian, Li Shimin, and Yizhi being the capital…and nothing happens.
I suppose as a relationship story there is some progression, but it still feels a little flat at times.
And the book definitely feels historical, though it is clearly sci-fi. Language is very current, with words like “weird� and “hey� and other colloquial terms. That threw me off. I don’t know why I just could not adapt to this casual language in the book, but it bothered me.
In the end, the beginning fighting was frequent and fast, and I had trouble keeping up with that was going on, but then it slowed to a crawl for about 25% of the book. And then picked back up but went in a different direction…It just felt choppy to me.
15 SECOND “WHAT’S THIS ABOUT�: Think Pacific Rim where male pilots need female concubines to combine their qi to be successful at fighting the Hunduns (I.e. bad guys). Include in heavy Handmaid’s Tale vibes with some serious misogyny, a poly relationship with two other males, and a woman who is ready to take down the entire system, and kill anything in her way to gain power she’s never seen, and welcome to Iron Widow.
FAVORITE PART: The poly relationship is fantastic! I loved this rep, and was excited to see it in a YA book.
And down with the patriarchy—yes! Normally, I’m not rooting for people to be killed, but every time Zetian said shew as going to come back and annihilate a man later in the future (and did for some), I was like, fuck yeah!
“It is easy to bend the truth when you are the truth.�
OVERALL: I used to think that Legend was my favorite Marie Lu series, but Skyhunter, and thereby,“It is easy to bend the truth when you are the truth.�
OVERALL: I used to think that Legend was my favorite Marie Lu series, but Skyhunter, and thereby, Steelstriker, may have topped it. This series feels like it was made for an older audience, and has less levity that Legend. Not that it was all horrible deeds and sadness, but instead, genuine fear and crushing choices.
15 SECOND “WHAT’S THIS ABOUT�: Talin, a Striker at heart, has been turned into a Skyhunter by the Premiere, in order to save her mother. Red, Jeran, and Adena are in hiding, and attempting to sabotage as many Federation plans as they can. Talin and Red still share bond, though Talin fears accessing it as her bond with Constantine grows. But she must in order to work with Red and company to bring down the Premiere and the Federation.
FAVORITE PART: In my opinion, Jeran and Red’s friendship and banter was the only true lightness in the book, and it was completely adorable.
Kaufman and Spooner have done it again! I had no idea what I was getting into when I started the book; I hadn't read a blurb or description. I just saKaufman and Spooner have done it again! I had no idea what I was getting into when I started the book; I hadn't read a blurb or description. I just saw their names and said "sign me up!" After These Broken Stars series, they could write about a blade of grass growing, and I'd read it.
Now, I have a soft spot for a mixture of sci-fi and fantasy (see my obsession with Veronica Roth's Carve the Mark series), and to my utter delight, The Other Side of the Sky was filled with a boy from the sky where technology reigns, and a girl down below who is a living goddess. Rejoice!
I had only two main complaints, and one was that Nihm's main restriction surrounding her being a living goddess. It just didn't sit well with me (especially given how young she was selected as a goddess), but I will admit, did create conflict and introspection in the story. The other "issue" was that I felt the ending was too rushed.
That being said, these will not stop me from re-reading this, or picking up the next in the series....more
I’m a little confused about how I feel about this book. I didn’t hate and I didn’t love it. But it could and here for me and I’d be ok with that.
UPDATI’m a little confused about how I feel about this book. I didn’t hate and I didn’t love it. But it could and here for me and I’d be ok with that.
UPDATE 4/27 So, I spent the day thinking about this book and why I was so conflicted it about it. First, I was getting all of kinds of HP vibes throughout the book, and that's not always a bad thing. But with "The Dark Lord" and "The Chosen One(s)" throughout the ENTIRE book, it's hard not to make connections. Also, vague prophecies and magical items needed to defeat the villain. Sloane feels like Hermione with Ron's sarcasm and Harry's bad childhood. And a little (ok, alot) of Draco's "fuck-you" attitude.
That's cool though. Again, despite the parallels, I wasn't angry or disappointed. So what was it? I thought this book was supposed to be a second coming-of-age (because hell, these kid's initial coming of age was when they were like 15), and how they handled or were handling the trauma of war and defeating a Dark Lord when they were only kids.
But given that it was only Sloane's perspective, you didn't really get that. Only Sloane.
And then it hit me. This just reminded me a couple of amazing HP fanfiction pieces (not knocking FF (all hail AO3!)), covering this same thing--kids who were basically conscripted to fight a really really bad bad guy (ugg) and HEA is not as simple as "poof...bad guy is gone." They are wounds, some visible, some not, that have to be addressed (or in Sloane's case, not). But living life after many years of fighting is not easy, but for some (Sloane, Albie), harder than others.
In the end, I think I was just kinda...bored. For lack of a better word. I didn't have a vested interest in these characters, because I didn't spend YEARS feeling their pain, their emotions, living their lives right next to them. So it wasn't until late in the book that I began to feel any compassion toward Sloane. And the other characters...oh well, I never learned enough them to really care (except that Sloane was a dick to them--ALOT).
I will say, that I am stuck, still at a solid three stars. Don't love or hate. For now, I'll leave this as a stand-alone, but if another book is with a different character, I may read it....more
Two "meh"books in a row. Sadness. And a double sadness for me, given the fact that I never rated one of Sanderson's books under 4 stars. Seriously? ItTwo "meh"books in a row. Sadness. And a double sadness for me, given the fact that I never rated one of Sanderson's books under 4 stars. Seriously? It is the apocalypse?? (Oh yeah, it may be.)
Maybe this book just suffers from that middle book syndrome. Maybe I felt annoyed because I had to learn ALL NEW CHARACTERS and that really annoys me. Sanderson ALWAYS expands books to include new characters, adn that is ifne and good, but to go an entire novel with minimal (or no) interaction to characters we grew into the last book (slightly reeks of Martin to me) is beyond frustrating.
I had no issue with Spensa. Her growth, though a bit in my face, was honest and recognizable. I loved when she realized that Cuna wasn't trying to be (view spoiler)[ creepy, but instead trying to smile, and not doing so hot (hide spoiler)].
But the biggest drawback, was that I was bored. After the first 20%, it felt like nothing was happening. Finally, the last 20% peaked my interest again.
It's not that I won't read the rest of the series, cause, you know, Sanderson. But I felt so disappointed.
Side note: Every time Winzik was described or talked, I had a visual image of the Captain Smek from Home. (Not the book, but the movie). I have no idea why....more
So so fun. Seriously. Vampires, werewolves, steampunk, victorian/regency, and sexy times? Yes please. And I have absolutely no problem saying I am lovSo so fun. Seriously. Vampires, werewolves, steampunk, victorian/regency, and sexy times? Yes please. And I have absolutely no problem saying I am loving this guilty pleasure read, and will happily run through the rest of the series as fast as I can :)...more
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