Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Skyhunter

Skyhunter is one of my favorite books of 2020, and of all time. I went in unsure exactly what to expect, as I’ve had varied opinions on Lu’s previous novels. I firmly believe this is her best book yet.

The prologue intrigued me, and there’s action and more intrigue immediately. I was emotionally invested before the first chapter ended. The whole book is intense and exciting, nerve-wracking and heartbreaking.

I loved the characters so much. Talin, Red, Adena, and Jeran are brilliant and complex, and I love the four of them. I especially love Talin and Red, who are both resilient and strong and in need of a hug. The former’s determination was admirable, and the latter is a warrior that’s soft on the inside, aka one of my favorite kinds of characters. I liked them individually and together, although there’s no romance; I’m referring to their friendship and how they work together.

Lu has always excelled at writing close-knit groups, and this was no exception. Talin, Adena, and Jeran have a great dynamic, and I enjoyed seeing Red slowly become part of their group despite everyone’s prejudices and doubts.

Lu is also phenomenal with world-building, as is evident in all three of her prior series and now this new one as well. Skyhunter’s story is set in a futuristic world full of ruins of the Early Ones’ civilization, now occupied mostly by the Federation, a cruel, power-hungry empire. The only free country on the continent is Mara, a small, struggling nation the Federation is eager to conquer. It was set up and explained so well, interesting and new and never confusing.

The world is intricate, full of things good and bad, and the worst is the Ghosts. The Federation poisons people with a substance that contorts and transforms them into unrecognizable beasts, then unleashes the feral creatures onto enemy territory. ~~Well, there’s one thing worse than the Ghosts, but you’ll have to read the book to find out what that is.~~

I had to read most of this quickly in order to finish it in time to return the ebook to the library, but I think I would’ve devoured it all the same even if I had all the time in the world. I was fascinated by the world and characters Lu created, and when I wasn’t reading, Talin and company were still on my mind.

I know for sure three things I’ll be doing:

buying my own copy of this book
recommending this book to everyone
waiting eagerly for news of the sequel, and reading it as soon as it comes out

I’m excited and scared for the sequel. I want my babies to be okay, but I don’t think they will be. Lastly, I really hope that the sequel is as brilliant as this book, because so far I haven’t read a series conclusion from Lu that I truly loved. Fingers crossed Skyhunter 2 will be different, whenever it releases. Now go read Skyhunter, y’all!!

Representation:

mute protagonist of color that communicates using sign language (I don’t think I’ve ever seen this in a book?!)
some side characters of color
two queer side characters (this isn’t evident until the last third of the book, and currently no romance has developed)

Content Warnings

clockworkfox's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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