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adelevarley's review against another edition
4.0
This was so good!
The end seemed a little rushed, but I didn't mind.
The end seemed a little rushed, but I didn't mind.
libbygb's review against another edition
3.0
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this, particularly the shock ending! However, I gave it a 3 because it included SO many predictable and oft-seen tropes of sci fi, and Star Wars in particular.
Overall, a relatively enjoyable read, but I wasn’t blown away by anything.
Overall, a relatively enjoyable read, but I wasn’t blown away by anything.
writings_of_a_reader's review against another edition
3.0
The only surviving heir to an ancient Kalusian dynasty, Rhee has spent her life training to destroy the people who killed her family. Now, on the eve of her coronation, the time has finally come for Rhee to claim her throne - and her revenge.
Alyosha is a Wraetan who has risen above his war refugee origins to find fame as the dashing star of a DroneVision show. Despite his popularity, Aly struggles with anti-Wraetan prejudices and the pressure of being perfect in the public eye.
Their paths collide with one brutal act of violence...
Bound together by an evil that only they can stop, the two fugitives must join forces to save the galaxy.
3.5 stars
This has been on my to-read list for a long time, and I was a little afraid to read it because of the low rating on Goodreads. I ended up liking it but not loving it. For the first half of the book, it felt like not much happened, but it picked up in the second half. It was a pretty standard space opera, which is usually right up my alley, but it lacked something to make it truly memorable. On the other hand I don't think it was as bad as the 3.38 rating would suggest. There were a couple of cool moments in the book, one being a rescue with a jet pack. I also liked the robots a lot. I just wished that it had been more exciting. There is a second book, and I may read it to see how things end up. I haven't decided yet.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
Alyosha is a Wraetan who has risen above his war refugee origins to find fame as the dashing star of a DroneVision show. Despite his popularity, Aly struggles with anti-Wraetan prejudices and the pressure of being perfect in the public eye.
Their paths collide with one brutal act of violence...
Bound together by an evil that only they can stop, the two fugitives must join forces to save the galaxy.
3.5 stars
This has been on my to-read list for a long time, and I was a little afraid to read it because of the low rating on Goodreads. I ended up liking it but not loving it. For the first half of the book, it felt like not much happened, but it picked up in the second half. It was a pretty standard space opera, which is usually right up my alley, but it lacked something to make it truly memorable. On the other hand I don't think it was as bad as the 3.38 rating would suggest. There were a couple of cool moments in the book, one being a rescue with a jet pack. I also liked the robots a lot. I just wished that it had been more exciting. There is a second book, and I may read it to see how things end up. I haven't decided yet.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
emleemay's review against another edition
4.0
“Was there really so much hatred in the universe, so much prejudice, even among people who claimed to be unbiased? Had this always been true?”
Wow, this was... unexpected. I don't know about you, but these days I don't have very high hopes when it comes to the latest YA Fantasy/Sci-fi with a pretty cover. And, you know, [b:Empress of a Thousand Skies|30269126|Empress of a Thousand Skies (Empress of a Thousand Skies, #1)|Rhoda Belleza|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485697898s/30269126.jpg|47512648] was not the book I thought I was getting into when I picked it up. A male/female alternating POV, space travel, an empress trying to reclaim her throne... sounds like a mash-up of [b:Carve the Mark|30117284|Carve the Mark (Carve the Mark, #1)|Veronica Roth|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462467867s/30117284.jpg|44736077] and The Lunar Chronicles, right? But it's actually so so much more.
I've seen reviews from others who thought this book was nothing new, or who compared it to Marissa Meyer's series, but I guess I get to say "it felt like I read a completely different book" for a positive reason this time. [b:Empress of a Thousand Skies|30269126|Empress of a Thousand Skies (Empress of a Thousand Skies, #1)|Rhoda Belleza|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485697898s/30269126.jpg|47512648] had breakneck pacing, diversity, ZERO romance until the very end of the book, and it took on some really important, timely issues.
For me, this is exactly what science-fiction/speculative fiction should be. Belleza offers up a whole new universe of possibility, complete with power struggles and the threat of war. Into this, though, she also considers issues of race and racial profiling, technology, the media and privacy issues.
We see a charismatic leader drumming up support for his campaign by promising to get rid of the dark-skinned Wraitian refugees and immigrants who were displaced after the Great War. We see Alytosha "Aly" being framed for a crime he didn't commit because of the colour of his skin - because everyone knows Wraitians are violent and unstable, right? It was deeply disturbing to see how much a dramatic and dangerous fantasy world could mirror our own.
Perhaps even more terrifying, however, were the issues of privacy, and how technology continues to limit it. Most people in this world have a "cube" installed, which allows them to be online at all times and keeps a record of their memories. How great is it that you can revisit your memories or easily absolve yourself of a crime by showing people your cube playback? Except... what if others - hackers, the government, etc. - could get into your cube and spy on you? Or worse: change what's there? What if they could rewrite your memories to create the story they want? It makes me think of how easy it is to edit a screenshot of a post or tweet; how these days we can make it look like someone tweeted something - anything - that we want.
So, yes, there is the expected YA fantasy "throne reclamation" going on, but there's so much more, too. And Rhee's story is, in itself, quite compelling. Many chapters end in evil cliffhangers to keep us hanging on breathlessly, and I especially liked the growth and development of Rhee's character. She starts so young and naive, but is allowed to change and adapt as the novel progresses. It felt natural and realistic, as did her survivor guilt after her family's accident.
There are many reveals, some I guessed and some I didn't, but overall, I enjoyed this book so much. Entertaining, but with a lot to think about as well. I would have just liked it to be longer.
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narteest's review against another edition
3.0
First off, this is a solid 3 stars. No point this or point that. Also, I read this for the last and final Quarter of 2017: Science Fiction Quarter, over on the Quarterly Book Club.
Second: The Positives
- Action. First and foremost, this was pretty much action. This was good, because you can see that from the beginning this is a story about grander plots and schemes, and not so much a personal endeavour to self-discovery. So there's more doing and a lot less personal reflection on Rhiannon's part.
- Loved Kara! She definitely seemed to have her head on and screwed tightly compared to others!
- Space Opera, like totally. The reason I went ahead with reading this despite various reviews was because the first feeling I got when I read the first few lines was 'this feels like Star Wars'. In saying that, it falls into the category where your scifi story is in space, in a universe with many planets, that isn't dystopian or anything, but pure hardcore Science Fiction, Space Opera style. And for the most part, this was great! (For the negative, read below)
- Princesses in strife? Not so tough, male protagonist. Adventurous story. Yeah, sure, that was present.
These above three points though are the only positives I can think of. Don't assume that because I read this so fast that it actually is top quality shit. It's good, entertaining and reads fast, but this has a lot of negatives it takes a bored (very bored) person to completely overlook on a good day.
So: The Negatives
- Princess Rhiannon was annoying. Like I agree she's interesting so point, and there was even just one tiny second when I thought she was really a sympathetic character (she was looking for where to go next and then sought after her memories). But every other second of the book, she pretty much acts but doesn't think about the consequences. She makes kills - I presume the point of doing so by the author is to make her look kickass? But it just comes across as pointless to me. Even when she wanted to make biggest kill of all but that was stolen from her Dahlen who wanted his own revenge, that felt pointless too. The only good thing about these moments of conflict is that they move the plot forward. Unfortunately for me, Rhiannon never gets a single useful bit of information because she's mostly gone and killed the others first (or at least that's the gist of the scenes I got). The other thing is, within the first 50 pages she makes her first kill, granted she was about to die, but I feel like the emotions just weren't there to capture that moment. Furthermore, because she was doing all these things, it's no wonder no one would take her very seriously as a future Empress.
- Alyosha was whiny. His friend was so much better, shame he died so early on. But I guess Alyosha grew on me a little towards the end. Still, can't say I like him much! Even Dahlen was more interesting, though he was mostly kind of your usual quiet and uninterested guy?
- Worldbuilding. I actually only have half-gripes about the worldbuilding. Firstly, I liked that all these universe's vocabulary is shoved in my face (reminds me of Truthwitch). It made it easier for me to fall into the world and deal with the aftermath. It felt nice and foreign and had the potential to steal me away. But the problem with that, of course, is that I skimmed some terms and blanked out others. And it didn't help that the worlds that are associated with these words aren't fully realised. The author doesn't give us much description to build images of the place. Which is a shame because I was definitely getting a Star Wars feeling and anything with that right now, I'm all for.
- Several deaths occurred throughout this book, many of whom had strong ties to the main characters, but none of whom I cared a single button for. I even hadn't realised Alyosha's friend had died! Until he kept going on about it. I did feel his end regret, but the beginning, it was just so sudden and random (well almost), that I didn't even feel a thing. Which is sad since they were friends. Just like the first guy Rhiannon killed, he had been a family friend for all sakes! In a manner of speaking anyway. But really....anyway.
Overall
Anyway so overall, this was a fun read for the action. I also can see why Rhiannon's future looks so much brighter at the end of the book compared to 4/5ths of it. I said she isn't suited to be Empress, lord, I hope that's the case in the end. So for action I would read this. For a Space world that catches my attention, I would read this. But for character development, worldbuilding, writing, to some degree plot, no, I don't feel like reading this again. As for the next book? Yeah, I think I will go pick it up and see what happens next!
Second: The Positives
- Action. First and foremost, this was pretty much action. This was good, because you can see that from the beginning this is a story about grander plots and schemes, and not so much a personal endeavour to self-discovery. So there's more doing and a lot less personal reflection on Rhiannon's part.
- Loved Kara! She definitely seemed to have her head on and screwed tightly compared to others!
- Space Opera, like totally. The reason I went ahead with reading this despite various reviews was because the first feeling I got when I read the first few lines was 'this feels like Star Wars'. In saying that, it falls into the category where your scifi story is in space, in a universe with many planets, that isn't dystopian or anything, but pure hardcore Science Fiction, Space Opera style. And for the most part, this was great! (For the negative, read below)
- Princesses in strife? Not so tough, male protagonist. Adventurous story. Yeah, sure, that was present.
These above three points though are the only positives I can think of. Don't assume that because I read this so fast that it actually is top quality shit. It's good, entertaining and reads fast, but this has a lot of negatives it takes a bored (very bored) person to completely overlook on a good day.
So: The Negatives
- Princess Rhiannon was annoying. Like I agree she's interesting so point, and there was even just one tiny second when I thought she was really a sympathetic character (she was looking for where to go next and then sought after her memories). But every other second of the book, she pretty much acts but doesn't think about the consequences. She makes kills - I presume the point of doing so by the author is to make her look kickass? But it just comes across as pointless to me. Even when she wanted to make biggest kill of all but that was stolen from her Dahlen who wanted his own revenge, that felt pointless too. The only good thing about these moments of conflict is that they move the plot forward. Unfortunately for me, Rhiannon never gets a single useful bit of information because she's mostly gone and killed the others first (or at least that's the gist of the scenes I got). The other thing is, within the first 50 pages she makes her first kill, granted she was about to die, but I feel like the emotions just weren't there to capture that moment. Furthermore, because she was doing all these things, it's no wonder no one would take her very seriously as a future Empress.
- Alyosha was whiny. His friend was so much better, shame he died so early on. But I guess Alyosha grew on me a little towards the end. Still, can't say I like him much! Even Dahlen was more interesting, though he was mostly kind of your usual quiet and uninterested guy?
- Worldbuilding. I actually only have half-gripes about the worldbuilding. Firstly, I liked that all these universe's vocabulary is shoved in my face (reminds me of Truthwitch). It made it easier for me to fall into the world and deal with the aftermath. It felt nice and foreign and had the potential to steal me away. But the problem with that, of course, is that I skimmed some terms and blanked out others. And it didn't help that the worlds that are associated with these words aren't fully realised. The author doesn't give us much description to build images of the place. Which is a shame because I was definitely getting a Star Wars feeling and anything with that right now, I'm all for.
- Several deaths occurred throughout this book, many of whom had strong ties to the main characters, but none of whom I cared a single button for. I even hadn't realised Alyosha's friend had died! Until he kept going on about it. I did feel his end regret, but the beginning, it was just so sudden and random (well almost), that I didn't even feel a thing. Which is sad since they were friends. Just like the first guy Rhiannon killed, he had been a family friend for all sakes! In a manner of speaking anyway. But really....anyway.
Overall
Anyway so overall, this was a fun read for the action. I also can see why Rhiannon's future looks so much brighter at the end of the book compared to 4/5ths of it. I said she isn't suited to be Empress, lord, I hope that's the case in the end. So for action I would read this. For a Space world that catches my attention, I would read this. But for character development, worldbuilding, writing, to some degree plot, no, I don't feel like reading this again. As for the next book? Yeah, I think I will go pick it up and see what happens next!
izwolf17's review against another edition
2.0
Might have some slight bias against sci-fi, but this isn’t my most favorite book I’ve read this year. Started off good, but there was little to no good foreshadowing to the twist until a chapter or two before it happened. It was either a character outright said it or nothing. Slight case of basically insta-love in one of the pov’s and they totally glossed over a death which should have been impactful. The main character changes but she stays pretty stagnant when it comes to her almost lifelong trauma. The twist seemed to take a page and then it was over, can’t know for sure because audiobook. Liked the last chapter, a nice cliff hanger… except you get told something like it’s a big reveal when you’ve been expecting it for almost half the book.
bookeliina's review against another edition
3.0
2,5
Neskaitāmās atsauksmes un salīdzināšana ar tādiem darbiem kā Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles un Pīrsa Brauna "Sarkanās sacelšanās" triloģiju, ļāva noticēt, ka šī grāmata būs neaizmirstama. Lai arī šī ir pirmā grāmata sāgā un pastāv iespēja, ka turpinājumi būs labāki, slavēšana ir nevietā
Rakstīt darbu zinātniskās fantastikas žanrā un uzbūvēt jaunu vēl nebijušu pasauli šobrīd nav viegli, jo šīs jaunās pasaules sāk saplūst kopā. Lai arī sižets nebija slikts, tas mani neaizrāva tā kā būtu gribējies. Kopumā man vislabāk patika pirmā nodaļa un epilogs, viss pārējais, kas bija starp tām šķita samocīts.
Neskaitāmās atsauksmes un salīdzināšana ar tādiem darbiem kā Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles un Pīrsa Brauna "Sarkanās sacelšanās" triloģiju, ļāva noticēt, ka šī grāmata būs neaizmirstama. Lai arī šī ir pirmā grāmata sāgā un pastāv iespēja, ka turpinājumi būs labāki, slavēšana ir nevietā
Rakstīt darbu zinātniskās fantastikas žanrā un uzbūvēt jaunu vēl nebijušu pasauli šobrīd nav viegli, jo šīs jaunās pasaules sāk saplūst kopā. Lai arī sižets nebija slikts, tas mani neaizrāva tā kā būtu gribējies. Kopumā man vislabāk patika pirmā nodaļa un epilogs, viss pārējais, kas bija starp tām šķita samocīts.
lesserjoke's review against another edition
2.0
This YA space opera unfortunately doesn't work for me. The setting feels nowhere near as expansive as that great title implies, and the character relations aren't built up enough for any of the plot twists to land with any force. There are also way too many instances of people instantly understanding something about one another after locking eyes from across a room, and I think it's strange that the two protagonists never actually meet (although presumably that will happen in the sequel). I do appreciate author Rhoda Belleza's inclusion of racial diversity, and I like the teased idea of hacking memories through a neural uplink, but these aspects of the text alone aren't compelling enough to get me to finish this duology.
[Content warning for torture]
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[Content warning for torture]
Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter
eldritchreader's review against another edition
3.0
Trigger warnings:
This is a book I had seen with a lot of mixed reviews and yet with the beautiful cover and my re-found love of YA sci-fi I wanted to give it a shot. And honestly, I enjoyed it.
Overall it was a good read. I enjoyed the world-building - the different planets and species, the politics and war background, and in particular, the use of technology and how it intertwined with the plot line. Sure, it could have been more fleshed out but I felt it was a good balance between detail that didn't feel heavy but gave the book some atmosphere and spacey vibes.
I enjoyed the characters, although they weren't really here nor there. I did fall in love with Kara late in the story and wished there had been more of her in the first half - which primarily focused on Rhee and her side of the story.
I'll be blunt - I was a little underwhelmed but that may be due to picking this up as an audiobook. While the narration was enjoyable, this is the type of story that I would love to fall into with more focus than I typically dedicate to an audio story. And so, while I am interested in continuing the series, I think I want to pick up a physical copy of this book to reread before I continue. And maybe that reread will give it that little extra something that I was searching for in the audio.
Spoiler
Ableist language, racism & racial slurs, internment camps (mentioned), strangulation, blood depiction, medical experimentation, needles, consensual & non-consensual drugging, death of a mother/father/sister (recounted, death of a mother (on-page), death of a friend), explosion (recounted & on-page), murder & attempted murder, knife violence, police brutality & violence, torture, mind control (discussed), imprisonment, poisoningThis is a book I had seen with a lot of mixed reviews and yet with the beautiful cover and my re-found love of YA sci-fi I wanted to give it a shot. And honestly, I enjoyed it.
Overall it was a good read. I enjoyed the world-building - the different planets and species, the politics and war background, and in particular, the use of technology and how it intertwined with the plot line. Sure, it could have been more fleshed out but I felt it was a good balance between detail that didn't feel heavy but gave the book some atmosphere and spacey vibes.
I enjoyed the characters, although they weren't really here nor there. I did fall in love with Kara late in the story and wished there had been more of her in the first half - which primarily focused on Rhee and her side of the story.
I'll be blunt - I was a little underwhelmed but that may be due to picking this up as an audiobook. While the narration was enjoyable, this is the type of story that I would love to fall into with more focus than I typically dedicate to an audio story. And so, while I am interested in continuing the series, I think I want to pick up a physical copy of this book to reread before I continue. And maybe that reread will give it that little extra something that I was searching for in the audio.
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