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azrah786's review against another edition
3.5
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I read this book as a judge for the fourth annual Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), this review is solely my own and does not reflect the opinions of the whole team**
CW: violence, blood, injury, gore, murder, death, medical content, child abuse, emotional abuse, war
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This is a space opera set millennia after humanity has ventured into space, following 3 protagonists with a background in the navy of the United Tribal Axis – the alliance that formed between twelve tribes that are descended from the “Earth That Was” – who have each been pushed towards a different path in life. Skyla who has turned to the life of an outlawed archaeologist, Hinata who missed out on the position of Admiral and has been exiled for his failure, and Freyja who secured the position of Admiral but is under the vise grip of her mother, The Empress, and her scheming.
It is fast paced and action packed from the get go though the first couple of chapters are predominantly character introductions and a way to set the scene. The main plot doesn’t get started until maybe a third of the way in?
Admittedly, I found these opening chapters to be a little disjointed particularly Skyla’s as there are some time jumps and its not immediately clear how she is getting from one situation to the next when considering the circumstances she finds herself in. Hinata and Freyja’s initial rivalry and the developments following their Admiral examinations flowed a lot better and is what had me intrigued to continue. The more I read the more I came to appreciate the character work which is a big highlight in the book.
When the three of them eventually cross paths, they have to settle their differences and team up to get to the bottom of a politically fuelled conflict and then there is also this plotline about these signals from unchartered space. The overarching story has a nice blend of adventure and mystery to it but focuses on more personal stakes and whatever issues the characters directly face. How everything effects the universe as a whole is kept to the periphery until near the end of the book which is no doubt set up for the rest of the series. Thus I personally found that the broader political machinations lacked depth in this first instalment.
The worldbuilding is a little all over the place as you’re given details as and when they are relevant to the story. That said it never gets too overwhelming but by the end you only really know about a couple of key locations and select details about only two of the twelve tribes but not much about the wider workings of them collectively.
I was fascinated by the technology side of things though, particularly with regards to the sentient ships. While I wish there had been more of a focus on the specifics of the bonds within the story, I liked how each AI bio-ship had their own personality and enjoyed following the interactions and relationships they had with their human hosts.
Speaking of which I liked the romance subplot in this, it’s a good opposites attract relationship with the right amount of tension but I was personally more drawn to the already established platonic relationships and rivalries as they felt more authentic. Skyla and Rohaan’s friendship was particularly wholesome.
All in all I thought this was a fun read and is definitely one to check out if you like character focused, space adventure storylines!
**I read this book as a judge for the fourth annual Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), this review is solely my own and does not reflect the opinions of the whole team**
CW: violence, blood, injury, gore, murder, death, medical content, child abuse, emotional abuse, war
--
This is a space opera set millennia after humanity has ventured into space, following 3 protagonists with a background in the navy of the United Tribal Axis – the alliance that formed between twelve tribes that are descended from the “Earth That Was” – who have each been pushed towards a different path in life. Skyla who has turned to the life of an outlawed archaeologist, Hinata who missed out on the position of Admiral and has been exiled for his failure, and Freyja who secured the position of Admiral but is under the vise grip of her mother, The Empress, and her scheming.
It is fast paced and action packed from the get go though the first couple of chapters are predominantly character introductions and a way to set the scene. The main plot doesn’t get started until maybe a third of the way in?
Admittedly, I found these opening chapters to be a little disjointed particularly Skyla’s as there are some time jumps and its not immediately clear how she is getting from one situation to the next when considering the circumstances she finds herself in. Hinata and Freyja’s initial rivalry and the developments following their Admiral examinations flowed a lot better and is what had me intrigued to continue. The more I read the more I came to appreciate the character work which is a big highlight in the book.
When the three of them eventually cross paths, they have to settle their differences and team up to get to the bottom of a politically fuelled conflict and then there is also this plotline about these signals from unchartered space. The overarching story has a nice blend of adventure and mystery to it but focuses on more personal stakes and whatever issues the characters directly face. How everything effects the universe as a whole is kept to the periphery until near the end of the book which is no doubt set up for the rest of the series. Thus I personally found that the broader political machinations lacked depth in this first instalment.
The worldbuilding is a little all over the place as you’re given details as and when they are relevant to the story. That said it never gets too overwhelming but by the end you only really know about a couple of key locations and select details about only two of the twelve tribes but not much about the wider workings of them collectively.
I was fascinated by the technology side of things though, particularly with regards to the sentient ships. While I wish there had been more of a focus on the specifics of the bonds within the story, I liked how each AI bio-ship had their own personality and enjoyed following the interactions and relationships they had with their human hosts.
Speaking of which I liked the romance subplot in this, it’s a good opposites attract relationship with the right amount of tension but I was personally more drawn to the already established platonic relationships and rivalries as they felt more authentic. Skyla and Rohaan’s friendship was particularly wholesome.
All in all I thought this was a fun read and is definitely one to check out if you like character focused, space adventure storylines!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content and War
fictionandfarming's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, and Murder
Minor: War