Reviews

The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao

criticalmiss's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This was such an interesting read . The concept of floating plant cities to save humanity form the terrible storms called earth rages that plague the earth, and architects who developed the power to traject plants to do the architects bidding (build rooms, places to sit etc) and the secondary citizens in the ashrams who are not considered as important as architects. This book kept me enthralled all the way through. Gave me similar themes to Wool by Hugh Howey, humanity’s survival, historical secrets . I got a bit lost in the “science” of the transaction right at the end but the ending was very complete. Can’t wait to read the next one. 
Queer normative society

amaliachimera's review against another edition

3.0

Ugh. I'm having a very "meh" book year, it seems, where the books have some REALLY strong aspects, but are bogged down by major detriments. In this book, it's a fantastical and apocalyptic world with magic (called "trajecting"), but was bogged down by the constant = relationship drama of the two POVs. Truthfully, this was more a book about a toxic couple that just happens to be set on the backdrop of an interesting world, with a lot of philosophy and endless circling around the concepts. I wish more happened. I wish there was less terminology and explanations, and more things that actually *happened* (besides the constant arguing and tension between the main couple). It had such a strong start, but I started to get aggravated with the two about 1/3 of the way into the book, and continued to feel aggravated for the remainder. Sooo, I'm wavering between 3, 2.5, and 3.5 stars...which averages to another 3.

encgolsen's review

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Inventive and detailed world-building make this a fascinating read, although it gets overly complicated at times. Ahilya is the sole archeologist in her society, which is dominated by the architects, who have the power to manipulate plants and keep their floating city in the sky. Her husband Iravan is a senior architect, a secretive position that has created distance between them. A gripping tale of survival, power and a marriage in trouble.

scoulson2011's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

3.5

shereadytoread's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense

5.0

This was a phenomenal read. A South Asian apocalyptic science fantasy that lends us to floating cities with the remains of humanity. It also had some interesting dark academia elements that I enjoyed. This book excels at deeply complex characters with complicated relationships and internal turmoil related to their morals, loyalty, and conflicting goals. 

The book follows two POVs, Iravan and his wife, Ahilya. Personally, Ahilya read as the main character to me. She has a well-rounded world with romantic, platonic and familial relationships as well as ongoing conflict with the systems and institutions of the city. While the POVs are even throughout, Iravan’s POV is primarily dominated by the “mystery” and magic elements of the book, while Ahilya’s POV has more variety. 

Any book that is 500+ pages and makes me sit for an entire evening just to finish it, is a 5-star read in my book. 

This book was September’s Alliterative Titles selection for the Diversify Your Reading book club. Join us here: https://bookclubs.com/join-a-book-club/club/diversify-your-reading-2

mschwartz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

pheltzer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

wordsareworlds's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

nishana's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.0

interesting concept, but ultimately fell a bit flat. ahilya and iravan are definitely interesting characters, being a bit more mature than your typical fantasy protagonists and being over a decade into their marriage.

the story itself, unfortunately, felt like a whole lot of nothing going on. and whilst ahilya and iravan's marital conflicts were interesting initially, towards the end, i couldn't help but feel like i didn't really understand why they were drawn to each other and why they loved one another.

lemon_nadie's review

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0