Reviews with content warning for Racism - Skyhunter

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Skyhunter by Marie Lu

25 reviews

sarahdh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-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

4.75

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Skyhunter was everything I wanted and more.

There was something about the cover art for Skyhunter that caught my eye last summer – something about the neon, science fiction feel of it that drew me to the book. Despite being authored by Marie Lu, who is fairly popular within the community, I haven’t heard any buzz about Skyhunter. I stumbled it by chance, and to this day, I still haven’t seen a single review. I’m ready to holler about this book, because I really liked it.

First, Talin is mute. I have never read a book with a main character who is unable to speak, and it just flowed so easily. The world building eased the path a bit, making signing a bit more natural, but there were a lot of language barrier situations (beyond signing) that I thought Marie Lu approached in creative ways. I would really like to hear from an Own Voices reader on the success of this rep – from my perspective, it appeared flawless and I was so excited to see it, but I am not an Own Voices reader and I would love to link up and Own Voices review on the subject of Talin’s mutism in Skyhunter.

Storytelling-wise, Skyhunter kept me highly engaged. The pacing was fabulous, and even though the characters were not in full action sequences all the time, there was enough going on to be interesting. The battle sequences themselves were flawlessly done, pulling the reader right into the story. Skyhunter‘s strong action sequences and crumbling dystopian world both screaming for a screen adaptation of the series – it would make strong visual material.

The characters I liked as well. I enjoyed unfolding each of the main four characters’s stories and getting to know them a little better. I loved Talin’s mom, who was completely badass (should have seen that coming from the dedication). From my perspective, the trauma was dealt with well and sensitively, while not dismissing that each of these characters carried heavy individual burdens. Additionally, this never felt like a YA book to me. It differed from the type of sci-fi you’d read if you picked up an adult sci-fi book, but the characters in this didn’t feel like teens. The writing was less dense than adult books, but the characters did not feel young.

Then, of course, there is the science fiction. War covers most the aspects of the dystopia, from salvaging to experiments. I can’t stop thinking about Star Wars when I think about this book, because even though the stage and scale is much smaller, the Federation has a very “Empire” feel. On the other hand, the Ghosts reminded a bit of A Game of Thrones‘s White Walkers. Some may call these things unoriginal, but I liked the familiarity of them and the ode to these iconic stories, intentional or not.

If you feel like hunkering down this year with a solid, familiar, engaging science fiction story, I can’t recommend Skyhunter enough. From the character relationships, to the smooth action sequences, to the political intrigue, there’s a lot to like in this book. There’s also an intense ending and no publication date (yet) for the next book in the series, so that’s also something to look forward to!

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olivialandryxo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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)

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sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Listened to the audiobook. Natalie Naudus (?) Did a great job voicing Talin, I really felt that I was inside her head.

Will have a full review eventually, waiting for my print copy to come in so that I can spell everyone's name, and go over details again.

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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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