A review by capesandcovers
City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn
4.0
I haven't read sci-fi in a while, and I'm so glad I decided to change that by reading City of Shattered Light. This book was so much fun! It's fast paced, has a large cast of characters and crime, so it's exactly the sort of thing I love.
Riven was a little prickly at first, but I grew to love her as a character pretty quickly, and really loved her strength. She's been through a lot, and uncovering her past alongside Asa helped me to fully appreciate her. As for Asa, she's made some terrible decisions, but means well and genuinely wants to change for the better. I think she's had one of the more realistic character arcs out of the novels I've read recently, and I'm excited to see how it continues in book 2. Also, having an almost entirely queer cast of characters was just *chef's kiss*
While I thought that Riven and Asa worked well together, I did think that the romance fell a bit flat because there was so much happening. If the love triangle had been excluded (it was completely pointless), there would've been more time to develop it out more, which I'd have preferred. Getting to know the rest of the cast more wouldn't have hurt either. I felt like we only ever really got to know Ty well, and I genuinely would've loved to see more of Samir, Diego and Kaya. Having a little more of a description and explanation about the anteleons, bruttores and (especially) the Etri wouldn't have hurt either.
That's not to say that Winn's writing was bad - just inexperienced. I'm really looking forward to how it evolves, especially because I enjoyed other parts of it so much. Winn's writing had some absolutely gorgeous descriptions, and was genuinely funny throughout the novel, balancing out the intense plot. She described emotions so well, and really breathed life into Requiem. The city had a personality of its own, and getting to see it's beauty and dark underbelly at the same time was so much fun.
Overall, City of Shattered Light is a solid debut, and an action-packed sci-fi adventure. It read fast, and had an interesting plot. The ending wasn't quite a cliffhanger, but I'm dying to see what happens to the crew in book 2 now.
Riven was a little prickly at first, but I grew to love her as a character pretty quickly, and really loved her strength. She's been through a lot, and uncovering her past alongside Asa helped me to fully appreciate her. As for Asa, she's made some terrible decisions, but means well and genuinely wants to change for the better. I think she's had one of the more realistic character arcs out of the novels I've read recently, and I'm excited to see how it continues in book 2. Also, having an almost entirely queer cast of characters was just *chef's kiss*
While I thought that Riven and Asa worked well together, I did think that the romance fell a bit flat because there was so much happening. If the love triangle had been excluded (it was completely pointless), there would've been more time to develop it out more, which I'd have preferred. Getting to know the rest of the cast more wouldn't have hurt either. I felt like we only ever really got to know Ty well, and I genuinely would've loved to see more of Samir, Diego and Kaya. Having a little more of a description and explanation about the anteleons, bruttores and (especially) the Etri wouldn't have hurt either.
That's not to say that Winn's writing was bad - just inexperienced. I'm really looking forward to how it evolves, especially because I enjoyed other parts of it so much. Winn's writing had some absolutely gorgeous descriptions, and was genuinely funny throughout the novel, balancing out the intense plot. She described emotions so well, and really breathed life into Requiem. The city had a personality of its own, and getting to see it's beauty and dark underbelly at the same time was so much fun.
Overall, City of Shattered Light is a solid debut, and an action-packed sci-fi adventure. It read fast, and had an interesting plot. The ending wasn't quite a cliffhanger, but I'm dying to see what happens to the crew in book 2 now.