A review by kailey_luminouslibro
New Masters by Shobo Coker

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-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? No

3.5

Ola is a young teen determined to find scraps of obsidium to sell on the black market. She explores the dangerous ruins of crashed spaceships in the wilderness looking for obsidium. She hopes to make a better life for her family. Her parents have other ideas about how to make a better life; they lead a crew of thieves and conmen who steal from the rich, but they also try to assist the poor by finding inventive ways to provide water and power for poor neighborhoods.

Ola's parents are hired to steal a rare device with information about an ancient civilization that had incredible technology. Whoever controls the information could dominate the entire solar system by duplicating that technology. The biggest heist of their careers ends up in the hands of their teen daughter, Ola.

I really enjoyed this sci-fi story! The heist plot has a lot of twists and turns. The worldbuilding is excellent with lots of history and backstory for the characters. I liked the fun banter between the members of the crew. They have some funny lines, and you can really see the camaraderie and affection they all have together.

There are a lot of characters introduced very quickly at the beginning, so it took me a little while to figure out who everyone was. But once I got to where I could remember them all, it was very interesting to explore how they are all related to one another. Everyone has secrets and they are all after this rare information for different reasons.
There are a few LBGTQ+ characters in the story.

The dialogue didn't always make sense to me.  I could guess at what they meant, but the dialect they were speaking or slang they were using didn't make a lot of sense sometimes. Part of it was made-up sci-fi alien words that were added in to create a futuristic culture, but I wish those things had been explained a little better.

The artwork is imaginative and interesting! I loved the beautiful colors and unique designs for the characters. The art style is really beautiful and I especially liked the different scenes from the country to the city, and the designs for spaceships and aliens and robots.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.