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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Indiana Jones in space. The ending....such cliff-hanger! Immediately starting the 2nd/final book.
adventurous
mysterious
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
Sooooooo good! Very Indy. And the relationships perfectly balanced.
I went into this with zero expectations, having no idea what I was getting myself into and I’m so glad because it surprised me in the best possible way.
Lara Croft meets Indiana Jones was the perfect comp for this book in so many ways, it had action, humour, suspense, mystery and adventure without a boring moment.
The audiobook was brilliantly produced (although it had some, erm, interesting british accents?) and had me hooked from the get go.
I had so much fun with this story and that ending(?!) has me craving book two in a way I haven’t done in a while.
Lara Croft meets Indiana Jones was the perfect comp for this book in so many ways, it had action, humour, suspense, mystery and adventure without a boring moment.
The audiobook was brilliantly produced (although it had some, erm, interesting british accents?) and had me hooked from the get go.
I had so much fun with this story and that ending(?!) has me craving book two in a way I haven’t done in a while.
Indiana Jones in space with a kick at the end. Another fantastic book from Kaufman and Spooner. Looking forward to the sequel.
Not going to lie, I was disappointed in this book. I think it compounded to my reading slump, because there were days where I actually didn't want to read the books that I was currently reading.
The Plot:
The main problem that I had with this book was that the idea was better than the execution. The beginning was slow, almost unbearably so, but then it really picked up by the middle and ended on a really gripping cliff-hanger. I think this book is one of those books where if you can push through, then you'll be hooked on the series. There were a few twists which were surprising, and others which were predictable, but overall I liked this book.
The Characters:
I liked both Mia and Jules, and the alternating point of view chapters insured that I did. What I liked most about them was the banter between the two. I thought that their backgrounds was a bit too simplistic though. Even though we spent the whole book with these characters, I felt like we only hit surface level thoughts with them. And I'm not entirely sure if I buy the romance between Mia and Jules though. I get that in survival situations that attractions can form, but I just didn't completely buy it and felt like it was almost cringey at times.
Overall, I liked this book. I will pick up the next book in the series because I am intrigued to see what will happen next. I'm not entirely sure if I would recommend this book though... I think I would say that if Lara Croft in space seems like your style, then read it.
The Plot:
The main problem that I had with this book was that the idea was better than the execution. The beginning was slow, almost unbearably so, but then it really picked up by the middle and ended on a really gripping cliff-hanger. I think this book is one of those books where if you can push through, then you'll be hooked on the series. There were a few twists which were surprising, and others which were predictable, but overall I liked this book.
The Characters:
I liked both Mia and Jules, and the alternating point of view chapters insured that I did. What I liked most about them was the banter between the two. I thought that their backgrounds was a bit too simplistic though. Even though we spent the whole book with these characters, I felt like we only hit surface level thoughts with them. And I'm not entirely sure if I buy the romance between Mia and Jules though. I get that in survival situations that attractions can form, but I just didn't completely buy it and felt like it was almost cringey at times.
Overall, I liked this book. I will pick up the next book in the series because I am intrigued to see what will happen next. I'm not entirely sure if I would recommend this book though... I think I would say that if Lara Croft in space seems like your style, then read it.
I don't know why I waited so long to read this book, it was so fun! It was kind of a mash up of The 100 (season 7 specifically), Skyrim, and Tomb Raider. I loved the setting being on another planet in an alien temple full of puzzles. So cool! Those scenes made me want to play Skyrim! The world was absolutely my favorite part of this book and I had no problem picturing it all in my head.
I love space books and alien books, and I found the Undying and their tech fascinating. It all seemed completely plausible, too - the Earth was dying, oxygen and water are scarce sources, so humanity struck out to find another inhabitable planet. I loved the setting of Gaia, too, because it's a desert world due to recurring solar flares destroying all life on the planet every couple of years (or however long the regular intervals were).
I liked the two main characters but didn't love them. I wish I had connected to them a bit better. They did both have pretty distinct personalities. Jules was pragmatic and pedantic, and Amelia was fierce and resourceful. They came from very different backgrounds - Jules was a rich boy and the son of a famous scholar, and Amelia was kind of a street rat that had to steal and scrape to get by. The romance was sweet, even if it didn't do much for me. I felt pretty meh about them together. It was endearing that Amelia's driving force was saving her sister, but just like with the romance, I never felt that emotion behind it.
The narration was fantastic! Jules is narrated by Steve West (one of my faves); and Amelia's narrator, Alex McKenna, was new to me. I liked her voice because it was different - she's got kind of a scratchy voice, but not in an unenjoyable way.
There were a couple surprises along the way. I found the big twist at the end to be predictable, but I still enjoyed the journey in discovering the answers.
Spoiler
I was shocked by the fact that Jules' and Amelia's bosses were the same person. That was a great little twist. I pegged the Undying as being humans that made the tech pretty early on - but I was kind of thinking that it was a time travel situation. (I guess maybe it still could be!) I'm super interested to see what the "Undying" humans at the end meant when they said they were going to take the Earth back!This review was originally posted on Novel Heartbeat. To see a breakdown of my assessment, please visit the full review here.
Actual rating: 3.5
I really enjoyed this book.
The part of me that loves Indiana Jones, and solving puzzles in temples and crypts, and a race against time to get an ultimate goal, adventure books was so so happy to be able to embrace this in a YA style! It was fun, it was entertaining, there were boulders and spikes and explosions and aliens. there was no way I could hate the book.
BUT.
For everything that it was, it was also the slowest-paced adventure book I think I've ever read.
Maybe it was because there is a lot of info dump conversations, because we need to know the whole background about the aliens and human life and why the hell two kids are traipsing around a planet by themselves.
Maybe it was because there was a lot of physical ground to cover because they basically walk across half the freaking planet.
Maybe it was because a lot of the puzzles kinda sucked? I had high expectations on this aspect from reading adventure books where the puzzles engaged the reader as well as the characters and perhaps that's my fault for pushing my own personal agenda. But honestly, listening to a kid read glyphs in a language I don't understand isn't overly riveting.
About halfway through the book everything picks up though and you really start to feel the action/adventure side of the book. There were quite a few turns that I did not see coming which is always worth applauding.
And the ending. While I'm going to brace myself for pacing that may not be my favourite I will be reading the sequel because I wanna know what the hell happens.
And everything else I enjoyed. It was good and entertaining but for me that was about it.
I liked the characters a lot more as individuals than I did together. I loved the contrast between their motivations and how there own problems (literally) worlds away still impacted on everything they were attempting to do.
There was something satisfying about the way the two interacted in the good and the bad. But it also didn't fill me with overwhelming emotions or necessarily have me rooting for them either. I am truly hoping that the characters have a chance to develop into something more intimate for the reader in the sequel.
All in all, consider me entertained. While some bits were slower than I would have liked, I enjoyed everything that happened and really want to see where Spooner and Kaufman take it next.
Full review | More reviews | Twitter | Pinterest | Books gnaw at me from around the edges of my life, demanding more time and attention. I am always left hungry. (P. Paul)
I really enjoyed this book.
“When we allow ourselves to explore, we discover destinations that were never on our map.”
The part of me that loves Indiana Jones, and solving puzzles in temples and crypts, and a race against time to get an ultimate goal, adventure books was so so happy to be able to embrace this in a YA style! It was fun, it was entertaining, there were boulders and spikes and explosions and aliens. there was no way I could hate the book.
BUT.
For everything that it was, it was also the slowest-paced adventure book I think I've ever read.
Maybe it was because there is a lot of info dump conversations, because we need to know the whole background about the aliens and human life and why the hell two kids are traipsing around a planet by themselves.
Maybe it was because there was a lot of physical ground to cover because they basically walk across half the freaking planet.
Maybe it was because a lot of the puzzles kinda sucked? I had high expectations on this aspect from reading adventure books where the puzzles engaged the reader as well as the characters and perhaps that's my fault for pushing my own personal agenda. But honestly, listening to a kid read glyphs in a language I don't understand isn't overly riveting.
“This isn't some after-school feel-good movie special.”
About halfway through the book everything picks up though and you really start to feel the action/adventure side of the book. There were quite a few turns that I did not see coming which is always worth applauding.
And the ending. While I'm going to brace myself for pacing that may not be my favourite I will be reading the sequel because I wanna know what the hell happens.
And everything else I enjoyed. It was good and entertaining but for me that was about it.
“We may be the only ones who think that braving a series of crumbling death traps is proof of good decision making.”
I liked the characters a lot more as individuals than I did together. I loved the contrast between their motivations and how there own problems (literally) worlds away still impacted on everything they were attempting to do.
There was something satisfying about the way the two interacted in the good and the bad. But it also didn't fill me with overwhelming emotions or necessarily have me rooting for them either. I am truly hoping that the characters have a chance to develop into something more intimate for the reader in the sequel.
All in all, consider me entertained. While some bits were slower than I would have liked, I enjoyed everything that happened and really want to see where Spooner and Kaufman take it next.
Full review | More reviews | Twitter | Pinterest | Books gnaw at me from around the edges of my life, demanding more time and attention. I am always left hungry. (P. Paul)