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blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
Ranconi and Vikas Adam! What could go wrong? Yes I only chose this book cos f them.
Poor Hana, she spent 17 years in one room. Hidden from everyone. Because if they found out she would have been killed. Only those meant to be born are born, and she was not meant to. But she has her life in her room, she learns things, she speaks with the ship. She hopes to one day come out and see the world.
I get that her mother wanted to keep her safe, but it was so very selfish. Wanting a child. Keeping that child hidden in her room. But then again, who can blame her mother for longing for something.
And then she wakes up and everyone are gone. Spoooky! What happened?
Well, that is no spoiler. The ship is dying and they all left and left her behind. That has me wondering so much. Her mother would not leave! Or would she?
And that is how we meet Fennec, voiced by Vikas Adam. He and his crew are there to study what happens when the ship dies. This guy had a chip on his shoulder. He was a thief. He had made mistakes, but come on, Fen! You are just a kid!
The ship is alive, so freaky. I would certainly not want to fly in a ship that is alive, that has thoughts, even if most of the crew though of Cyclo as only a ship. Hana knew it was more, so much more. Poor ship.
There is romance too. Two teens meeting, obliviously things will blossom. I get why Hana falls, and I get why Fen falls.
Not to mention there is suspense, murder! Is there someone else there too?
And the real reason Fen was there was, oh I hate that corporation that made Cyclo.
It was a good book. It had a bit of everything and I do like the idea of a ship that lives. It is interesting. Too bad it was a stand alone. I would have liked to read more set in this world.
Narration.
Vikas Adam is great, I just find his voice lovely.
Amanda Ronconi is great too. She really is a reason to choose a book for.
They are perfect together.
Poor Hana, she spent 17 years in one room. Hidden from everyone. Because if they found out she would have been killed. Only those meant to be born are born, and she was not meant to. But she has her life in her room, she learns things, she speaks with the ship. She hopes to one day come out and see the world.
I get that her mother wanted to keep her safe, but it was so very selfish. Wanting a child. Keeping that child hidden in her room. But then again, who can blame her mother for longing for something.
And then she wakes up and everyone are gone. Spoooky! What happened?
Well, that is no spoiler. The ship is dying and they all left and left her behind. That has me wondering so much. Her mother would not leave! Or would she?
And that is how we meet Fennec, voiced by Vikas Adam. He and his crew are there to study what happens when the ship dies. This guy had a chip on his shoulder. He was a thief. He had made mistakes, but come on, Fen! You are just a kid!
The ship is alive, so freaky. I would certainly not want to fly in a ship that is alive, that has thoughts, even if most of the crew though of Cyclo as only a ship. Hana knew it was more, so much more. Poor ship.
There is romance too. Two teens meeting, obliviously things will blossom. I get why Hana falls, and I get why Fen falls.
Not to mention there is suspense, murder! Is there someone else there too?
And the real reason Fen was there was, oh I hate that corporation that made Cyclo.
It was a good book. It had a bit of everything and I do like the idea of a ship that lives. It is interesting. Too bad it was a stand alone. I would have liked to read more set in this world.
Narration.
Vikas Adam is great, I just find his voice lovely.
Amanda Ronconi is great too. She really is a reason to choose a book for.
They are perfect together.
owls_rainbow's review against another edition
5.0
Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.
A remarkable, well-written, well-plotted novel full of interesting characters set in a very insular, almost claustrophobic location. This novel is like nothing I've ever read before, but maybe that's because I don't read much sci-fi...
I liked that there weren't any huge info-dumps, everything was dribbled through slowly. Only thing is it left me wanting more! To know more about this world, how far in the future is it? How did everything come to pass? A sequel, prequel, companion novel or something please!
I loved Hana and her growth and progress over the whole story from timid to assertive. I also loved Fenn and his internal conflicts about stealing and his guilt over his sister's accident. I loved his and Hana's relationship though it was a little instalove. I wonder what their prospects are long term though...
I thought that the other characters were interesting and I wish we could have learned more about them. The progression of Cyclo as a character and an entity was fascinating and so unique! And again after the way it ended I would love a sequel or something, anything set in this world!
A remarkable, well-written, well-plotted novel full of interesting characters set in a very insular, almost claustrophobic location. This novel is like nothing I've ever read before, but maybe that's because I don't read much sci-fi...
I liked that there weren't any huge info-dumps, everything was dribbled through slowly. Only thing is it left me wanting more! To know more about this world, how far in the future is it? How did everything come to pass? A sequel, prequel, companion novel or something please!
I loved Hana and her growth and progress over the whole story from timid to assertive. I also loved Fenn and his internal conflicts about stealing and his guilt over his sister's accident. I loved his and Hana's relationship though it was a little instalove. I wonder what their prospects are long term though...
I thought that the other characters were interesting and I wish we could have learned more about them. The progression of Cyclo as a character and an entity was fascinating and so unique! And again after the way it ended I would love a sequel or something, anything set in this world!
jkm14's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
koalathebear's review against another edition
4.0
I'm in shock and still processing this novel. It was gripping - intense and scary. But very compelling.
alexperc_92's review against another edition
4.0
I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A death race in space is featured in this new book by Lydia Kang. I always enjoy her characters and the plots she can create which always hook you up and demand more. Hanna and Fennec are two unlikely characters who must band together in order to solve the mystery of the living ship and save everyone.
While I don't want to spoil everything I'll have to mention the detail in the descriptions and how Lydia Kang creates an atmospheric sci-fi world within the confines of the living Cyclo.
A death race in space is featured in this new book by Lydia Kang. I always enjoy her characters and the plots she can create which always hook you up and demand more. Hanna and Fennec are two unlikely characters who must band together in order to solve the mystery of the living ship and save everyone.
While I don't want to spoil everything I'll have to mention the detail in the descriptions and how Lydia Kang creates an atmospheric sci-fi world within the confines of the living Cyclo.
quoth_chloe's review against another edition
3.0
I recieved this ARC through Netgalley, so thank you to them, Lydia Kang and Engtangled Publishing!
I really enjoyed this book, it was fun read that did keep me wondering what was going to happen next. I liked the characters and really enjoyed the concept of the book, it is very similar to The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James and Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.
The main character Hana was really interesting. She went through a lot and had quite a lot of development throughout the book. She was brave and intelligent and she asked a lot of questions, I particularly enjoyed how her behaviour was so odd. She was kept away from people for so long that she had to learn in a short term how she should react and how to understand emotions and even certain sentences.
Fenn was a really sweet character, he fell for Hana so fast and it was pretty cute. It was an incredibly fast romance but then again, they didn't really have long. I liked Fenns backstory and I would love a book carrying on from the end of this one, to see what happened to him and his sister and whether he ever rebuilt a relationship with his parents.
Cyclo was such a cool thing to have in this book, I knew from the beginning something was shady with her but it just kept coming. I liked that she was sentient and that she cared so deeply for Hana that she developed genuine emotion whilst watching her grow up. The ending was cute, even though Cylco is a genuine murderous psychopath, it was a nice ending that she got to be with the one thing she loved.
I would have liked more story about the other characters, the descriptions of them, especially Miki and Portia were so interesting! I would love more information about the world as it sounded so interesting, I want to know what happened to earth and what are the alien planets like. I understand that it is important to keep the story on the ship because for the characters it is the only thing that matters at the moment, but I still would have loved to have seen the world a bit, maybe in another story!
The plot was really intriguing and constantly had me wondering what was going to happen next and creating my own theories. It is a sci-fi story with some murder mystery thrown in which I really enjoyed. The romance was really fast but due to the nature of the story that is to be expected and I totally loved it. I'm a sucker for romance and Fenn was the cutest!
I really wish there had been more focus on the friendships of the crew, it was only when someone had died that any mention of a happy friendship was mentioned. Another thing I didn't really like is the sexual relationship between Hana and Fenn, she is incredibly sheltered and I understand that she read a lot and learned a lot but she was so weirdly confident when it came to sex, it was quite unrealistic. I don't mind the inclusion of a sex scene, they literally think they are about to die, go for it you know, but I just felt it happened in a really weird way. Their only concern was pregnancy and for someone who had never met another human other than her mother just a few days prior to this, I just felt it would have happened differently.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read. It was fast paced, had an awesome antagonist and a really interesting plot. I definitely recommend it for fans of sci-fi and I can't wait for you all to read it. It comes out in the US on November 6th and December 1st for the UK!
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.0
Finished reading: September 7th 2018
"Funny how, with everything available to us, we still want to learn how to do things the old ways."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Entangled: Teen in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Spoiler
Toxic easily has one of the most gorgeous covers I've seen so far this year. This was the perfect definition of cover love: I knew I HAD to read this one even before I actually read the blurb. I know science fiction isn't really my genre, but I like branching out every once and a while to mix things up. It's been a while since I read a story set in space, and Lydia Kang was able to make it into a very interesting experience. I loved the idea behind Toxic with the biological ship Cyclo, the detailed descriptions of the ship, the use of colors to communicate... Cyclo was basically another character and I loved to see how the ship 'evolved' over time. As for the other characters: there are a few cliches involved, and I'm not sure I like Hana, but overall their development is interesting enough to follow. I do think Cyclo overshadows the other characters in its uniqueness though. That said, it was an entertaining enough ride with plenty of action as Cyclo becomes less and less predictable and more dangerous. I wish there would have been less romance scenes involves, especially since most of it is quite cliche and takes away attention from the more interesting sci-fi elements. I'm sure romance fans will take those scenes differently though. The writing is solid and makes this ride very enjoyable. Fans of more romantic YA sci-fi books will have a blast reading Toxic.
Cyclo is the first biological ship out there and has been working fine for a long time, but time seems to have run out and the ship is dying. Everyone has been evacuated, and now a small crew is on their way to board the abandoned ship to record and analyze Cyclo's final days. They have signed a contract, giving up their lives to document the death of Cyclo in exchange for a healthy sum of money to be awarded to the person they indicate, but only if they fulfill their mission. When they arrive, they find out the ship isn't completely abandoned... A girl has been left behind, and she might just be the reason they won't be able to finish everything on time. Especially since Cyclo seems to be more instable than originally indicated.
Even though science fiction isn't really my genre, it was actually those elements that stood out for me. Especially Cyclo was fascinating, since the ship was almost like another character with its own development, 'emotions' and flaws. I could have done without the more cliche romance scenes, and I wasn't a fan of Hana, but overall I really enjoyed my time with Toxic.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
rkuschmider's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been on a @lydiakang binge lately! This book was fantastic. It’s YA but not so YA that adults can’t enjoy it. It’s a story about people trying to escape a dying bioship in a future where space travel (and evil space corporations) are common. Think a Guardians of the Galaxy type universe. The characters are likeable and relatable, through their vices are a bit similar; I sometimes had to work to remember whose narration I was reading. The speculative science bits were my favorite. I loved the vividly imagined living ship character most of all. Just a great read!
muddypuddle's review against another edition
2.0
This had great potential at its start, but quickly spiraled down into a gobbledygook of scientific terminology and endless boring description, I absolutely hated 50% of the story and somewhat enjoyed the other 50%. I thought it would never end, and skimmed a lot of the second half so that I could see how they would (probably) be saved.....