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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
The dialogue was awful. The writing style in general feels like poorly written YA.
I didn’t buy any of the relationships between this crew that is supposed to be “found family”.
I was not invested in a single character or the plot.
I didn’t buy any of the relationships between this crew that is supposed to be “found family”.
I was not invested in a single character or the plot.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-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:
No
As it turns out this is almost incredibly tailor made for me. All female heist crew that is thrown as a human sacrifice to a living prison ship of an old ancient empire that is interested in "reforming" them. To the point that she'll use the crew that's loyal to her as bodies to flirt with and attempt to seduce the protagonist to her side. Throw in tensions that already exist within the heist crew, some fun exquisite twists, and Skrutsie leaning into the horniness of it all, and you have a fun romp of a book. I will freely admit that I didn't like the Bonds of Brass trilogy, and am happy to say that she proved me wrong here. Definitely pick this up, it's one of the hidden gems of the year.
In depth review to come BUT this is a band of con artist misfits in space trying to get off the prison warship that contains them, run by an evil AI computer, and it has all the quintessential human condition theorizing of humans stuck in space, crew banter, and fun sci fi elements that I eat up.
Full review:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This is my first Emily Skrutskie book and I was blown away. I read it very quickly because I had to know what happened next and if our crew escaped. For those that haven’t been around long, I LOVE a good science fiction story and this one delivered.
This is story is that of a band of con artist misfits in space trying to get off the prison warship turned penal colony, the Justice, that contains them, run by an evil AI computer who tries to convince Murdock (our hotheaded hacker and narrator, one of the crew) to join the ranks of the banded Faithful (those aboard the ship who believe the AI is god and does their bidding). It has all the quintessential human condition theorizing of humans stuck but trying to live fully in space, crew banter, and fun sci fi elements that I eat up.
There’s also something about a good sci fi book where nothing seems far fetched and just grows the story - a music festival in space? Fights in zero gravity? Swords as the chosen weapon? Potato farming?
I liked the gray area of Murdock; she’s not a hero and she’s not entirely loveable but you’ll be rooting for her regardless. She was determined, salty, and the ultimate underdog. I understand her necessary growth to see her worth, but it was hard to continually hear her put herself down in relation to Hark and Fitz. I think that is particularly what knocked this down to 4.5 from 5 stars for me - the characters besides Murdock and Ham (who I would die for) felt a little two-dimensional to me and Hark was on such a pedestal that I just didn’t see. That being said, I appreciated the romantic element and won’t go much into that for *spoilers.*
Beyond that, the journey our MC takes, their views of the ship and the people trying to survive, the twists at the end - it was perfect sci fi and it was epic. I truly didn’t which way it was going to go until the very end.
Vibes:
Villain AI
Thriller-esque
Hacker
Found family
Underdog
Heist
Trapped in space
Sword fighting
Queer
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a fair review
Full review:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This is my first Emily Skrutskie book and I was blown away. I read it very quickly because I had to know what happened next and if our crew escaped. For those that haven’t been around long, I LOVE a good science fiction story and this one delivered.
This is story is that of a band of con artist misfits in space trying to get off the prison warship turned penal colony, the Justice, that contains them, run by an evil AI computer who tries to convince Murdock (our hotheaded hacker and narrator, one of the crew) to join the ranks of the banded Faithful (those aboard the ship who believe the AI is god and does their bidding). It has all the quintessential human condition theorizing of humans stuck but trying to live fully in space, crew banter, and fun sci fi elements that I eat up.
There’s also something about a good sci fi book where nothing seems far fetched and just grows the story - a music festival in space? Fights in zero gravity? Swords as the chosen weapon? Potato farming?
I liked the gray area of Murdock; she’s not a hero and she’s not entirely loveable but you’ll be rooting for her regardless. She was determined, salty, and the ultimate underdog. I understand her necessary growth to see her worth, but it was hard to continually hear her put herself down in relation to Hark and Fitz. I think that is particularly what knocked this down to 4.5 from 5 stars for me - the characters besides Murdock and Ham (who I would die for) felt a little two-dimensional to me and Hark was on such a pedestal that I just didn’t see. That being said, I appreciated the romantic element and won’t go much into that for *spoilers.*
Beyond that, the journey our MC takes, their views of the ship and the people trying to survive, the twists at the end - it was perfect sci fi and it was epic. I truly didn’t which way it was going to go until the very end.
Vibes:
Villain AI
Thriller-esque
Hacker
Found family
Underdog
Heist
Trapped in space
Sword fighting
Queer
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a fair review
A fast-paced, action-packed adventure through space. A band of female delinquents is captured and must outsmart the AI spaceship. I liked the characters a lot, and it was fun to witness their interactions and development through the ever-shifting plot. A great option for middle grade students who enjoy technology, hacker stories, and space travel.
4 ⭐️
— i loved this a lot, i kind of wish this was a series and we could follow the crew along longer cause i loved all the characters. murdock & fitz
— i loved this a lot, i kind of wish this was a series and we could follow the crew along longer cause i loved all the characters. murdock & fitz