Reviews with content warning for Death - Skyhunter

This was literally SOOO good! You can never go wrong with anything by Marie Lu ;). I am waiting on the edge of my seat for the next book!! The relationships between all of the character are also so beautiful.

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whiskersfromwithin's review

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adventurous dark 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? No

4.0

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nebraskanwriter's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.0

Lu’s story takes us into a dystopian world of Mara, the last country free of the Karensa Federation’s clutches who has slowly taken over the whole island that they live on. Mara is just barely holding on to its freedom, save for the Strikers that our main character, Talin, is a part of. The Strikers are a task force of elite fighters fighting to keep Mara safe from the Ghosts (ghoulish experiments that the Karensa government sicks on their enemies) and from the Karensa Federation. Without the Strikers, Mara would have fallen long ago. When a man from the Karensa military is captured and brought before the Strikers to be put to death, no one could have imagined the events that will unfold and how Talin’s life and all of Mara will be forever changed.

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This book was so good! I was enraptured by Talin’s story from the very beginning. A girl who is treated like dirt by the country she lives in because she is a refugee yet she still fights to protect it was a beautiful theme to explore and I am sure many people out there have felt that way being a refugee in a new country. Another thing that I loved was that in order to be as stealthy as possible, the Strikers were all taught sign. Talin cannot speak and so she signs the entire novel and I love that Lu brought that representation into this story. Definitely one of my favorite reads of 2020! Also, are these not the most beautiful book covers you have ever seen?

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I would recommend this story to: those who want more representation and more diverse characters in the books they read, like dystopian novels, enjoy action packed scenes, underdog storylines and books centering around strong friendships.

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bookphile's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

Skyhunter is an incredible book which showcases perfectly how far Marie Lu has come as a writer. She has created an incredible world, a futuristic dystopia, where a single country is making it's last, hopeless stand against a tyrant conquering the continent through brutality, murder, and by creating unstoppable monsters out of it's own people and enemies in order to win, no matter the cost.

The cast of characters is interesting and diverse, and you get to fall in love with every single one of them as the story progresses. I can honestly say that I loved every single one of them.

There's a lot of discussion about war, the affects of war on the people, the treatment of refugees - even when they are ready to lay down their life for a country that continually rejects them. The price of peace and the cost of conquest and bloodshed.

It is a dark book, but it's not without glimpses of true heroism, even in the bleakest moments. I highly recommend it and I honestly think it's one of Lu's best.

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Skyhunter was everything I wanted and more.

There was something about the cover art for Skyhunter that caught my eye last summer – something about the neon, science fiction feel of it that drew me to the book. Despite being authored by Marie Lu, who is fairly popular within the community, I haven’t heard any buzz about Skyhunter. I stumbled it by chance, and to this day, I still haven’t seen a single review. I’m ready to holler about this book, because I really liked it.

First, Talin is mute. I have never read a book with a main character who is unable to speak, and it just flowed so easily. The world building eased the path a bit, making signing a bit more natural, but there were a lot of language barrier situations (beyond signing) that I thought Marie Lu approached in creative ways. I would really like to hear from an Own Voices reader on the success of this rep – from my perspective, it appeared flawless and I was so excited to see it, but I am not an Own Voices reader and I would love to link up and Own Voices review on the subject of Talin’s mutism in Skyhunter.

Storytelling-wise, Skyhunter kept me highly engaged. The pacing was fabulous, and even though the characters were not in full action sequences all the time, there was enough going on to be interesting. The battle sequences themselves were flawlessly done, pulling the reader right into the story. Skyhunter‘s strong action sequences and crumbling dystopian world both screaming for a screen adaptation of the series – it would make strong visual material.

The characters I liked as well. I enjoyed unfolding each of the main four characters’s stories and getting to know them a little better. I loved Talin’s mom, who was completely badass (should have seen that coming from the dedication). From my perspective, the trauma was dealt with well and sensitively, while not dismissing that each of these characters carried heavy individual burdens. Additionally, this never felt like a YA book to me. It differed from the type of sci-fi you’d read if you picked up an adult sci-fi book, but the characters in this didn’t feel like teens. The writing was less dense than adult books, but the characters did not feel young.

Then, of course, there is the science fiction. War covers most the aspects of the dystopia, from salvaging to experiments. I can’t stop thinking about Star Wars when I think about this book, because even though the stage and scale is much smaller, the Federation has a very “Empire” feel. On the other hand, the Ghosts reminded a bit of A Game of Thrones‘s White Walkers. Some may call these things unoriginal, but I liked the familiarity of them and the ode to these iconic stories, intentional or not.

If you feel like hunkering down this year with a solid, familiar, engaging science fiction story, I can’t recommend Skyhunter enough. From the character relationships, to the smooth action sequences, to the political intrigue, there’s a lot to like in this book. There’s also an intense ending and no publication date (yet) for the next book in the series, so that’s also something to look forward to!

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quiggle's review

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dark tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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plumpaperbacks's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Skyhunter is one of my favorite books of 2020, and of all time. I went in unsure exactly what to expect, as I’ve had varied opinions on Lu’s previous novels. I firmly believe this is her best book yet.

The prologue intrigued me, and there’s action and more intrigue immediately. I was emotionally invested before the first chapter ended. The whole book is intense and exciting, nerve-wracking and heartbreaking.

I loved the characters so much. Talin, Red, Adena, and Jeran are brilliant and complex, and I love the four of them. I especially love Talin and Red, who are both resilient and strong and in need of a hug. The former’s determination was admirable, and the latter is a warrior that’s soft on the inside, aka one of my favorite kinds of characters. I liked them individually and together, although there’s no romance; I’m referring to their friendship and how they work together.

Lu has always excelled at writing close-knit groups, and this was no exception. Talin, Adena, and Jeran have a great dynamic, and I enjoyed seeing Red slowly become part of their group despite everyone’s prejudices and doubts.

Lu is also phenomenal with world-building, as is evident in all three of her prior series and now this new one as well. Skyhunter’s story is set in a futuristic world full of ruins of the Early Ones’ civilization, now occupied mostly by the Federation, a cruel, power-hungry empire. The only free country on the continent is Mara, a small, struggling nation the Federation is eager to conquer. It was set up and explained so well, interesting and new and never confusing.

The world is intricate, full of things good and bad, and the worst is the Ghosts. The Federation poisons people with a substance that contorts and transforms them into unrecognizable beasts, then unleashes the feral creatures onto enemy territory. ~~Well, there’s one thing worse than the Ghosts, but you’ll have to read the book to find out what that is.~~

I had to read most of this quickly in order to finish it in time to return the ebook to the library, but I think I would’ve devoured it all the same even if I had all the time in the world. I was fascinated by the world and characters Lu created, and when I wasn’t reading, Talin and company were still on my mind.

I know for sure three things I’ll be doing:

buying my own copy of this book
recommending this book to everyone
waiting eagerly for news of the sequel, and reading it as soon as it comes out

I’m excited and scared for the sequel. I want my babies to be okay, but I don’t think they will be. Lastly, I really hope that the sequel is as brilliant as this book, because so far I haven’t read a series conclusion from Lu that I truly loved. Fingers crossed Skyhunter 2 will be different, whenever it releases. Now go read Skyhunter, y’all!!

Representation:

mute protagonist of color that communicates using sign language (I don’t think I’ve ever seen this in a book?!)
some side characters of color
two queer side characters (this isn’t evident until the last third of the book, and currently no romance has developed)

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