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nytephoenyx's review against another edition
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Racism, Death, and Kidnapping
Minor: Suicide
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