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guessgreenleaf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Colonisation, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, War, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
frantically's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Didn't really catch me! Would've been obsessed if her former companion actually turned into a ghost 🤫
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Child abuse
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
jasperdotpdf's review
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
So this was the first Marie Lu book I ever read, and I really loved it!
The worldbuilding was great, and Talin‘s characterisation as well. I love how she handled her grief throughout the book, and how it was a constant factor that she carried with her even to the end of the book. It felt very realistic to see her remember Corian even when she‘d bonded with Red. It was also really interesting to see a mute MC, which I‘m just gonna take as disability rep even though it isn’t a huge hindrance for Talin.
I did have a bone to pick with how this was handled, however.For the majority of the book, we‘re told that Talin lost her voice during the siege of Basea because of poison gas, however the reveal towards the end of the book rubbed me the wrong way. It feels like it‘s a setup for her to regain her voice in the sequel, which I really wouldn‘t enjoy. It was great to see a main character with a disability that wasn‘t painted as something they needed to overcome, and I fear that it‘s going to become a plot point in Steelstriker, despite there not being a major struggle throughout Skyhunter that would make this feel rewarding in any way, shape or form.
The pacing was a little fast for me, especially how the developing of relationships between the characters was handled. But this definitely had the usual upsides of faster pacing — namely that this book was a breeze to read through and managed to keep my attention fairly well.
The way Marie Lu handles the setup for the climax was nothing short of captivating and it did make me tear up a little bit.
The end, as well as some small parts of the story were a little predictable, but I‘m not one to dislike any and everything that doesn’t have schock value. Despite the predictability of these moments, the way I grew to care about the characters still made them pay off.
Apart from some small redundancies/repetitions in writing, and my wish for a little slower pacing this book was absolutely amazing.
The worldbuilding was great, and Talin‘s characterisation as well. I love how she handled her grief throughout the book, and how it was a constant factor that she carried with her even to the end of the book. It felt very realistic to see her remember Corian even when she‘d bonded with Red. It was also really interesting to see a mute MC, which I‘m just gonna take as disability rep even though it isn’t a huge hindrance for Talin.
I did have a bone to pick with how this was handled, however.
The pacing was a little fast for me, especially how the developing of relationships between the characters was handled. But this definitely had the usual upsides of faster pacing — namely that this book was a breeze to read through and managed to keep my attention fairly well.
The way Marie Lu handles the setup for the climax was nothing short of captivating and it did make me tear up a little bit.
The end, as well as some small parts of the story were a little predictable, but I‘m not one to dislike any and everything that doesn’t have schock value. Despite the predictability of these moments, the way I grew to care about the characters still made them pay off.
Apart from some small redundancies/repetitions in writing, and my wish for a little slower pacing this book was absolutely amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Medical trauma
Minor: Ableism and Racism
steffandbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I think I've just found my favourite read of the year. This book is utterly amazing and I don't understand why this is not talked about more. If you like dystopian and/or sci/fi books, please go read it.
The book had me hooked from chapter one and it actually already made me cry. How good is an author with words if characters can already make you cry only after a few pages, when you didn't have long interactions with them and the chance to build up a relationship with them? I say, absolutely amazing. Marie Lu may have become one of my new favourite authors and, naturally, I have to go read her other books now as well.
Although this series is a duology, I immediately wanted to go back to the start and read this book all over again.
I am in love with the characters, with the setting, with the world, with the plot. It's everything. This book also made me want to learn sign language.
How the characters are all part of an elite soldiers group made me think of special forces like SEALs and I do enjoy TV shows about special forces as well, so I was intrigued to see how the "war" setting can be put into words. But Marie did not have any problems with that. I was able to follow every single scene and was able to let it play out in my head.
And what I found even more amazing is that the FMC wasn’t the center of attention, wasn’t the overpowered girl that needed to save the rest of the country. While Talin is a very, very good soldier and also very likeable character with many obstacles to overcome, her other friends and main focus in the books were also equally amazing at something particular and haunted by their own demons. And then we got Red. He is the overpowered character, the hope of everyone to save the world. But we did not get his POV, so everything was told from Talin‘s POV, which is why this whole thing was so refreshing. I know this might change due to how the book ends, but I am sure Marie will be able to find a perfect way to unpack it in the second one.
It also didn't feel like YA to me at all. The character are all 18 years old and older, Red even 22 years old and just the content did not scream YA to me. Although the romance was rather an undercurrent and we focused more on the plot, the interaction between the love interests was described in a more adult way, I would say - but don't get me wrong, there was no explicit content, but it also wasn't fade to black or like "oh my god he touched me, what am I going to do now" kind of thing.
All in all, this book is just amazing and I hope the second one can live up to the first's standards.
The book had me hooked from chapter one and it actually already made me cry. How good is an author with words if characters can already make you cry only after a few pages, when you didn't have long interactions with them and the chance to build up a relationship with them? I say, absolutely amazing. Marie Lu may have become one of my new favourite authors and, naturally, I have to go read her other books now as well.
Although this series is a duology, I immediately wanted to go back to the start and read this book all over again.
I am in love with the characters, with the setting, with the world, with the plot. It's everything. This book also made me want to learn sign language.
How the characters are all part of an elite soldiers group made me think of special forces like SEALs and I do enjoy TV shows about special forces as well, so I was intrigued to see how the "war" setting can be put into words. But Marie did not have any problems with that. I was able to follow every single scene and was able to let it play out in my head.
And what I found even more amazing is that the FMC wasn’t the center of attention, wasn’t the overpowered girl that needed to save the rest of the country. While Talin is a very, very good soldier and also very likeable character with many obstacles to overcome, her other friends and main focus in the books were also equally amazing at something particular and haunted by their own demons. And then we got Red. He is the overpowered character, the hope of everyone to save the world. But we did not get his POV, so everything was told from Talin‘s POV, which is why this whole thing was so refreshing. I know this might change due to how the book ends, but I am sure Marie will be able to find a perfect way to unpack it in the second one.
It also didn't feel like YA to me at all. The character are all 18 years old and older, Red even 22 years old and just the content did not scream YA to me. Although the romance was rather an undercurrent and we focused more on the plot, the interaction between the love interests was described in a more adult way, I would say - but don't get me wrong, there was no explicit content, but it also wasn't fade to black or like "oh my god he touched me, what am I going to do now" kind of thing.
All in all, this book is just amazing and I hope the second one can live up to the first's standards.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, War, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Racism
vaniavela's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, War, and Racism
Moderate: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
heidibooks's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Would you do everything in your power to fight for your nation? I truly feel for Tamlin and her internal struggles throughout this book. I love how she was able to use sign language as a strength. Marie Lu did a beautiful job at writing this book. I cared for the characters and enjoyed getting an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses in ways that I did not anticipate.
There are so many similarities to our current world to the one Marie created. There's always someone in power who wants more and will do anything at all costs.
There are so many similarities to our current world to the one Marie created. There's always someone in power who wants more and will do anything at all costs.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Classism, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
mollyanne624's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
sankta_aleena's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, War, Violence, Torture, Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, Child death, and Blood
bookphile's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Xenophobia, Murder, Gore, Genocide, Death, and Body horror
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