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danielles_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
“In those moments of fear of other creatures, it was always important to look for the similarities. Do you know what the greatest thing we have in common with alien flora and fauna is? What the greatest thing you have in common with this bug is?”
...
“Life,” my father said, “is what we have the most in common with every other creature. We all want to live and become scared when living is threatened. All of us just want to survive and be comfortable, be happy.”
I enjoyed this! It's like if you took a Becky Chambers book and made it even more cheesy lol.
I really liked the world building, and the fast pace kept me turning the pages. The plot was pretty straightforward—just two siblings and a cat fighting against a large corporation for data caches from a long-dead civilization—but it kept me on the edge of my seat. Even though they felt a bit long and pointless at first, I really liked the segments from Blyreena, and seeing an alien civilization through the eyes of an archeologist (Her lover telling her "This one is." 🥺!!). I liked the anti-capitalism commentary regarding Verity Co having all the resources and hiding them behind a paywall, though it did make me pretty sad to think that Earth (maybe?) hundreds of years in the future (that seems to be the implied timeline?) is still stuck in late-stage capitalism...
I'm really intrigued by the concept of a society exploring the cosmos only to find every civilization dead from an unknown being, but this book only barely scratched the surface of that, and of course didn't answer the question of what happened.
Oh yeah, the main reason I wanted to read this was the space cat, and Pumpkin definitely delivered. :D
The character work was a bit weak. The author added a backstory with the two siblings' mother recently dying, which did give them poignant emotional depth, but I found the narrator, Scout, to be pretty annoying for most of the book. It was really frustrating to see them repeatedly insist to their brother that they had to keep trying to get the cache, even though there was almost zero chance of success and they kept getting into danger. And they kept saying that because Kieran was being more realistic about their chances, he must not care at all about the caches. Just... no? That's such an immature way of thinking. It was made even worse by the fact that for a while it seemed like there was no real reason Scout was even on the mission in the first place, since Kieran was doing all the important stuff, like piloting the ship, hacking into electronics, and opening and backing up the caches. I did eventually realize that they must be the anthropologist / archeologist of the mission, and just analyzes the data on the caches the two of them find? Still useless most of the time lol.
But I feel like once June started to warm up to Scout, I did too haha. I liked seeing them butt heads and grudgingly save the other. It was a very interesting dynamic.
Like I said, it did remind me of Becky Chambers a lot. Chambers is a master at creating unique aliens and loveable characters. And while her stuff can be really cozy and wholesome, she usually uses the plot events and character choices alone as a means of commenting on society and humanity. In comparison, the aliens didn't feel super alien in this book, and I didn't get super attached to the characters. Plus, the end was basically a lecture telling the reader to live in the moment and accept grief. And yes, it was cute and enjoyable, but it was very cheesy. But this is the debut of a self-published author, so I have high hopes for their future works for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Deadnaming
lezlie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
"Even at its core, even without common experience, there is something universal about loss. I can feel it, deep as heartache. Something stirs at loss. Something awakens to it, like a knowing, like an understanding, that this is how everything ends."
I did NOT want to put this book down once I started it. I read 70% in the first sitting and then finished it today. Absolutely incredible, even though it has left me an emotional wreck because of severe book hangover.
I came across this delightful book as part of SPSFC2. (Self Published Science Fiction Competition) This book as of today's date made it as 1 of 7 finalists and now that I've read it, it absolutely deserves how far its come. No matter how it shakes out in the end, this reader has become a fan of Rory August and the beauty they created with this story that is THE LAST GIFTS OF THE UNIVERSE.
I knew I was in for a treat by the time I read the first line of Chapter 1. How did I know? Because siblings Kieran and Scout are traveling the stars with a CAT. I mean, only the best kind of people will take their cat into space with them, right? My absolute most favorite character was Ovlan, a Stelhari alien who I think I might be half in love with. There was a particular story shared about Ovlan and a phrase that anytime I read it after, I would immediately start crying. All of these characters were beautifully written and developed. If you don't love at least 3 or more of them, you might need to check and see if you still have a pulse.
The entire book takes place in space. I know you might be thinking, what could be unique and interesting about the great big, black expanse of space? How about all of the dead planets our characters explore, looking for caches that might contain knowledge about why the planet is completely devoid of life? Planets devoid of life don't equate to planets devoid of danger either!
I loved the premise of this book - Scout is an Archivist who is responsible for searching space for the caches I mentioned above. She and her brother Keiran stumbled upon a cache that seemed to have the information they've been desperate to find - an alien race, the Stelhari, who may have the knowledge about what created a graveyard of dead planets and could save the remaining worlds. Unfortunately, the siblings aren't the only ones searching for these caches and it becomes a life-threatening race to follow the clues to the next cache.
I almost read this entire book in one day, in one sitting. I loved these characters and was completely caught up in their search for answers, learning more about the Stelhari aliens - I was either laughing at Pumpkin, sharing heartwarming moments with the siblings (though some were also sad), fell in love with Ovlan and subsequently had my heart broken. Oh how I cried and cried and cried - it was so pure, so beautiful - everything I could ever want from a book. I am so sad that it's over, but I have my fingers crossed Rory August makes this a series and continues with more adventures.
This book exceeded expectations.
snappydog's review against another edition
4.0
I think this is a high three stars, but we'll round up. People round up!
The Last Gifts of the Universe takes a beautiful leap and does some awfully graceful things midair, but I'm not sure it sticks the landing. I really enjoyed reading it, but - even though I do like a good short read - it ended at what felt like it ought to have been the end of the second of three acts. Perhaps there's something to that, given that it's so much about endings, but I'm left with a slight feeling of dissatisfaction, which is a shame for something that I enjoyed reading while it lasted.
It does manage to fit quite a lot of good stuff - characterisation, worldbuilding, life-affirming musing - into its short length, and some of my favourite books are ones in which many fewer Things Happen than here, so I'm not entirely sure why the pacing doesn't work for me in this case. Perhaps it felt as if it were promising a direction of travel and then just... stopped before reaching the destination at which it had made me anticipate we'd be arriving together.
One other little thing that brought me out of it a few times is that it's in present tense (which is perfectly fine) but uses past perfect rather than simple past when looking back. So 'we'd been' rather than simply 'we went'. Not a big thing, but one of those details that slowed me down for a minute.
Anyway, while the bulk of the word count here looks like it's mostly focusing on negatives, I think it's because The Last Gifts of the Universe has a lot of promise and does a lot that I really like, so nitpicking at the details feels justified. I'd still recommend it, I think, especially to fans of Si Clarke or Becky Chambers, 'cos it is a good book, but with the slight warning that I think I'm looking back at it less favourably than I thought of it while I was actually reading it. Not sure whether that's really a bad thing or not, but there it is!
The Last Gifts of the Universe takes a beautiful leap and does some awfully graceful things midair, but I'm not sure it sticks the landing. I really enjoyed reading it, but - even though I do like a good short read - it ended at what felt like it ought to have been the end of the second of three acts. Perhaps there's something to that, given that it's so much about endings, but I'm left with a slight feeling of dissatisfaction, which is a shame for something that I enjoyed reading while it lasted.
It does manage to fit quite a lot of good stuff - characterisation, worldbuilding, life-affirming musing - into its short length, and some of my favourite books are ones in which many fewer Things Happen than here, so I'm not entirely sure why the pacing doesn't work for me in this case. Perhaps it felt as if it were promising a direction of travel and then just... stopped before reaching the destination at which it had made me anticipate we'd be arriving together.
One other little thing that brought me out of it a few times is that it's in present tense (which is perfectly fine) but uses past perfect rather than simple past when looking back. So 'we'd been' rather than simply 'we went'. Not a big thing, but one of those details that slowed me down for a minute.
Anyway, while the bulk of the word count here looks like it's mostly focusing on negatives, I think it's because The Last Gifts of the Universe has a lot of promise and does a lot that I really like, so nitpicking at the details feels justified. I'd still recommend it, I think, especially to fans of Si Clarke or Becky Chambers, 'cos it is a good book, but with the slight warning that I think I'm looking back at it less favourably than I thought of it while I was actually reading it. Not sure whether that's really a bad thing or not, but there it is!
plot_head's review against another edition
5.0
There are stories that are pure escapism, popcorn fueled jaunts through a fantasy world designed to entertain above all else. I love those kind of stories. Hell, I named my company after those types of stories. But, I’ll be damned if it doesn’t feel good to be completely and utterly destroyed by a book every once in a while. I’m talking reaching inside and scooping out all my feelings, scraping me until I’m hollow, leaving me sobbing in the dark with an empty can of Pringles in my lap. :smiley face:
That’s why we’re here: To find out what happened to not only this civilization but every dead civilization we’ve ever found in the universe. Because as far as we know, ours is the last one left.
Scout, along with their brother Kieran and space cat Pumpkin, are Archivists, a type of explorer intent on journeying into unknown space to try to find things, lost alien technology or clues to the death of virtually all life in the universe except their own. See, humans journeyed out into the stars to find they were the only things left alive. Millenia dead planets and their alien inhabitants are all that greeted them and Scout is determined to find some clue as to what happened so humanity can avoid the same fate. It’s a wonderful premise and it’s what initially sold me on the book. However, what I found in between the covers was something much more.
The beginning of the novel sees Scout and crew well into their mission into the stars, several light-years from their home, and already veteran Archivists. While the majority of their findings can be boiled down to the two words used to designate the files, “Hello World”, recordings and other things sent out into space or left behind on long-dead planets meant to serve as an introduction to their civilization, the crew of the Waning Crescent find their first cache containing something more. In fact, it promises knowledge of whatever it is that has caused untold civilizations to perish. The cache contains a holographic projection of Blyreena, the leader of an ancient alien civilization now extinct.
The story is told through the dueling narratives of Scout and Blyreena, or rather the ghost of Blyreena. Her recording slowly unfolds over the course of the novel, racing to a final message of hope for the universe, just as Scout races to unravel the location of additional messages from the Stelhari and keep them from the greedy hands of the corporation determined to reach it first and keep the knowledge to themselves. We get to learn of Blyreena and her life, her hopes and dreams, her failures and successes, her losses and it’s striking to me just how intimately close I was able to get to this character that wasn’t even a truly active participant in the story.
What kind of universe is that, where islands are brought back to life, but people aren’t?
There’s so much I could say about this book and what I loved about it, but I know my words will never do it justice. There’s a few more things I would kick myself for not mentioning, so I had better do that here. The queer rep is fantastic in this book. Our main character is non-binary, another character has two fathers, etc. and none of this is given a second look in the story, as it should be. It’s entirely queer-normative and exactly what I love to see. Also, it would be hard to dislike any book that has a catstronaut in it and Pumpkin is the perfect animal friend to Scout and Kieran, loyal, fierce, and absolutely adorable.
The Last Gifts of the Universe is a stunningly beautiful meditation on loss, the grief that comes with it, and what it means to live with the knowledge that life is finite. It’s a story that I think will stick with me for a long time and imparts wisdom that, while painful to hear, was exactly what I needed. If you read one book I recommend, let it be this one.
I know it’s cliche, my dear, but all dark nights break to dawn.
That’s why we’re here: To find out what happened to not only this civilization but every dead civilization we’ve ever found in the universe. Because as far as we know, ours is the last one left.
Scout, along with their brother Kieran and space cat Pumpkin, are Archivists, a type of explorer intent on journeying into unknown space to try to find things, lost alien technology or clues to the death of virtually all life in the universe except their own. See, humans journeyed out into the stars to find they were the only things left alive. Millenia dead planets and their alien inhabitants are all that greeted them and Scout is determined to find some clue as to what happened so humanity can avoid the same fate. It’s a wonderful premise and it’s what initially sold me on the book. However, what I found in between the covers was something much more.
The beginning of the novel sees Scout and crew well into their mission into the stars, several light-years from their home, and already veteran Archivists. While the majority of their findings can be boiled down to the two words used to designate the files, “Hello World”, recordings and other things sent out into space or left behind on long-dead planets meant to serve as an introduction to their civilization, the crew of the Waning Crescent find their first cache containing something more. In fact, it promises knowledge of whatever it is that has caused untold civilizations to perish. The cache contains a holographic projection of Blyreena, the leader of an ancient alien civilization now extinct.
The story is told through the dueling narratives of Scout and Blyreena, or rather the ghost of Blyreena. Her recording slowly unfolds over the course of the novel, racing to a final message of hope for the universe, just as Scout races to unravel the location of additional messages from the Stelhari and keep them from the greedy hands of the corporation determined to reach it first and keep the knowledge to themselves. We get to learn of Blyreena and her life, her hopes and dreams, her failures and successes, her losses and it’s striking to me just how intimately close I was able to get to this character that wasn’t even a truly active participant in the story.
What kind of universe is that, where islands are brought back to life, but people aren’t?
There’s so much I could say about this book and what I loved about it, but I know my words will never do it justice. There’s a few more things I would kick myself for not mentioning, so I had better do that here. The queer rep is fantastic in this book. Our main character is non-binary, another character has two fathers, etc. and none of this is given a second look in the story, as it should be. It’s entirely queer-normative and exactly what I love to see. Also, it would be hard to dislike any book that has a catstronaut in it and Pumpkin is the perfect animal friend to Scout and Kieran, loyal, fierce, and absolutely adorable.
The Last Gifts of the Universe is a stunningly beautiful meditation on loss, the grief that comes with it, and what it means to live with the knowledge that life is finite. It’s a story that I think will stick with me for a long time and imparts wisdom that, while painful to hear, was exactly what I needed. If you read one book I recommend, let it be this one.
I know it’s cliche, my dear, but all dark nights break to dawn.
lecari's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Absolutely amazing read. I loved it.
My favourite SPSFC2 entry so far.
Great characters, really moving in parts (it made me cry!), and full of hope, too. Very cozy, heartwarming sci-fi.
My favourite SPSFC2 entry so far.
Great characters, really moving in parts (it made me cry!), and full of hope, too. Very cozy, heartwarming sci-fi.
overallshowman's review against another edition
4.0
The Last Gifts of the Universe follows Scout, an archivist who travels the cosmos for their "last gifts", which means everything that a dead world has left behind that could be proven useful for their world and its survival. They are joined by their brother Kieran and a really flashy cat I've enjoyed reading about: Pumpkin. During one of their escapades, they received a signal from a world that was wiped out hundreds (thousands?) years ago. The alien who sent it, Blyreena, leaves not just instructions about how to save the universe, but she also leaves stories of her past.
Through reading the synopsis, one would expect this book to be flashy and full of quick adventures—but really, at its heart, it's a lot more quiet and pays a lot more attention to the ideas of life and death, both for individuals and for the universe as a whole. This sounds like a book that I would love, and the only reason I'm not rating this 5-stars is because this short read was not able to hold my attention quite well. The writing is good—sometimes it tells too much—but I didn't exactly feel the high stakes that our protagonist is fighting for even if they're fighting for the good of the universe. I'm not sure if this could've been better if it were longer, but really I've enjoyed how "human" this is. The main protagonists aren't trained fighters and the story dwells more on emotions and ideas of mortality.
Overall, it's a solid debut and it will be released on April 7th! I would recommend it to readers who enjoy short and quiet space adventures (with a cat!). You don't even need to be a science fiction fan to enjoy this, and if you are, I think you'll devour this too.
I received an advanced review copy for free from BookSirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily!
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Ko-fi | Carrd
Through reading the synopsis, one would expect this book to be flashy and full of quick adventures—but really, at its heart, it's a lot more quiet and pays a lot more attention to the ideas of life and death, both for individuals and for the universe as a whole. This sounds like a book that I would love, and the only reason I'm not rating this 5-stars is because this short read was not able to hold my attention quite well. The writing is good—sometimes it tells too much—but I didn't exactly feel the high stakes that our protagonist is fighting for even if they're fighting for the good of the universe. I'm not sure if this could've been better if it were longer, but really I've enjoyed how "human" this is. The main protagonists aren't trained fighters and the story dwells more on emotions and ideas of mortality.
Overall, it's a solid debut and it will be released on April 7th! I would recommend it to readers who enjoy short and quiet space adventures (with a cat!). You don't even need to be a science fiction fan to enjoy this, and if you are, I think you'll devour this too.
I received an advanced review copy for free from BookSirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily!
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Ko-fi | Carrd
dominish_books's review against another edition
3.5
I enjoyed this one, although I feel I didn’t quite get everything out of it that I wanted to. It’s a nice, light-feeling story, although there are some darker moments in there as well. I feel that it could be a good chunk longer, and if it had another hundred or so pages detailing what happened next, I think I would have enjoyed it more. It was an interesting story and concept, so I would definitely recommend it, even if I personally wanted more from it.
chaosrayne's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so good!
This book was a surprise. It was beautiful. It’s part sci-fi epic and part slice of life. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking.
This book was a surprise. It was beautiful. It’s part sci-fi epic and part slice of life. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking.
llmacrae's review against another edition
5.0
Holy shit.
When I saw this book was released earlier this year, I was happy for another indie author to be published. Shared links where I could. But otherwise, I paid it very little attention.
After all, it was sci-fi.
And I like fantasy.
Give me dragons please and thank you. That’s my jam.
But after trying the superb Iron Truth, and having already bought The Last Gifts of The Universe to support a fellow author, I opened it one evening on a whim and started reading. “Unputdownable” is a word that’s often bandied around, but I’ve never meant it as much as I do with this book.
I’m deciding I rather like sci-fi. And I rather like finding new jams.
With that out of the way: My goodness me, I LOVE this book!
I love everything about this book. It is SO well-written, with an incredibly strong voice that grabbed me from the very first page. Brilliant characters, world-building, plot, pacing, mystery and intrigue. But the thing it does even better than all of those already brilliant things?
EMOTION.
Joy. Sadness. Fear. Anger. Frustration. Every single emotion was dialled up to eleven and I felt so many feelings reading this. All of the feelings. I cried literal tears and my other half was worried something terrible had happened to me and asked what was wrong.
I became legitimately upset when I had to sleep because I had to stop reading this. Legitimately upset when I realised there was no more left to read.
It’s just brilliant on all fronts.
Two siblings (and their cat!) are on a sort of archeological study, moving across space and visiting long-dead planets. Mostly they're retrieving and cataloguing data, technology, anything useful they can find. Our principle cast is: Scout (POV). Kieran (Scout’s brother). Pumpkin (Their cat).
The book takes you on a journey spanning the stars and the ages (and my god, Ovlan), and shines a light on all those deeply personal, emotional stories we have. How we’re connected (despite our differences). It's about life. Fear. Dreams. Hopes. Love.
People trying to do their best (I love that). People messing up. Consequences. Trust. Final words. All of it.
It sounds cheesy when I write it like that, but the book shows the right amount of reverence, humour, nihilism, that it all feels so meaningful. The humour lands. The tension feels real. The relief is palpable.
The Remnants, in particular, are terrifying.
Oh, and Pumpkin is the MVP!
For such a short book, it packs one incredible punch.
Although this comes across as an overall light-hearted read - and it is for the most part - the emotions are so strong, the descriptions vivid, and the feelings extremely real, that it kind of transcends that. It becomes something so much more, so meaningful. How it touches on grief and loss is so magical it might as well be fantasy.
I don’t know what precise flavour of jam - I mean sci-fi - this is. Cosy? Mystery? Whatever it is, I'm here for it, and I would love more.
I know I’m rambling and I apologise. This is a deeply emotional book that I loved from the first word until the last, and so my review is equally gushing and emotional and raw and a bit all over the place.
I highlighted a number of passages that resonated with me - either for how well they were written, the humour, the human connection, how meaningful it felt, or just because I rather liked it. Here are some of my favourites:
“You float in space, okay? You fall on planets.”
“We turn one long, lazy bend, and I swear to all that is good in the universe there is a noise ahead. A clatter. I do not like clatters on dead planets.”
“I pause. Pumpkin pauses. We get along on our suspicious spirits alone.”
“Pumpkin meows and walks right against my ankles, trailing a few centimetres behind so he has the head start on any escape rush towards the exit.”
“It’s so easy, when things don’t go as we’ve planned, to think that we’re a failure. To think that things will never get better.”
And, of course: “This is one.”
I highlighted plenty more of the book, but I don’t want to give away more, especially without context. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you read this and discover them for yourself!
When I saw this book was released earlier this year, I was happy for another indie author to be published. Shared links where I could. But otherwise, I paid it very little attention.
After all, it was sci-fi.
And I like fantasy.
Give me dragons please and thank you. That’s my jam.
But after trying the superb Iron Truth, and having already bought The Last Gifts of The Universe to support a fellow author, I opened it one evening on a whim and started reading. “Unputdownable” is a word that’s often bandied around, but I’ve never meant it as much as I do with this book.
I’m deciding I rather like sci-fi. And I rather like finding new jams.
With that out of the way: My goodness me, I LOVE this book!
I love everything about this book. It is SO well-written, with an incredibly strong voice that grabbed me from the very first page. Brilliant characters, world-building, plot, pacing, mystery and intrigue. But the thing it does even better than all of those already brilliant things?
EMOTION.
Joy. Sadness. Fear. Anger. Frustration. Every single emotion was dialled up to eleven and I felt so many feelings reading this. All of the feelings. I cried literal tears and my other half was worried something terrible had happened to me and asked what was wrong.
I became legitimately upset when I had to sleep because I had to stop reading this. Legitimately upset when I realised there was no more left to read.
It’s just brilliant on all fronts.
Two siblings (and their cat!) are on a sort of archeological study, moving across space and visiting long-dead planets. Mostly they're retrieving and cataloguing data, technology, anything useful they can find. Our principle cast is: Scout (POV). Kieran (Scout’s brother). Pumpkin (Their cat).
The book takes you on a journey spanning the stars and the ages (and my god, Ovlan), and shines a light on all those deeply personal, emotional stories we have. How we’re connected (despite our differences). It's about life. Fear. Dreams. Hopes. Love.
People trying to do their best (I love that). People messing up. Consequences. Trust. Final words. All of it.
It sounds cheesy when I write it like that, but the book shows the right amount of reverence, humour, nihilism, that it all feels so meaningful. The humour lands. The tension feels real. The relief is palpable.
The Remnants, in particular, are terrifying.
Oh, and Pumpkin is the MVP!
For such a short book, it packs one incredible punch.
Although this comes across as an overall light-hearted read - and it is for the most part - the emotions are so strong, the descriptions vivid, and the feelings extremely real, that it kind of transcends that. It becomes something so much more, so meaningful. How it touches on grief and loss is so magical it might as well be fantasy.
I don’t know what precise flavour of jam - I mean sci-fi - this is. Cosy? Mystery? Whatever it is, I'm here for it, and I would love more.
I know I’m rambling and I apologise. This is a deeply emotional book that I loved from the first word until the last, and so my review is equally gushing and emotional and raw and a bit all over the place.
I highlighted a number of passages that resonated with me - either for how well they were written, the humour, the human connection, how meaningful it felt, or just because I rather liked it. Here are some of my favourites:
“You float in space, okay? You fall on planets.”
“We turn one long, lazy bend, and I swear to all that is good in the universe there is a noise ahead. A clatter. I do not like clatters on dead planets.”
“I pause. Pumpkin pauses. We get along on our suspicious spirits alone.”
“Pumpkin meows and walks right against my ankles, trailing a few centimetres behind so he has the head start on any escape rush towards the exit.”
“It’s so easy, when things don’t go as we’ve planned, to think that we’re a failure. To think that things will never get better.”
And, of course: “This is one.”
I highlighted plenty more of the book, but I don’t want to give away more, especially without context. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you read this and discover them for yourself!
bory's review against another edition
4.0
For such a short little book, The Last Gifts of the Universe packs quite a punch. It's funny, it's endearing, it has good action, and it's really, really sad. Not gonna lie, I shed a tear at one point. But it's also uplifting, and hopeful, and ends in a good place.
The characters are great; Pumpkin is the MVP, obviously.
My sole issue is that, like similar books (e.g., Falling Dark by Tom Lloyd), the author choses to leave it open-ended. I crave closure and resolution, and there isn't one here, not really.
Overall, I liked the book and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another novel by Rory August in future.
The characters are great; Pumpkin is the MVP, obviously.
My sole issue is that, like similar books (e.g., Falling Dark by Tom Lloyd), the author choses to leave it open-ended. I crave closure and resolution, and there isn't one here, not really.
Overall, I liked the book and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another novel by Rory August in future.