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avialaeleigh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
5.0
And once again M-bot and Doomslug are my favorite characters even though both of them didn't get as much page time as I feel like they deserved.
Brade is a conundrum in my mind I hate her, but mostly because she has been brainwashed by the superiority to think that her kind, human kind, is something deserving of extinction when what Winzik is wanting to do is probably worse than what the humans had done in the third wars. At least from what I can tell the humans weren't wanting to keep hyperdrive space travel to themselves unlike Winzik and the superiority are doing. I also think that depending on how the next books go she might be one of my favorite characters and that she is much like Spensa in the fact that she was molded by those around her, in not a good way, to be the way she is, and outcast who is hated by those around her.
I also hope that we get to learn more about Alanik and her people. I also would like to know if the comment that Vapor about Alanik home planet having a colony on humans on her planet as well as her being half human has truth to it. I also just want to know more about the Cytonics and why they are the only ones that can hyperjump, cause even the Taynix (which is what Doomslug is) are a Cytonic species. I just want to know why some races have Cytonics but others don't. Like the Kitsen used to have Cytonics in the past but now they don't, but there are several species from my understanding that have never had Cytonics and I just an very curious as to why they haven't.
Also why is everyone against advanced AI and why are they so quick to attempt to destroy M-bot because he is AI? I feel like there is a huge plot point to this, but I could also be wrong.
Also why do Cytonics interfere with Taynix hyperjumping? The are both Cytonics I feel like maybe I might have missed something important there. Also why to the Taynix scream into the nowhere before hyperjumping. I don't believe that Spensa did that any other the times that she hyperjumped.
Also is there different kinds of Cytonics because Spensa can hear the "stars" calling to her but Jorgen can here the Taynix calling and I also feel like this is most likely something that is very important. Guess I'll find out in the next books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Genocide, Violence, War, Colonisation, Racism, Slavery, and Confinement
sophieamreacher's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
Not as fast paced and fun as first one but that’s mostly because it’s the second book and had to world build and build up towards the third book. I’m amazed at how complex a story the author can create.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, War, and Slavery
rinku's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
4.0
While I didn’t love Starsight as much as Skyward, it was still a great and well-crafted novel. Characters get more depth, and the world of the series is greatly expanded upon.
After the events of the first book, Spensa and her squad are struggling more than ever to fight off the Krell. By chance, she suddenly gets the opportunity to go to Starsight, the place many alien species live, including the Krell. All those different new species were so interesting and Starsight was just fascinating and vividly described. Because of this shifting focus, the political conflict between the different species is introduced which was so great. Just like this conflict, the fighting scenes with the star ships are still so dynamic and just amazing.
Towards the end, there were many reveals that just left me shocked, like the reveal that the snails are used to hyperjump or that Cuna is on Spensa’s side. It was kinda sad how Cuna accepted Spensa, even though she was a human, but Brade couldn’t, forcing Spensa to flee and leave M-Bot behind . The ending itself was so amazing as well: The Delver arrives but Spensa is able redirect him to Starsight where way more aliens live that would be hurt by it. Of course, she first thinks she failed but then she’s able to save Starsight. I especially loved the fake epilogue where everything seems well but then another chapter is behind it – and everything is not well .
There are two reasons though why I couldn’t give this book five stars like I gave <i>Skyward</i>: Firstly, this book felt too disconnected from the first one. Many characters from there only have few lines of dialogues and we don’t see any of the old settings. Secondly, some things didn’t make too much sense to me, like how no one would notice that Spensa talks to M-Bot, and some things were a bit predictable, like Spensa’s first plan failing .
Looking at the characters, there are so many that I absolutely love. I really like our main fighting squad, even though they’re not much in the focus here. Thus, it was nice to get some Jorgen POV chapters in between. I even love the non-human characters, like M-Bot or the snail. It was also interesting to see how much Spensa changed because she spends some time with the aliens.
With this mean ending, I need to know how the series will continue after Starsight – luckily, the third book and the novella collection are on their way to me right now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Death of parent and Slavery
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