Reviews

Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody, Joanne Rendell

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mdacunto_09's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

jam_i_am's review against another edition

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The French

r_happe's review against another edition

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2.0

*I received an Arc of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

The first 75% of the book was so dang slow. I would get a couple paragraphs into the chapter and my brain would wander off, wondering what it could do for more entertainment.

The authors did a great job of setting up Laterre and the atmosphere of the book. Their retelling was both original and faithful to its inspiration. However, I constantly found myself wanting more than the book was giving me. The authors established a great foundation, but they didn't build on that until the last 25% of the book! Until the end I didn't care much about the three main characters or the plot, and I found that a lot of the chapters were either too repetitive or didn't give enough new information to warrant being in the book in the first place.

Despite the rocky start, I am interested in reading book two. The last 25% of the book went by quickly and was much more interesting than the first part, so I'm holding out hope for a stronger second book.

You can find my full review here: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2019/03/29/sky-without-stars/

cats_books_and_things's review against another edition

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emotional

4.0

thebookishmutant's review against another edition

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4.0

Clocking in at almost 600 pages, Sky Without Stars isn't quite for the faint of heart, in that respect. In fact, it's part of the reason why my reading progress lagged a bit last week. But if I'm being honest, it was worth all that, and whatever it cost.

Whether or not you've read Hugo's original work, Sky Without Stars is no doubt a daring and action-packed novel. Brody and Rendell deftly delve into the history and complex societal and political structures in place on Laterre without excessive info-dumping. The writing was incredibly vivid, making you feel as though you were transported to the slums of the Frets or the glimmering palaces of the Second Estate.

Bouncing off of that point, my favorite aspect of Sky Without Stars Granted, other than the fact that there were cyborgs, droids, and interplanetary travel, it wasn't as sci-fi as I would've liked it to be, but hey, I recognize that my standards are astronomically high.

Most of the main cast I thought to be decent. The writing made their strifes understandable, but I didn't truly get attached to any of them, save for Alouette. I suppose I've got a soft spot for her since she's the guardian of a library and has a great appreciation for literature, so no surprises there. And you know how much I despise love triangles, so the one that exists between the main cast took a little bit out of my enjoyment. Not as painful as others I've read, but not quite necessary. I could've lived without it.

Overall, a fascinating and action-packed reimagining of a classic. 3.75 stars for me, rounded up to 4.