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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
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
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.
A strong debut that reminds of me Studio Ghibli’s films, Rebel Skies tells the tale of Kurara, a young servant girl who later becomes a Crafter on a flying ship to hunt wild shikigami in a world that also has sky cities and paper magic.
There are so many things that I love in this book. The first of which is obviously the amazing magic system and the blending of Asian culture and mythology. We’ve Crafters who are born with the ability to bring paper to life, and shikigami which are conjured paper beings that can potentially go wild. Though we don’t learn entirely of the rules to the paper magic, I think its introduction here allows the reader a solid enough understanding while leaving room for future learning and for the magic system to grow (both of which I’m hoping for as Rebel Skies will be part of a trilogy!).
Another aspect of the book that I love is definitely the rich imagery that brings the Rebel Skies world to life. Every part of it feels magical here and you can easily tell how much love and effort has gone into the worldbuilding. However, I’m sad to write that this doesn’t extend to the characters.
Although we’ve a wide cast of characters with distinct personalities and characteristics, they, unfortunately, don’t develop or change much throughout the story. The characters and consequently, the relationships between them, fall flat in comparison to the lush worldbuilding, acting much like devices just to bring the story forward. Sure, I did feel for them, especially when it came to the unexpected revelations and betrayals, but other than that, I didn’t care much for them. Nevertheless, there are still two other books left in this trilogy so I hope that the characters will grow, become more complex and have more depth and realism later on.
As mentioned earlier, Rebel Skies is a strong debut. It has potential to be better with its upcoming sequels and I have high hopes for the sequels. If you’re a fan of Asian-inspired fantasy, I’d recommend giving this book a read, though definitely keep in mind that this book is targeted towards teens/the younger side of the Young Adult category so the ‘sound’ of the narrative reflects that.
A strong debut that reminds of me Studio Ghibli’s films, Rebel Skies tells the tale of Kurara, a young servant girl who later becomes a Crafter on a flying ship to hunt wild shikigami in a world that also has sky cities and paper magic.
There are so many things that I love in this book. The first of which is obviously the amazing magic system and the blending of Asian culture and mythology. We’ve Crafters who are born with the ability to bring paper to life, and shikigami which are conjured paper beings that can potentially go wild. Though we don’t learn entirely of the rules to the paper magic, I think its introduction here allows the reader a solid enough understanding while leaving room for future learning and for the magic system to grow (both of which I’m hoping for as Rebel Skies will be part of a trilogy!).
Another aspect of the book that I love is definitely the rich imagery that brings the Rebel Skies world to life. Every part of it feels magical here and you can easily tell how much love and effort has gone into the worldbuilding. However, I’m sad to write that this doesn’t extend to the characters.
Although we’ve a wide cast of characters with distinct personalities and characteristics, they, unfortunately, don’t develop or change much throughout the story. The characters and consequently, the relationships between them, fall flat in comparison to the lush worldbuilding, acting much like devices just to bring the story forward. Sure, I did feel for them, especially when it came to the unexpected revelations and betrayals, but other than that, I didn’t care much for them. Nevertheless, there are still two other books left in this trilogy so I hope that the characters will grow, become more complex and have more depth and realism later on.
As mentioned earlier, Rebel Skies is a strong debut. It has potential to be better with its upcoming sequels and I have high hopes for the sequels. If you’re a fan of Asian-inspired fantasy, I’d recommend giving this book a read, though definitely keep in mind that this book is targeted towards teens/the younger side of the Young Adult category so the ‘sound’ of the narrative reflects that.
Thank you so much Pansing for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review! Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin is available at all good bookstores.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Abandonment
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
slow-paced
In a Nutshell: Outstanding magic, superb world-building, flat character building, abrupt cliffhanger end.
Story:
Kurara, a servant on board the Midori, doesn’t remember much of her life prior to her life on this flying ship. When she is spotted turning paper in magical creatures, Himura, a skilled Crafter, takes her under his wing to train her for hunting shikigami – magical paper spirits who are sought after by the Princess Tsukimi. However, things aren’t as they appear and soon Kurara finds herself questioning everything around her – the people, the shikigami, and even herself.
This is the first book in a planned trilogy.
Where the book worked for me:
😍 The book falls under what is called ‘silkpunk” – an SFF blend genre with elements of East-Asian mythology – and it does perfect justice to its genre. Japanese words and components of their folklore add authenticity and depth to the plot. There is a glossary at the end to help with the terms.
😍 The author’s Goodreads bio says that she loves worldbuilding more than anything. This is very apparent in the book. Flying ships, sky cities, paper magic - every element feels wonderfully fantastical, as if we have entered a whole other realm. This would work well as a Studio Ghibli movie.
😍 Separate point dedicated to paper magic! We all have heard of Origami but to take that simple concept of paper folding and create an entire plot revolving around paper magic is just awesome. I loved every mystical element in the story. (See the outstanding cover art for a glimpse of paper magic!)
Where the book could have worked better for me:
☹ The characters somehow don’t end up making a place in your heart. Most of them feel quite flat. The secondary characters are sorely underutilised. (Maybe because they are in reserve for the two planned sequels.) There are also too many characters but not enough of a back story.
☹ There is no closure at all. In multi-book series, there is always at least one story track closed well even if there is a cliffhanger ending. But this book creates multiple story arcs and closes none.
☹ The writing style felt, for the lack of a better word, clunky. The words don’t flow smoothly and my attention kept wandering away because of the wordiness and bland characters.
This is still a pretty good debut, and with more experience, the above problems will be ironed out. This isn’t a typical “chosen one” kind of story, but it looks like that is the direction the sequels will take. Time will reveal more about this. Meanwhile, this is supposed to be a teen fantasy adventure so I recommend it only for its target age group (13-18 years).
3.25 stars from me.
My thanks to Walker Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “Rebel Skies”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
Story:
Kurara, a servant on board the Midori, doesn’t remember much of her life prior to her life on this flying ship. When she is spotted turning paper in magical creatures, Himura, a skilled Crafter, takes her under his wing to train her for hunting shikigami – magical paper spirits who are sought after by the Princess Tsukimi. However, things aren’t as they appear and soon Kurara finds herself questioning everything around her – the people, the shikigami, and even herself.
This is the first book in a planned trilogy.
Where the book worked for me:
😍 The book falls under what is called ‘silkpunk” – an SFF blend genre with elements of East-Asian mythology – and it does perfect justice to its genre. Japanese words and components of their folklore add authenticity and depth to the plot. There is a glossary at the end to help with the terms.
😍 The author’s Goodreads bio says that she loves worldbuilding more than anything. This is very apparent in the book. Flying ships, sky cities, paper magic - every element feels wonderfully fantastical, as if we have entered a whole other realm. This would work well as a Studio Ghibli movie.
😍 Separate point dedicated to paper magic! We all have heard of Origami but to take that simple concept of paper folding and create an entire plot revolving around paper magic is just awesome. I loved every mystical element in the story. (See the outstanding cover art for a glimpse of paper magic!)
Where the book could have worked better for me:
☹ The characters somehow don’t end up making a place in your heart. Most of them feel quite flat. The secondary characters are sorely underutilised. (Maybe because they are in reserve for the two planned sequels.) There are also too many characters but not enough of a back story.
☹ There is no closure at all. In multi-book series, there is always at least one story track closed well even if there is a cliffhanger ending. But this book creates multiple story arcs and closes none.
☹ The writing style felt, for the lack of a better word, clunky. The words don’t flow smoothly and my attention kept wandering away because of the wordiness and bland characters.
This is still a pretty good debut, and with more experience, the above problems will be ironed out. This isn’t a typical “chosen one” kind of story, but it looks like that is the direction the sequels will take. Time will reveal more about this. Meanwhile, this is supposed to be a teen fantasy adventure so I recommend it only for its target age group (13-18 years).
3.25 stars from me.
My thanks to Walker Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “Rebel Skies”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes