You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

4.03 AVERAGE


Time dilation is a mechanic I want to see a lot more in YA Sci-fi
someonetookit's profile picture

someonetookit's review

4.0

ACTUAL RATING 3.5 stars

Ok. The premise of this was intriguing. There’s space travel, intrigue, cute boys and kidnappers. A 17 year old girl takes the forefront and poops all over the abilities of most of her elders when it comes to infiltrating the Q-Net (it’s like the internet but functions across space and time). It should have been amazing! Alas I was just a tad underwhelmed. Maybe I am jaded towards YA atm, maybe I just didn’t ‘get’ it. Who knows? But here's the breakdown.

What did I love?
• The wormhole travel – So in order to traverse space, passenger vessels fold time and space in a way that can only be described as pinching it in the middle. Now this cannot be achieved unless one is at a ‘Crinkle Zone’ and there is not another body anywhere close otherwise Holy Batman, you’re gonna have issues. I really loved that Snyder made it simple to understand because there are multiple theories in existence and while I mostly understand them, I feel like the intended audience may not.

• Ming – This is Lyra’s mother and frankly she’s kind of a genius parent although also a little absent at times. Whether her daughter is giving her sass, illegally worming into the Q-net or needing emotional support, Ming is mostly available and an absolute pro at it.

• Lyra’s various commanding officers – these people do not take shit from anyone. While all are amazing, each has their own special quality. One is sarcastic and will take the piss whenever she can, another is a prickly bugger who has a heart of gold, while yet another is just friend goals and always willing to save Lyra from her dumbass self.

What wasn’t my cup of tea
• The first half having no action and then suddenly stuff happens super quickly in the last 150 pages – I understand slow burn. A LOT of people love a slow burn. Its just not my thing. And its nothing against Snyder either. I just like things being punchy.

• I’ve read the whole book (most of it twice) but I still don’t get what the hell the deal is with the damn markings – so there’s markings on a tablet and they mean stuff. Its attempted to be explained as to their significance and how they enact with the other worlds. But I’m still so damned confused about what the hell is happening that I just kind of started to skim over the bits where they were mentioned.

• The massive plot twist about the identity of ‘The Boss’ – I hate to say it but CALLED IT! It was made a little obvious from around 1/3 of the way through as to who the mystery thief was. Its quite possible that I just found it predictable because I average 100 books a year, but I mean, the crumbs were more like wholearse slices of bread.

• The emphasis that was put onto a character near the beginning and then NEVER AGAIN! – I get secondary characters; they give the reader another person onto which to cling. They provide opportunities for important dialogue. But it really kind of irks me when you deliberately include someone in a plot and then just BAM the persons gone. No one knows where or why, just gone…

So, what I’m saying is that I neither loved nor hated it instead it’s a novel that I found slightly better than average when all aspects were taken into account. It had some really good potential once it started to get to the interesting stuff and we are introduced to the Big Bad. I quite enjoyed the simplicity of the time jumps (time travels normally around the wormhole but those inside aren’t subject to its passage), it’s simplified version of a theory that has been discussed relating to space travel. While Lyra was tempestuous and argumentative, she is also super smart and sassy – I will admit however that I wanted to yell at her to just do as she’s damn well told a couple of times. Overall, it’s a book that lays some epic groundwork for further instalments in the series. I just hope they are a little better paced and a tad less predictable.

Fun, quick read. I love space fiction, so it was a no-brainer to pick this up and read it. I'll get the next one when it is released.
mysterious

Absolutely loved this!

Weltall! Ferne Welten! Archäologie! First Love! Sassy teens! Raumschiffe! Rätsel und noch unentdeckte Alienzivilisationen!
Das ist wieder wie als hätte jemand all meine Lieblingsthemen und Tropes zusammengewürfelt und Snyder hat daraus den für mich perfekten Roman geschrieben. Aber was sage ich da: ich liebe das Genre einfach. Da bin ich so leicht zu begeistern und lasse mich immer wieder gern mitreißen, zuletzt von "Honor among thieves".

"Navigating the Stars" ist ganz anders, aber dennoch mein bisheriges Highlight des Monats. Lyra Daniels ist erst 17, also hat sie ihren Eltern nichts entgegen zu setzen, als diese wegen einer archäologischen Mission den Planeten wechseln. Dank der Entdeckungen der letzten Jahrzehnte (oder Jahrhunderte) ist die Menschheit zwar im All unterwegs, aber die Reisemethode bringt auch eine Zeitdilatation mit sich. Es ist nicht das erste Mal, dass Lyra von ihren Eltern quer durchs All geschleift wird, denn diese erforschen als Archäologen die Terrakotta-Krieger, die nicht nur auf der Erde gefunden wurden, sondern überall im Weltraum, auf verschiedenen Planeten. Sie sind das einzige Anzeichen für eine Alienzivilisation (oder waren es doch Menschen? Aber wie?), und so sind die Wissenschaftler höchst gespannt und versuchen herauszufinden, was sie können. Anders als Planeten ohne Terrakotta-Armee sind sie nicht zur Besiedlung freigegeben und so ist es ein kleines, isoliertes Team, das dort ankommt.

Lyra erzählt die Geschichte recht frech. Sie ist nicht unbedingt der unbescholtene Bücherwurm, sondern vermisst ihre Freunde, die sie dank der Zeitdilatation hinter sich lassen musste: während Lyra nach ihrer Reise immer noch 17 ist, ist die Zeit im Rest des Universums weitergelaufen und ihre Freunde längst erwachsen und Jahrzehnte älter. Auf dem Schiff und dem neuen Planeten, den ihre Eltern nun untersuchen, bleibt ihr nicht viel Gesellschaft in ihrem Alter - da ist es ein guter Zufall, dass ausgerechnet der Sicherheitsjuniorofficer Niall Radcliff gutaussehend und heiß ist. Nur leider steht er nicht auf Lyras regelbrechende Art und ist anfangs ziemlich schroff.

Für mich einfach nur: Yay! Yay! Yay! Sowohl Lyra als auch das Paar an sich haben genau meinen Geschmack getroffen, auch die sehr leichte Dosierung der Romanze hier. Vor allem geht es um das archäologische Rätsel, um die Frage nach Aliens, um atemberaubend schnelle Plots voller Spannung und Gefahr und Abenteuer. Auch wenn Lyra im Mittelpunkt steht, kam sie mir nie overpowert vor, was vor allem daran liegt, dass ihre Fähigkeiten sorgfältig aufgebaut werden.

Für mich auf jeden Fall perfekt - Band 2 und 3 sind schon auf dem Weg, weil ich unbedingt wissen muss, wie es weitergeht und noch so einige Rätsel im Weltall warten.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix

I absolutely loved this book. Action packed and never a dull moment. I loved the mystery and want to know all the secrets behind the terracotta warriors on all these planets.
Lyra was an amazing character, mischievous in the best way, strong, and refuses to be ignored. She was also kind and caring and always ready to help. And she was smart. Somehow she figured everything out without it being annoying - which is a feat in itself.
Niall. Omg Niall. What a beautiful boy. While I would have loved them spending more time together in the book and having their relationship a little more of a focus of the book, It somehow seemed like the perfect amount. Not enough to take away from Lyra’s character (or showing her as dependent on him) or make the book too much about the romance. It was like a nice little seasoning on an exceptional meal. I also absolutely loved that he had faith in her and believed in her to his core. Trusted her with everything he has. It was honestly beautiful. I also loved that he let her be her, even when he would have preferred her to be safer or doing less illegal worming. He accepted her and loved her for who she is.
I am honestly so keen for the next book. I need to know how this story ends. I can’t figure out what will happen next and I can’t wait to find out.
adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious 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

Terra cotta warriors being found on different planets and a light space opera about a l33t hacker sounds right up my alley but this book just didn’t do it for me. The things that happened were all too convenient and the fact that Lyra was the only one who could solve this mystery with her computer skills but also her computer skills weren’t actually that good was too hard to believe.

This is definitely not hard sci fi, which I wasn’t expecting, and while I liked the detail about time dilation, there were also other things like gravity on other planets that didn’t make a lot of sense.

The YA romance was alright but pretty cliched. The parents being okay with some of the things that happen to their kid also makes no sense but I’m thinking that I may not be the right audience for this at all.
nickle4books's profile picture

nickle4books's review

3.5
adventurous mysterious medium-paced