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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I really, really enjoyed this book. I’d read anything written my Maria, she paints the most incredible places with in-depth social systems and reasoning behind everything that turns something unbelievable into something that makes perfect sense. Then there’s her characters. I always love her characters, something that’s so important to me as a reader, and this book is no exception. Lyra feels so strong and real that you just can’t help but follow her as she leads the story along. Beautiful place, people and writing. Loved it.
DNF at 25%. Well, this was a mess. The world building was complicated, the plot wasn’t very compelling, and the main character was very annoying. I loved Inside Out and Outside In, but this seemed as if it wasn’t even written by the same author.
This is a really interesting concept and a great sci-fi story BUT, I believe it was self published (or small published) and would have really benefitted from a better editor. There was a lot of fluff that slowed down the pace that could have been removed and I was not a fan of all the asides and addresses to the reader. It cheapened the story in a way. And maddeningly the story was not completed so I have to read another one. Mixed feelings.
This was a really enjoyable book. The characters are all nicely developed and likable, and most of them have pretty good character development both for themselves and with others. The plot moves at a satisfying pace, not too fast but quickly enough to be engaging the entire time. I look forward to reading the next in the series!
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Maria never disappoints me.
Set in an engaging, immersive universe with carefully crafted history and science, an intriguing story that builds up over time and just absolutely brilliant characters I couldn’t help but fall in love with.
It’s a sci-fi, thriller, romance and futuristic fantasy all rolled into one and I can’t wait to see what trouble Lyra is going to get into in the next instalment.
So hurry up Maria, I’m getting impatient already!
Set in an engaging, immersive universe with carefully crafted history and science, an intriguing story that builds up over time and just absolutely brilliant characters I couldn’t help but fall in love with.
It’s a sci-fi, thriller, romance and futuristic fantasy all rolled into one and I can’t wait to see what trouble Lyra is going to get into in the next instalment.
So hurry up Maria, I’m getting impatient already!
adventurous
medium-paced
3.5 stars
I've read two other series by this author (Healer and Study), so when I saw she had started a new series I of course gave it a try. This time she went the route of going more YA and also switched to sci-fi instead of her usual fantasy.
While I still overall enjoyed the plot/characters, I'm not sure the world building was quite as effective. The only thing that really stood out as being solidly not of this world is the concept of 'time dilation' she presents. The space crafts utilize a machine that folds physical space making a sort of short cut from point A to point B so that it takes considerably less time to traverse the universe. However when you get to your final destination that would normally take 30 years to reach, but it only takes you 10 days to get there, everyone not on the ship is now 30 years older, but everyone on the ship has only aged 10 days. I actually wish this concept had been further explored - imagine being a teenager forced to move with your parents for their new job, leaving all your school friends behind but you promise to keep in touch. However when you get to your new home only a week later, all your friends you left behind are now in their 30s with jobs and young kids of their own and you're still just a teenager. How crazy would that be?! That's a story I want to read about!
Anyways, back to the real story in this book - the terracotta soldiers in China (true story) in this world have been replicated on several alien planets but the how/why is unknown. Lyra's parents are archeologists so they are being sent to a new planet where some more terracotta soldiers have been found. This story has a twist I did see coming, but I liked that while some of the secrets of the alien terracotta soldiers have been revealed, not all of them had - leaving the rest of the series to have more interesting plot developments/reveals. I'll definitely pick up the next installment, but I don't necessarily know if I will be in a rush to read it.
I've read two other series by this author (Healer and Study), so when I saw she had started a new series I of course gave it a try. This time she went the route of going more YA and also switched to sci-fi instead of her usual fantasy.
While I still overall enjoyed the plot/characters, I'm not sure the world building was quite as effective. The only thing that really stood out as being solidly not of this world is the concept of 'time dilation' she presents. The space crafts utilize a machine that folds physical space making a sort of short cut from point A to point B so that it takes considerably less time to traverse the universe. However when you get to your final destination that would normally take 30 years to reach, but it only takes you 10 days to get there, everyone not on the ship is now 30 years older, but everyone on the ship has only aged 10 days. I actually wish this concept had been further explored - imagine being a teenager forced to move with your parents for their new job, leaving all your school friends behind but you promise to keep in touch. However when you get to your new home only a week later, all your friends you left behind are now in their 30s with jobs and young kids of their own and you're still just a teenager. How crazy would that be?! That's a story I want to read about!
Anyways, back to the real story in this book - the terracotta soldiers in China (true story) in this world have been replicated on several alien planets but the how/why is unknown. Lyra's parents are archeologists so they are being sent to a new planet where some more terracotta soldiers have been found. This story has a twist I did see coming, but I liked that while some of the secrets of the alien terracotta soldiers have been revealed, not all of them had - leaving the rest of the series to have more interesting plot developments/reveals. I'll definitely pick up the next installment, but I don't necessarily know if I will be in a rush to read it.
I've heard a lot about this author in the past, and always meant to read them. But I never did get the chance. When the opportunity to read this one popped up, I jumped on the chance. The science fiction aspect was what really grabbed me. I can tell you that I was not disappointed at all! In fact, now I know I've got to read the other books, not to mention that since this is the first in a series, I need to have the next book now! While this doesn't end on a cliffhanger, there are definitely things that we are waiting to see how they can be solved, and also so much more to find out about the Terra Cotta Warriors and what must be aliens that created them. We also of course need to know more about the person behind the looters, and how they are able to do what they do.
All of the characters were great. I was totally off on some of the things I suspected certain people of maybe having ulterior motives, and in the end, I didn't catch on to suspect just who one of the bad guys was, at least not until right before we found out. Lyra was a great main character, and a great narrator for the whole story. The different traditions that her friends at the planet we meet her on had created were very interesting. But when she looked back at them at the end from how things had changed and her new friendships and relationships, that was such a neat way to look at it as well. Her parents were definitely realistic seeming for that type of a family, but I also liked the security and other scientists that they interacted with, and that made up the cast of characters in the story.
The other parts I really liked had to do with both the science theories of space exploration and travel and how that would affect the age of the people traveling as well as the people the left behind. Then there was the Terra Cotta soldier storyline which definitely kept me intrigued with all the different things they found out as they uncovered the armies on each of the new planets and the symbols and arrangement of them.
Highly recommend this one, and will be putting it on my list to buy for the library where I work!
Review first published on Lisa Loves Literature.
All of the characters were great. I was totally off on some of the things I suspected certain people of maybe having ulterior motives, and in the end, I didn't catch on to suspect just who one of the bad guys was, at least not until right before we found out. Lyra was a great main character, and a great narrator for the whole story. The different traditions that her friends at the planet we meet her on had created were very interesting. But when she looked back at them at the end from how things had changed and her new friendships and relationships, that was such a neat way to look at it as well. Her parents were definitely realistic seeming for that type of a family, but I also liked the security and other scientists that they interacted with, and that made up the cast of characters in the story.
The other parts I really liked had to do with both the science theories of space exploration and travel and how that would affect the age of the people traveling as well as the people the left behind. Then there was the Terra Cotta soldier storyline which definitely kept me intrigued with all the different things they found out as they uncovered the armies on each of the new planets and the symbols and arrangement of them.
Highly recommend this one, and will be putting it on my list to buy for the library where I work!
Review first published on Lisa Loves Literature.
If at the end of the year I were to write a list of the most surprising books I had read, Navigating the Stars would be on it. I went into it expecting a fun but largely forgettable read. Instead I got my first five star read of the year.
It helps that the book has many themes which usually interest me - space travel, time dilation, archaeology, first contact, mystery, friendships and family relationships. The plot is in some ways fairly simple - this is definitely a YA book which could be read by younger teens - but both intrigue and emotion are packed into it and I found myself near tears more than once. The writing was excellent.
If I have to give a criticism, it is that the book ended too abruptly. However, the copy I have has a preview of the first chapter of the second book in the series, and I'm very glad that I decided to read it because it actually worked significantly better as an ending.
I absolutely loved this book. I started it first thing in the morning, and other than a necessary trip to the supermarket, I basically did not put the book down until I completed it late in the afternoon. If I had already possessed book two, I would certainly be picking it up straight away - as it is I ordered a copy while I was still reading book one, and I hope it arrives soon. I adored this book.
It helps that the book has many themes which usually interest me - space travel, time dilation, archaeology, first contact, mystery, friendships and family relationships. The plot is in some ways fairly simple - this is definitely a YA book which could be read by younger teens - but both intrigue and emotion are packed into it and I found myself near tears more than once. The writing was excellent.
If I have to give a criticism, it is that the book ended too abruptly. However, the copy I have has a preview of the first chapter of the second book in the series, and I'm very glad that I decided to read it because it actually worked significantly better as an ending.
I absolutely loved this book. I started it first thing in the morning, and other than a necessary trip to the supermarket, I basically did not put the book down until I completed it late in the afternoon. If I had already possessed book two, I would certainly be picking it up straight away - as it is I ordered a copy while I was still reading book one, and I hope it arrives soon. I adored this book.