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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
This was a decent Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones sort of novel set in space. I'm a sucker for those kind of books.
The narrator was weird, though. Heavy, put on accents that made some characters seem like clowns. The love interest sounded like a cockney villain.
The narrator was weird, though. Heavy, put on accents that made some characters seem like clowns. The love interest sounded like a cockney villain.
I really liked Navigating The Stars! I was pretty excited about it, because I really like Maria V Snyder, and I thought it would be fun to read something that's not only sci-fi but set in space!
I liked Lyra, and even though she got herself into a lot of trouble, she really did like worming. And it seemed like she had a knack for it too, which will be a good thing considering how things ended up for her. Well, maybe. It's hard to say with everything that happened at the end of the book. Especially with how people who worm end up having their own style, which seems like a signature to me. I honestly don't want to give anything away but certain things will make worming challenging for her.
One thing I really liked was how travel between planets affected aging. It's strange how Lyra had normal aging while going from Singhi to Eulan, but the friends she left behind aged decades. They went to college, got married, had families, got jobs...all while she traveled from one planet to the next, and had no major life changes during that time. I can't imagine leaving friends knowing they'd live their whole lives while I stayed the same. I found myself wanting to see that explored a little more but there was enough going on, and it wasn't super important what with shadow blobs and disintegrating hearts and looters trying to kill her and then take her away once they realize she's not really dead from when they tried to kill her the first time.
I knew, once Niall was introduced, that he and Lyra would end up together. I've read a few of her series, so it wasn't hard to figure to out who the love interest was. It didn't happen right away, which was nice, and it was something that took a while to happen. I knew it would eventually, and I was a lot more interested in everything else going on. I don't feel invested in them as a couple yet, but they might grow on me as the series goes on.
There were a couple of things that took me out of the book.
The first is the fact that Lyra is 17. I kept forgetting that she wasn't 18 yet, but then her age would be mentioned, and I was startled by how young she was. She seemed more in her early 20's than 17, at least to me. She was also on her own a lot, which I get because her parents had a lot to do work-wise.
And the other thing that took me out of things was the narration. Just a little, but enough to take me out of the story. Don't get me wrong, Gabra Zackman is a great narrator. If I see she's narrated something, I will probably pick it up. And she's a big reason I went with the audio book for this one. But the voices reminded me a lot of the ones from her Study series, and it was a little strange to be so reminded of characters from a completely different series.
On an unrelated note, I have no idea if I'm spelling any names correctly, because I listened. I do feel a little bad about that, because I want to spell them correctly. You'd think the planet names would be mentioned somewhere but maybe I'm not looking hard enough.
The warriors were interesting, and considering she didn't want to be an archaeologist like her parents, she spent a lot of time around the warriors. She certainly figured out a lot of things, but security seemed to be what she was really interested in. I don't know if there's a way for her to merge those two, but if anyone could, it would be Lyra. Assuming she wanted to do both. But she's young, and she has a lot of time to decide.
My Rating: 4 stars. I really liked Navigating The Stars, and I can't wait to see what happens next, but there were a couple of things that took me out of the story .
I liked Lyra, and even though she got herself into a lot of trouble, she really did like worming. And it seemed like she had a knack for it too, which will be a good thing considering how things ended up for her. Well, maybe. It's hard to say with everything that happened at the end of the book. Especially with how people who worm end up having their own style, which seems like a signature to me. I honestly don't want to give anything away but certain things will make worming challenging for her.
One thing I really liked was how travel between planets affected aging. It's strange how Lyra had normal aging while going from Singhi to Eulan, but the friends she left behind aged decades. They went to college, got married, had families, got jobs...all while she traveled from one planet to the next, and had no major life changes during that time. I can't imagine leaving friends knowing they'd live their whole lives while I stayed the same. I found myself wanting to see that explored a little more but there was enough going on, and it wasn't super important what with shadow blobs and disintegrating hearts and looters trying to kill her and then take her away once they realize she's not really dead from when they tried to kill her the first time.
I knew, once Niall was introduced, that he and Lyra would end up together. I've read a few of her series, so it wasn't hard to figure to out who the love interest was. It didn't happen right away, which was nice, and it was something that took a while to happen. I knew it would eventually, and I was a lot more interested in everything else going on. I don't feel invested in them as a couple yet, but they might grow on me as the series goes on.
There were a couple of things that took me out of the book.
The first is the fact that Lyra is 17. I kept forgetting that she wasn't 18 yet, but then her age would be mentioned, and I was startled by how young she was. She seemed more in her early 20's than 17, at least to me. She was also on her own a lot, which I get because her parents had a lot to do work-wise.
And the other thing that took me out of things was the narration. Just a little, but enough to take me out of the story. Don't get me wrong, Gabra Zackman is a great narrator. If I see she's narrated something, I will probably pick it up. And she's a big reason I went with the audio book for this one. But the voices reminded me a lot of the ones from her Study series, and it was a little strange to be so reminded of characters from a completely different series.
On an unrelated note, I have no idea if I'm spelling any names correctly, because I listened. I do feel a little bad about that, because I want to spell them correctly. You'd think the planet names would be mentioned somewhere but maybe I'm not looking hard enough.
The warriors were interesting, and considering she didn't want to be an archaeologist like her parents, she spent a lot of time around the warriors. She certainly figured out a lot of things, but security seemed to be what she was really interested in. I don't know if there's a way for her to merge those two, but if anyone could, it would be Lyra. Assuming she wanted to do both. But she's young, and she has a lot of time to decide.
My Rating: 4 stars. I really liked Navigating The Stars, and I can't wait to see what happens next, but there were a couple of things that took me out of the story .
Oh. My. Stars. One of my new favorite books for sure. And there's a sequel coming out?! I. Cannot. Wait.
To be honest, literally the only thing that convinced me to buy this book was the author. The description didn't interest me overmuch, but I've read pretty much everything else by Maria V Snyder so I decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did.
Snyder is a great story teller and I'm a fan of books with strong female characters - even if sometimes they might seem a bit too impressive. Especially for a teenager.
I really enjoyed the family dynamic and the mystery of the terracotta warriors. Even though the book ended with many more questions to be answered, there was enough resolution that I didn't feel cheated. Although I will be waiting very impatiently for the next instalment.
I hope she's a quick writer ;)
Snyder is a great story teller and I'm a fan of books with strong female characters - even if sometimes they might seem a bit too impressive. Especially for a teenager.
I really enjoyed the family dynamic and the mystery of the terracotta warriors. Even though the book ended with many more questions to be answered, there was enough resolution that I didn't feel cheated. Although I will be waiting very impatiently for the next instalment.
I hope she's a quick writer ;)
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
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
You know, this is probably closer to 4 stars than 5 but this year has been pretty rubbish with reading, with multiple slumps and discovering more books to intensely dislike than I have in a long time. SO when I find an unputdownable, engaging and enjoyable read, you best bet I'm giving it 5 stars and not squabbling over the pedantic details.
I won't go on and on about what I enjoyed about this book cause I'm bad at that so here are the main points:
- Lyra; loved this protagonist. I found her to be quite genuine. Something about her voice fit her age without being unrelateable.
- The ship; I was down for this ship. Was it predictable? Yes. Was it great? Also yes.
- The plot; desperate to know more! I need more answers. Couple with this, the pacing was great, just enough info release to keep you wanting more without feeling frustrated.
I must say the first few chapters were a tough slog due purely to the lingo. Trying to learn about this intricate new world (especially when it involved space and time travel ish) is a lot. But once you fall into the groove of the world, the pages just fly.
I won't go on and on about what I enjoyed about this book cause I'm bad at that so here are the main points:
- Lyra; loved this protagonist. I found her to be quite genuine. Something about her voice fit her age without being unrelateable.
- The ship; I was down for this ship. Was it predictable? Yes. Was it great? Also yes.
- The plot; desperate to know more! I need more answers. Couple with this, the pacing was great, just enough info release to keep you wanting more without feeling frustrated.
I must say the first few chapters were a tough slog due purely to the lingo. Trying to learn about this intricate new world (especially when it involved space and time travel ish) is a lot. But once you fall into the groove of the world, the pages just fly.
Interesting but I kind of lost my motivation. The combined history/archaeology/space travel though was very enjoyable.
This book is so good! Maria V. Snyder is SUCH a talented author. She really transports you into her fantasy worlds. I loved the narration from the main character and the character growth. The plot was interesting and well paced. The setting and attention to detail was immaculate (maybe. If I didn’t understand weird time relativity I just ignored it lol). I’ll add this to the list of my fav space adventures with Illuminae Files and Cinder.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated