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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Navigating the Stars has such a cool premise: China’s infamous terracotta warriors are discovered throughout space, and it’s a mystery as to who created them. Throw in some cool hacking, space travel, and time dilation science, and it sounds like a recipe for a great story!
But overall it’s terribly executed. The writing is juvenile and I wasn’t surprised to see in the acknowledgements that it was beta-read by Lynette Noni, because it’s just as inelegant and the sentence structure as terribly constructed as her Medoran Chronicles books. There’s literally a sentence where Lyra “nods importantly” (what the fuck) and another where “liquid sadness” drops down her face. Just say she’s fucking crying!
Lyra’s narration is incredibly juvenile and she reads as a 13 year old, not the 17 that she’s purported to be. She addresses the reader directly at multiple points throughout the text which would be fine, if she remotely sounded like any 17 year old I’d ever met in fiction or the real world. She awkwardly and inelegantly overexplains everything, as if the reader didn’t have two brain cells to smash together and fill in the blanks.
Lyra’s relationship and the love interest himself are also cringeworthy. They have ZERO chemistry and the poorly executed enemies-to-lovers trope goes from 0 to I Would Die For You really quick. Lyra has the maturity of someone who says “hubba hubba” when they see a hot guy, yet thinks about him touching her breasts at their next makeout sesh. It’s weird and awkward to read.
Lyra’s parents were frustratingly inconsistent. They seemed to pick and choose when they cared about her, and yet their negligence is never addressed properly. Either make them the tropey absent parents or make them overbearing - just be consistent!
As for the story? There’s barely a plot to speak of and the threads that are there move at a glacial pace. I got 50% of the way through and contemplated DNFing the book as nothing had happened, and there was no indication of how the terracotta warriors were propelling the story forward.
Needless to say, I got to the end and immediately RAGED that I’d wasted so much time on this story that went nowhere.
I wouldn’t continue with the sequel if you paid me.
Navigating the Stars has such a cool premise: China’s infamous terracotta warriors are discovered throughout space, and it’s a mystery as to who created them. Throw in some cool hacking, space travel, and time dilation science, and it sounds like a recipe for a great story!
But overall it’s terribly executed. The writing is juvenile and I wasn’t surprised to see in the acknowledgements that it was beta-read by Lynette Noni, because it’s just as inelegant and the sentence structure as terribly constructed as her Medoran Chronicles books. There’s literally a sentence where Lyra “nods importantly” (what the fuck) and another where “liquid sadness” drops down her face. Just say she’s fucking crying!
Lyra’s narration is incredibly juvenile and she reads as a 13 year old, not the 17 that she’s purported to be. She addresses the reader directly at multiple points throughout the text which would be fine, if she remotely sounded like any 17 year old I’d ever met in fiction or the real world. She awkwardly and inelegantly overexplains everything, as if the reader didn’t have two brain cells to smash together and fill in the blanks.
Lyra’s relationship and the love interest himself are also cringeworthy. They have ZERO chemistry and the poorly executed enemies-to-lovers trope goes from 0 to I Would Die For You really quick. Lyra has the maturity of someone who says “hubba hubba” when they see a hot guy, yet thinks about him touching her breasts at their next makeout sesh. It’s weird and awkward to read.
Lyra’s parents were frustratingly inconsistent. They seemed to pick and choose when they cared about her, and yet their negligence is never addressed properly. Either make them the tropey absent parents or make them overbearing - just be consistent!
As for the story? There’s barely a plot to speak of and the threads that are there move at a glacial pace. I got 50% of the way through and contemplated DNFing the book as nothing had happened, and there was no indication of how the terracotta warriors were propelling the story forward.
Needless to say, I got to the end and immediately RAGED that I’d wasted so much time on this story that went nowhere.
I wouldn’t continue with the sequel if you paid me.
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-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
The first book in a series, this was a great setup book. A little slow to get into, but the action stepped up towards the end and really kept those pages turning.
Having the book centred around archaeological discoveries on other planets and the part played by the Terracotta Warriors of ancient China made this different from other space books.
Lyra is a wonderful role model for the book's intended young adult audience as she "Refuses To Be Ignored" and is brave and clever, yet also vulnerable.
Having the book centred around archaeological discoveries on other planets and the part played by the Terracotta Warriors of ancient China made this different from other space books.
Lyra is a wonderful role model for the book's intended young adult audience as she "Refuses To Be Ignored" and is brave and clever, yet also vulnerable.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked it up but got hooked quickly. Great fun!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I am mostly biased when it comes to Maria V Snyder. Because I love her Study series. SO essentially I plan to read all her books. This one isn't an exception.
Pros
- I love the world. It's different, cool, interesting, and sci-fi-y in its own way. There's something intricate about the world but it's also mindboggling.
- This one has parents and a younger protagonist than the other MVS books. Or it seems like it.
- The plot. There's something to it. I kind of guessed the twist, but it was still unexpected at the same time. It was more that I had hoped it wouldn't be that way.
- Lyra is a different protagonist to MSV's usual main characters. She's confident, but not as confident as MSV's other characters. This makes her feel younger than MSV's other characters.
- I like that MSV maintains the character's relationships. It's not like some books where friends are mentioned but never ever mentioned again after they leave the main scene.
- It's definitely taking Chinese inspiration to a whole new level. This was interesting as much as it felt really weird.
- Love that it's inspired by the terracotta warriors!!
Cons
- Unfortunately there are more cons than I wanted. Compared to The Eyes of Tamburah, this book is very un-MSV like. It's very different from her usual books so I was really caught offguard. (But I also whinged slighted about The Eyes of Tamburah being so like MSV.) This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely stood out.
- Lyra was hard to relate to because she comes across as younger than MSV's usual characters. I was expecting someone like Yelena (Study Series) or even Opal (Glass series) or even Shyla (The Eyes of Tamburah). But she's not like that. She feels younger, reads a bit like a teen. This is interesting because there have been younger protags in her other books. But when I think about it (I still haven't read Inside Out/Outside in though) all her other characters have suffered in some way before hand. Lyra, hasn't. She's only suffered what I like to call 'first world problems' compared to Yelena, Opal, and Shyla. So it makes sense that she seems sheltered, whiny, and more teen like than her fellow MSV-ites.
- The world is massive, and as such I got somewhat confused by the age timeline. I mean I love the the idea. And I have watched Interstellar which is a movie love with all my heart for its complex storyline. But I am still mind-boggled by the age of various characters. I think MSV has done a valid job with the crinkle and interstellar travel.
- Writing. I miss her other writing. This book was definitely bogged down a bit by the plot, worldbuilding, characters, and other stuff. Something was missing. And part of me feels a bit of MSV was missing! Which doesn't make sense at all.
- Love interest. I swear, I wanted to like him. I couldn't. He kept being referred to by Lyra as a 'man', but he felt just as juvenile as Lyra, and it didn't seem right for Lyra's character to call him 'this man'. The relationship between them two? I also wasn't feeling it as much as I wanted to. Normally I would be whooping it on by the end (as is what happened in The Eyes of Tamburah). It's weird that I feel there was more chemistry between Lyra and the antagonist! But maybe I'm being pessimistic.
Overall
I will be reading on, because this is MSV. Plus the world is fascinating enough for me to want to see more of it. I'm hoping everything will smooth out in the next book and that I might feel the relationship between Lyra and her love interest more.
Pros
- I love the world. It's different, cool, interesting, and sci-fi-y in its own way. There's something intricate about the world but it's also mindboggling.
- This one has parents and a younger protagonist than the other MVS books. Or it seems like it.
- The plot. There's something to it. I kind of guessed the twist, but it was still unexpected at the same time. It was more that I had hoped it wouldn't be that way.
- Lyra is a different protagonist to MSV's usual main characters. She's confident, but not as confident as MSV's other characters. This makes her feel younger than MSV's other characters.
- I like that MSV maintains the character's relationships. It's not like some books where friends are mentioned but never ever mentioned again after they leave the main scene.
- It's definitely taking Chinese inspiration to a whole new level. This was interesting as much as it felt really weird.
- Love that it's inspired by the terracotta warriors!!
Cons
- Unfortunately there are more cons than I wanted. Compared to The Eyes of Tamburah, this book is very un-MSV like. It's very different from her usual books so I was really caught offguard. (But I also whinged slighted about The Eyes of Tamburah being so like MSV.) This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely stood out.
- Lyra was hard to relate to because she comes across as younger than MSV's usual characters. I was expecting someone like Yelena (Study Series) or even Opal (Glass series) or even Shyla (The Eyes of Tamburah). But she's not like that. She feels younger, reads a bit like a teen. This is interesting because there have been younger protags in her other books. But when I think about it (I still haven't read Inside Out/Outside in though) all her other characters have suffered in some way before hand. Lyra, hasn't. She's only suffered what I like to call 'first world problems' compared to Yelena, Opal, and Shyla. So it makes sense that she seems sheltered, whiny, and more teen like than her fellow MSV-ites.
- The world is massive, and as such I got somewhat confused by the age timeline. I mean I love the the idea. And I have watched Interstellar which is a movie love with all my heart for its complex storyline. But I am still mind-boggled by the age of various characters. I think MSV has done a valid job with the crinkle and interstellar travel.
- Writing. I miss her other writing. This book was definitely bogged down a bit by the plot, worldbuilding, characters, and other stuff. Something was missing. And part of me feels a bit of MSV was missing! Which doesn't make sense at all.
- Love interest. I swear, I wanted to like him. I couldn't. He kept being referred to by Lyra as a 'man', but he felt just as juvenile as Lyra, and it didn't seem right for Lyra's character to call him 'this man'. The relationship between them two? I also wasn't feeling it as much as I wanted to. Normally I would be whooping it on by the end (as is what happened in The Eyes of Tamburah). It's weird that I feel there was more chemistry between Lyra and the antagonist! But maybe I'm being pessimistic.
Overall
I will be reading on, because this is MSV. Plus the world is fascinating enough for me to want to see more of it. I'm hoping everything will smooth out in the next book and that I might feel the relationship between Lyra and her love interest more.
I loved that Lyra was outspoken, insanely intelligent and has a beautiful relationship with her parents ( dunno this was just really refreshing for a 17 year old protagonist). This book was in first person and Lyra talked directly to the reader, something that I sometimes don’t overly enjoy but in this case found very entertaining. The book is centred on Lyra and her parents hunting down Terracotta warriors on planets across the universe. I do love Chinese history so I’m really excited to see where this aspect of the plot takes us in book two and three, I want more terracotta warriors! Of course we have a love interest and it’s funny/ interesting to watch that unfold. The book was all action forward the end and didn’t disappoint. I’m really excited to read book two this month, just in time for book three to be realised in early December!
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