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jennog's review against another edition
2.0
Thanks to Netgalley for this read.
This was a bit hard to get into. I was much more into Nedda’s real life vs. her sci-fi world. The sci-fi works threw me off every time when I was just getting into the other storyline. I ended up skimming a lot of scientific description to get to the plot.
Nedda’s real life story gave me A Wrinkle in Time vibes regarding her dad being a type of mad scientist and her following in his footsteps. I get that the sci-fi fantasy relates to her real life but I felt ambivalent about it.
I honestly liked Betheen’s character more than the others. I want to know more about her.
Overall, it was heartwarming even amongst the science themes.
This was a bit hard to get into. I was much more into Nedda’s real life vs. her sci-fi world. The sci-fi works threw me off every time when I was just getting into the other storyline. I ended up skimming a lot of scientific description to get to the plot.
Nedda’s real life story gave me A Wrinkle in Time vibes regarding her dad being a type of mad scientist and her following in his footsteps. I get that the sci-fi fantasy relates to her real life but I felt ambivalent about it.
I honestly liked Betheen’s character more than the others. I want to know more about her.
Overall, it was heartwarming even amongst the science themes.
carabee's review against another edition
5.0
What a wonderful break from the universe as it appears at present to contemplate worlds unseen. Though this book is a departure from THE BOOK OF SPECULATION in many ways, it cements Swyler as a master of speculative, imaginative fiction. As someone who isn’t a master of visualizing descriptions, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that this book gets some visual treatments, perhaps a graphic novel as well as tv/film. LIGHT FROM OTHER STARS made me want to be smarter, to invest in my sense of hope, and to answer the question of how I might be an explorer even half as brave as Nedda in my own tiny corner of the universe.
gretaslittlelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
“She was looking for light, picking it apart, trying to sense the different wavelengths, searching for the familiar… light carried thoughts and hopes, the essence of what made everyone”
A beautifully written historical sci-fi novel. Written in a split timeline, between our main character in the present day on a space craft headed towards a planet in which her and her three colleagues are going to prep for colonization, and our main character as a child, who dreams of being an astronaut, in 1986 after the challenger spacecraft explosion. The prose of this novel is so gorgeous, even among the scientific and historical scenes, which were well researched and digestible. This story explores the relationships between family members, sacrifice and loss, processing grief from every angle, and women in STEM.
This book has been on my TBR for ages, I finally grabbed it after the blurb on the front said "An absorbing, propulsive story of exploration and loss" and that was the exact type of story I needed. I wish I read this sooner, however, I'm not sure I would've enjoyed it as much. This was a little slower pace a book than I usually read, however I enjoyed it so much. I savored every word, I cried, I felt comforted, and took my time reading it. I wish I had more of this story and will definitely think of it often and reread in the future. This story would be a fantastic movie and I hope the rights get picked up.
A beautifully written historical sci-fi novel. Written in a split timeline, between our main character in the present day on a space craft headed towards a planet in which her and her three colleagues are going to prep for colonization, and our main character as a child, who dreams of being an astronaut, in 1986 after the challenger spacecraft explosion. The prose of this novel is so gorgeous, even among the scientific and historical scenes, which were well researched and digestible. This story explores the relationships between family members, sacrifice and loss, processing grief from every angle, and women in STEM.
This book has been on my TBR for ages, I finally grabbed it after the blurb on the front said "An absorbing, propulsive story of exploration and loss" and that was the exact type of story I needed. I wish I read this sooner, however, I'm not sure I would've enjoyed it as much. This was a little slower pace a book than I usually read, however I enjoyed it so much. I savored every word, I cried, I felt comforted, and took my time reading it. I wish I had more of this story and will definitely think of it often and reread in the future. This story would be a fantastic movie and I hope the rights get picked up.
pthornbury05's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great book! It took me a bit to get into it but I enjoyed it. I love space and this was a really interesting read with the intersection of space and space travel in the story. The ending felt a little bit rushed to me, but otherwise, it was a great book.
spudsimple's review against another edition
3.0
The concept and the writing in the book are great; I was a little worried going in that it would be another 'great dad, ok mom who proves herself worthy of kids love' story. Instead, it was a great story of a mother and daughter bonding in a Stranger Things type of sci-fi setting. It fell a bit short for me in the execution, as the dual timelines felt clunky at time, but by the end it hit it's groove and left me feeling satisfied.
eatyacarbs's review against another edition
5.0
Light From Other Stars is a love story - romantic & platonic, of family & of science - wrapped in historical science fiction. The story is told from so many perspectives, always coming back to Nedda to be so effortlessly cohesive.
I read this slowly. But not out of boredom. I savored every word. I went back to reread line after poetic line. This is a beautifully written story about dark & disturbing things. The sweet, childlike affection with which Nedda describes Denny made me
I read this slowly. But not out of boredom. I savored every word. I went back to reread line after poetic line. This is a beautifully written story about dark & disturbing things. The sweet, childlike affection with which Nedda describes Denny made me
jeffmauch's review against another edition
4.0
A science fiction novel told from an interesting perspective here, but told with a lot of heart. This one is a slow burn, but in a good way. It takes a while to get where the story is going and is told via present time and flashbacks, but the paced ride is perfect for the story. The story centers around an 11 year old girl who sees the space shuttle Challenger explosion as she lived close to the launching area. It affects her deeply as space exploration is her dream and her father was connected to NASA and is still working on a project related to space and time. We also see the story from the present day with our protagonist on a long range space flight to another world. The genius here is in connecting and weaving together these two very different stories. I can't go any deeper without spoiling things here. This story is unique with quiet characters that say little, but draw you into their world. This may not be for everyone, but if you enjoy science fiction novels about space travel, but are open to something with a little more feeling, this may be one for you.
capt_torrance7's review against another edition
3.0
This book took me awhile to get into. I knew from early on where the plot was going and I just wanted it to get there already, dangit! Even so, the climax was not as good as I was hoping for. I wanted to spend more time on Chawla, and more time with Betheen.
zellm's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked the science parts of this book. Swyler always does such a lovely job creating an atmospheric feel with her writing, and this book is no exception. My only critique would be that this book, up until the last 20 or so pages, is just SAD. Nothing but bad things happen and it was hard to read sometimes, although the story was ultimately a rewarding one.