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A review by hollymbryan
The Vanishing Spark of Dusk by Sara Baysinger
4.0
I was really excited to hear about this book when Entangled Teen began teasing it as a forthcoming release, because I just love science fiction. SFF has been one of my top two favorite genres (the other being historical fiction) for as long as I can remember. Throw in aliens and new planets to discover, and I’m there! So I jumped at the chance to read this one.
I will say there are things I did like and things I didn’t like, but the good definitely outweighs the bad on balance, hence the 4-star rating. I’m not usually one to give content warnings or trigger warnings, but I would say that this is probably best enjoyed by older (or more mature) teens, due to some of the themes and scenes. There is one scene around 10% or so that was completely unexpected - at least to me - and absolutely heart-wrenching, so be forewarned. Also, since the main topic of the book is slavery, it may be difficult for some to read. The scenes that you may call “sexual” are not really explicit, but there are sexual themes that go along with the slavery aspect.
Okay, all that said: let’s discuss the few things I didn’t like first. These may seem nitpicky to some, but as someone who really enjoys and reads a lot of science fiction, these are issues that are relatively common, especially for an author who’s not immersed in the genre. First, there are all kinds of aliens in the book - which I normally love! However, every single species, from many different planets, is humanoid - they basically all look just like humans, with small differences like orange skin or being 8-feet tall and the like. I grant you that it’s extra challenging to write about aliens that *aren’t* humanoid, but that’s kind of the point, right? It’s pretty hard to believe that there are all these other planets with many species out there in the universe and ... they’re all just like us. Down to wearing clothes and shoes that look just like our clothes and shoes, for example. It’s just...I wish there were more variety on this front. Second, I found it rather unbelievable that all of these different species can communicate with one another like the instant they meet. I understand that Lark has been taught to speak and read at least some of the Tavdorian language by an escaped slave, but how does she communicate with the other slaves once she’s taken to Tavdora? Surely all the slaves don’t speak *English*? And if they’re speaking Tavdorian, we’re to believe she’s actually perfectly fluent in the language? One conversation that struck me in this regard was with a non-Tavdorian, a slave named Bram, who’s talking about compassion for others and the like, and all I could think was, did the escaped slave really teach her the word for “compassion”? It’s just a little unbelievable. So you really have to have the willing suspension of disbelief when reading this. I tried not to let it bother me, but I did want to make sure I point it out!
Now, on to what I did like! Ms. Baysinger’s writing is fantastic, and I have already purchased her self-published debut, Black Tiger, to read soon. I would also definitely pick up another book in this world, should she turn this into a series or write a companion novel to this one. The characters were all really well-drawn, and there were a fair amount of them to keep track of (which is something I like). Each character was distinctive and you could quickly associate them with their characteristics when they showed up on the page (eg, Zimri - evil and cold). Kalen is a hot alien, which is always a plus :) And Lark was a good main character, someone you can definitely root for. She’s naive at the beginning, and the circumstances leading to her capture are heartbreaking, but she grows as the novel progresses and it’s fun to see her come into her strength. In addition to the characters, the world-building is great; I could see the city of Neket in my mind, visualizing the violet waters of the ocean there. There is also intrigue, rebels, “space pirates,” evil slave traders, and slaves yearning and scheming to set themselves free, which makes for a great story!
Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Vanishing Spark of Dusk, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA science fiction, or someone who wants to give it a try but isn’t quite ready for “hard” sci-fi. There’s also adventure and romance, so there’s really something for everyone! I liked the emphasis on overcoming stereotypes we have about others, whether they be aliens or, in our world, someone of a different race or religion, and I think it’s a positive theme for young adult readers. If the summary interests you, I encourage you to go for it and give this book a chance! I think you’ll be surprised at how much you enjoy reading about alien beings, even if they have become our new overlords on Earth :)
Thanks so much to YA Reads and Entangled Teen for including me on the blog tour, and to Sara Baysinger for a great story!
Rating: 4 out-of-this-universe stars!
Disclosure: I received an early e-copy of this book from Entangled Teen for purposes of this blog tour. This review is written voluntarily by me and is my honest rating and review of the book.
I will say there are things I did like and things I didn’t like, but the good definitely outweighs the bad on balance, hence the 4-star rating. I’m not usually one to give content warnings or trigger warnings, but I would say that this is probably best enjoyed by older (or more mature) teens, due to some of the themes and scenes. There is one scene around 10% or so that was completely unexpected - at least to me - and absolutely heart-wrenching, so be forewarned. Also, since the main topic of the book is slavery, it may be difficult for some to read. The scenes that you may call “sexual” are not really explicit, but there are sexual themes that go along with the slavery aspect.
Okay, all that said: let’s discuss the few things I didn’t like first. These may seem nitpicky to some, but as someone who really enjoys and reads a lot of science fiction, these are issues that are relatively common, especially for an author who’s not immersed in the genre. First, there are all kinds of aliens in the book - which I normally love! However, every single species, from many different planets, is humanoid - they basically all look just like humans, with small differences like orange skin or being 8-feet tall and the like. I grant you that it’s extra challenging to write about aliens that *aren’t* humanoid, but that’s kind of the point, right? It’s pretty hard to believe that there are all these other planets with many species out there in the universe and ... they’re all just like us. Down to wearing clothes and shoes that look just like our clothes and shoes, for example. It’s just...I wish there were more variety on this front. Second, I found it rather unbelievable that all of these different species can communicate with one another like the instant they meet. I understand that Lark has been taught to speak and read at least some of the Tavdorian language by an escaped slave, but how does she communicate with the other slaves once she’s taken to Tavdora? Surely all the slaves don’t speak *English*? And if they’re speaking Tavdorian, we’re to believe she’s actually perfectly fluent in the language? One conversation that struck me in this regard was with a non-Tavdorian, a slave named Bram, who’s talking about compassion for others and the like, and all I could think was, did the escaped slave really teach her the word for “compassion”? It’s just a little unbelievable. So you really have to have the willing suspension of disbelief when reading this. I tried not to let it bother me, but I did want to make sure I point it out!
Now, on to what I did like! Ms. Baysinger’s writing is fantastic, and I have already purchased her self-published debut, Black Tiger, to read soon. I would also definitely pick up another book in this world, should she turn this into a series or write a companion novel to this one. The characters were all really well-drawn, and there were a fair amount of them to keep track of (which is something I like). Each character was distinctive and you could quickly associate them with their characteristics when they showed up on the page (eg, Zimri - evil and cold). Kalen is a hot alien, which is always a plus :) And Lark was a good main character, someone you can definitely root for. She’s naive at the beginning, and the circumstances leading to her capture are heartbreaking, but she grows as the novel progresses and it’s fun to see her come into her strength. In addition to the characters, the world-building is great; I could see the city of Neket in my mind, visualizing the violet waters of the ocean there. There is also intrigue, rebels, “space pirates,” evil slave traders, and slaves yearning and scheming to set themselves free, which makes for a great story!
Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Vanishing Spark of Dusk, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA science fiction, or someone who wants to give it a try but isn’t quite ready for “hard” sci-fi. There’s also adventure and romance, so there’s really something for everyone! I liked the emphasis on overcoming stereotypes we have about others, whether they be aliens or, in our world, someone of a different race or religion, and I think it’s a positive theme for young adult readers. If the summary interests you, I encourage you to go for it and give this book a chance! I think you’ll be surprised at how much you enjoy reading about alien beings, even if they have become our new overlords on Earth :)
Thanks so much to YA Reads and Entangled Teen for including me on the blog tour, and to Sara Baysinger for a great story!
Rating: 4 out-of-this-universe stars!
Disclosure: I received an early e-copy of this book from Entangled Teen for purposes of this blog tour. This review is written voluntarily by me and is my honest rating and review of the book.