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A review by azrah786
The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August
4.0
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: gun violence, injury, death, parent death, grief, swearing
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The Last Gifts of the Universe first came to my attention last year as it was the winner of the 2nd SPSFC and now having read it – albeit the traditionally published version – let me tell you, it’s a great read!
It’s cosy in the way of Becky Chambers’ books but has a nice dash of adventure as we follow a sibling duo of space archaeologists – Scout and Kieran - and their cat Pumpkin as they go on a sort of scavenger hunt to track down information caches from dead alien civilisations. An unknown phenomenon has slowly been exterminating worlds and these caches essentially archive their technology and culture. One particular cache that they come upon may hold the key to survival but a corporation looking to monopolize any and all information are working to track down these caches too.
What I expected going in was a story packed with non-stop action and while there were some tense moments of just that it was a nice surprise to find that at its heart this book was less about the chase and more about the characters and their personal, emotional journeys.
Despite being a short book with the plot having a small scope we follow the characters to various planets and the titbits of information about the wider universe and all the intriguing technology fleshed out the worldbuilding nicely. I also liked that there were moments that showed the downtime during space travel too, of Scout, Kieran and Pumpkin just chilling and having a meal together. The mundanity of an every day activity like that is often skipped in sci-fi so it was nice to see here.
The part I loved the most though other than Pumpkin having space adventures – Pumpkin is great and truly stole the show – is how through witnessing and connecting with the final messages of the Stelhari called Blyreena (which in itself is such a moving story), Scout was able to unpack and work through their own grief. How it showed the commonality we all have when it comes to grief and loss regardless of the circumstances. It was beautifully done!
Final Rating - 4/5 Stars
CW: gun violence, injury, death, parent death, grief, swearing
--
The Last Gifts of the Universe first came to my attention last year as it was the winner of the 2nd SPSFC and now having read it – albeit the traditionally published version – let me tell you, it’s a great read!
It’s cosy in the way of Becky Chambers’ books but has a nice dash of adventure as we follow a sibling duo of space archaeologists – Scout and Kieran - and their cat Pumpkin as they go on a sort of scavenger hunt to track down information caches from dead alien civilisations. An unknown phenomenon has slowly been exterminating worlds and these caches essentially archive their technology and culture. One particular cache that they come upon may hold the key to survival but a corporation looking to monopolize any and all information are working to track down these caches too.
What I expected going in was a story packed with non-stop action and while there were some tense moments of just that it was a nice surprise to find that at its heart this book was less about the chase and more about the characters and their personal, emotional journeys.
Despite being a short book with the plot having a small scope we follow the characters to various planets and the titbits of information about the wider universe and all the intriguing technology fleshed out the worldbuilding nicely. I also liked that there were moments that showed the downtime during space travel too, of Scout, Kieran and Pumpkin just chilling and having a meal together. The mundanity of an every day activity like that is often skipped in sci-fi so it was nice to see here.
The part I loved the most though other than Pumpkin having space adventures – Pumpkin is great and truly stole the show – is how through witnessing and connecting with the final messages of the Stelhari called Blyreena (which in itself is such a moving story), Scout was able to unpack and work through their own grief. How it showed the commonality we all have when it comes to grief and loss regardless of the circumstances. It was beautifully done!
Final Rating - 4/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail