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A review by queer_bookwyrm
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, racism mention, miscarriage mention, death, child death mention
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei is a speculative fiction scifi mystery that gave me Among Us and 2001 A Space Odyssey vibes. A friend sent me this after she read it and loved it, and I can see why! This was a great read, and different from a lot of other scifi in space stories I've read.
We follow Asuka on the spaceship Phoenix on its way to Planet X with a crew of 80 people, all of whom can and will need to give birth along the way. Earth is going through a climate crisis and extreme weather while also being on the verge of World War III between the US and China. The Phoenix is the hope that will unite them together. Asuka is the Alternate, meaning she has no specific concentration area, does whatever is needed. When Asuka and another crew member go on a space walk to investigate something on the hull, a bomb goes off killing three people, but leaves Asuka alive. Asuka works to figure who did it, while the crew lapses into suspicion and fear. They must find a way to get the ship back on course to Planet X.
This was a great mystery! I was tense the whole way. We go back and forth between the time after the explosion and years before the launch on Earth for Asuka. Asuka and her crewmates were all part of a special school that trained them for this very mission since they were 12 years old. We get to see how intense and competitive the training was juxtaposed with how they all interact currently on a ship in space. Everyone is suspicious of everyone, and to top it off, the ship AI seems to be malfunctioning and may be the problem.
Asuka was an interesting character. To be honest I didn't like her very much at first. She was kind of mopey and self pitying, and held grudges, but she did grow on me a bit since she was a pretty steadfast and pragmatic character. With Asuka being Half-Japanese and Half-Hispanic American, she always felt like an outsider and a fraud, like she was never enough of one or the other. There were a ton of queer characters in this book, lots of sapphic relationships, and a couple of trans side characters.
I don't think there will be a second book, but I would be interested in seeing what happens next for this crew. This was a great space faring book, with realistic speculative fiction elements.
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei is a speculative fiction scifi mystery that gave me Among Us and 2001 A Space Odyssey vibes. A friend sent me this after she read it and loved it, and I can see why! This was a great read, and different from a lot of other scifi in space stories I've read.
We follow Asuka on the spaceship Phoenix on its way to Planet X with a crew of 80 people, all of whom can and will need to give birth along the way. Earth is going through a climate crisis and extreme weather while also being on the verge of World War III between the US and China. The Phoenix is the hope that will unite them together. Asuka is the Alternate, meaning she has no specific concentration area, does whatever is needed. When Asuka and another crew member go on a space walk to investigate something on the hull, a bomb goes off killing three people, but leaves Asuka alive. Asuka works to figure who did it, while the crew lapses into suspicion and fear. They must find a way to get the ship back on course to Planet X.
This was a great mystery! I was tense the whole way. We go back and forth between the time after the explosion and years before the launch on Earth for Asuka. Asuka and her crewmates were all part of a special school that trained them for this very mission since they were 12 years old. We get to see how intense and competitive the training was juxtaposed with how they all interact currently on a ship in space. Everyone is suspicious of everyone, and to top it off, the ship AI seems to be malfunctioning and may be the problem.
Asuka was an interesting character. To be honest I didn't like her very much at first. She was kind of mopey and self pitying, and held grudges, but she did grow on me a bit since she was a pretty steadfast and pragmatic character. With Asuka being Half-Japanese and Half-Hispanic American, she always felt like an outsider and a fraud, like she was never enough of one or the other. There were a ton of queer characters in this book, lots of sapphic relationships, and a couple of trans side characters.
I don't think there will be a second book, but I would be interested in seeing what happens next for this crew. This was a great space faring book, with realistic speculative fiction elements.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, and Racism