A review by lezlie
The Last Gifts of the Universe by Rory August

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious fast-paced

5.0

 

"Even at its core, even without common experience, there is something universal about loss. I can feel it, deep as heartache. Something stirs at loss. Something awakens to it, like a knowing, like an understanding, that this is how everything ends."

I did NOT want to put this book down once I started it. I read 70% in the first sitting and then finished it today. Absolutely incredible, even though it has left me an emotional wreck because of severe book hangover.

I came across this delightful book as part of SPSFC2. (Self Published Science Fiction Competition) This book as of today's date made it as 1 of 7 finalists and now that I've read it, it absolutely deserves how far its come. No matter how it shakes out in the end, this reader has become a fan of Rory August and the beauty they created with this story that is THE LAST GIFTS OF THE UNIVERSE.

I knew I was in for a treat by the time I read the first line of Chapter 1. How did I know? Because siblings Kieran and Scout are traveling the stars with a CAT. I mean, only the best kind of people will take their cat into space with them, right? My absolute most favorite character was Ovlan, a Stelhari alien who I think I might be half in love with. There was a particular story shared about Ovlan and a phrase that anytime I read it after, I would immediately start crying. All of these characters were beautifully written and developed. If you don't love at least 3 or more of them, you might need to check and see if you still have a pulse.

The entire book takes place in space. I know you might be thinking, what could be unique and interesting about the great big, black expanse of space? How about all of the dead planets our characters explore, looking for caches that might contain knowledge about why the planet is completely devoid of life? Planets devoid of life don't equate to planets devoid of danger either!

I loved the premise of this book - Scout is an Archivist who is responsible for searching space for the caches I mentioned above. She and her brother Keiran stumbled upon a cache that seemed to have the information they've been desperate to find - an alien race, the Stelhari, who may have the knowledge about what created a graveyard of dead planets and could save the remaining worlds. Unfortunately, the siblings aren't the only ones searching for these caches and it becomes a life-threatening race to follow the clues to the next cache.

I almost read this entire book in one day, in one sitting. I loved these characters and was completely caught up in their search for answers, learning more about the Stelhari aliens - I was either laughing at Pumpkin, sharing heartwarming moments with the siblings (though some were also sad), fell in love with Ovlan and subsequently had my heart broken. Oh how I cried and cried and cried - it was so pure, so beautiful - everything I could ever want from a book. I am so sad that it's over, but I have my fingers crossed Rory August makes this a series and continues with more adventures.

This book exceeded expectations.