A review by mesal
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The science fiction element of this book is what I really loved. Both the setting and historical background made for a great read, and for the most part I even enjoyed the dives into character relationships. I think the mystery aspect of it fell through, though. It was overall very average: it wasn't too difficult to figure out which member of the crew was behind the sabotage, and the way it was finally revealed to the reader honestly irked me more. You can't write a generally reliable narrator and then near the end of the book suddenly decide to make her unreliable simply because you want to hide the identity of the saboteur for as long as unreasonably possible.

On their way back to the Med Mod, Asuka had revealed her suspicions, and they'd cooked up this plan.

Telling the reader this only after the grand reveal, and having Asuka not act warily around the person she suspected, did not read well. On the whole, though, I enjoyed this book a lot, as evidenced by the fact that I've been recommending it to others since I read it.