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A review by pursuingcolor
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
5.0
I LOVED this book. Yes, I know what you’re all thinking: “MARY! You ALWAYS say that!” But hear me out on this one!!!
I loved this book for one specific reason:
THE ANGER.
I have read a LOT of good books and seen a LOT of good movies. Our modern world is full of them and they’re easily accessible. But never before, in my 22 long years of life, have I ever absorbed a story that portrayed anger as excellently as this one did.
A Sky in the Deep made me RAGE along with the main character. It made me FEEL. And that is not easy to do in general, and it is DEFINITELY not easy to do with anger. The underlying emotion of anger is sadness and fear, we all know that—and most storytellers brush over anger and dive straight into fear and sadness, because they are easier to write.
Not so with Adrienne Young!
I myself am a rageful person, and I am here to tell you that Young did an excellent job making you FEEL the anger of betrayal and injustice. I LOVE that, and I am SO impressed with how well she portrayed such a fierce and complicated emotion.
So if you want a book that will make you feel something, perhaps something a little uncomfortable—READ THIS BOOK!
That is not the only reason to love this book, however! The world was GORGEOUS! A beautiful, Viking-esque fantasy setting that was extremely well-written, with culture, politics, lore, and even bits of original language delicately and beautifully tied in to the plot. The world-building in this book was obviously well thought out and well executed, and I will give Young a standing ovation if I ever meet her.
However, it wasn’t a perfect book, as much as I enjoyed it. I have a few critiques, the first being the ending. It was fine, I still enjoyed it, but it definitely felt like there were unanswered questions. It was MOSTLY resolved, enough where I’m not mad about the ending, but I would’ve enjoyed one last chapter explaining what happened after… well, no spoilers. If you read the book, you know what I mean/ Let’s just say there were some loose ends that I felt should’ve been tied up.
My last critique is about one of the secondary characters, Iri. He is the main character’s brother, and we are made to feel deeply for him. However, I found him to be flat and emotionless. The entirety of the plot wraps around him, but as a character I found him to be… well, boring. Not solemn and complicated, like Fiske (another secondary character), but just… lifeless. I felt like little things could’ve been done to make him feel more real and more human, but that is just my opinion. The plot and the growth of the main character went on fine without him, sad as it is to say.
TL;DR: This book is a bestseller for good reasons and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fantasy adventure book to get lost in.
I loved this book for one specific reason:
THE ANGER.
I have read a LOT of good books and seen a LOT of good movies. Our modern world is full of them and they’re easily accessible. But never before, in my 22 long years of life, have I ever absorbed a story that portrayed anger as excellently as this one did.
A Sky in the Deep made me RAGE along with the main character. It made me FEEL. And that is not easy to do in general, and it is DEFINITELY not easy to do with anger. The underlying emotion of anger is sadness and fear, we all know that—and most storytellers brush over anger and dive straight into fear and sadness, because they are easier to write.
Not so with Adrienne Young!
I myself am a rageful person, and I am here to tell you that Young did an excellent job making you FEEL the anger of betrayal and injustice. I LOVE that, and I am SO impressed with how well she portrayed such a fierce and complicated emotion.
So if you want a book that will make you feel something, perhaps something a little uncomfortable—READ THIS BOOK!
That is not the only reason to love this book, however! The world was GORGEOUS! A beautiful, Viking-esque fantasy setting that was extremely well-written, with culture, politics, lore, and even bits of original language delicately and beautifully tied in to the plot. The world-building in this book was obviously well thought out and well executed, and I will give Young a standing ovation if I ever meet her.
However, it wasn’t a perfect book, as much as I enjoyed it. I have a few critiques, the first being the ending. It was fine, I still enjoyed it, but it definitely felt like there were unanswered questions. It was MOSTLY resolved, enough where I’m not mad about the ending, but I would’ve enjoyed one last chapter explaining what happened after… well, no spoilers. If you read the book, you know what I mean/ Let’s just say there were some loose ends that I felt should’ve been tied up.
My last critique is about one of the secondary characters, Iri. He is the main character’s brother, and we are made to feel deeply for him. However, I found him to be flat and emotionless. The entirety of the plot wraps around him, but as a character I found him to be… well, boring. Not solemn and complicated, like Fiske (another secondary character), but just… lifeless. I felt like little things could’ve been done to make him feel more real and more human, but that is just my opinion. The plot and the growth of the main character went on fine without him, sad as it is to say.
TL;DR: This book is a bestseller for good reasons and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fantasy adventure book to get lost in.