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A review by pageglue
Skyborn by David Dalglish
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
David Dalglish’s ‘Skyborn’ follows orphaned twins Bree and Kael as they follow in their parents’ footsteps and become Seraphim: flying soldiers that wield elemental magic powered by crystals. The world is set in a future where the earth is completed flooded and humanity now lives on islands floating in the sky. Each island is run by its own fiefdom, but they all depend on the largest island, Center, for the technology that makes the islands to float, delivers fresh water, and allows people to fly and do battle. Rumours of corruption and conspiracy ripple below the surface, and our heroes soon find themselves impacted by them in ways they could never have expected.
I really loved the world. Having your characters be able to fly and shoot lightning is really fun, and it’s so cute and romantic for a pair of lovers to fly above the clouds during sunset. The basic plot is coming-of-age / magic training school, but it gets more complicated after that. Halfway through, I did find myself feeling like I was still waiting ‘something’ to happen. Lots of things happen, but it’s all training, making friends/enemies, first dates etc. The plot really picks up 2/3s of the way through, where all of the social unrest and conspiracy stuff that was only hinted at comes to the forefront. AND THAT ENDING!!! 😵
The weakest aspect of the book for me was the characters. I never felt very connected to our main characters, and I think that’ll vary from person to person. But the side characters were very weak, and largely forgettable. The only one whose name I can remember is Brad and he basically disappears in the second half of the book. A number of characters die in the story, and I just never cared about losing any of them. And because they weren’t well-developed, their deaths as motivation for the protagonists didn’t feel earned.
If you like this type of story, a cool fantasy world, fun battle scenes and plot that escalates to high heavens, I definitely recommend this book. I’ll certainly be continuing the series.
I really loved the world. Having your characters be able to fly and shoot lightning is really fun, and it’s so cute and romantic for a pair of lovers to fly above the clouds during sunset. The basic plot is coming-of-age / magic training school, but it gets more complicated after that. Halfway through, I did find myself feeling like I was still waiting ‘something’ to happen. Lots of things happen, but it’s all training, making friends/enemies, first dates etc. The plot really picks up 2/3s of the way through, where all of the social unrest and conspiracy stuff that was only hinted at comes to the forefront. AND THAT ENDING!!! 😵
The weakest aspect of the book for me was the characters. I never felt very connected to our main characters, and I think that’ll vary from person to person. But the side characters were very weak, and largely forgettable. The only one whose name I can remember is Brad and he basically disappears in the second half of the book. A number of characters die in the story, and I just never cared about losing any of them. And because they weren’t well-developed, their deaths as motivation for the protagonists didn’t feel earned.
If you like this type of story, a cool fantasy world, fun battle scenes and plot that escalates to high heavens, I definitely recommend this book. I’ll certainly be continuing the series.