A review by kestrel_of_the_pages
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

For some reason I thought this was listed somewhere as horror, and was upset at the lack of horror. I was wrong, it's a thriller- but equally disappointing in that genre as well. It felt more like a slice-of-life on a space station, with an undertone of political intrigue and a dash of unreliable narratorship. 

I liked how the story jumped from "current" time on the ship to different portions of Asuka's life on earth previously, and the training school for the mission was really fledged out. I think the focus on these younger days, and the more immature interactions between crew members as adults made this feel more YA than I was supposed to. There was one part that picked up on the creepy factor and I was so ready for it to dive in, but seemed to resolve and mellow out super quick. 

The narrator was really hard to listen to, I had to look up what the main charater's name was because it <i>sounded<i> like Ajuka? She also lent a super snotty tone to many of the characters that probably added to the YA feel, for me. 

I'm glad I read this after The Stardust Grail- which was one of my top five (out of 100) reads of 2024.

Thank you Libro.fm for the ALC!