I struggle to put into thoughts just how much I enjoyed Skyhunter.
Maybe it’s because I was coming off a reading slump, and Lu’s writing was like a breath of fresh air. But also, maybe it’s because Marie Lu is a frankly masterful writer at crafting entertaining stories.
I have no delusions about painting Skyhunter—or any book, really—as the “next big thing.” Not every story is for every reader, but all stories can find a special place in someone’s heart.
For me, Skyhunter was like jumping into an adventure head-first, truly getting swept away into the action and drama of a story. No, you don’t get all the nitty gritty details you might want. But it sucks you in nonetheless, taking you along with Talin and her story. It pulls you out of your head and instead places you into this brutal yet nuanced world that Marie Lu builds.
One of the reasons Skyhunter struck me so hard was the fact that Lu manages to craft an extremely emotional death in the first two chapters. I do admit that I was crying by Chapter 3. It’s a huge loss for Talin, and it’s something that comes up again and again in the novel, because grief doesn’t just disappear.
Talin is a tough character. She’s been through an extremely deep trauma after her nation was brutally taken over by the Karensa Federation, and she’s committed herself for fighting for her new nation, Mara, that still looks down on her for being a Basean refugee. She’s an extremely skilled fighter who is physically mute from the Karensan Federation’s warfare when she was a child, but this is not treated as a hindrance or a negative quality, and most of the people she communicates with understand sign language. (More notes on this in my Goodreads review.)
Skyhunter takes Talin and her plethora of relatable themes and follows her as she fights for a country that does not want her or treats her well (outside of a select few).
The themes are especially striking, and although you can boil this down into “YA dystopia” and call it a day, letting yourself think about Skyhunter and how it integrates its themes leads to a lot more meaning to the story. Skyhunter is what you make of it.
I don’t think I would fight for a country who didn’t want me, and this was probably my favorite dynamic to explore in the story. It comes back to Talin again and again as she is doubted by Mara, and this is eventually exploited by the Federation.
If I did critique the themes, I would have liked to see more about the extent of the imperialism and harm the Federation had caused. I think brutal conquering of other nations is absolutely enough to understand the brutality, but I am looking forward to more development of the Federation and how it’s exploitive and destructive in the next installment.
I definitely dived in knowing embarrassingly little about the story, but it’s still an absolute blast to read, and everything you need to enjoy Skyhunter is in the text.
Skyhunter is excels at creating an entertaining story, with horrifying monsters, tinges of mystery, and characters that keep you hooked. It’s action-packed and sweeps you along for its fight. The riveting story is full of mysterious men with mechanical enhancements, friends who fight by your side and commit treason with you, and the crumbling fall of a nation against colonial forces. I’m excited to see the revolution continue in the sequel.
Maybe it’s because I was coming off a reading slump, and Lu’s writing was like a breath of fresh air. But also, maybe it’s because Marie Lu is a frankly masterful writer at crafting entertaining stories.
I have no delusions about painting Skyhunter—or any book, really—as the “next big thing.” Not every story is for every reader, but all stories can find a special place in someone’s heart.
For me, Skyhunter was like jumping into an adventure head-first, truly getting swept away into the action and drama of a story. No, you don’t get all the nitty gritty details you might want. But it sucks you in nonetheless, taking you along with Talin and her story. It pulls you out of your head and instead places you into this brutal yet nuanced world that Marie Lu builds.
One of the reasons Skyhunter struck me so hard was the fact that Lu manages to craft an extremely emotional death in the first two chapters. I do admit that I was crying by Chapter 3. It’s a huge loss for Talin, and it’s something that comes up again and again in the novel, because grief doesn’t just disappear.
Talin is a tough character. She’s been through an extremely deep trauma after her nation was brutally taken over by the Karensa Federation, and she’s committed herself for fighting for her new nation, Mara, that still looks down on her for being a Basean refugee. She’s an extremely skilled fighter who is physically mute from the Karensan Federation’s warfare when she was a child, but this is not treated as a hindrance or a negative quality, and most of the people she communicates with understand sign language. (More notes on this in my Goodreads review.)
Skyhunter takes Talin and her plethora of relatable themes and follows her as she fights for a country that does not want her or treats her well (outside of a select few).
The themes are especially striking, and although you can boil this down into “YA dystopia” and call it a day, letting yourself think about Skyhunter and how it integrates its themes leads to a lot more meaning to the story. Skyhunter is what you make of it.
I don’t think I would fight for a country who didn’t want me, and this was probably my favorite dynamic to explore in the story. It comes back to Talin again and again as she is doubted by Mara, and this is eventually exploited by the Federation.
If I did critique the themes, I would have liked to see more about the extent of the imperialism and harm the Federation had caused. I think brutal conquering of other nations is absolutely enough to understand the brutality, but I am looking forward to more development of the Federation and how it’s exploitive and destructive in the next installment.
I definitely dived in knowing embarrassingly little about the story, but it’s still an absolute blast to read, and everything you need to enjoy Skyhunter is in the text.
Skyhunter is excels at creating an entertaining story, with horrifying monsters, tinges of mystery, and characters that keep you hooked. It’s action-packed and sweeps you along for its fight. The riveting story is full of mysterious men with mechanical enhancements, friends who fight by your side and commit treason with you, and the crumbling fall of a nation against colonial forces. I’m excited to see the revolution continue in the sequel.