"While exploring a distant planet, [Kira Navarez] discovers an alien relic that thrusts her into an epic journey of transformation and discovery. Her odyssey will carry her to the far reaches of the galaxy. Earth and her colonies are on the brink of annihilation."
What can I say other than this was masterful. Normally sci-fi is not a genre that I gravitate towards, however, Paolini has changed me in regards to that. What drew me in immediately was the world. It is so well developed and believable. Every bit of technology, the cultural differences, and the alien species were so well thought out and rang true. I had no problems immersing myself into the world he created. Not only that, but the action scenes and space battles were so engaging and heart pounding I found myself racing through to see how things turned out.
The characters were also wonderful and multi-dimensional. I particularly love the secondary characters on the Wallfish, with Trig being my absolute favorite! Even Kira, who's decision making I found myself questioning with frequency, was an evolving and changing characters. Forced to face new circumstances that were ever changing and constantly thrown at her, I got to see Kira evolve and grow. And that to me was the highlight of this book. To get a character that evolves and changes dynamically was the piece de resistance!
Now there were a few things that I didn't love the first and biggest one for me was the timeline surrounding the development of the nemesis (which I shall leave un-named so as to avoid spoiling anything) that Kira and the universe face. 6 months is just not a believable timeline for that kind of development in my eyes and it was one of the few things that stopped me up short while reading with a "wait, what?!" Additionally, on occasion, Paolini did seem to go off on a philosophical tangent every now and again and while not, bad or uninteresting it distracted a bit from the main plot of the story. Lastly, while not a big deal in regards to the story or my enjoyment of it, I do wish that at least one of the original crew members on Adrasteia had been able to accompany Kira on her journey. It would have added another dimension to the story, which I would have enjoyed.
The final takeaway is that I was completely blown away by this book. It was hands down one of the best and most immersive books I've read in a while!
What can I say other than this was masterful. Normally sci-fi is not a genre that I gravitate towards, however, Paolini has changed me in regards to that. What drew me in immediately was the world. It is so well developed and believable. Every bit of technology, the cultural differences, and the alien species were so well thought out and rang true. I had no problems immersing myself into the world he created. Not only that, but the action scenes and space battles were so engaging and heart pounding I found myself racing through to see how things turned out.
The characters were also wonderful and multi-dimensional. I particularly love the secondary characters on the Wallfish, with Trig being my absolute favorite! Even Kira, who's decision making I found myself questioning with frequency, was an evolving and changing characters. Forced to face new circumstances that were ever changing and constantly thrown at her, I got to see Kira evolve and grow. And that to me was the highlight of this book. To get a character that evolves and changes dynamically was the piece de resistance!
Now there were a few things that I didn't love the first and biggest one for me was the timeline surrounding the development of the nemesis (which I shall leave un-named so as to avoid spoiling anything) that Kira and the universe face. 6 months is just not a believable timeline for that kind of development in my eyes and it was one of the few things that stopped me up short while reading with a "wait, what?!" Additionally, on occasion, Paolini did seem to go off on a philosophical tangent every now and again and while not, bad or uninteresting it distracted a bit from the main plot of the story. Lastly, while not a big deal in regards to the story or my enjoyment of it, I do wish that at least one of the original crew members on Adrasteia had been able to accompany Kira on her journey. It would have added another dimension to the story, which I would have enjoyed.
The final takeaway is that I was completely blown away by this book. It was hands down one of the best and most immersive books I've read in a while!