NOTE: I received a complimentary eARC of this book from Harlequin Australia through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I’ve read several of Maria V. Snyder’s fantasy books and really enjoy her writing, but I can honestly say… she should write more sci-fi!! They say you’re not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover but in this case, I’m very glad I did! I didn’t know this series even existed until I stumbled upon the first book in my local store and bought it because I liked the cover. It wasn’t until I got it home that I realised it was by an author I’d read before and really enjoyed and before I was even halfway through I went searching to see if there was a second book because I was enjoying the first one so much that I knew I would want to read the second straight away; I was so excited when I saw it on NetGalley and immediately requested it!
The world building was phenomenal, Snyder thought of everything even down to the tiniest little detail. I loved all the technology and archaeology talk and found myself wondering more than once how long it took Snyder to research everything that went into the book. From the theory behind all of the mysteriously placed terracotta warriors throughout the universe and their connection to the “shadow blobs”, the science behind the way time “crinkles” worked, to the ability of people to “worm” into the Q-Net and the eventual reveal of how the Q-Net actually came to be, they were all such a unique and interesting concepts. I’ve never read anything like it before and it kept me wanting more, more, more the entire time I was reading.
The action scenes were so well written that my heart was often racing and my whole body was tensed in anticipation. During the scene where Jarren caught Lyra and put an explosive on back, I was gripping my poor Kindle so tightly I actually tore the PopSocket off the back lol
Needless to say the characters were also amazingly written. The main character, Lyra/Ara, had me laughing out loud on many occasions and her relationship with everyone around her and the way they developed was so incredibly well done. She wasn’t your stereotypical “everyone instantly loves her spunky attitude” character and I loved that; she was constantly having to fight to be heard by her “superiors” but she never gave up, even when she knew it could possibly mean everyone might end up hating her. I really enjoyed how her relationships with other crew members developed over time, not just with Niall but with his father (the head of security), her own parents, and the other members of the security team. She could often be stubborn, impetuous, and just generally a stereotypical “I don’t have to listen to anyone” teenager, but that was all part of what made her growth as a character so fun and enjoyable to read. It was very interesting to see how much she changed from the beginning of the first book to the end of the second.
Honestly, I could go on and on about how amazing these books are for days, that’s why I rated them both five stars. There’s action, archaeology, science, romance, culture, technology, aliens, time travel (kind); there is literally something for everyone in this book and I can’t stress enough how much I enjoyed it! So much so that I was recommending the whole series to friends before I have even finished the first chapter!
Navigating the Stars is now available and Chasing the Shadows will be available on November 18, 2019. Check it out the series on Goodreads!
Chasing the Shadows (Sentinels of the Galaxy #2) by Maria V Snyder Book Review
POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR NAVIGATING THE STARS BELOW
Huh, what, when, wait–hang on, huh?
Those were literally all my thoughts while reading Chasing The Shadows. I have no clue how to describe the experience of reading this book because it honestly was very unique. It just left you with more questions than answers and now, having just finished the book, my head is left reeling and with an urgent need to read the finale. I can't get over the plot twist which messed with my head nor can I get over the perfection that is Niall's and Ara's relationship nor her characterisation. I just have no idea what to say.
This book obviously is the sequel to Navigating the Stars so I will try not to spoil if possible in this review. In my opinion though, Chasing The Shadows was so much better than its predecessor novel. After the events of book one, you could really see Ara's character develop as she became less annoying (as I mentioned in my review) and more serious. Of course, she still had her snarkiness and wit however, she was more focused, determined and controlled than before. Overall, I felt like the sequel covered up all the things I disliked about the first book while still maintaining the elements I liked. I kinda wished there was more focus on Ara's relationship with Niall since I was expecting a more amplified dynamic between them. Then again, I'm still happy that this book swerved more onto the sci-fi path it was marketed as rather than the romance path it originally was on. We also got glimpses into the trauma caused by Jarren in Ara's personal life. You could definitely see that it impacted her greatly and drove her to do everything in her power to protect her family and the crew on board the Yulin station.
We also got more information about the "Shadow Blobs" as they were referred to in Navigating The Stars and the Q-net. I liked that the book was more focused on that and the discoveries about the Warriors rather than romance, hating soch-time etc. Now I just have so many questions and I cannot wait to read Defending the Galaxy as we speak.
ACTUAL RATING: 4.3 STARS
I suppose this record by Dead Souls could by seen as something that people who REALLY like goth-rock may possibly embrace. It's not exactly mining the extreme depths of despair as the actual songs/guitar work isn't of the plodding nihilistic type and isn't as icy cold as similar bands, but is rather some nice dreamy/atmospheric type material, but whew boy...some of those vocals are really pushing the chips all in, which is a bit hard to get past at times. In turn there are parts of this record that I find myself enjoying quite a bit, but it seems to only come whenever the vocals lighten up and they end up sounding a lot more like The Chameleons and just drifting into a heavier influenced ethereal post-punk area. I suppose I'll just have to chalk this up to partly being not my thing, but I imagine there are certainly fans out there..which is cool. Keep on keeping on fellas. Dead Souls – In Empty Dreams (stream) BUY IT!
CHASING THE SHADOWS
--------------------------------------
Chasing the shadows
Running in the night
Searching for something
But you know it isn't right
Alive in the darkness
Howling at the moon
The sun's gonna come up
You know it's rising soon
And that'll be the end of you
That'll be the end of you
Chasing the shadows
Playing all the games
Blinded by desire
How long can you hide the shame
How many chances
Are you gonna take
Before you realize
Your life is at stake
-(CHORUS)-
But will it be the end of you
Look in the mirror one more time
What is the change that you're going through
If nothing's looking back
Does it mean your out of time
Chasing the shadows
Fighting the memories
Of pain you thought left behind
Trying to believe
-(CHORUS)-
It won't be the end of you
Look in the mirror one more time
What is the change that you're going through
If nothing's looking back
Does it mean your out of time
