leahrosereads
Written on May 5, 2020
I liked the premise and was super invested in the characters, so I'll definitely be continuing with the series.
A stunning blend of action-packed science fiction and love against the odds. Perfect for fans of the DIVERGENT series.
Noemi is a young and fearless soldier of Genesis, a colony planet of a dying Earth. But the citizens of Genesis are rising up - they know that Earth's settlers will only destroy this planet the way they destroyed their own. And so a terrible war has begun.
When Noemi meets Abel, one of Earth's robotic mech warriors, she realizes that Abel himself may provide the key to Genesis' salvation. Abel is bound by his programming to obey her - even though her plan could result in his destruction. But Abel is no ordinary mech. He's a unique prototype, one with greater intelligence, skill and strength than any other. More than that, he has begun to develop emotions, a personality and even dreams. Noemi begins to realise that if Abel is less than human, he is more than a machine. If she destroys him, is it murder? And can a cold-blooded murder be redeemed by the protection of a world?
Stranded together in space, they go on a whirlwind adventure through Earth's various colony worlds, alongside the countless Vagabonds who have given up planetary life altogether and sail forever between the stars. Each step brings them closer - both to each other and to the terrible decision Noemi will have to make about her world's fate, and Abel's.
- ISBN10 1471406369
- ISBN13 9781471406362
- Publish Date 6 April 2017 (first published 4 April 2017)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Hot Key Books
- Format Paperback
- Pages 432
- Language English
Reviews
I liked the premise and was super invested in the characters, so I'll definitely be continuing with the series.
Ashley
Written on Feb 29, 2020
Normally, before I get anything from NetGalley I put it under heavy consideration.
- I read the synopsis like 8 times to make sure I really really REALLY want the book.
- I see if any of my friends have read it already.
- I deeply consider whether I'm ready to read the book NOW (I don't like accepting ARCs to read later).
But when I get those "read now for first 500" emails, I panic. I'm afraid they're going to go so quickly that I need to decide RIGHT THIS SECOND. So all logic and planning goes out the window and I just have a split second to decide.
I guess because of that, I went into Defy the Stars with two things on my mind:
1) I was wary because I rushed into it.
2) I had already forgotten much of the synopsis since I blazed through it so quickly.
Then, in the first few pages, religion kept popping up unexpectedly (a lot of "the word of God" and stuff like that). I'm not a religious person and don't particularly enjoy reading about it, so this worried me. I was wondering if I unknowingly stumbled onto a religious book.
But I decided to keep going and see what the book had to offer... and it blew me away! It soared passed any of my expectations. And honestly, it ended up being EXACTLY what I wanted to read in that moment.
I had just finished Illuminae (LOVE LOVE LOVE) and was desperately waiting for my order of Gemina to arrive. I was hungry for more sci-fi. Not only was Defy the Stars great sci-fi, but it was also surprisingly similar to Illuminae. Not in a copy cat way, but in an, "If you liked Illuminae you'll really love this next" kind of way. The presentation is TOTALLY different (if you've read Illuminae you know how crazy unique it is), but the premise is similar: space travel, space warfare, artificial intelligence, robots, virus, other planets. Very, very cool.
I loved the technology, the space travel, the main character, the adventure, the conflict.. It was all SO GOOD and SO INTERESTING! I adored it! I can't wait to read more. ♥
Definitely recommend a thousand times over if you're into sci-fi and/or loved Illuminae!
Amber (The Literary Phoenix)
Written on Feb 12, 2019
Noemi and Abel are both pretty forgettable characters on their own. Noemi is your typical hard-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside sci-fi heroine, and Abel is your standard AI-who-discovers-he-has-feelings. Nothing about either of these characters makes them overly interesting or special. If you like the characters tropes here, fabulous! But don't expect any exciting breakthroughs.
Listen, Defy the Stars gets fabulous reviews on Goodreads, maintaining an over four-star average two years post-publication. If you think this is a book you may enjoy and you've been waffling about adding it to your TBR, just do it. It's a great mix of new elements and tired tropes, but I can see people absolutely falling in love with this one. I'm just not one of those people.
layawaydragon
Written on Dec 31, 2017
I picked this one up because it sounded different than most sci-fi with the religious aspect. However, the info dump about it in the beginning about it was part of my couldn't get into it problem. I probably should've known better...*shrug* It ends up being rather minor, with Noemi having her crisis of faith and praying for guidance.
I did see one major "twist" coming and Abel's abilities made things ridiculously easy at times. But at the same time, Noemi's ingenuity made up for it.
I love the ending, how it all came together. It was quick but satisfying and makes me want to read the next one. Gives off a Firefly vibe with Abel's epilogue.
Stephanie
Written on Aug 18, 2017
lizarodz
Written on Aug 14, 2017
The world building and the plot, together with the characters were the best part of the book. The story is a mix of the movie I Am Robot with a bit of The Martian thrown in. In case you haven't seen the movies, the basic plot is that Earth is dying. As humans new this was coming, they started settling in different planets that they thought could support life. The idea is to abandon Earth and move to these planets. The more promising one is Genesis. The problem is that after so many years living in the planet and as new generations were born in the planets, they don't want to give Earth the power to do they same thing they did to the planet. Earth created mechs (a robot with human tissue?) to serve them and fight their battles. With me so far?
Noemi is a warrior of Genesis that discovers an abandoned ship in an attempt to save her best friend from a mech attack. Abel has been stuck in the ship for 30 years and has begin to evolve. They form an unlikely alliance. Abel's programming mandates that he obeys Noemi as his commander. Noemi cannot trust a mech. Slowly, they start to know each other, to understand each other and later to become friends. It's a great character development and adored them both. Together, they are stronger. Together they go on a race throughout the universe to find a way to stop Earth's attacks on Genesis.
Noemi is brave, selfless, smart, curious. Abel is the ultimate mech, life-like and he grows to have a lot of human-like characteristics. On their travels, they also meet other characters that form a great addition to their group.
The ending is adequate for a series but a bit unsatisfying too. Gray's writing is beautiful, it conveys so much feeling, it describes this amazing world so perfectly that you can almost see the stars. I loved it!
Overall?
I really liked Defy the Stars. It's a story were the lines between fighting for one's believes blurs the more that those believes affect others. Is a story of possibility, of evolution, growth, adventure, friendship and love. I cannot wait for Defy the Worlds.
The audiobook of Defy the Stars was amazing. The narrators did a great job. We have two of them, Kasey Lee Huizinga is Noemi and Nate Begle is Abel. It's my first book by Kasey and she did an amazing job with the voices of all the characters. It was also my first book narrated by Nate and although his narration was more mechanical, I think he was able to convey the 'machine' part that is Abel.
Are you a fan of sci-fi? Have you read Defy the Stars? What did you think?
This review was originally posted on Quite the Novel Idea
Joséphine
Written on Aug 13, 2017
Full book review is up on Word Revel.
_________
August 13, 2017
Initial thoughts: The UK cover of Defy the Stars is so deceiving — romance isn't central to the plot. Personally, I'm glad for that because there were so many other aspects I felt should've been explored first, and Claudia Grey did precisely that with her latest book. My favourite part was the exploration of what constitutes humanity, and at what point, if at all, artificial intelligence can be considered less of a machine and more human. The surrounding plot contributed to that exploration and resulted in interesting situations.
Most of the time was spent in space, even as they bounced from planet to planet. If space operas are your thing, I'm sure this one's gonna be right up your alley.
_________
Note: I received an advanced reading copy from a local distributor in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
littleread1
Written on Jul 9, 2017
Jordon
Written on Jun 16, 2017
Review originally posted at Simply Adrift.
Defy the Stars is a cool YA Sci Fi with likeable characters, an amazing world, and a cute romance.
What I liked
- The world of Defy the Stars was amazing. Humans have colonised five different planets, each reachable by a gate and all in a loop. Each world is different depending on it's atmosphere, what it specialised in (Resort world, scientific discovery etc). The world was very detailed and I felt like I could envision it very easily - this was because the world was shown not told.
- A scientist and creator, Burton Mansfield, has created machines called Mechs. Mechs look like humans and even have human flesh and blood, but they aren't human. There is a Mech for each specific job and they are named for each letter of the alphabet. Charlie and George Mechs are soldier Mechs, Tare's are doctor Mechs, so on and so forth. You an tell each Mech apart because each model looks exactly the same, all Charlie models look identical as all George models look identical. Mechs are machines and work through programming. I thought this idea was so cool.
- I loved both of the characters. Abel is a Mech, but he is different to the other Mechs. Mansfield created him and brought him up like a son, constantly teaching him new things. Through this Abel has developed a personality and is unlike any other Mech, which come across as machines. Noemi is a human from the planet Genesis, brought up and trained as a soldier. Genesis believe all Mechs are soulless, killing machines. Noemi is fierce and strong, I really loved reading her.
What I didn't like
- To be honest, I really enjoyed Defy the Stars. There isn't much I didn't like about it. Perhaps the only thing I can think of is that Noemi was the standard do-gooder. She's a nice person and she wouldn't hurt a fly, but she would kill a machine which has no soul and is not human. She thought of herself as this horrible person that pushed everyone away, she had no self confidence. But as she travelled through the worlds, of course she realised she was wrong about herself. I liked Noemi but I could also see her character as a bit of a cliche.
I thoroughly enjoyed Defy the Stars. While this wasn't mind blowing, it was a really good read and I couldn't put it down. I definitely recommend it!
Always,
Jordon
This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift
Kelly
Written on Apr 24, 2017
The Earth is dying. Countless generations of Earth residents have survived famine, contamination and the consumption of resources. Genesis is environmentally conscious and a sustainable civilisation, believed to be technologically inferior. The young inhabitants of Genesis have been conscripted for the Masada Run, a suicidal mission against the mechanised humanoid military technology, artificially intelligent beings sent to decimate Genesis assembly in order to recolonise the planet.
Noemi is a wonderful character, abrasive, determined and willing to self sacrifice for the preservation of Genesis. Seeking medical attention, Noemi embarks upon the Daedalus, the abandoned, aging and debilitated Earth spacecraft. Noemi is human, her Polynesian and Latin American ancestry the only remnants of her biological genealogy.
Abel has lived isolated on board the Daedalus for decades, his father and crew members having abandoned the vessel leaving Abel behind. Abel is a prototype of entrepreneur Burton Mansfield, creator of mechanised humanoid military technology. In isolation for thirty years has allowed Abel's technology to evolve, humanised emotions, to dream and through evolution, Noemi and Abel develop a tentative amnesty.
One aspect I really appreciated was the subtle discussion of religious spirituality and empirical science. Noemi follows the teachings of the Second Catholic Church of Genesis, her interactions with Abel were approached without intolerance. I enjoyed Noemi and Abel's comfortable companionship, a gentle progression as Abel discovers his own humanity. Delicate and captivating.
Greenhouse gas emissions, depletion of natural resources and increased population and pollution have led to the environmental decimation of Earth and Defy The Stars explores scientific, spiritualistic and environmental aspects of humanity. Defy The Stars is spectacularly atmospheric, captivating and breathtakingly celestial.
We are this world. Its next generation. If you’re not trying to save us, then what exactly are you trying to save?