Reviewed by Leigha on
I almost gave up on this book. It starts slow as it spends the first third of the novel world building, taking time to explain time travel, space travel, terracotta warriors, and whatever the Q-Net is supposed to be. It’s convoluted and confusing, especially the space and time travel aspects. That said, I ended up really enjoying the book. The characters, romance, and plot kept it from turning into a DNF.
Lyra is a fun narrator. She reminded me of a space Nancy Drew – mysteries were her catnip and she constantly got into trouble trying to solve them. She’s smart, capable, and constantly willing to help out. Forced to relocate with her parents as they study Warriors located on different planets, she’s learned ways to mitigate the pain of separation with her loved ones. She’s hell bent on not making any new friends as she journeys to her third planet, but can’t help but be drawn to another passenger on the ship, Niall.
I really loved the romance between Lyra and Niall. They both struggle with relocating, both acting out in their own ways over their forced circumstances. An event half way through the story bring them together in satisfying and sweet ways. I wish more time had been spent on their developing relationship, but the moments we do get between the two are a treasure. Can’t wait for the next book in the series!
tl;dr The characters, romance, and plot more than make up for the convoluted world building in Snyder’s latest series.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 26 December, 2018: Reviewed