Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Defy the Stars (Constellation, #1)

by Claudia Gray

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.

Reviewed by Jordon on

4 of 5 stars

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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

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 16 June, 2017: Finished reading
  • 16 June, 2017: Reviewed