Reviewed by nitzan_schwarz on
Wait, is this really happening?? Am I finally continuing with a series I started a few years back and loved but never touched again? YES, I AM! Mom, aren't you proud of me???
Okay, jokes aside, I'm finally doing this. And while I am super happy with myself, I am also super confused about why it has taken me this long to do so in the first place. These books are good. They blend fun with heavy themes and ideas. They don't shy away from death, but neither do they shy away from love and hope.
We've seen all that in the first novel, and we're seeing it now in the second one. THIS SHATTERED WORLD follows Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac, and before I start this review lets just all take a second to admit to ourselves how utterly fabulous the name Jubilee is. Like, it's one of those names that make me just happy to read it and fuck if I know why but I ain't gonna complain either.
Okay, focus, Nitzan! This is serious reviewing time!
So, at first, you're going to wonder just how exactly does the story of Tarver and Lilac connect with that of Flynn and Jubilee. That will last all of, oh, I don't know... three chapters? Yeah. Then it's just going to be kind of terrifying because you'll start to suspect a lot of things that don't bode well for anyone. And, like, it's exactly where I thought the next "logical" step will be when I was reading THESE BROKEN STARS, and yet I was really hoping it won't because man, that's some bad shit.
But enough about that bad (but good bad) parts of the novel. Let's discuss some of the great things! First, Jubilee herself. She's not just a kick-ass name, she's also a kick-ass army captain. Yeah, you've read that right. The heroine is the one who gets to be uncompromisingly badass, and yet, undoubtedly feminine. I love that. A girl doesn't have to be manly to be strong. And Jubilee is that. Strong, and fierce, and compassionate. You'd think the long years in the army and the even longer years before that as a war orphan would have left her empty and cold, but despite what some rookies might think, she's the furthest thing away from that.
And it's Flynn Cormac who helps her believe in that part of herself again. Because Flynn is a pacifist rebel. Sounds a bit like an oxymoron, doesn't it? But Flynn manages to be both entirely loyal to his planet, his people and their survival--and they're his people, by right of birth and by his choice--and yet wholly dedicated to the idea of ending the war without more bloodshed and death. Literally, the only thing he wants (aside for Jubilee) is to bring peace to his people, no matter the cost to himself. Altruistic guy alert!
Seeing these two enemies grow closer and learning to trust and lean on each other as their loyalties and beliefs change and shift to accommodate all the new information and ideas is pretty awesome, and the two make a good team. Flynn as the heart, Jubilee as the muscle, and if you say you don't like the sound of that power balance, you're lying.
Now, amongst all the praise I can say about these novels, there is one thing that really stands out to me as a negative. Mainly, that the books lack an impact of Death, despite the fact there is plenty of that to go around. Like, people die. A lot of people. Some extremely innocent, like children. Things that normally make me cry just to think about them. But here... I felt no grief. The books tell me these death had impacts on the characters. It tells me they grieve for them. But it doesn't make you--or at the very least, me--feel it.
And I feel like that's a HUGE miss. These people who die mean something to these characters, presumably. But... like, none of them get very established--definitely not enough for me to mourn their deaths on my own--so I just felt nothing when they died, aside for feeling like it's a pointless plot-point because I couldn't feel it. Like, yeah, it's war and there is senseless death but also it's a novel so at least a few of these deaths should have a point beyond "I need a way to move the plot further". Idk. It all boils down to me not feeling anything - I'm sure it would have worked better if I managed to muster some of that.
I'm looking forward to finally finishing this series this year, and seeing how this all pans out!
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Original unedited thoughts
The second Starbound novel follows Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac, and can we all just take a second to admit to ourselves how utterly awesome the name Jubilee is??? Gosh I love it.
At first, you will wonder how the stories connect. Then at one swift moment, you will KNOW. And it's kind of terrifying because it's exactly where I thought the next logical step would when I was reading book one. And now it's coming closer to be a reality (in these books, anyway), and that's terrifying.
I really loved her, too. It's not often that the army captain is the girl in the story, but Jubilee is both of these things--undoubtedly female, and uncompromisingly badass. She is fierce, strong and compassionate. You'd think her long years in the army and the even longer years before that as an orphan would have left her soulless, but despite what the rookies think, she is the furthest thing away from that.
And it's Flynn Cormac that makes her believe in that again. Flynn is a pacifist rebel. Sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, doesn't it? But Flynn is both entirely loyal to his planet and his people--and they are his people, by right of birth and by choice--and wholly loyal to ending the war without more bloodshed. All he wants is to bring peace to his people. Altruistic guy alert!
Come to think of it; both Jubilee and Flynn are kind-of Altruistic. They put themselves last, and their people and saving both sides first. The only thing they might put on an equal level is each other, and even then they are fully aware they are probably heading to their deaths.
Seeing these two enemies grow closer and closer, learning to trust and lean on each other is pretty awesome, and they're a good fit. Flynn is the heart, Jubilee is the muscle, and if you say you don't like the sound of that power balance, y'all are lying.
The one thing I think these books are not good at is the impact of Death. Lots of people die in these books, but I never felt very bothered by these deaths, even horrifying ones--like children dying. Mostly because I am TOLD the characters feel grief, but I don't actually see it. Some books can make you feel a character's grief as much as your own. Neither These Broken Stars nor This Shattered World did that for me.
Oh, I feel the rest of the emotions well enough--the love, the devotion, the loyalty, the conflict. But not the grief. Not the impact of these deaths--these deaths of people our heroes have known for a long time, have considered family.
If I had to point one flaw in these books; that would be it.
I will be reading the final book this march, and then I will be saying goodbye to this lovely series!
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 3 March, 2018: Finished reading
- 3 March, 2018: Reviewed