Have you ever read a book that left you speechless? I finished Skyhunter late Friday night and it did just that. In fact, here’s what I wrote on Twitter shortly after finishing:
I’ve had a couple days to think about the book, but it still leaves me a little speechless. It was a great book, but the ending… well, it’s a Marie Lu ending, so there’s going to be a twist, and you’ll be left wanting more. And no, I won’t tell you the twist. You just need to read it for yourself.
The Basics
Talin is a striker for the tiny country of Mara. She fled with her mother to the country when she was a small child, after the Karensa Federation attacked them and forced them to flee. Even though she’s one of the country’s elite fighters, she doesn’t get the respect that other people who aren’t former refugees do. Her mother isn’t even allowed to live inside the city.
Red is a defector from the Karensan military. The Marans plan on executing him, but Talin stops it. She sees something in him that others don’t see. That begins their partnership.
In the meantime, Talin, Red, and her friends must find a way to defend their country from Karensa. Will they be able to stop them against impossible odds? You’ll just have to read the book to find out.
Themes
There’s a couple themes that stuck out to me in this book. The first, most obvious, is–how to support a country that doesn’t support you back? A lot of people these days have felt this way. Talin believes in the idea of Mara and fights for it, but she is treated unfairly.
One of the sub-plots of this story is that of Talin and her mother. The book is dedicated to Marie Lu’s mother, “survivor and superwoman, the inspiration behind Talin’s mother and everything I do.” Talin’s mom is quite amazing, and the way Ms. Lu describes their home outside the city, I can just imagine Talin’s mom living there, yet supporting a country that doesn’t treat her equal to everyone else.
Another theme that we’ve seen this year is how societies decay. This is a society thousands of years in the future (I imagine this could be part of the Luniverse, but it doesn’t matter; it’s likely Earth millennia from now), and there is decay evident from the past:
You would be surprised at how quickly a society can fall and forget itself, how they can regress from a period of enlightenment into one of darkness.
Skyhunter, p. 364
I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt as if this world we live in has regressed this year with the Coronavirus and everything. It’s like so many things we used to take for granted are unavailable right now.
Talin/Red
One of the things many Marie Lu books are famous for are her fabulous ships. The Talin/Red ship looks like it might be going somewhere, but it’s a very sloooooooow burn. Just kiss already! But they do start out as enemies, so it’s going to be a long process.
So, I Liked Everything
Well, the ending does make me want book 2 right away. Can I pre-order it yet? Sadly, it doesn’t even have a title yet. But I really want it.
The book has some great writing. There’s a major twist at the end, some huge revelations, and did I mention the ending left you wanting more? It didn’t leave me upset, because like Laia says in An Ember in the Ashes, “as long as there is life, there is hope.”
I loved this book, and it might just be a contender for my favorite book of the year.
The Physical Book is Beautiful!
I don’t always gush about how beautiful a book is in real life, but Skyhunter is beautiful! Macmillan sent me a finished copy (I got it with Bookish First points) and I had to take pictures of it:
This is a book that you’ll want in hardback. Or you can get it in hardback and Kindle versions like I am.
ARC Versus Finished Copy
As a member of the Skyhunter Street Team, I started reading the Advanced Reader Copy, but since I was sent a finished copy, I finished reading that. There are some big changes between the ARC and the finished copy. One of the big changes in the text is that the side character Rooke changes to Adena in the finished copy. There are some other changes I noted–the finished copy is definitely better.
Conclusion
I put a lot of pressure on Skyhunter. I expected it to be an amazing book, and it didn’t disappoint. Although like many books this year, I wasn’t able to finish it in one day, I really loved it. It will definitely get a reread before Skyhunter 2 comes out, and this series will probably become a regular reread of mine. It comes out on Tuesday, which gives you about one day left to pre-order it. I highly recommend you do. If you pre-order it, make sure you enter the pre-order campaign to get the bookmark.