Book title: Defy the Stars
Author: Claudia Gray
Publication date: 29 March 2017 (different for US)
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
RRP: $19.99
Synopsis:
Noemi is a young and fearless soldier of Genesis, a colony plant 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 realises 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. Is 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.
I've read a lot of Claudia Grays' books and always find myself really enjoying her easy and enjoyable writing, so when the opportunity came up to review this one, I absolutely had to. Firstly, how stunning is this cover? The almost silhouettes surrounded by the beautiful colours is so pleasing to the eye and also to my bookshelf. I made sure that when I read it in public, I had it up for everyone to see.
PLOT
I've really been enjoying sci-fi novels as of late, so that gave me more reason to want to read this book. I love the way the story starts off, it eased into the plot nicely and it definitely did not take long to feel completely onboard with the story. Many books take far too long to get into the real story and it almost puts me off the author, however, not to worry with this one. This novel actually reminds me A LOT of Illuminae because Abel is in a way, artificial intelligence and is interacting with Noemi, a human trying to save her planet. As you get more into the story though, I started to forget about that thought and I really fell in love with the story.
WRITING
As previously mentioned, I really enjoy Claudia Gray's writing style and as I've got older, I feel like it has matured for me in the perfect way. It is incredibly easy to read despite the intricate details that really make for an intense and exciting story. It flows really nicely and I was never going back and forth trying to figure what was happening in the present time. She wrote both Abel and Noemi perfectly - I wouldn't change anything about them and I'm honestly itching to know what happens next.
WORLD BUILDING
I thought the world building in Defy the Stars was phenomenal; being a story largely taking place in space, it can either go wrong or right and I definitely think it went right. As Abel and Noemi further their adventure to save Genesis, we visit different planets (do I call them planets??) that are so interesting to read about - I honestly want to read in-depth descriptions about each planet, it amazes me to no end. I actually wanted to know more about Earth too, though I have a feeling we'll no doubt see a bit more of it in book two.
CHARACTERS
In Defy the Stars, the story is told from the point of views by both our main characters, Abel and Noemi. I'm incredibly thankful for this since Abel is a mech/robot thing and his perspective is obviously going to be incredible different from Noemi's. They're enemies, technically, though Noemi takes command as Abel is required to obey her, so this gives you better insight to what he is thinking.
I absolutely loved both our main characters, especially Abel. He is smart and funny - I was literally laughing out loud at some of things he said. I loved Noemi because she too, was also smart and did not make stupid decisions - always a plus when you don't give the reader anxiety haha. She's also pretty badass and I would love to be friends with her.
I really wanted to know more about Riko; even though I'm sure she'll be in book two a lot more, I would've appreciated a little more insight to her life and reasoning because right now, she is not a likeable character.
I loved the addition of the characters that you meet in/on Cray. We really only got to know one (Virginia), but she really added to the story and made the serious scenes a little more light hearted and interesting. I am definitely looking forward to seeing more of her in book two.
OVERALL
Defy the Stars was an almost perfect 5. I'm hoping it slows down only very slightly in book two so we can get to know... well everything and everyone better. For part of this book, I made myself read more because I wanted to get through it before I went overseas; I'm not sure if I did that because of the book or because I was really busy and didn't have a whole lot of time to read (or both?) Either way, once I got into it, I really didn't want to put it down.
This is a great read for both sci-fi lovers and those interested in reading a little more sci-fi and I highly recommend.
If you will read or have read this, I'd love to know your thoughts, so leave a comment below or message me on Instagram (@erenareads).
4.5/5
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