Shattered Veil (The Diatous Wars #1) by Tracy E. Banghart Publication date: December 19th 2013 by Bloomsbury Spark
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Fleeing a destroyed Earth, seventeen-year-old orphan Hope grew up
living in the confines of a spaceship heading to CR-3, a new home
planet. She’s been kicking the steel walls for too long and ever since
she broke her boyfriend’s heart, touchdown could mean open air and a
fresh start. But no one expected the Locals.
Hope’s dreams of freedom turn into nightmares when the Locals trap the humans and mark groups for observation. At any moment she can be called into a holographic observation room for testing. Some days she’s drowning in a strange dark ocean, some days she’s locked up without food, and all with the one boy she can’t seem to forget.
As the Locals study Hope, she studies them. She wants to believe the tall grey creatures could be peaceful, but as the simulations become more dangerous, Hope is about to become the human race’s last chance for survival.
Hope’s dreams of freedom turn into nightmares when the Locals trap the humans and mark groups for observation. At any moment she can be called into a holographic observation room for testing. Some days she’s drowning in a strange dark ocean, some days she’s locked up without food, and all with the one boy she can’t seem to forget.
As the Locals study Hope, she studies them. She wants to believe the tall grey creatures could be peaceful, but as the simulations become more dangerous, Hope is about to become the human race’s last chance for survival.
It has been a while since I have read a science fiction novel with aliens in it, so I was kind of excited for Beyond Our Stars.
The book starts with a bang, as the first chapter gives us a quick glimpse into their current situations before giving us a few chapter's of the back story.
Natural disaster has made Earth unlivable, so when the human race finally got news of a planet that was similar to Earth and therefor inhabitable, they packed into their ships and took off towards their destination. The journey there wasn't easy, but the arrival proved to be a more difficult one. Especially after learning that the planet was already occupied by another life form.
A day after touching the planet, 10 people out of each group end up being marked. The crop fields disappear and all they see is metal everywhere, something they called The Stacks. Now the 'Local's are using the Stacks to virtually simulate environments and situations, bringing in the marked people to test them through them. It starts out fine, until things start to get a little out of control and people start to lose faith.
Interesting story. I did enjoy the plot, it was a breeze to get through, thought fast in some parts and slow in others , it was very entertaining.
The main character of the book is Hope, a 17 year old girl who has a lot of hope that the Local's aren't really dangerous and that eventually they will talk to them and the simulations will stop. Unfortunately for Hope, she ends up being the only one holding on to that belief even when the simulations get dangerous. Which unnerved me a little, I would have thought enough was enough myself. Plus, she ends being the wise one and the only hope for humanity, yet I couldn't completely connect with her. Her character felt a little up and down at times and I was disappointed again that the adult's in this book looked kind of lost and confused while a teenaged girl wasn't.
There was romance, between Hope and Chance. It wasn't instant but it was there from the start because the book kind of started with the fact that they were together, but Hope had other ideas for her life on the planet and none of them included marriage. So when Chance broke it off with them, it was a heart breaking moments. I did enjoy the fact that besides being very angry with her, through the simulations we get a glimpse that he still very much cares for her. Faith keeps throwing them together, providing us readers with some very sweet moments!
I flew threw the book, only to realize there might not be a sequel, which disappointed me a bit. I would have liked to see more world building. Thought packing everything into one story worked, I think it could have done even better with more. Either way, I am excited about this author who is new to me and looking forward to her future writing!
I don't normally love books about aliens but I admit this one sounds really interesting!
ReplyDeleteI don't read a lot of books like this, but it does sound pretty interesting. I'd love to see this world and all the things that are going on in it :) Great review!
ReplyDeleteJanina @ Synchronized Reading
Great review, hun! I like the sounds of this one these kinds of world situations/dystopian type reads are right up my alley. They kind of terrify me, too, because they're often fairly plausible! I like how entertaining this sounds and I'm glad you liked it even if you didn't completely love the MC. Maybe she'll decide to write a sequel one day :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting, but like you I want solid world-building, Fantastic review. I have enjoyed quite a few titles recently with aliens.
ReplyDeleteAliens you say..cool :)
ReplyDeleteOoo sounds good! It's been a while since I've ready an alien based one myself. I don't think any since Gena Showalters a while back. Huh. It does sound like a great set up. I'd probably be a bit disappointed over the lack of a sequel as well. Even though that's a great thing she had you wanting to read more from her. Always nice to find an author like that.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an intriguing read. I am curious about the simulations and I do enjoy a good alien read occasionally! I'd like to see more about Hope and Chance's complicated relationship too. Fab review!
ReplyDeleteNaomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace
I used to really enjoy books like this. I'm glad you mostly liked Beyond Our Stars, despite the lack of world building. Nice review, Lily!
ReplyDeleteI really like the sound of this Lily. The idea of figuring out how to live on another planet alongside aliens intrigues me. I'm glad you enjoyed it and I'll keep my fingers crossed for a sequel. Great review!
ReplyDeleteoh it sounds nice and the world is intriguing but well sci-fi? Not for me. Mainly when it's about space. I know I tried and liked one not a long time ago but still not my fave genre.
ReplyDeleteHuh, this sounds interesting. I'm kind of in the mood to read a sci-fi like this. Great review, I'm going to add it to my list.
ReplyDelete