In a world broken by war, a team of young warriors is willing to sacrifice everything to save what they love. The Karensa Federation has conquered a dozen countries, leaving Mara as one of the last free nations in the world. Refugees flee to its borders to escape a fate worse than death—transformation into mutant war beasts known as Ghosts, creatures the Federation then sends to attack Mara. The legendary Strikers, Mara’s elite fighting force, are trained to stop them. But as the number of Ghosts grows and Karensa closes in, defeat seems inevitable. Still, one Striker refuses to give up hope. Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation. Their cruelty forced her and her mother to seek asylum in a country that considers their people repugnant. She finds comfort only with a handful of fellow Strikers who have pledged their lives to one another and who are determined to push Karensa back at all costs. When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye. Is he a spy from the Federation? Or could he be the weapon that will save them all?
My rating: 4/5 stars
Completely unexpectedly, I adored Skyhunter. The blurb, while nice, is quite generic, with nothing to really hook my interest. Honestly, I only read Skyhunter because of the gorgeous gorgeous cover and because it’s Lu’s work, and she has yet to disappoint me (we’re going to ignore the existence of The Midnight Star). And I am SO glad, because Skyhunter was an amazing book and I recommend it to absolutely everyone. There’s a host of things I loved about the book, so I want to get the one shortcoming out of the way first.
The book was predictable. Very much so. From the very beginning of the book you know how it is going to end (maybe not exactly how it happens, but you have a fair idea), so the reason you keep reading is not to find out what happens at the end. And that’s why on thinking about it I realised that this isn’t really a shortcoming of the book at all. In a book about a desperate war-torn nation, with the enemy being substantially more powerful, the story is not about a miraculous reversal of fate. The ending is inevitable, and that is precisely what makes the story more powerful. Because the characters know, just as well as the readers do, that there is no hope. But they continue to hope, to fight, to furiously live regardless of that dire knowledge . This is the theme of Skyhunter and it is brilliantly portrayed.
Moving on to the things I liked, it includes pretty much everything else. I liked the characters and the realism with which they were portrayed. For instance, when being an elite warrior (striker) didn’t affect how Talin reacted in the presence of the Senators, because insecurities unfortunately do not disappear when you become incredible at something, and they most definitely do not disappear from other unrelated aspects of life. Another fact I truly appreciated is that Lu did not allow the romantic subplot to take over the book. There are hints of romance, well-placed and well-written that I thoroughly enjoyed and I have my ships, but unlike the usual trajectory of YA wherein somewhere midway through the book, the plot suddenly revolves around the new romances, Skyhunter stayed true to its plotline. The characters are incredible, and like I said before, realistic in most cases (save for one instance of hurried experimentation that is not all that plausible and as a student of science I cannot overlook), with varied backgrounds and nuanced personalities.
The highlight of Skyhunter for me, was the manner in which it dealt with a lot of pertinent sensitive issues, including racism, xenophobia, trauma, the reality of war etc. I found Skyhunter to be thought-provoking read made all the more enjoyable because the characters were likeable. And I’m looking forward to see how the series will evolve with the fall of Mara.
P.S: It’s pretty cool to be able to read about electricity, trains, airplanes etc, things we all take for granted today, as new, unknown technologies, when metamorphosed humans are a common occurrence. It’s an interesting balance.
Happy reading!
Worlds of Wonder 