Skyhunter

Welcome back to Lit&Leta for the first post of February!

Skyhunter by Marie Lu was the last book I read in January, so I thought it was only fitting for it to bridge that gap between months. I’m going to go through the parts that I liked less before going into the good parts. This was a strangely mixed book for me, but I want to explain why (with no spoilers, of course). I don’t think I’ve said this yet, but it is important to read reviews by more than one reviewer so that you get a range of opinions on any given book. There are so many kinds of readers out there, so some of us are going to like books more than others.

Now for the review of Skyhunter. The first thing I noticed, and this continued throughout the novel, was the lack of character development. I wanted so many extended moments with the characters so that we could learn more about their interpersonal relationships. Talin, our main character, tells us so much about the other characters and their relationships with each other, but we didn’t get to see a lot of interaction.

A few pieces of information in the beginning felt over-explained by Talin as well, leading me to the feeling of repetition. She talked to us a lot in her head because she is mute, but her communication skills otherwise felt fluent enough that she could have asked questions to others instead of constantly leave them unanswered and repeat them. These two paragraphs lead me up to the conclusion that there is more telling than I like in this novel and not enough being shown through the character’s dialogue and action. It would help to strengthen the characters and create a rounder picture of the overall world if there was more showing.

  The world-building was impressive. I loved the futuristic elements scattered throughout the background while the events seemed to happen in a medieval fantasy setting. I’ve read a few novels like this, that hint at taking place after our civilization has fallen. The broken machines and buildings from our world create a skeleton on which Marie Lu builds the world in Skyhunter, and it means that this world has a strong framework.

I’m very excited for the next novel in the series, where I hope we’ll learn more about the characters and their motivations. I enjoyed the plot of this novel and I believe it ended on a solid note while still leaving me with enough anticipation of what is coming.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5