Sky in the Deep: 1 (Sky and Sea)

Product Information

The retreat whistle for the Riki sounded and the bodies, still tangled in battle, parted to reveal the green field now painted red with the death of clansmen. I took off, weaving through the retreating Riki and grabbing hold of the fair-haired men one by one, searching their faces.

With a multitude of twists and a wealth of heartfelt moments, this book takes readers on a wonderous journey. The world-building is both comprehensive and concise, creating a fully realized universe. The exploration of the characters' emotions is particularly enriching, providing a deep and rewarding reading experience. She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother's friend. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family to find a way to forgive her brother while daring to put her faith in the people she's spent her life hating. Even before the explosion, Asuka struggled with feelings of inadequacy. She was the final selection for the mission, faced challenges during training on Earth, and grapples with her dual identity as a half-Japanese girl raised in America. With her strained relationship with her mother and the crew members turning against each other, The Phoenix becomes Asuka's sole anchor. In her highly-anticipated debut audiobook, Adrienne Young brings to life a lush, vivid world that will enchant listeners everywhere. Sky in the Deep is mythic in scope and speaks straight to the heart. The story is quite thoughtfully-written and the SF-elements provided plenty of interesting possibilities for our future. This would make a great one to discuss with friends, a book club, or other SF-readers in general.Asuka is the "Alternate" on the starship EvenStar. As her title entails, she's the one person from the crew to do odd jobs here and there. She was the last person to be selected to travel to Planet X. A new home world for the human race. When on a space walk with Kat, to better inspect "a blurred" shape on the outer hull of the ship (one that isn't clear, not even when using bots to go and inspect it, mind you), an explosion renders her unconscious, and kills Kat. The sudden detonations takes the EvenStar out of course. It is, however, a debut novel, and sometimes that showed in the writing - happily in it being a little too straightforward at times, though, rather than overly flowery. And the science side of the science fiction was mostly hand-waved, but then would occasionally need focus to serve the story - I much prefer it being either glossed over entirely, or consistent in the level of detail at least.

Halvard, the little boy in the book that melts the ice around Eelyn’s heart. I love him. Do you write listening to music? If so, what music inspired or accompanied this current book? It was a very fast and engaging read and I would highly recommend The Deep Sky to mystery/thriller readers who are looking for something different or to SciFi readers who are looking for a simpler SciFi story. As an avid reader of weird SciFi, I kept expecting the story to take a turn towards the weird and unhinged explanations. However, The Deep Sky is very much a thriller set in space. I also wished that the author had explored a few of the interesting SciFi concepts and technologies in a bit more depth. She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating. Yes. Sky in the Deep is definitely something unique in the YA Fantasy landscape. Intensely character-drive, stark, bleak, and yet the thread of hope is pulled taut throughout the entire narrative.

I pulled my sword from my scabbard with my right hand and caught the axe with my left. “Vegr yfir fjor.”

The Deep Sky" is a must-read for fans of space adventures, sci-fi, mysteries, and thrillers. It combines a thrilling plot with intricate character development, creating a story that will captivate your imagination and touch your heart. Strongly recommended. Sky in the Deep does read a little older than a typical young adult novel. While it is classified as young adult with the main character being seventeen-years-old, it features many dark things that may not be comfortable for a young reader to encounter. Adrienne Young doesn’t shy away from violence and there is content and trigger warnings for the loss of a loved one, gore, murder, sexual assault, violence, physical abuse, slavery, suicide and war themes. The aspects of this that didn't work as well for me were the story construction, especially in the beginning, and some of the character work. Sentences were choppy. Like. A lot. It was hard. Finding a single compound sentence. And. It made it hard. To follow early transitions. Not smooth. Awkward.

I found my father’s face across the field, where the fog was still pulling up from the land like a lifting cloud. This other Asuka was the shadow she would rip from her feet and leave behind on the crumbling asphalt roads and faded lines. She willed it to be so. Asuka feels like she needs to get to the bottom of what caused the explosion. She can clear her name and find out what is actually going on with the rest of the crew. Thus, a mystery twist unfolds. After a lethal bomb kills three members of a elite group of eighty young people chosen to journey to a distant planet, Asuka, one of those chosen elite, becomes the most likely suspect.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: train to fight and fight to survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Sky in the Deep Series Order

Overall, I was impressed with this as a debut story. It's complex, multifaceted and thought-provoking. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.