Tag: skyhunter

ARC REVIEW: Mindwalker by Kate Dylan

Francesca LucyLeave a comment

First of all, hi! Second of all, my first book review of the summer is a 5* review of one of my most anticipated releases this year!!!!

I’m so, so grateful that I got the opportunity to read an eARC of Mindwalker by Kate Dylan because this book has literally everything I’m looking for in a thriller. It was such a fun read that I’m still obsessed with nearly a month after finishing, and I’m very excited to share my thoughts. So:

Mindwalker is a completely wild sci-fi/cyberpunk thriller that follows Sil, a genetically modified teenager with a supercomputer in her mind that allows her to enter and control other people’s brains. At eighteen years old, Sil’s employment and life are both almost up and, in an attempt to die a legend, she finds herself caught up in a scandal, a compromised mission, and a plot to overthrow the company that she’s idolised for as long as she remembers.

I knew before I picked this up that I was going to love it and it absolutely did not disappoint. Mindwalker combines enemies-to-lovers, Marie Lu-level sci-fi world building, a page-turning plot and an incredibly fierce, slightly unhinged female protagonist to create one of the most exciting books I’ve read all year.

The pace didn’t slow down for a second, and whilst the characters were by far my favourite thing about this book, the plot was an absolute thrill ride. There was a lot of explanation needed due to the amount of futuristic tech in the story, but this was done so well that it was incredibly easy to understand the tech that Syntex was using without wasting a lot of time describing it.

I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book. It reminded me a lot of slightly older dystopian YA, like Divergent and The Hunger Games, but with plenty of modern tropes and elements that made it feel completely new. I’m so excited to read everything Kate Dylan writes from here on in and seriously can’t recommend this one enough!

Rating 5/5

Mindwalker publishes on 1st of September! If you read it, I would absolutely love to know what you thought (and also if you have any recommendations of anything similar!!)

Book Review: Skyhunter by Marie Lu

Francesca Lucy7 Comments

I wasn’t sure whether or not to review this because I completely gave up on being impartial about Marie Lu’s books about 6 years ago- but in the end, I couldn’t keep my thoughts to myself. Surprise, surprise, this is not going to be a balanced review. It is instead going to be a short summary, followed by a post full of fangirling. You’ve been warned.

Skyhunter is the story of Talin, a specially-trained soldier, or Striker, for her struggling nation, Mara. Set far, far into the future, after the collapse of the world as we know it, Mara is the only land that remains un-colonised by the ever-growing Federation, and Talin is one of many, fighting on the front lines to defend from the oncoming attack, from humans, technological human experiments and ghosts, which are monstrous beings trained to obey the Federation’s every command.

When a presumed Federation soldier wanders into their territory, all but Talin are happy to watch him suffer for their actions, but Talin feels a strange connection that forces her to risk her own life for him. When he is later paired up as her partner, she discovers that there is more to him than meets the eye, and that he may become the key to their survival and a vital look into the Federation’s plans.

There are elements of Legend and Warcross in this book that were impossible for me to ignore. Marie Lu is incredible at writing dystopia, especially dystopia surrounding technology and world domination, and this book was really no different. The characters were as instantly fascinating as any of her books and I found myself loving and hating exactly who I was supposed to. Talin is a fierce, incredibly well-developed protagonist, suffering from a lot of internal struggle about her duties, her heart and her sense of belonging, and Red is an intriguing, unique and equally powerful character to read. Jeran as well, a close friend, a fierce soldier and a very useful translator for Red and Talin, was a particular favourite character of mine. I loved seeing him develop as the story went on, after finding myself particularly invested in him from the very beginning.

This story is fast-paced, exciting and completely immersive. I got sucked in so quickly to the world of Mara and the Federation that I completely forgot the outside world, caring only about their story and their survival. The technology Marie Lu invents is believable, the world is so detailed that it’s impossible not to find yourself in the story with them, and the characters are the kind that you want to keep in your mind forever.

Rather than recommending this book, I urge you to read it. Or read Warcross, or The Young Elites, or Legend, or The Kingdom of Back (which I also *cough* reviewed, here). Marie Lu’s books are incomparable: inclusive, diverse, thrilling, immersive and incredibly original. This book has further solidified her status as my favourite author of all time, and I can only hope that, if you take my advice and read it, you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Rating: 5/5 (obviously…)