Some Desperate Glory

From the first paragraphs, the stakes felt too high. The sense of needing to save the world is heavy throughout the entire book. I mean, I understand we need a hero’s journey, but I was tired of it pretty quickly.

‍

She let herself fall. If she got it wrong she would be slammed into the cradle of a shadow engine, or caught by one of the great unsecured cables that linked them, and die smeared across fifteen dimensions.

Kyr was not afraid, not for herself, not at all. But if she didn’t save Yiso, no one would.

‍

In this case, the hero is a young woman born aboard a planetoid populated by what most everyone aboard the craft has been told is the last of humanity.

Her journey consists of a set of experiences that slowly break apart her close-minded, cult-like, ultra-conservative, xenophobic mindset.

‍

Ultimately, she finds her purpose doing something she never imagined she would do with her new alien friend.

‍

“How is it fair? You’re just one majo,” Kyr said. “You’re not the Wisdom.” Then she stopped talking as her own words hit her with terrible force.

Yiso was just one majo. Yiso hadn’t killed her world. What if they all— Her thoughts tottered on the edge of a realization she did not want to have.

‍

There are some interesting ideas about reality-shifting technology in this, but for much of the reading, I wondered if the book is meant for the Young Adult audience.  

This gets three stars for the way the author was able to wrap the research she'd done (into fascism, cults and Sparta) into a compelling narrative.

‍