Skyhunter Book Review

• Unique worldbuilding for science-fiction; very focused on government & culture
• Fast-paced, full of action, and lots of twists
• Mute protagonist who lets nothing hold her back; very inspiring and compelling to read about
• Plot creates moments of deep reflection about hard themes relatable to our world
• Side characters didn’t do much for me, but good character development regardless

Skyhunter is a multi-layered book that combines science-fiction, dystopia, and complex themes with a unique world and compelling characters. Mara is the last free nation standing in the fight against the Karensa Federation. It’s the country the protagonist, Talin, and her mother fled to as refugees. Because of the safety it provided, Talin, though mute, is dedicated to protecting Mara against the Federation and doesn’t let her inability to speak stop her from becoming one of their best fighters. But she suffers a major blow when her shield, her partner that helps protect her, dies. After saving Red, a prisoner of war from the Federation, he is assigned to be her new shield. Together with fellow striker/shield combo Adena and Jeran, they face a challenge bigger than they ever anticipated, and have to confront hard realities along the way.

The worldbuilding in Skyhunter was strong. It tended to focus more on cultures rather than having a galactic feel to it, like most science fiction does. But that made the book a unique world-building experience. Lu is very visual in her descriptions of the world, the government, the people and the cultures. Coupled with the tone,  we quickly see it as a bleak future indeed. I appreciated that the world Lu presents is set up to create conflict and high-stress situations naturally without feeling forced.

The tone of this one is darker, but that is well established from the beginning. I always appreciate knowing what I’m getting into as soon as possible. It’s told in first person POV, which fit well since with a darker tone sometimes it’s nice to feel more connected to the protagonist, especially when the protagonist doesn’t have the ability to speak. 

The plot and pacing was another strong point in this novel. Through the conflict, we get a good sense of how evil and domineering the Federation is, really establishing them as the villain. The challenges they face throughout reveal a lot about themselves and what they thought they knew was wrong, creating a lot of good conflict. I also appreciate how Lu uses world and plot to present thought-provoking questions for the reader. I found it to be mostly fast-paced with lots of action and twists to hold the reader’s attention, almost on the side of too fast-paced at points.

There was really good development for the major characters involved, however I wasn’t too drawn in by some of the side characters. Talin is a very compelling protagonist with a strong sense of right and wrong that gets challenged as the stakes in the story increase. It was fun to see the characters interact as a team woven with differing personalities that still work together well to accomplish things and move the plot along. While the side characters weren’t my favorite, I do think the revelations about each character’s story sprinkled throughout were interesting and added depth to them by the end. 

Sure, there were some clichés and common tropes mixed in, but if the story is good and compelling, that doesn’t really bother me too much. What I really want when I read a book is a good story that holds my attention and makes me think deep, which is exactly what Skyhunter did.