levi jacobs, author
  • books
    • Empire of Resonance
    • Tidecaller Chronicles
    • free
  • blog
  • podcast
  • bio
  • Contact

deifying the stars

5/12/2018

0 Comments

 
PictureThe cover Brandon Sanderson called 'really awesome.'
Fellow Readers, 
It's nice now and then to read a book that takes religion seriously. I'm not much for religion personally, but it's the primary vehicle for a lot of our real-life character arcs, and I think it deserves more of a place in fiction. 
Doubly so YA, where such things usually get filed with parents and responsibility: out of the way of the protagonist who's got better things on their plate. Not so in Defy the Stars, Claudia Gray's brilliant start to her Defy the Worlds series. Not only is her opening killer, her pacing intense and romance memorable, she manages to hit deep with a character who takes her religion seriously (even as she questions it). There's also a meditation on what it means to be human buried here, embodied in the form of an android main character, and she pulls it off flawlessly. Who says YA can't get deep? 
Well, a lot of people do, actually, and if you look at most of what's sold best in the genre, you'll understand why. But if you're looking for something meatier intellectually without sacrificing a fast-paced engaging story, you could do worse than to drop a couple dollars on Defy the Stars​. (I wrote a longer review for this on Top New Fantasy--find it here). 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    hi there.

    Picture
    You've reached the electronic home of author Levi Jacobs. Cleverly hidden in this site are stories I've written, news about things I've published, excerpts from my novels, and dark secrets about my other life as an itinerant fruit salesman. Enjoy! ​

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Affiliate Notice:This blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to amazon.com.

    Join the beggars and brawlers mailing list and get an exclusive NOVELLA!

    Picture
    YES PLEASE
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • books
    • Empire of Resonance
    • Tidecaller Chronicles
    • free
  • blog
  • podcast
  • bio
  • Contact