The Girl and the Stars

Mark Lawrence has rapidly become one of my favourite authors, and with the start of his new series - The Book of the Ice - I don't see any sign of that changing any time soon. This series is set in the same world as his Book of the Ancestor, but rather than being in the narrowing inhabitable belt in the middle of the planet of Abeth, this is set on the giant ice caps that make up the majority of the planet.

Lawrence's Abeth based books have been far more character driven than some of his previous work. His earlier Broken Empire and Red Queen's War series followed thoroughly unlikable characters and the brutal things that they did. His Abeth books have been a much more sympathetic take on things. The brutality is still here though, just seen through the eye of someone on the receiving end of it or with a greater sense of justice behind it. Yaz is his most sympathetic and selfless character to date -she is genuinely thinking beyond just herself in most of her actions.

Lawrence has such an easy to read writing style and The Girl and The Stars is no exception to this. The world building and cultural stylings he puts up are refreshing and different, helping to drive the story forward. The underlying menace is there which helps build the suspense and danger.

In summary, this is the most sympathetically written character that Lawrence has made to date. The Girl and the Stars, keeps the dramatic story telling and world building but actually gives you a character you don't feel guilty for rooting for. A highly enjoyable read - it took me less than a day to read this as I struggled to put it down!

“When you put some people together for the first time there's a kind of gravitation, a slow spiral dance as they're drawn into each other's orbit, each opening to the other by degrees, discovering how closely their wants and hopes and passions align.”

Another great read from Mark Lawrence, filled with more of the magic and world building I love. Looking forward to finishing this series soon.

Good book, but the audiobook narrator's relatively flat affect was annoying.

“Yaz walked on, unseeing, understanding a new truth on her last day: Abeth's ice might stretch for untold miles, but there was, in all that emptiness, no room for an individual.”

Things I love:
??? Lawrence's ability to deliver insightful and philosophical perspective on something as simple as being human. I could pick so many quotes from this, from all his books.
??? The world of Abeth, the planet covered in ice except for a belt of green along equator that dwindles slowly as the ice progresses.
??? That Lawrence's world building always mixes what seems like a long time ago primitive age and futuristic technology.
??? How fierce Yaz, the protagonist is.

I did not like:
??? The pace. The first 3rd is a compelling ride, and the ending is quite the evil cliffhanger, but there's a big chunk in the middle that didn't work for me. Funny thing, I wouldn't change a thing about it. Because I've read The Book Of The Ancestors (also a series taking place on Abeth), I was expecting more brutality and violence. I can acknowledge that Yaz' story is quite different from Nona's, and that Yaz' challenges involve a different kind of brutality. And with that in mind I think the pacing is what it's supposed to be, it's just not quite for me.
??? The characters... give off a vibe that makes the book feel a little YA novel to me. I reckon it's to do with teenage love/jealousy showing its face many times throughout. Also, not for me, but maybe it works for other readers.

2.5 stars!!!

I quite liked where the book went - the expanded world building and the new locations, but I have to criticise the way it did it. More specifically, the overuse of some powers, which made it difficult to feel like there's any stakes.
Our main characters was brought to the brink multiple times, only to overcome said brink with basically no effort. It just seems like there's no limit to what she can do and that brings a certain level of flatness to my emotional investment. If you gonna give someone near unlimited power, you should limit the frequency with which they can use it.
And show me their struggle before they get to figure out how to surpass said limits. Simply alleging that they struggled with it at one point, then immediately allowing them to blast past any limitations makes it feel unearned.

Still, I was craving this sort of deep dive into this world, ever since I read Book of the Ancestor a few years ago. So, all the reveals were definitely satisfying. And those are the reason why I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received this book courtesy of Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

I think I am going to simply put this on my metaphorical shelf for now and come back to it at a later date.

The primary reason for this is because of the writing style. There just isn't enough there to make me care about these characters and the ice world they inhabit. Especially when compared to Sabaa Tahir, author of the Ember in the Ashes series, the characterization and description can be something I found lacking in this book.

Couple this with how I found out that this is a continuation of Lawrence's Red Sister series, set in the same world, and I feel like I'm missing something.

I figure that once I have read that series, I'll come back to this one again and see if it can grab my attention.