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i22koolet's review
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
brandypainter's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely could not put this book down. It pulled me in and kept me hooked until the very end. It's a sci-fi adventure that starts off with a bang and keeps on going at high speed. There are high stakes and a mystery about identity and choices running underneath all of the action. There are also some really great themes about war and how we treat others. The prose and the illustrations are equally beautiful and their presentation is well thought out and majestic. I am still trying to fully parse my feelings about the end though. There were parts of the resolution that felt rushed and left me not fully satisfied. Added to that are some personal issues regarding the mythos of the book I have due to my Christian beliefs. (I am able to separate that from this as a work of art and see it on its own merits, but it hampered my full personal enjoyment. Just a couple things being different this would have been a five star read for me.)
perilous1's review against another edition
2.0
Originally reviewed for YA Books Central: http://www.yabookscentral.com/yafiction/21113-phoenix-2
A beautifully illustrated sci-fi fantasy (heavy on the fantasy), seemingly aimed at the younger side of the Middle Grade audience.
The story is told in past-tense third-person limited from the perspective of "Lucky," a young boy who lives alone with his mother on a human colony in some indeterminate distant-future reality. The humans are at war with an alien species known as the Axxa--for which Lucky holds a fearful disdain and only the vaguest understanding. But as it turns out, Lucky may not be entirely human himself. His mother has been keeping secrets from him that Lucky's own body is betraying. The stars themselves are in danger of being snuffed out, and Lucky may be the key to saving the entire galaxy.
What I Liked:
The black and white illustration work is stunning and ethereal--perfectly capturing both Lucky's vast astral journeying as well as his varying emotional states. I appreciated Dave McKean's work in THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, but here he's really outdone himself. Somewhere around 1/4th of this book's pages are in some way enhanced by his unique blend of organic and geometric elements. Fractals, Moire patterns, and starscapes... oh my!
Along with many of the illustrations, the segments describing Lucky's Astro/Astral-projection travel between (and interaction with) the stars were easily the brightest highlight. Here the simple prose became more vivid and lyrical.
The most standout characters in this story may arguably be the "needles" that Bixa wore in her hair. We aren't given much by way of explanation for them, aside from the understanding that they are a form of weapon to her. But their reflective response to her emotions in color and behavior was a consistent and enriching detail worth looking forward to.
What Didn't Work For Me:
-Not knowing Lucky's age was continually disorienting. As a result, I had to guess and gauge based on his internal thoughts, vocabulary, and dependency level--which I would place around that of a 10-year-old--an immature 12-year-old at the very oldest. We are told he thinks the alien girl, Bixa, is his age... but he doesn't seem to know anything about her people's physiology or lifespan, so the comparison wasn't particularly effective. Regardless of his age, he comes off as a pretty passive and bland character. There was some growth in him by the end, but not enough to forge the degree of connectivity this reader prefers.
-Regretfully, the worldbuilding left a lot to be desired. Having 12 star systems based on the 12 astrological signs was an interesting element in concept, but the "twist" applied to it toward the end negates a lot of the originality. Alien names like "Mystica" and "Quicksilver" reinforced a more fantasy feel, as did a lack of emphasis on anything remotely scientific. And aside from the insult "moonbrain" and weapons like "sensory dazzler," there's little by way of adaptive slang or terminology. A few of the oddly non-alien non-futuristic colloquialisms the Axxa use (even when they don't know a human is around) include:
*"Take the bull by the horns."
*"How in heaven's name...?"
*"...the best seat in the house."
-The prose is serviceable, but without being memorable. Unremarkable portions are sometimes overwritten, and the cryptic messages (presumably from the stars) at the beginning of each chapter end up more ponderous than foreboding. There's a general poverty of description--both in physical (i.e. no idea what Lucky's mother looks like) and in terms of the numerous space-based locations. As a result, much of what is being talked about is difficult to picture.
Content Notes:
-A subversive anti-parent sentiment seems to persist throughout, from the negligence and deception of Lucky's mother to the "twist", to actual quotes from endeared characters: "No father can tell him what to do. It is not a parent that he needs, but that which is already inside him."
-The book contains some entry-level curse words, and there is a scene where the characters are forced to strip for a travel search and the female love interest makes an admiring comment regarding Lucky's naked posterior. (How inappropriate this is depends somewhat on the character's ages, but as we aren't told their ages, and as Lucky's thought process gives the impression of a child no older than 12, I leave this to individual parents to gauge.)
-At the risk of giving "spoilers" here, I wanted to alert parents and readers that this book has evidently jumped on the recent bandwagon of re-branding Satan (yes, literally The Devil) to make him appear sympathetic--heroic, even. (Never mind that it's also a bizarre and incongruent insertion that made a shoehorn fit into the rest of the sci-fi and astrological theme of the book at large.)
"But he is Lucifer!" ...
"And you know what that name means?" ... "It means "Bringer of Light.' That's all. Lucifer wasn't just the Devil. He was also called the Morningstar: the brightest star. And in all the legends, one thing shines through. Lucifer was stubborn! He stood for free will and choice. So even if *** is Lucifer, I reckon he can do whatever he wants with his power. He's the only one who can decide..."
A beautifully illustrated sci-fi fantasy (heavy on the fantasy), seemingly aimed at the younger side of the Middle Grade audience.
The story is told in past-tense third-person limited from the perspective of "Lucky," a young boy who lives alone with his mother on a human colony in some indeterminate distant-future reality. The humans are at war with an alien species known as the Axxa--for which Lucky holds a fearful disdain and only the vaguest understanding. But as it turns out, Lucky may not be entirely human himself. His mother has been keeping secrets from him that Lucky's own body is betraying. The stars themselves are in danger of being snuffed out, and Lucky may be the key to saving the entire galaxy.
What I Liked:
The black and white illustration work is stunning and ethereal--perfectly capturing both Lucky's vast astral journeying as well as his varying emotional states. I appreciated Dave McKean's work in THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, but here he's really outdone himself. Somewhere around 1/4th of this book's pages are in some way enhanced by his unique blend of organic and geometric elements. Fractals, Moire patterns, and starscapes... oh my!
Along with many of the illustrations, the segments describing Lucky's Astro/Astral-projection travel between (and interaction with) the stars were easily the brightest highlight. Here the simple prose became more vivid and lyrical.
The most standout characters in this story may arguably be the "needles" that Bixa wore in her hair. We aren't given much by way of explanation for them, aside from the understanding that they are a form of weapon to her. But their reflective response to her emotions in color and behavior was a consistent and enriching detail worth looking forward to.
What Didn't Work For Me:
-Not knowing Lucky's age was continually disorienting. As a result, I had to guess and gauge based on his internal thoughts, vocabulary, and dependency level--which I would place around that of a 10-year-old--an immature 12-year-old at the very oldest. We are told he thinks the alien girl, Bixa, is his age... but he doesn't seem to know anything about her people's physiology or lifespan, so the comparison wasn't particularly effective. Regardless of his age, he comes off as a pretty passive and bland character. There was some growth in him by the end, but not enough to forge the degree of connectivity this reader prefers.
-Regretfully, the worldbuilding left a lot to be desired. Having 12 star systems based on the 12 astrological signs was an interesting element in concept, but the "twist" applied to it toward the end negates a lot of the originality. Alien names like "Mystica" and "Quicksilver" reinforced a more fantasy feel, as did a lack of emphasis on anything remotely scientific. And aside from the insult "moonbrain" and weapons like "sensory dazzler," there's little by way of adaptive slang or terminology. A few of the oddly non-alien non-futuristic colloquialisms the Axxa use (even when they don't know a human is around) include:
*"Take the bull by the horns."
*"How in heaven's name...?"
*"...the best seat in the house."
-The prose is serviceable, but without being memorable. Unremarkable portions are sometimes overwritten, and the cryptic messages (presumably from the stars) at the beginning of each chapter end up more ponderous than foreboding. There's a general poverty of description--both in physical (i.e. no idea what Lucky's mother looks like) and in terms of the numerous space-based locations. As a result, much of what is being talked about is difficult to picture.
Content Notes:
-A subversive anti-parent sentiment seems to persist throughout, from the negligence and deception of Lucky's mother to the "twist", to actual quotes from endeared characters: "No father can tell him what to do. It is not a parent that he needs, but that which is already inside him."
-The book contains some entry-level curse words, and there is a scene where the characters are forced to strip for a travel search and the female love interest makes an admiring comment regarding Lucky's naked posterior. (How inappropriate this is depends somewhat on the character's ages, but as we aren't told their ages, and as Lucky's thought process gives the impression of a child no older than 12, I leave this to individual parents to gauge.)
-At the risk of giving "spoilers" here, I wanted to alert parents and readers that this book has evidently jumped on the recent bandwagon of re-branding Satan (yes, literally The Devil) to make him appear sympathetic--heroic, even. (Never mind that it's also a bizarre and incongruent insertion that made a shoehorn fit into the rest of the sci-fi and astrological theme of the book at large.)
"But he is Lucifer!" ...
"And you know what that name means?" ... "It means "Bringer of Light.' That's all. Lucifer wasn't just the Devil. He was also called the Morningstar: the brightest star. And in all the legends, one thing shines through. Lucifer was stubborn! He stood for free will and choice. So even if *** is Lucifer, I reckon he can do whatever he wants with his power. He's the only one who can decide..."
ghutter05's review against another edition
2.0
Almost three stars. I wanted to like it more, because there just aren't a lot of options for sci fi in junior fiction, but I didn't feel as deeply for the characters as I know I was supposed to.
dandelionsteph's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A good book must make sense, in some way, so it cannot be entirely unpredictable. There were some aspects of plot beats, characterization, and setting I could not have predicted ahead of time, and in that sense, it was creative. However, there were a few other parts which felt too well-trod, leaving me disappointed. Of course the tough, hot-blooded teenage* (age unspecified) girl who's good at fighting and thinks it's necessary is criticized by adult authority figures for her attitude or beliefs; of course people bemoan the fact she must commit to violence; of course she must soften up towards and come to fall in love with the (apparently cis straight hetero) male protagonist; of course she becomes less violent over time and gives up her weapons and violent, aggressive ways in the big 'kumbaya' ending. She even holds hands with and kisses him near the end! From the start, I was worried the teen girl in the adventuring party roster who was apparently close to the male protagonist's age was going to fall into the role of 'love interest' to the protagonist. Thankfully, she has a lot more personality than just that, and importance to the plot beyond just by being his love interest, but, still, it's a sort of age-and-gender pigeonholing.
If the author wanted to be just a bit more original, it would have been better not having them kiss at the end, or not confirming they were in a romantic relationship with the whole "friends and more" conversation. In fact, making Lucky fall in love with Frollix instead would have been more original, even if it was still amatonormative. In fact, that Lucky's romantic relationship with Bixa is the leading example of the concept of "connections" in Lucky's mind (which proves vital to the plot), makes the amatonormativity especially heavy-handed.
Bixa didn't want to be the Startalker of the Present. She didn't want to run her life and her values like Mystica's: she wanted to be different, to be herself. For Bixa to discard the hair-needle weapons so distinctive to her, which she used to save the crew multiple times, during the big 'kumbaya' ending on the basis she thinks she 'doesn't need them anymore' is a dismissal of Bixa as someone with a unique and valuable perspective. She falls into line with the big wise adults.
What's worse about this is that Bixa's way of dealing with life-endangering conflict is criticized for its violence and death, but she doesn't exclusively deal with life-endangering conflict through using violence. Some of her needles are 'sensory dazzler' needles, which cause very distracting, nauseating sensory hallucinations in an area-of-effect for a few minutes, allowing her and the crew to get by without needing violence.
It would have been better for Bixa to consider removing her needles, because now the Human-Axxa war is over, but decide against it: even when there isn't an all-out war anymore, there might still be deadly conflict, and no one could blame her for defending herself. Or she keeps the needles because she thinks they're beautiful, or as a reminder of her past, both painful and valuable. Or she keeps them because their utilities could be useful beyond directly hurting people. Or she starts to remove all her needles, only keeping the low-lethality/nonlethal ones, like the sensory dazzlers, and so comes to grips with the fact the needles themselves were a useful tool, not a attitude she must (or can now) discard.
I also dislike how Lucky believes he must die, refuses, and dies anyway, even if he ends up back in his 'original' body as a powerful star being (Astraeus). Even if he did end up as an Astraeus, it would have been better for him to choose to return to his clumsy mortal body for the sake of his relationships with others, or even split himself off into an Astraeus and non-Astraeus being, like in the ending to the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix.
Too many things fall into place basically as foretold, no matter how resisted they are. It feels fatalistic, despite the cheerful ending (and how overly cheerful it is). In a book with prophecies or foretold futures, these should come to pass with more of a real choice from the protagonists, if not defiance. I like how, sometimes, the prophecies aren't even real, as in the first Wings of Fire series.
I was also disappointed that the Axxa are basically just a variant of human, with virtually zero biological differences between them and humans. It is, a sense, more realistic, as we have yet to discover alien lifeforms, and finding alien lifeforms of human intelligence is massively less probable. (After all, our planet spent billions of years, or most of its life-covered history, having only microbial life.) Nonetheless, I found it disappointing as it under-used the potential of its science-fiction setting to show wholly new alien peoples. What's worse is that it doesn't <i>need</i> to be realistic: this isn't a hard science fiction, nor even a standard alien-filled 'soft' sci-fi, but a <i>science fantasy</i> with living, talking stars, a fantasy phoenix, and dark matter bombs basically causing depression for mystical reasons. This isn't like Andy Weir's The Martian, which is painstakingly realistic except when necessary to the plot; this is more like <i>Star Wars</i> or a <i>Wrinkle in Time</I..
While the Humans and Axxa in fact being basically the same species neatly links into the 'we are all connected' kumbaya theme, I feel it would have had more of an impact if the Axxa were more biologically different from humans, or if the Axxa weren't human-descended at all.
Bixa didn't want to be the Startalker of the Present. She didn't want to run her life and her values like Mystica's: she wanted to be different, to be herself. For Bixa to discard the hair-needle weapons so distinctive to her, which she used to save the crew multiple times, during the big 'kumbaya' ending on the basis she thinks she 'doesn't need them anymore' is a dismissal of Bixa as someone with a unique and valuable perspective. She falls into line with the big wise adults.
What's worse about this is that Bixa's way of dealing with life-endangering conflict is criticized for its violence and death, but she doesn't exclusively deal with life-endangering conflict through using violence. Some of her needles are 'sensory dazzler' needles, which cause very distracting, nauseating sensory hallucinations in an area-of-effect for a few minutes, allowing her and the crew to get by without needing violence.
It would have been better for Bixa to consider removing her needles, because now the Human-Axxa war is over, but decide against it: even when there isn't an all-out war anymore, there might still be deadly conflict, and no one could blame her for defending herself. Or she keeps the needles because she thinks they're beautiful, or as a reminder of her past, both painful and valuable. Or she keeps them because their utilities could be useful beyond directly hurting people. Or she starts to remove all her needles, only keeping the low-lethality/nonlethal ones, like the sensory dazzlers, and so comes to grips with the fact the needles themselves were a useful tool, not a attitude she must (or can now) discard.
I also dislike how Lucky believes he must die, refuses, and dies anyway, even if he ends up back in his 'original' body as a powerful star being (Astraeus). Even if he did end up as an Astraeus, it would have been better for him to choose to return to his clumsy mortal body for the sake of his relationships with others, or even split himself off into an Astraeus and non-Astraeus being, like in the ending to the Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix.
Too many things fall into place basically as foretold, no matter how resisted they are. It feels fatalistic, despite the cheerful ending (and how overly cheerful it is). In a book with prophecies or foretold futures, these should come to pass with more of a real choice from the protagonists, if not defiance. I like how, sometimes, the prophecies aren't even real, as in the first Wings of Fire series.
I was also disappointed that the Axxa are basically just a variant of human, with virtually zero biological differences between them and humans. It is, a sense, more realistic, as we have yet to discover alien lifeforms, and finding alien lifeforms of human intelligence is massively less probable. (After all, our planet spent billions of years, or most of its life-covered history, having only microbial life.) Nonetheless, I found it disappointing as it under-used the potential of its science-fiction setting to show wholly new alien peoples. What's worse is that it doesn't <i>need</i> to be realistic: this isn't a hard science fiction, nor even a standard alien-filled 'soft' sci-fi, but a <i>science fantasy</i> with living, talking stars, a fantasy phoenix, and dark matter bombs basically causing depression for mystical reasons. This isn't like Andy Weir's The Martian, which is painstakingly realistic except when necessary to the plot; this is more like <i>Star Wars</i> or a <i>Wrinkle in Time</I..
While the Humans and Axxa in fact being basically the same species neatly links into the 'we are all connected' kumbaya theme, I feel it would have had more of an impact if the Axxa were more biologically different from humans, or if the Axxa weren't human-descended at all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, War, and Death
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Animal death, Alcohol, Chronic illness, and Police brutality
Keep in mind that the "Racism" and "Racial slurs" warnings are applied in a "fantasy racism" sense, although it's closer to real-life racism than one might think becausejoenglish's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
soliipsism's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
tmcph08's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
zenithharpink's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this read - I powered through in a day, and it was a day well-spent! I enjoyed Lucky and his friends, though I would have loved to understand how old Lucky was - it was oddly confusing not to know.
While I wouldn't say there was a much of a "twist" in the story, the ending was unexpected. I appreciated the ending, though I still have slightly mixed feelings.
I also have mixed feelings about the illustrations. While I believe the structure of the text on the pages featuring illustrations was well done, I didn't find the illustrations to add anything - if the pages were otherwise blank, but featured the same test structure, the message would have been just as powerful, in my opinion.
There was a lot I didn't understand, some of which I found annoying, and really was the reason this wasn't 5 stars for me. I think there could have been a big benefit from a solid epilogue or SOMETHING to share a little more on where people went from the ending, but the reader has no such luck.
I recommend this book to Sci-fi fans, and even fantasy - there was a heavy dose of fantasy in this book, and it molded together well.
While I wouldn't say there was a much of a "twist" in the story, the ending was unexpected. I appreciated the ending, though I still have slightly mixed feelings.
I also have mixed feelings about the illustrations. While I believe the structure of the text on the pages featuring illustrations was well done, I didn't find the illustrations to add anything - if the pages were otherwise blank, but featured the same test structure, the message would have been just as powerful, in my opinion.
There was a lot I didn't understand, some of which I found annoying, and really was the reason this wasn't 5 stars for me. I think there could have been a big benefit from a solid epilogue or SOMETHING to share a little more on where people went from the ending, but the reader has no such luck.
I recommend this book to Sci-fi fans, and even fantasy - there was a heavy dose of fantasy in this book, and it molded together well.
willowshelter's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0