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angengea's review
2.0
I probably would not have finished this if I hadn't been given a copy by NetGalley and asked to review it for Library Journal.
Oof. Where do I start? Probably with the fact that this book is just really boring? The characters are not engaging, I never developed any concern about them at all and did not care about what happened to them. The heroine in particular was not particularly well-developed as a character. Another reviewer said this "felt like an RPG" and I think that feels very true for me – it was kind of like reading a summary of a tabletop campaign.
A big issue I had is that a lot of the exposition is explained via dialogue that felt very unrealistic. Another reviewer described it as "mansplaining" the exposition to the main character, and I don't disagree with that but it felt very unnatural to me. Again, kind of like a DM explaining lore to the players of his RPG campaign.
The biggest issue I had with this book was the perpetuation of white Euro/American-centric culture as the norm and "good", and Middle Eastern culture as the other and "bad." For a book about a colony that rose up against an imperial power, this book had almost no critique of the very real imperialist harm done against people of color and in fact just perpetuated a lot of the stereotypes found in other white/Western science fiction. Very reminiscent of the worst parts of Firefly/Serenity. Imperial colonization is bad but only when its being done to white people!
Oof. Where do I start? Probably with the fact that this book is just really boring? The characters are not engaging, I never developed any concern about them at all and did not care about what happened to them. The heroine in particular was not particularly well-developed as a character. Another reviewer said this "felt like an RPG" and I think that feels very true for me – it was kind of like reading a summary of a tabletop campaign.
A big issue I had is that a lot of the exposition is explained via dialogue that felt very unrealistic. Another reviewer described it as "mansplaining" the exposition to the main character, and I don't disagree with that but it felt very unnatural to me. Again, kind of like a DM explaining lore to the players of his RPG campaign.
The biggest issue I had with this book was the perpetuation of white Euro/American-centric culture as the norm and "good", and Middle Eastern culture as the other and "bad." For a book about a colony that rose up against an imperial power, this book had almost no critique of the very real imperialist harm done against people of color and in fact just perpetuated a lot of the stereotypes found in other white/Western science fiction. Very reminiscent of the worst parts of Firefly/Serenity. Imperial colonization is bad but only when its being done to white people!
miduhadi's review
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
sjeast17's review
5.0
Antiquity was born a Grey, shamed for the actions of her great-grandmother. All she wants is to remove the shame and reclaim her family name, Angelus. When she uncovers the lost mech in the desert she discovers many secrets as well. Her grandmother, Vestige, does all she can to protect her and her future. Through numerous losses, Antiquity walks the path her great-grandmother and grandmother so carefully paved to reclaim their lost name, heritage, and strength.
What can I say? I simply loved this book! Now I don't read a lot of science fiction and I'm working to rectify that but this book is a little more than science fiction. It includes a bit of fantasy with the dragons of the persai and a sword-wielding Will Master. It definitely gave me some early Star Wars vibes. The story is set on Erth, a future Earth (perhaps post-apocalyptic), where former Erth inhabitants called Celestials have returned from Space and rule with an iron fist.
Antiquity is a wonderful character, both honorable and stubborn. Antiquity is a female character I can get behind and cheer on! I wanted her to reclaim her family name and cast off the tarnish of being Grey Shamed. I wanted her to be able to bond fully with her great grandmother's mech. As with each triumph, there is also tragedy that she endures and she does it stoically. Through losses and challenges she keeps fighting with her friends, old and new, beside her. She has her loyal friends, Elsana and Kaihli, who support her in their different ways. Manson Dreath is a constant source of frustration and tension for Antiquity but he also represents another side of her. There is the wise Will Master, Sadiya, who is also an outcast like Antiquity. She also has Chekker, the ever faithful bot charged with keeping her safe. Together they look for the secret her great-grandmother hid and the way to overthrow the Celestials.
I look forward to reading the next book of her story.
What can I say? I simply loved this book! Now I don't read a lot of science fiction and I'm working to rectify that but this book is a little more than science fiction. It includes a bit of fantasy with the dragons of the persai and a sword-wielding Will Master. It definitely gave me some early Star Wars vibes. The story is set on Erth, a future Earth (perhaps post-apocalyptic), where former Erth inhabitants called Celestials have returned from Space and rule with an iron fist.
Antiquity is a wonderful character, both honorable and stubborn. Antiquity is a female character I can get behind and cheer on! I wanted her to reclaim her family name and cast off the tarnish of being Grey Shamed. I wanted her to be able to bond fully with her great grandmother's mech. As with each triumph, there is also tragedy that she endures and she does it stoically. Through losses and challenges she keeps fighting with her friends, old and new, beside her. She has her loyal friends, Elsana and Kaihli, who support her in their different ways. Manson Dreath is a constant source of frustration and tension for Antiquity but he also represents another side of her. There is the wise Will Master, Sadiya, who is also an outcast like Antiquity. She also has Chekker, the ever faithful bot charged with keeping her safe. Together they look for the secret her great-grandmother hid and the way to overthrow the Celestials.
I look forward to reading the next book of her story.
singerji's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
redhairedashreads's review against another edition
DNF 50%
This had an interesting premise and setting but I don’t feel the urge to continue reading it. I liked Antiquity but struggled with the pacing of the story and Speakman’s writing style. I was really expecting to enjoy this one but it was just ok for me really. I never felt excited to see what was happening next and I think that is why I quickly set it aside for other books, and now dont’ want to continue it.
Trigger Warnings: on page death of family member; bullying;
*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Bullying
a_chickletz's review against another edition
2.0
I'd like to thank the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me a chance at reviewing this book.
This is sadly one of those books where its not the book, it's me. It's me being such a reader that when I dive into books I expect something new and fresh. I also thought that for a YA book the book read more akin to a grade school / childrens book with the dialogue and the tone. (See Brandon Sanderson's current space book series in the YA and the tone and dialogue of that one to get what I mean.)
I grabbed this book because Robin Hobb said it read really good to her. It didn't read well too me and I just got this feeling the book would not chart well.
This is sadly one of those books where its not the book, it's me. It's me being such a reader that when I dive into books I expect something new and fresh. I also thought that for a YA book the book read more akin to a grade school / childrens book with the dialogue and the tone. (See Brandon Sanderson's current space book series in the YA and the tone and dialogue of that one to get what I mean.)
I grabbed this book because Robin Hobb said it read really good to her. It didn't read well too me and I just got this feeling the book would not chart well.
catsnflags's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
readundancies's review
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
We must first talk about the quality of the hardcover of this novel because it is aces. The embossing on the front with the Angelus symbol, the binding itself, and the overall feel of the book as a whole is impressive.
Which means we begin with a solid start.
We then follow with a map. A map which is interesting in that the font is a bit superfluous in it’s nature and style. Other than that, there’s nothing terribly noteworthy about it, but I appreciate it’s inclusion. Not sure it complements the story however because of the way the story is paced. A lot of things like travel are glossed over or they off-page which makes the map feel a bit irrelevant.
And to be honest, that’s where things take a bit of a turn. Maybe more than just a bit.
The writing is not what I would consider strong. It’s serviceable I suppose, but there’s nothing really distinct about it and I found it left me wanting. Character relationships are just not fleshed out, but the foundations are there, they just don’t grow into anything of substance. That and the characters are nothing special, but again, I think that’s because of the writing.
The world-building suffers from the rather lacklustre writing; it’s a plot-driven novel but I wanted more exposition especially in it’s sci-if fantasy setting to really get a feel for the world and become immersed. That never happened.
It also feels very young in tone. I know it’s YA, and I tried to be unbiased when considering my rating because it is marketed as such but it just felt very juvenile which did not appeal to me. The world and the themes that were tackled never really went into any depth which is a bit of shame because I do think there’s a great story somewhere in this book, but it’s not quite there for me. Perhaps if it was middle grade it would be a better fit?
The plot itself is probably the strongest aspect of the novel, but the pacing is almost too fast to truly appreciate and there was this constant motion of things happening that it felt rushed. Like, all of the important bits were covered but not in any great detail and thus not in any sort of memorable way.
I think there’s definitely some interesting concepts, like the different peoples and cultures and the whole human evolution out in space essentially creating a different species of humans but I never really connected to it and nothing really stood out.
So unfortunately, this wasn’t a winner for me which I’m more than a little disappointed about because this was one of my more anticipated reads of 2021. I’m not interested in picking up the sequel and wouldn’t really recommend this to anyone unless you’re actually a part of the target demographic (on the younger side of YA) and want to dip your toes into sci-fi fantasy to try it out.
Which means we begin with a solid start.
We then follow with a map. A map which is interesting in that the font is a bit superfluous in it’s nature and style. Other than that, there’s nothing terribly noteworthy about it, but I appreciate it’s inclusion. Not sure it complements the story however because of the way the story is paced. A lot of things like travel are glossed over or they off-page which makes the map feel a bit irrelevant.
And to be honest, that’s where things take a bit of a turn. Maybe more than just a bit.
The writing is not what I would consider strong. It’s serviceable I suppose, but there’s nothing really distinct about it and I found it left me wanting. Character relationships are just not fleshed out, but the foundations are there, they just don’t grow into anything of substance. That and the characters are nothing special, but again, I think that’s because of the writing.
The world-building suffers from the rather lacklustre writing; it’s a plot-driven novel but I wanted more exposition especially in it’s sci-if fantasy setting to really get a feel for the world and become immersed. That never happened.
It also feels very young in tone. I know it’s YA, and I tried to be unbiased when considering my rating because it is marketed as such but it just felt very juvenile which did not appeal to me. The world and the themes that were tackled never really went into any depth which is a bit of shame because I do think there’s a great story somewhere in this book, but it’s not quite there for me. Perhaps if it was middle grade it would be a better fit?
The plot itself is probably the strongest aspect of the novel, but the pacing is almost too fast to truly appreciate and there was this constant motion of things happening that it felt rushed. Like, all of the important bits were covered but not in any great detail and thus not in any sort of memorable way.
I think there’s definitely some interesting concepts, like the different peoples and cultures and the whole human evolution out in space essentially creating a different species of humans but I never really connected to it and nothing really stood out.
So unfortunately, this wasn’t a winner for me which I’m more than a little disappointed about because this was one of my more anticipated reads of 2021. I’m not interested in picking up the sequel and wouldn’t really recommend this to anyone unless you’re actually a part of the target demographic (on the younger side of YA) and want to dip your toes into sci-fi fantasy to try it out.