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sterreleidi's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
captainhector's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.25
mattressy's review against another edition
I've tried to start this audio 3 times and I just cannot pay attention to it
robd52's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kleonard's review
2.0
Written in a mannered style reminiscent of 1950s British writers, this SFF novel is a turns engaging and fresh and at others slow and dragging. The unevenness keeps me from recommending it strongly, although readers who are interested in the philosophical questions of space exploration and the uses of SFF to investigate the same regarding colonialism will like it.
anrevat's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
stormwhisper's review
2.0
Skyward Inn follows Jem and her son, in a near-future Earth, where humanity has made contact with alien life. Jem's community has reacted to the changing world by shutting itself off from most of humanity, forgoing advancement and integration with the larger universe in favour of clinging desperately to the nostalgic version of life they've long embraced.
Skyward Inn was unlike much of the science fiction I've read to date, skewing more towards the speculative than pure sci-fi. The narrative wasn't always linear, and the story was more concerned with exploring the human condition than getting from point A to point B.
The characters felt more like symbols and collections of ideas than distinct characters, eschewing individual characteristics in favour of archetypes. The strangers represent danger, the patriarch represents protectionism, and so on. Personally, I'm more prone to enjoying a book that features characters that feels more concrete, with more fleshed-out characteristics and relatable motivations, but those figures perhaps would not have felt at home in a narrative like Skyward Inn.
Skyward Inn will appeal to readers who enjoy less straightforward, more experimental stories. While it does feature classic sci-fi elements like aliens and space travel, the book is ultimately much more interested in exploring what it means to be human than anything outside of earth's borders.
Skyward Inn was unlike much of the science fiction I've read to date, skewing more towards the speculative than pure sci-fi. The narrative wasn't always linear, and the story was more concerned with exploring the human condition than getting from point A to point B.
The characters felt more like symbols and collections of ideas than distinct characters, eschewing individual characteristics in favour of archetypes. The strangers represent danger, the patriarch represents protectionism, and so on. Personally, I'm more prone to enjoying a book that features characters that feels more concrete, with more fleshed-out characteristics and relatable motivations, but those figures perhaps would not have felt at home in a narrative like Skyward Inn.
Skyward Inn will appeal to readers who enjoy less straightforward, more experimental stories. While it does feature classic sci-fi elements like aliens and space travel, the book is ultimately much more interested in exploring what it means to be human than anything outside of earth's borders.
theshaggyshepherd's review
3.0
Skyward Inn // by Aliya Whiteley
I have been somewhat dreading writing this review because days after finishing this book, I am still not entirely sure what to think about it. It seems that every time I go back to contemplating it, I figure out something new. I usually do not read other people's reviews of a book either until mine is written so that their opinions cannot influence mine but I even broke that self-imposed rule this time. And again, every time I read one, I find out something new about this book that I didn't realize before. So it obviously isn't a story that is just not that great. It is a story that has multiple hidden layers that are slowly peeled back the more you think about it. I am not used to reading books like that so it has been an interesting experience for me. I've never been a fan of star ratings but I am forced to choose one but please do not pay too much attention to that because I just did not know which to go with.
At its very surface, this is the story of a mother and son, first contact with an alien species, the relationship between humans and that species, and a disease that forces much of Earth to go into quarantine. Peel it back a little though and you will see in more detail the struggle of fitting in for several people and how that affects their lives differently. Rather than seeing a weird inter-species emotional relationship, you'll understand the reason for the physical distance between the characters. And what about the peaceful meeting of two species that surprised everyone? It took me until the very end of the book to understand this things just weren't what they seemed.
I am used to much more detail in the SFF books that I read so at first I was pretty underwhelmed by this book. Nonetheless, the weirdness and relative short length compelled me to read it relatively quickly, which then allowed plenty of time for me to sit there stunned. Whiteley impressed me with the way she incorporated community, belonging, individuality, colonialism, othering, fear, adventurism, and so much more into this short book with language that makes you feel as if you are reading a philosophical book. I don't have much experience with experimental sci-fi but if that is what this book is, then I at least know that I want more of it because I love a book that makes me think about it longer after I finish it.
But despite this uniqueness and thought-provoking writing, I was also surprised that an author that for the most part seemed to be so intentional with their writing would spend time on scenes that just to me felt unnecessary. We know that sex is on many teenagers' minds but the detail of masturbation just felt very out of place to me personally. Is this just another one of those things that I'll learn to understand later on? Maybe during a reread even? I don't know. But it did throw me off and kept me at a distance emotionally for a long time because I wasn't sure anymore if this was the kind of book I really wanted to be reading at that time. It just felt like it was there more for the shock factor than character development or anything else.
Also, despite reading the synopsis beforehand, I wasn't 100% of the location at the start either. Was there another planet aside from Quita and Earth where the inn was located? Were there more species than Quitans and humans that we needed to know about? Is the appearance of Quitans much different to that of humans and could that affect relationships between the species? As I said above, I am used to much more detail in my usual books and while I can see how the lack of it can be very thought-provoking, which for the most part has been very well done in this book, I still think that adding a little bit more detail in certain areas would have helped me get more invested in the story overall.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have been somewhat dreading writing this review because days after finishing this book, I am still not entirely sure what to think about it. It seems that every time I go back to contemplating it, I figure out something new. I usually do not read other people's reviews of a book either until mine is written so that their opinions cannot influence mine but I even broke that self-imposed rule this time. And again, every time I read one, I find out something new about this book that I didn't realize before. So it obviously isn't a story that is just not that great. It is a story that has multiple hidden layers that are slowly peeled back the more you think about it. I am not used to reading books like that so it has been an interesting experience for me. I've never been a fan of star ratings but I am forced to choose one but please do not pay too much attention to that because I just did not know which to go with.
At its very surface, this is the story of a mother and son, first contact with an alien species, the relationship between humans and that species, and a disease that forces much of Earth to go into quarantine. Peel it back a little though and you will see in more detail the struggle of fitting in for several people and how that affects their lives differently. Rather than seeing a weird inter-species emotional relationship, you'll understand the reason for the physical distance between the characters. And what about the peaceful meeting of two species that surprised everyone? It took me until the very end of the book to understand this things just weren't what they seemed.
I am used to much more detail in the SFF books that I read so at first I was pretty underwhelmed by this book. Nonetheless, the weirdness and relative short length compelled me to read it relatively quickly, which then allowed plenty of time for me to sit there stunned. Whiteley impressed me with the way she incorporated community, belonging, individuality, colonialism, othering, fear, adventurism, and so much more into this short book with language that makes you feel as if you are reading a philosophical book. I don't have much experience with experimental sci-fi but if that is what this book is, then I at least know that I want more of it because I love a book that makes me think about it longer after I finish it.
But despite this uniqueness and thought-provoking writing, I was also surprised that an author that for the most part seemed to be so intentional with their writing would spend time on scenes that just to me felt unnecessary. We know that sex is on many teenagers' minds but the detail of masturbation just felt very out of place to me personally. Is this just another one of those things that I'll learn to understand later on? Maybe during a reread even? I don't know. But it did throw me off and kept me at a distance emotionally for a long time because I wasn't sure anymore if this was the kind of book I really wanted to be reading at that time. It just felt like it was there more for the shock factor than character development or anything else.
Also, despite reading the synopsis beforehand, I wasn't 100% of the location at the start either. Was there another planet aside from Quita and Earth where the inn was located? Were there more species than Quitans and humans that we needed to know about? Is the appearance of Quitans much different to that of humans and could that affect relationships between the species? As I said above, I am used to much more detail in my usual books and while I can see how the lack of it can be very thought-provoking, which for the most part has been very well done in this book, I still think that adding a little bit more detail in certain areas would have helped me get more invested in the story overall.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.