Saying that Aurora Rising didn’t absolutely decimate me upon finishing it would be an understatement. I’ve been gutted and left for dead, and need to know what happens next! It has a little bit of everything you could possibly want in a space-set action adventure: angst, thrills, a sprinkle of romance, and of course your occasional trigger happy sociopath. If that’s not enough, you’ve got a diverse cast of swoon-worthy characters with a lot of relatable issues. I’ve personally got a crush on every single one of them *sigh*. This is the perfect read to start off the summer! Now, let’s get into this review.
The year is 2380, where the current graduating class of Aurora Academy is getting their first mission assignments. Enter Tyler Jones, the star student of the academy, who is looking to assemble his dream team…only to get stuck with the ones none of the other squad leaders wanted. He’s got a sassy diplomat (who also happens to be his twin sister), a scientist who’s got a love for shooting her bunkmates, a techwiz with a smart mouth and a chip on his shoulder, a rage-y alien warrior, and of course a tomboy pilot (who may or may not be sporting quite the crush). To be fair to Tyler, he was off rescuing Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley from interdimensional space; she’s quickly becoming quite a bigger conundrum than he thought. She’s been trapped in a cryo-sleep for two centuries and might just be the catalyst that will jumpstart a war that’s been millions of years in the making. And because nothing puts it better than the summary in Goodreads: “They’re not the heroes we deserve. They’re just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.”
From the start we get shoved into the deep end, with our poor golden boy finding himself saddled with the worst luck. Despite that, he takes it all in stride, quickly proving to the leader that this squad leader didn’t train all those years just to fall apart at crappy luck. He was an instantly lovable character who sees quite a bit of character development, my heart goes out to the man. For so many points of view going on in this book, you’d think there would be some sort of disconnect between the perspectives, but I loved it, each character has a unique personality and they don’t bleed into each other as you read. Fin’s chapters are especially hilarious, and definitely seemed to say what I was thinking or feeling during certain parts of the book. At first I felt that Zila didn’t seem to be getting a fair shake in terms of character development, but boy was I wrong. I am definitely excited to see more of that precious trigger happy girl in the next book though.
There’s no way that you’ll be able to choose a favourite character. They were all so relatable to me, especially in terms of anxiety. The entire squad is going through something intense and at times not quite believable, so I loved seeing the range of their feelings. The authors don’t brush aside the hard topics, like the impact of what’s happening on a character who has a disability, or who struggles with anxiety, or rage issues. It tackles them head on in ways that I felt were critical to the story. It made everything pretty well-rounded to me. Though the story does seem a bit character driven, the plot is not forgotten in the least. The imagery is vivid and bright in the glittering darkness or space, it was stunningly brought to life.
Oh, and that romance. There’s definitely some pining going on by several of the characters in this book, and by the end, I’m pretty sure you’ll have a ship of your own that you want to cheer on. Some of it is slowly burning to a simmer and hopefully we’ll get to see that come to a boil in the next book. Along with that are the themes of family, loyalty, and trust that are cultivated with meticulous care. We don’t focus on singular relationships between certain characters, but the squad as a whole. Readers will also be able to see how some of the characters backgrounds or cultures also shape their outlook on their relationships.
As with any space setting, there are many scientific aspects at play that can boggle the mind or make books unbearable to read. I didn’t feel that in Aurora Rising. Everything was explained as well as it could without becoming burdensome, and there are little sprinkles of information about alien species, the types of aurora classes, and more throughout the book. Not as elaborate as in the Illuminae Files, but then this story feels nothing like it.
I would love to be able to say so much more about this story, but unfortunately, that would mean spoilers! If you love space adventure stories, just know that this might be what you’ve been looking for this year! It’s an enthralling ride that will definitely leave you wondering what’s lying in wait for us in the deep beyond! There’s not much to complain about here, the story is fast paced, I managed to finish it in around three hours. I need the next book, but that’s not so much a complaint as much as it is a wish for time to move a little faster!
If you’ve read anything by this devastating duo, you NEED to pick this one up. It’s a 10/10 for me.
Aurora Rising is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Have you read Aurora Rising? Or will you be checking it out? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
From the internationally bestselling authors of THE ILLUMINAE FILES comes an epic new science fiction adventure.
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…
A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering
And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.
They’re not the heroes we deserve. They’re just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.
