I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff Series: The Aurora Cycle #1
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on May 7 2019
Genres: Young adult, Science fiction
Pages: 480
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Action packed space opera with a well-rounded ensemble cast, Aurora Rising is another winner from the unstoppable writing duo of Kristoff and Kaufman.
Having read and loved the marvelous Illuminae Files series, you can bet I was excited to see what Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff would cook up next, and I’m happy to say I thoroughly enjoyed Aurora Rising, the first in their new trilogy. While not quite as edgy and well plotted as their last series, Aurora Rising still gives readers plenty to love, and I found the characters and plot engaging enough to hold my attention and then some. This book is firmly planted in young adult/new adult soil, though, so adult readers might find some of the dialog a bit on the cringey side. But some it is so funny that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud anyway.
Tyler Jones is the top Squad Leader in his class at Aurora Academy, and the day he’s been working towards for the past five years is almost here. Because of his status, Tyler will have first choice of squadmates during the Draft. The night before Draft day, Tyler is restless and decides to take a ship into the Fold to clear his head, the interdimensional portal that allows ships to travel instantaneously across the galaxy. But once inside, Tyler picks up a distress call and hastily decides to rescue a girl, the only survivor of a ship that’s been lost for over 200 years. Tyler’s heroic act makes him late to the Draft, and he’s horrified to find out he’s been left with the dregs of the Academy for his squad, which include his twin sister Scarlett, childhood friend Cat, a disabled Betraskan named Finian who wears an exosuit in order to walk, a Syldrathi named Kal, and Zila the science officer. Together they officially make up Squad 312.
Meanwhile, Auri, the girl who Tyler rescued, is shocked to find herself two hundred years in the future, when she was on her way to the planet Octavia to join her parents. Confused and saddened to realize that her parents must be dead by now, Auri must navigate a new world, full of unfamiliar technology and alien species.
Squad 312’s first mission is to take supplies to a ship full of refugees, but when they arrive, things start to go south. They discover Auri has hidden herself in one of the supply crates, and even worse, a ship full of the GIA—Global Intelligence Agency—has followed them and appears to want custody of Auri. But Auri surprises everyone with her hidden ability to not only defend herself but to cause destruction, a terrible talent that only manifests when she’s in a trance. Now the squad is on the run, trying to stay one step ahead of the GIA while trying to solve the mystery of Auri’s powers.
I find stories with ensemble casts to be some of my favorites, and we get a fantastic ensemble in Aurora Rising. The chapters alternate among all the characters, so we get to hear the story from everyone’s point of view. There are some characters who don’t get as much page time, though, like Zila and Finian, but with seven characters to juggle, it doesn’t surprise me and I did think the authors did a great job of making each one seem more or less well-rounded. Of course I have my favorites, and Kal and Finian were probably at the top of the list for me. Kal is a Betraskan, a tall humanoid alien with elf-like ears and long blond hair (sound familiar??). Kal was the broody, romantic character, mysterious, muscular and good-looking, and I loved how Auri thinks he looks like Legolas from The Lord of the Rings, and she calls him “Mister Middle-Earth.”
And I loved Finian because of his over-the-top humor. Fin seems to be bisexual and wants to jump in bed with EVERYONE in the book, so his lines were really funny. He’s simultaneously turned on by Tyler’s tight pants and Scarlett’s low-cut uniform, and it was pretty amusing to watch his head swivel back and forth when they’re both in the room! And I’ll take this opportunity to mention that the humor in this book felt very “college frat house” to me. There’s lots of sexual innuendo, waggling of eyebrows, mention of how “hot” the characters are, and even some eye-roll inducing euphemisms for body parts, like “fun factory” (I mean, ugh). Finian always chimes in with a sexual comment no matter what the group is talking about, and even though it’s pretty funny, it does get to be too much at times. But I guess that’s what you can expect when you put a bunch of eighteen-year-olds in a room together…
There’s a heavy Star Trek vibe in this story, and I could tell the authors pulled influences from lots of sources, although I don’t know if it was deliberate or if it just evolved that way. But in addition to Star Trek, I got Firefly and even Day of the Triffids vibes. I have to say that Kal really reminded me of Worf from Star Trek, which confused me a bit because he looks just like Legolas!
The story is divided cleanly into three different parts, and my favorite by far was the middle part, which involves a very cool heist and had one of my favorite settings in the entire book. I wasn’t as crazy about Part 3, which had a different feel from the rest of the story. But I can see why the authors included it in this book, because it does set things up for the sequel.
Overall, this was a fun beginning to this series, and I’m so happy that Kristoff and Kaufman are writing together again. Dual writers are always a crapshoot, but these two are solid and have so many books under their belts, that you can’t help but get a slick and polished story from them. I’m already looking forward to the sequel!
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Woooo!! Looking forward to this even more now 🙂
Hope you enjoy, Nadine!
I know tons of people are excited to have something new from this duo. Man, Kristoff must be a writing machine because he seems to have books out every time I turn around. Thanks for your thoughts. This will definitely be one I grab from the library eventually.
He is a writing machine! He’s got more books even coming out this year.
I just received this book in the mail today from a giveaway I won and oh I’m super excited to read it. I’m so glad you loved it. That makes me even more excited to read it actually.
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…The Fowl Twins UK & US Cover Reveal — Which one should I buy?
Oh cool, congrats! Hope you enjoy:-)
I think I could get behind this book! I still need to finish the Illuminae files. I LOVE their format. Great review Tammy!
Sarah recently posted…Book Review: Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Thanks Sarah, lots of fun and I really did have fun spending time with these characters:-)
You had me at space opera 😀
Considering it was written by the Illuminae duo, i’m defo gonna get this, no questions asked 😀
Yep, that’s what I said too! I will read anything they write:-)
I’m only about 60 pages deep, but am already loving the characters and setup. Thanks for sharing!
Oh cool, you’ll be finished in no time, I found it a very fast read:-)
Even though YA is far from being my cup of tea, I would read anything written by this duo, so I will certainly add this to my TBR at the earliest opportunity. From your review I got the definite impression that the story wanted to poke some fun at the tropes of some well-known TV series, so it remains to be seen if that kind of humor will prove to my tastes. But I have little doubt…
Thank you so much for sharing this! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Wyrd & Wonder Prompts – May 6th 2019: Celebrate a Sidekick
There was definitely a lot of poking fun going on, and I did enjoy that:-)
I never read Illuminae, but this does sound really good and could be a new opportunity to try out the authors
I loved Illuminae better, but I really had a good time with this book too.
I need to start on the Illuminae – I LOVE the sound of that one. This one… not quite so much. But that’s thanks to your excellent, detailed review, Tammy!
I think you’ll like Illuminae more, there’s definitely a younger feel to this one:-)
Excellent review! This sounds just as fun as I hoped it would. The cast of characters sounds perfect, and I love that there’s a heist in it. Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Review: THE UNHONEYMOONERS by Christina Lauren
Hope you enjoy it! Lots of fun and the characters really make it even more so:-)
Oh, I love how fun this sounds, Tammy! Plus, it’s a space opera! Wonderful review, Tammy! So happy you enjoyed this one.
I was a blast, and I raced through it!
Glad I wasn’t the only one getting the Star Trek vibes! It helped me like this one more, I think.
They were very strong, which is a good thing:-)
I’m really liking the sound of this one – and the Star Trek vibes.
Lynn 😀
Yes, lots of Star Trek feels!
I loved the Illuminae series and have this one on my wish list!
Laura Thomas recently posted…Book Blast and Giveaway ~ A Curse Of The Lucky by Nathan Wrann
It’s fun, I hope you get to read it:-)
Awesome review! I’m so excited for this one!
Thanks Lauren!
Looking forward to this read! Bought a copy at YALLWest, hoping to get to it soon (hahaha….)
Caitlin G. recently posted…Top Five Tuesday: Books I Want to Re-Read
Oh I’m so mad I didn’t go to YALLWest, I mean I have no excuse, it’s in my backyard!! Was it fun?
I’ve been iffy on this one because as much as I LOVE Kristoff, I’ve had some issues with Kaufman, and wasn’t a huge fan of the first book of the other series they wrote together (still need to finish those though, maybe they’ll get better). Glad to see you loved it so much, might check it out now!
I still need to read the Illumine Files! I’m on hold for the first book at my library (going with the audiobook for this one). I’ve heard wonderful things about both the authors and the series, so I cannot wait. I’ve also heard this book is amazing, and I think it’s awesome that it’s being made into a movie!
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear?
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I’m not sure “the Future” will still be talking about the Lord Of the Rings, but this sounds pretty good!
A heist! This just moved up on my TBR. Although, tbh, I’m not thrilled about the frat house vibe. It’s still good to know what to expect. Thank you for the detailed review!
Having just finished Nevernight, I am very interested in other books by Kristoff. Thanks for the review.