I read and thoroughly enjoyed Jay Posey’s Outriders series – see my review of Outriders and review of Sungrazer. These books were military science fiction, full of action and adventure – so I was unprepared for Elyth’s careful, thoughtful approach.
BLURB: HER WORD IS HER WEAPON.
Mankind has spread out and conquered the galaxy by mastering the fundamental language of the universe. With the right training, the right application of words, truth itself can be rearranged.
Language is literally power. Peace reigns now. Order reigns. For if a planet deviates too far from what the authorities plan, an agent is sent out to correct that. To quietly and with great skill, end that world. One such agent is Elyth – a true believer.
REVIEW: I loved this one! Elyth is an insanely powerful character with cataclysmic power, which it should have been a real problem. I shouldn’t have been so worried on her behalf as she is pitchforked, still reeling and unprepared from a previously traumatic assignment, into this most challenging task. But her weapon isn’t some technical planet-busting gismo – Posey is far more inventive than that. Elyth’s power comes from a mastery of language as a subset of the fabric of the universe that can have the power to unravel it, and its secrets are kept within an all-women sect that help The Ascendancy keep order throughout all human space. Elyth is their agent, who has been sent secretly to Qel to discover what is causing a disturbance within the Deep Language – and eliminate it at whatever cost.
This isn’t a foot-to-the-floor, all-guns-blazing adventure. This is one of those tense stories where the main protagonist is scrabbling to cope when all her plans are up-ended before she has a chance to get going. So initially the pacing is quite slow. I’ve no problem with that – it gave me plenty of time to get immersed in the world and acquainted with how this unusual world works, as well as more time to get to know Elyth. She doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, or emote all that much – she’s been trained not to. It also meant that when the action did kick off, it had far more impact.
The descriptions of the countryside, as Elyth is trying to stay hidden from the security forces, gave me a vivid picture of the world. Not only did this enrich my reading experience – it was also important as part of the story. Because it matters that Elyth becomes increasingly fond of the planet and feels an affinity for the flora and fauna that lives there. I’m not going to say more, as I don’t want to lurch into Spoiler territory. Suffice to say, the plot goes off into a direction both familiar and yet with a different twist, so that I’m very keen to read the next book in the series. And I’m hoping that Posey is going to write it quickly. This excellent read is highly recommended for science fiction fans who like their colony adventures with a different twist. While I obtained an arc of Every Sky is a Grave from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10
Brainfluff 