#Review - Aurora Rising by Kristoff & Kaufman #YALIT #SyFy

Series: Aurora Cycle (#1)
Format: Hardcover, 480 pages
Release Date: May 7, 2019
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction

From the New York Times and internationally bestselling authors of the Illuminae Files comes a new science fiction epic…

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…

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.

NOBODY PANIC. The Andromeda Cycle (Book 2): Coming Spring 2020 

 

“We the legion. We the light. Burning bright against the night.”

Aurora Rising is the first installment in co-authors Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman's The Aurora Cycle trilogy. Things you should know. If you've read the Illuminae series by this writing duo, you will enjoy this book. The big difference is that the authors have chosen to alternative POV's between 7 characters in order to tell their story. Yes, I did say 7 main characters so you will want to make sure you get your highlighter ready so that you know who is who.

This is an eclectic group of characters lead by Squad Leader First Class Tyler Jones. Tyler is 18 and at the top of his class at Aurora Academy in most categorizes. He is eagerly waiting for the Draft to pick who will become part of his first crew. But, after his heroism in rescuing a girl we soon learn is Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley from a stranded ship known as Hadfield said to have disappeared 220 years ago, Tyler ends up with a crew that includes not only his own sister, and a girl that he may or may not have feelings for, but a range of characters from humans to aliens that have a whole lot of issues and baggage.

Meet the crew:  

Scarlett Jones, Ty’s older-by-several-minutes twin, is the team’s Face (ambassador). She can speak all known languages. She knows her brother, the most decorated Alpha at the Academy, got screwed when he saved Auri's life. For 5 years, the two of them have worked hard to get where they are after losing their father. Scar has a laundry list of ex-boyfriends, but it's her loyalty to her brother and her friendship with Cat, that are her most important features. 

Catherine "Cat" Brannock is the teams Ace pilot. She decides to stand alongside Tyler even though they both have a bit of a past together and she doesn't know if there are true feelings for him, or if it was just a one time ride in the hay with no regrets. Things continue to be awkward between the two.    Zila Madran is Human (Terran) who is scientist who has a fondness for shooting her bunkmates, and being a sociopath. Zila may be top of her class in the sciences but she has a nasty tendency to use her classmates as lab rats. 

Betraskan Finian de Karran de Seelis is in the top tenth percentile of his class and is the master of Tech Division but his black belt in snark can make him a difficult hang. He's 19,  he's a smart as a whip, but sometimes carries a chip the size of Jupiter on his shoulder. If he's not careful, someone will knock him down to size.  Syldrathi combat specialist Kalis (Kal) Idraban Gilwraeth, aka the squadron’s Tank. His race and the Terrans have recently signed a peace agreement ending years of conflict. But, Kal is on an island all is own as a warrior class who choose to help the Aurora Legion instead of people fighting against each other. Auri considers him to be elf like in nature.

Finally, there is Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley (Auri) who left Earth with hundreds of other colonists only to find themselves lost in the Fold which allows inter-stellar travel between worlds. Auri is mysterious, beautiful, with a curious gray streak in her hair and an eye that just happens to glow at times. Auri has lots of secrets that I won't spoil because it leads to more questions that the authors will have to unravel in the next two installments. 

Let's talk about the book, shall we? After Tyler and his crew are given their first mission after the draft failure, there is a wicked curve ball thrown at them from those Tyler has trusted for the past 5 years. You've got to have faith that I'm not going to spoil anything in this book other than to tell you that once the crew arrives at its mission destination, all hell breaks loose. 

The crew is chased by some really dangerous people, including their own. The crew also has to try to solve a serious mystery that may have galactic consequences for all known races. They have to decide whether or not to stick together or abandon all hope and let's the chips fall where they might. There is intense action in this book right from the beginning and doesn't let up. 

The last chapters of this book crushed my soul and let me weeping. That's nothing new if you've read anything by this writing duo, especially Kristoff. I will only say one negative about the copy I received. I could not read the graphics that appear before every chapter. If I had a finalized copy of the book, perhaps my review would have been higher. The graphics tell information that I believe is necessary to enjoy what the authors have created and the alien species that have their own identity and conflicts as well.

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