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A review by starrysteph
The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei
4.0
Reread January 2025 with book club!
I think I enjoyed the reflections on Earth and funding and nationalism and radicalization even more this time around (thinking about billionaires playing around in space while cities burn). And the messy mother-daughter relationship, though I didn't entirely love that conclusion.
Asuka's arc is still awesome, advanced immersive reality and AI with emotions (maybe?) is fascinating, and in general I love how much this book gave me to chew on. Beyond the actual plot and pages, I found myself brainstorming so much about what would happen afterwards and the elements we didn't see in the book.
An above-and-beyond space thriller for sure.
---
Get ready to send yourself into a tailspin as you try to unravel the truth in this fast-paced sci-fi thriller.
It’s hard to be an avid thriller reader when so many of the plots feel recycled – but I found <i>The Deep Sky</i> to be fresh, engaging, and anxiety-inducing (that’s a compliment).
Asuka is a skilled crew member of The Phoenix, a ship carrying eighty young graduates of EvenStar, an elite academy created by a wealthy augmented reality tech inventor. They’re meant to be humanity’s last hope: heading to Planet X and leaving environmentally-destroyed Earth in the dust.
All the crew has is each other (and their future generation of children). So when someone sets off a lethal bomb 11 years into their journey, nobody knows who they can really trust. Asuka - as the ship’s Alternate - takes on the investigation, but time is running out and the bomber may just try again.
The world-building is so well-done. Between the shifting world of tech, the complex political climate, the media frenzy that surrounds the young crew – it’s all captivating yet clearly laid out. And the stakes couldn’t be higher; the crew is fighting for their own survival, but also the survival of humanity.
The plot jumps back and forth through time. On one end, we’re following Asuka’s investigation of the terrorism on board. And that’s illuminated through past journeys: the crew’s training at EvenStar, Asuka’s strained relationship with her family, and the chain of circumstances that secured Asuka’s spot on The Phoenix.
I enjoyed exploring the themes of belonging, heritage, and imposter syndrome (there’s definitely an Among Us joke to be made here … someone should run with it). Different countries have selected representatives to populate Planet X, and Asuka is selected by Japan. She was mostly raised in the US and feels anxiety and doubt about her ability to claim Japan. Asuka also questions her abilities and her worth as a crew member - she’s loyal and honest and doesn’t puff herself up like some of her once-competitors and now-crewmates. There’s also some exploration of survivor’s guilt after the catastrophic bombing.
The relationships between crewmates were varied and complex, and there’s a really diverse set of characters here. The ship only launches with those who are able to bear children (mostly women, with some nonbinary and trans men characters as well) which created a fascinating dynamic. It was curious to me that everyone was totally cool and happy with expected pregnancy - when did they learn that aspect of the mission? Would that have been an interesting flashback scene?
I also wish that we’d been able to explore the onboard characters further within these 400 pages (we probably only get to know 8 or so of the 80 members) - I think spending a bit more time in the present would have solved this for me. Additionally, because our time in the investigation portion was limited, the red herrings became clear. But it’s all nuanced, and my interest in the culprit/motive never waned.
Things also went from bad to fatal REALLY quickly. It felt a little unrealistic for such a massively-funded project meant to be humanity’s chance of survival (like why are there no backups for some of the tech components of the ship?). But maybe that’s intended commentary.
It is dark, but cautiously optimistic. There’s a lot of thoughtfulness here around technology, trust, friendship, and family. There were moments of quiet hope as we watched this team sort through complicated issues and learn to rely on each other. And as we see them grow, maybe we can hold onto some hope for the larger community of Earth.
CW: death, miscarriage, fertility issues, pregnancy, terrorism, racism, gore, grief, fire, medical content, war, drowning
(also there is a reference to eugenics but the concept is not quite used correctly)
Follow me on social media for book recommendations!
(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
I think I enjoyed the reflections on Earth and funding and nationalism and radicalization even more this time around (thinking about billionaires playing around in space while cities burn). And the messy mother-daughter relationship, though I didn't entirely love that conclusion.
Asuka's arc is still awesome, advanced immersive reality and AI with emotions (maybe?) is fascinating, and in general I love how much this book gave me to chew on. Beyond the actual plot and pages, I found myself brainstorming so much about what would happen afterwards and the elements we didn't see in the book.
An above-and-beyond space thriller for sure.
---
Get ready to send yourself into a tailspin as you try to unravel the truth in this fast-paced sci-fi thriller.
It’s hard to be an avid thriller reader when so many of the plots feel recycled – but I found <i>The Deep Sky</i> to be fresh, engaging, and anxiety-inducing (that’s a compliment).
Asuka is a skilled crew member of The Phoenix, a ship carrying eighty young graduates of EvenStar, an elite academy created by a wealthy augmented reality tech inventor. They’re meant to be humanity’s last hope: heading to Planet X and leaving environmentally-destroyed Earth in the dust.
All the crew has is each other (and their future generation of children). So when someone sets off a lethal bomb 11 years into their journey, nobody knows who they can really trust. Asuka - as the ship’s Alternate - takes on the investigation, but time is running out and the bomber may just try again.
The world-building is so well-done. Between the shifting world of tech, the complex political climate, the media frenzy that surrounds the young crew – it’s all captivating yet clearly laid out. And the stakes couldn’t be higher; the crew is fighting for their own survival, but also the survival of humanity.
The plot jumps back and forth through time. On one end, we’re following Asuka’s investigation of the terrorism on board. And that’s illuminated through past journeys: the crew’s training at EvenStar, Asuka’s strained relationship with her family, and the chain of circumstances that secured Asuka’s spot on The Phoenix.
I enjoyed exploring the themes of belonging, heritage, and imposter syndrome (there’s definitely an Among Us joke to be made here … someone should run with it). Different countries have selected representatives to populate Planet X, and Asuka is selected by Japan. She was mostly raised in the US and feels anxiety and doubt about her ability to claim Japan. Asuka also questions her abilities and her worth as a crew member - she’s loyal and honest and doesn’t puff herself up like some of her once-competitors and now-crewmates. There’s also some exploration of survivor’s guilt after the catastrophic bombing.
The relationships between crewmates were varied and complex, and there’s a really diverse set of characters here. The ship only launches with those who are able to bear children (mostly women, with some nonbinary and trans men characters as well) which created a fascinating dynamic. It was curious to me that everyone was totally cool and happy with expected pregnancy - when did they learn that aspect of the mission? Would that have been an interesting flashback scene?
I also wish that we’d been able to explore the onboard characters further within these 400 pages (we probably only get to know 8 or so of the 80 members) - I think spending a bit more time in the present would have solved this for me. Additionally, because our time in the investigation portion was limited, the red herrings became clear. But it’s all nuanced, and my interest in the culprit/motive never waned.
Things also went from bad to fatal REALLY quickly. It felt a little unrealistic for such a massively-funded project meant to be humanity’s chance of survival (like why are there no backups for some of the tech components of the ship?). But maybe that’s intended commentary.
It is dark, but cautiously optimistic. There’s a lot of thoughtfulness here around technology, trust, friendship, and family. There were moments of quiet hope as we watched this team sort through complicated issues and learn to rely on each other. And as we see them grow, maybe we can hold onto some hope for the larger community of Earth.
CW: death, miscarriage, fertility issues, pregnancy, terrorism, racism, gore, grief, fire, medical content, war, drowning
(also there is a reference to eugenics but the concept is not quite used correctly)
Follow me on social media for book recommendations!
(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)