The plot laid out at the start seems predictable enough, but that’s only the half of it — literally, we see it play out by the halfway mark. Then, in true Kitasei fashion, the game changes and things get really interesting ... The end, while a bit abrupt, was satisfying and earned.
An emotional roller coaster of a space quest, highlighting friendship, family, and the ostracism of those believed to be different. The prose is as intimate as the universe is wide.
Kitasei’s explorations of various nonhuman civilizations will fascinate, and her alien characters are so endearing ... Ultimately, it’s Maya’s hope she’s doing the right thing and belief in her friends that guide her through the story’s breakneck, if occasionally muddled, finale.
Broad in scope, covering everything from the rise and fall of alien civilizations to what it means to be a person, this is a luminous work, vacillating between the highs and lows of human experience and how they might translate across alien worlds. Sympathetic, flawed characters demonstrate how individual actions can reverberate through the past and future.
Outstanding ... A high-stakes space adventure with exquisitely crafted worldbuilding and plausibly imagined interspecies communication ... Readers will be riveted.
