Release Date: September 5th, 2017
Read: October 18th-29th, 2017
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Series: Even the Darkest Stars, #1
Format: Hardcover, 432 pages
Source: McNally Robinson
Kamzin has always dreamed of becoming one of the emperor’s royal explorers, the elite climbers tasked with mapping the wintry, mountainous Empire and spying on its enemies. She knows she could be the best in the world, if only someone would give her a chance.
But everything changes when the mysterious and eccentric River Shara, the greatest explorer ever known, arrives in her village and demands to hire Kamzin—not her older sister, Lusha, as everyone had expected—for his next expedition. This is Kamzin’s chance to prove herself—even though River’s mission to retrieve a rare talisman for the emperor means cimbing Raksha, the tallest and deadliest mountain in the Aryas. Then, Lusha sets off on her own mission to Raksha with a rival explorer, and Kamzin must decide what’s most important to her: protecting her sister from the countless perils of the climb or beating her to the summit.
The challenges of climbing Raksha are unlike anything Kamzin expected—or prepared for—with avalanches, ice chasms, ghosts, and other dangers at every turn. And as dark secrets are revealed, Kamzin must unravel the truth about their mission and her companions—while surviving the deadliest climb she has ever faced.
Review:
Why do you fear me, brave one.
At work we have this shelf of Advance Readers Copies that us booksellers are allowed to take to read and keep. That was how I first encountered
Even the Darkest Stars. Unfortunately by the time I had finally decided to pick the book up and read it, someone had already taken the copy. I found that by not being able to read it anymore, it made me want to read it all the more. Long story short, I went out the next day and bought my own copy to read.
Even the Darkest Stars was one of my favourite fantasy books of 2017. After reading it in 11 days, I could not stop talking about it to people and I still can't. I even went on about it WHILE reading it to all my book friends. The book had all my favourite elements of a fantasy; witches, kingdoms, magic, mountains and dragons. They were all blended together beautifully to create a magical world of mystique and adventure.
I couldn't be happier with how Heather Fawcett wrote her story in a setting of hard cold and snow. I live in a setting where we are known for our harsh winters, we even have nicknames relating to how our only season is winter. Most YA novels take place in biomes that have warm temperatures or just don't have to deal with the same kind of weather as we do. It was fantastic to finally have a story where I could relate to the elements, I hope that other writers take the hint and start to have their own stories be set in a similar element.
Even the Darkest Stars is the adventure that'll make you realize that even on the the most dangerous adventures, not everything and everyone is who they seem.
And with that, I begin my countdown to the release of
All the Wandering Light, the second and final book in the
Even the Darkest Stars duology.
Rating:
Favourite Quote:
"Your soul is rich like honeycomb. Like strawberries."
Recommend to People Who Enjoy:
Young Adult, Fantasy, Witches, Magic, Mountains, Shapeshifters, Adventures
