[Review] Empress of a Thousand Skies - Rhoda Belezza

Titel: Empress of a Thousand Skies

Series: Empress of a Thousand Skies #1

Author/Autor: Rhoda Belezza

Publisher/Verlag: Razorbill

First Released/Erstmals erschienen: 07.02.2017
Format: Hardback, 314

Synopsis: GoodReads

Review: 4*, Blog, GoodReads, LovelyBooks

TBR/Leseliste: -

Buy: amazon

 

CROWN PRINCESS RHIANNON TA'AN WANTS VENGEANCE.

The only surviving heir to an ancient Kalusian dynasty, RHEE has spent her life training to destroy the people who killed her family. Now, on the eve of her coronation, the time has finally come for Rhee to claim her throne - and her revenge.

ALYOSHA is a Wraetan who has risen above his war refugee origins to find fame as the dashing star of a DroneVision show. Despite his popularity, Aly struggles with anti-Wraetan prejudices and the pressure of being perfect in the public eye.

Their paths collide with one brutal act of violence: Rhee is attacked, barely escaping with her life. Aly is blamed for her presumed murder.

The princess and her accused killer are forced to go into hiding - even as a war between planets is waged in Rhee's name. But soon, Rhee and Aly discover that the assassination attempt is just one part of a sinister plot. Bound together by an evil that only they can stop, the two fugitives must join forces to save the galaxy.

In this exhilarating debut for fans of Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles and Pierce Brown's Red Rising trilogy, RHODA BELLEZA crafts a powerful saga of vengeance, warfare, and the true meaning of legacy.  

-->GoodReads

I got this book from my very first FairyLoot Box ever and was therefore very excited to start reading! This was also the first Si-Fi Novel I’ve read in a very long time or ever, I’m not sure. To be honest I didn’t expect much when I started this book, because I had nothing to compare it to, but I was really surprised by how much I liked this book.

The world this is set in is really interesting and I enjoyed it a lot. The worldbuilding was well done and just detailed enough.

The characters were well written and each had their unique personality. The fact that romance took quite the back seat is something I appreciated greatly in this book, because it enabled the author to focus on the plot and the characters.

The plot itself was great and the pacing fit very well. But what I enjoyed the most about this book were various issues that were raised within this book that are very current and relatable.

First there was the issue of race, as one of the two main characters is from a subjugated race and while he is a reality TV star as well as a soldier he still is treated differently than his co-star. He is also framed for the murder of the other main character for no other apparent reason than his skin color. And not just that, with the princess ‘dead’ a lot of people want to use the opportunity to re-start a war against this subjugated people. The princess, as well as the reader, suddenly realize, that there are still a lot of prejudices and everything is not as peaceful as it seems.

To me this seems very important, because we have two main characters, one who is on the receiving end of a lot of bad prejudice and one who never knew there was a problem and is now made aware of it and is immediately repulsed by it.

Another very important issue is  the ‘cubes’ almost everyone has implanted right after birth. With those cubes people are online all the time, they are able to store and replay memories, access the internet, or something akin to it, and stay connected with everyone else. Those cubes make phones or computers useless, because everything can be done via cube.

There are some people who choose to remain ‘offline’, whether by not getting a cube implanted to begin with or turning it off most, if not all, the time, and they are regarded as crazy by the rest of the world.

On their journey both main characters have to turn their cubes off so they cannot be tracked, or have their memories, feelings or thoughts be used against them. And not only that, it appears as though the government is able to alter not only memories but also ‘ravage’ cubes and turn people into mindless husks or change their personalities.

I don’t think I have to mention why this issue is so important in the times we live in.

Those issues made an already good book even more important and thought provoking, as well as entertaining. I rated this book four stars and I’m looking forward to the next installment in the series.