Books 61 to 63 - The Sky May Be Broken But, Alas, I Am Whole

HOLY CRAP IT HAS FINALLY HAPPENED.

Let me tell you something about this series. Similar to my Animorphs career, these are books that I hunted libraries for, scoured used-bookstore shelves for, and managed to read about 30% of the story in this haphazard fashion through my youth. I tried buying them on Amazon years ago, but the book never showed. They weren't available as an ebook, and were nowhere to be found within the reaches of the Internet. Unbelievable, right? The internet actually failed.

But Chris Wooding, that wonderful man, has come through.

The entire Broken Sky series is now available in ebook format.

GOODBYE FRIENDS. GOODBYE WORK. GOODBYE WORLD. My life has a new meaning for the next x amount of hours.

Broken Sky Part 1: The Twilight War

The coolest thing about this series is that it's written like an anime; however, writing in a genre that is typically animated (and non-westernized) presents its own set of challenges.

Wooding is an eager writer, and clearly knows the tropes and thematic patterns of the genre. Unfortunately, the writing itself is weak. The dialogue is stilted and unrealistic, and the prose is crowded with extra words. Wooding demonstrates an incredible imagination and vision for the series, describing incredible places and creatures. But, I yearn for more from his characters - especially since the bare bones of greatness are there within his refreshingly diverse cast. Kia, for example, is consumed with rage and bent on revenge to the point of self-destruction, while her male twin, Ryushi, is the more sensitive one, internally conflicted and unafraid to show emotion.

I'm disappointed that the writing is at the level it is, but this is a YA book, and the pilot of the series, so I am holding out hope that things just get better!

Broken Sky Part 2: Communion

Alrightalrightalrightalright! The writing is growing up, little by little! That being said...

Too. Many. Adverbs! Too many words, period. In so many instances, Wooding crowds the scene with all this extra crap that does nothing but distract the reader and detract from the story. For example, Wooding writes: "He stood, waiting expectantly". Instead, he could write, "He stood, waiting," and subtly build tension by allowing the reader to fill in some of gaps. It might seem like small potatoes, but pages and pages of those extra words equate to a whole lot of lost opportunities for tone setting and reader engagement.

Besides that? Wooding continues to show off his imagination with incredible worlds, new cultures, and strange creatures. If the next book continues on this upward trajectory in terms of quality of writing - can't wait for the next installment!

Broken Sky Part 3: The Citadel

Wooding has officially grown into his story as a writer - YAHOO! Sure, some of the character interactions and bum-bum-buuum cliff-hanger endings are a bit over the top - and he still uses more words than necessary - but he's finally found his rhythm, and the choices he makes seem less accidental and more purposeful and stylistic.

The rendering of places and creatures is phenomenal. The action scenes are badass, the creatures are on a Godzilla-scale level, and the new cultures are intriguing. The Koth Taraan and the Machinists are my favourites; the former alien, and the latter pushing the boundaries of ethics in scary and amazing ways. We also get to see the characters we've come to love in their final forms. They may have started out as robotic shells, but by this book they show subtly-executed personal growth.

Overall Rating: 🐕🐕🐕🐕 /5