Defy the Stars
Books | Young Adult Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera
4.1
(544)
Claudia Gray
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Lost Stars and Bloodline comes a thrilling sci-fi adventure that Kass Morgan, bestselling author of The 100 series, calls "startlingly original and achingly romantic...nothing short of masterful." She's a soldier--Noemi Vidal is willing to risk anything to protect her planet, Genesis, including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she's a rebel. He's a machine--Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel's advanced programming has begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he's an abomination. Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they're not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they're forced to question everything they'd been taught was true. An epic and romantic adventure, perfect for fans of The Lunar Chronicles and Illuminae.
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Author
Claudia Gray
Pages
262
Publisher
Hachette+ORM
Published Date
2016-02-16
ISBN
031639405X 9780316394055
Community ReviewsSee all
"I really enjoyed this one and would have absolutely given 5 stars if not for the LARGE amount of sappiness that was shoved into the last 100 pages.
Bucky Barnes/Winter Solider had always been one of my favorite characters, and the Murderbot Diaries is absolutely my favorite book series. This book takes two of my favorite things and puts them together into a new type of robot-android awesome. Definitely hit all the buttons I was hoping it would (minus the mush. Seriously, I get that it was a huge character development but it definitely distracted from the Space Adventures awesomeness a bit) and i look forward to reading the rest!"
"The plot was plain, but that's fine if you plan to have a lot of content within it. There wasn't.<br/><br/>The planets were not particularly interesting, just like Star Wars' planets. The main characters were not fleshed out good.<br/><br/>Noemi was a basic hero. She cares about all living things, and protecting it. She has no selfish motivation in her body, which ironically, makes her less human.<br/><br/>Abel was obsessed with approval from his creator, as well as protecting him and admiring him. He basically transfers that programming, and projects it onto Noemi. <br/><br/>And the author calls it love.<br/><br/>Noemi is sooo basic, she couldn't even have the will to love the robot back. Even when she realized he had a "soul", she basically treated him like she would any other human she knows. Someone she has to protect .<br/><br/>Boring. Where are your desire? Aspirations?<br/><br/>All she kept talking about was the masada run or esther, as if that instantly gives a person character. She had this "holier than thou" complex I swear.<br/><br/>She said:<br/>“Well, it’s my life. I’m willing to give it up to save a whole world. I think anybody decent would do the same thing.”<br/><br/>Get off your ******* high horse. You don't have to be suicidal to be a good person, and just because you're willing to die doesn't mean your a good person.<br/><br/>Noemi was weirdly annoying.<br/><br/><br/> I don't think her religious background was implemented well into the overarching moral of what it means to be human. Her issues as well were more about self doubt, but it was done terribly, and it does nothing to teach Abel how to he human.<br/><br/>I don't know why I finished this.<br/><br/>"
"It’s like Star Trek: Next Generation, but where the characters have a friendship that grows from Han and Chewy to Han and Leia. "
K C
Kyriah Carter
"This is one of the best books, and space operas, I've ever read. Noemi and Abel are characters you'll root for, and the way they go from enemies to friends to lovers was heartwarming and endearing. Seeing Abel becoming more and more human and finding out he had a soul was one of the things that really made this book great. I didn't expect Burton Mansfield's sole reason for creating Abel to be so that he could live forever, and I'm glad Abel escaped and could defy his orders. Noemi is a character who has also been through a lot. When you first meet her, she is prepared to die so her friend can live and it's heartbreaking that her friends parents haven't been the kindest to her and she feels like the only one who can understand her is Esther. And then Abel comes along and neither of them feels alone. I can't wait to read the second book and I hope Noemi and Abel find each other again. Also, I loved the role that Casablanca played in this book."
"Immersion broken in first chapter. A ton about that first battle makes no sense. First, why mechs are just floating in space fighting against fighter ships? And second, they're fighting in the vacuum of space, why are things flying through the air? I stopped at that point cuz there needs to be some amount of consistency in sci fi."
"Wonderful take on machines/humans"
M
Mandy