My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“I want you here. I don't care if it's a hundred degrees and every blade of grass dies. Without you, none of that matters to me.”
----Kami Garcia
Kate Ling, an English author pens a heart-touching and fascinating YA science-fiction in her debut book, The Loneliness of Distant Beings that narrates the story of a young teenager who longs to live life in her own way not by the rules set by the leader of the spaceship that she and her family has been resident of for hundreds of years and will be for the next six hundred years. But the grim and strict orders and rules must be followed by the residents, even though they seem a bit meaningless and disobeying those rules might jeopardize the free existence of the residents.
Synopsis:
'It is that quick, it is that strong, it is that beautiful. And it is also totally impossible.'
Even though she knows it's impossible, Seren longs to have the sunshine on her skin. It's something she feels she needs to stay sane. But when you're floating through space at thousands of kilometers an hour, sometimes you have to accept there are things you cannot change.
Except that the arrival of Dom in her life changes everything in ways she can barely comprehend. For a while he becomes the Sun for her; and she can't help but stay in his orbit. Being with him flaunts every rule designed to keep their home in order, but to lose him would be like losing herself.
In the end they must decide what is most important: loyalty to the only home they've ever known, or to each other?
Seren has forever lived with her father, elder sister and grandfather aboard the spaceship, Ventura, travelling at a speed more than one thousand km/hr through the dark space to cover the 700 years long journey to a planet which they are going to inhabit. And the residents of this spaceship need to abide by the rules set by the leader of the ship and disobeying those rules might imperil their freedom in the ship. There are so many systems set on the spaceship that are supposed to make the lives of the residents balanced and organized, like the Breeding Program which is supposed to ensure the heritage and the proper lives of the future generation which is done by the help of the computer, a complete random selection of two partners after their basic graduation. And the residents are supposed to work in the spaceship like in the manufacturing or farming or nursing departments and the teenagers are recruited in one of such department after their graduation.
Due to Seren's deteriorating mental health, a.k.a, depression, Seren has been assigned to go see the doctor, where she met the boy, who stole her heart at the very first glance- Dom. Yes, he is the guy who will make her breathe finally in this stale air and will make her chant her name. But there's a slight problem, Seren has been partnered next to the boy, Ezra, who is the spaceship leader's son. And they are supposed to get married soon. And now that Dom has entered her life, it is impossible for Seren to settle with Ezra.
Well the world building is done quite strikingly by the author, as she has not left any gaps while explaining life aboard the spaceship and the logic and the reasons behind it. The world development has depth and edge that are bound to make the readers connect with this fictional situation. The book's cover image is another such aspect which gives the readers an arresting feel towards the story. Moreover, the author has aptly captured that cover image and the readers will get an idea about it as soon as they start reading the book.
The author's writing style is eloquent and is laced with deep, heart-felt emotions considering the fact that the book is a part love story between Dom and Seren. The narrative is equally engaging and free-flowing and will immediately catch the attention of the readers and will beg them to stay glued to this intriguing yet heart-touching story. The pacing is quite fat and swift and moves smoothly with the events and the twists of the story. Right from the opening page itself, the story is highly addictive and will keep the readers' minds curious with such an innovative story line.
There are some major twists and turns which are quite hard to anticipate and predict and they make the story even more enchanting and thrilling. There are lots of action scenes which are depicted vividly by the author which are bound to make the readers feel that adrenaline rush through their skin. Hats off to this author for giving birth to such an unique and exciting and challenging story line and not only that, but also delivering it successfully with so much flair.
The characters in this book are not only interesting and dynamic but are drawn from realism even though they are traveling aboard a spaceship through time and space. The main character, Seren, is not a perfect heroine material as she is highly relatable, flawed as she is suffering from mental problems, and rebellious. She feels suffocated in the spaceship thus she loves to break those hard laws at all time, especially when she falls for Dom, it becomes her mission to go against the whole breeding program. Seren speaks openly about her thoughts and her fearless attitude makes her highly likable character for the readers.
Dom, on the other hand, is an exact opposite of Seren, although he too disapproves the hard laws of the spaceship, but he knows how to keep his thoughts to himself and to be caring and to open up to Seren about the secrets harbored by the spaceship and their actual motive. Dom is an adorable, dark and broody character, who will easily warm up to the hearts of the readers. The supporting cast are very much well-developed but they share very little time in the story, and it could have been much better if Erza or his mother or his brother, Jonah, could share some scenes in the story.
The love story between Dom and Seren is portrayed with lots of feels, emotions and passion. It feels like the author has poured out her best emotions while penning the cute yet moving love story between Dom and Seren, that is bound to make the readers deeply root for both the characters' union till the very end. The author throws a lot of challenges on their way to make their love realistic and hard.
In a nutshell, this is a must-read page-turner which will not only captivate the readers but will also provoke their best thoughts about this story.
Verdict: One of the most compelling and gripping YA science fiction story that I have read in a long while.
Courtesy: Thanks to the publishers from Hachette India for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
I wrote Loneliness mostly at night, beneath a sky full of stars. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what could be up there, feeling certain that we couldn’t truly be alone, wondering how long it would take for us to be overwhelmed by the need to find out.
I don't live in outer space, but I've made a life in faraway countries. Like my characters, I know how it feels to leave everything behind and journey into the unknown, to be set adrift in a place where nothing is familiar, to feel simultaneously horribly trapped and dangerously free.
This story is for all those people who know what it is to be determined, even when you’re feeling lost. It’s also for my amazing daughters, and for all of us who have discovered that love makes you capable of extraordinary courage.
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