The second book in the Firebird series by Claudia Gray, Ten Thousand Skies Above You is as confusing and as thrilling as the first book. It's not just a book about travelling and exploring different dimensions but it's also a love story and a mystery-thriller all at once. The first book of the series caught my attention because of it's amazing world-building and great story. This second one has me hooked because of all the new details added to dimension traveling and to the to the characters.
Often, book lovers tend to be disappointed with sequels because the first books always seem to be better. Everything is always so new, and fresh in the first book, that we can't help but be disappointed with the sequel because the new factor isn't there anymore. In Ten Thousand Skies Above You, because we're constantly travelling in different worlds, and meeting new versions of the same people, things are always new and thrilling. I can't speak for everyone, but I love reading scenes where two characters meet for the first time. In this sequel, there are countless "new" meetings, and even if it makes things a little bit confusing, it's still very engaging.
This book follows Marguerite Caine through seven different multiverses (including her home world) where she takes "possession" of different version of her own body. Her main goal is to locate Paul Markov in four of these worlds since her "original" Paul Markov's soul was splintered into four different parts. This splintering was done purposely so that one of her enemies could blackmail her into doing some of his dirty work. Because she loves Paul, Marguerite would do just about anything in order to save her version of him. By travelling in different multiverses, she discovers darker versions of her boyfriend, which leads her to guess some of Paul's dark secrets that he never talks about.
Despite very few scenes between Marguerite and her own version of Paul, I would definitely classify this book as a romance. Travelling through different worlds in order to save your boyfriend is pretty daring and courageous. Marguerite encounters many different problems, such as a medieval world, a war-torn America, Russian mobsters in New York and a dog-eat-dog futuristic world. However, the worse verse is probably the safest one where Marguerite's family hates Paul for what he's done to her. Despite the difficulties in each world, Marguerite is even more determined to make her relationship with Paul world. In every world, fate always seems to bring her and Paul together, and Marguerite is sure that this means they're destined to be together.
Despite Marguerite and Paul's relationship, Marguerite spends the whole book travelling with Theo, Paul's best friend and fellow PhD candidate. He also happens to be in love with Marguerite too, but would do anything to bring back Paul. However, his travelling with Marguerite isn't entirely selfless since he is also trying to gain access to a cure from from his condition that was caused by a drug called the Nightthief. That drug is used to help the multiverse traveller stay in charge of the host body, instead of having the original consciousness take over.
I love how the author created this world as if it's completely possible. The scientists that created the Firebirds, the devices that allow to travel between worlds, are very realistic. These scientists just happen to be Marguerite's parents. They're not your cold, heartless scientists, but wonderful and caring parents. They might not be the ideal role models with their eccentric parenting methods and ideas but they have a strong presence in Marguerite's life. It's nice to read a book where there's no angst between teens and parents. It's actually quite refreshing.
Overall, this sequel was wonderful and well written. Sure, it might be a young adult novel with a dreaded love triangle, but honestly you really can't make assumptions based on those two things. The storytelling is great, and obviously, with the seven multiverses in this book alone, the author has spent a great deal thinking and detailing her worlds. Any geek interested in alternate realities or fans of science fiction will enjoy this series. Incidentally, I'm not a big fan of the cliffhanger at the end of the book, but I can look passed that little annoyance...
Sounds interesting. That cover is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOh nice! I still need to read this one but I adored the first one! I sensed the dreaded love triangle in that one too, and not looking forward to it still being around but still very anxious to read this one! Great review!
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