LINK (The Shadow of Light #1) by Summer Wier (2015)
-NetGalley Review-
YA Fiction | Contemporary Sci-Fi
Blurb:
“For seventeen-year-old Kira, there’s no better way to celebrate a birthday than being surrounded by friends and huddled beside a campfire deep in the woods. And with a birthday in the peak of summer, that includes late night swims under the stars.
Or at least, it used to.
Kira’s relaxing contemplation of the universe is interrupted when a piece of it falls, colliding with her and starting a chain of events that could unexpectedly lead to the one thing in her life that’s missing—her father.
Tossed into a pieced-together world of carnivals and gypsies, an old-fashioned farmhouse, and the alluring presence of a boy from another planet, Kira discovers she’s been transported to the center of a black hole, and there’s more to the story than science can explain. She’s now linked by starlight to the world inside the darkness. And her star is dying.
If she doesn’t return home before the star’s light disappears and her link breaks, she’ll be trapped forever. But she’s not the only one ensnared, and with time running out, she’ll have to find a way to save a part of her past and a part of her future, or risk losing everything she loves.
Dreamy, fluid, and beautiful, Link pairs the mystery of science fiction with the minor-key melody of a dark fantasy, creating a tale that is as human as it is out of this world.”
–Goodreads
pooled ink Review:
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy to review!
LINK is an interestingly magical twist on the YA sci-fi genre focusing on the theory of travel between worlds. Wier writes a story embracing the more obscure but thrilling space travel theories delving into hypotheses on light, life on other planets, travel amongst the cosmos, and tying it all in with the classic light versus darkness and the pull of the chosen one.
A story that bounces and entwines the classic life of a bunch of teenagers with the eye-widening impossibilities and wonders of new worlds the plot streams forth with secrets and discoveries pulling the reader along in its wake of adventure.
The characters were well crafted and each with their own unique note. Zane’s loyalty, Faye’s colorfulness, Fischer’s intelligence, Evan’s hope, and Kira’s destiny all warps together into the start of a quest to save the world(s). A wonderful blend of fact and fiction, science and fantasy, theory and practice, LINK tackles new ground and barely scratches the surface to the wealth of intrigue built up in this first book in the Shadow of Light trilogy.
I began reading this book a bit unsteadily and unsure. The blurb had pulled me in with high hopes and sure enough with each discovery, each puzzle, each charm my hesitance dissolved as I melted into the world of Asulon.
Even those who perhaps do not naturally gravitate towards sci-fi would enjoy this book as it’s filled with science but it’s definitely not too sciency and avoids any dull brain-overloading mumbo jumbo. It balances out calculating science with magic and mystery.
Overall a fascinating read. LINK is sure to be an otherworldly experience for sci-fi buffs and fantasy dreamers alike.
Cheers.
Purchase here: LINK
Similar recommended reads: Matched by Ally Condie, Lichgates by S.M. Boyce, Nirvana by J.R. Stewart
Meet Summer Wier!
Summer Wier grew up spending Saturdays with a maxed out library card and her nose in a book. But as much as she loved reading, and even writing, both took the back seat when it came to career choices. With her sights set on law school, corporate greatness, and even a hankering to become the first female president, she set off to conquer the world. As life would have it, though, she didn’t attend law school, nor did she become president (although, one day, your vote may be appreciated), finding her strengths, instead, in accounting and business management. After finishing her MBA, she revived her love for reading and began writing with dreams of finishing a book of her own. When Summer isn’t working, reading, or writing, she’s trying to keep up with two energetic girls and her husband, and dreaming of the mountains of Montana.
-Goodreads
pooled ink 