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Caeli-Amur #2
The Stars Askew
The stunning adventure begun in the critically acclaimed debut Unwrapped Sky continues
The Stars Askew is the highly anticipated sequel to the New Weird adventure begun by talented young author Rjurik Davidson. With the seditionists in power, Caeli-Amur has begun a new age. Or has it? The escaped House officials no longer send food, and the city is starving.
When the moderate leader Aceline is murdered, the trail leads Kata to a mysterious book that explains how to control the fabled Prism of Alerion. But when the last person to possess the book is found dead, it becomes clear that a conspiracy is afoot. At its center is former House Officiate Armand, who has hidden the Prism. Armand is vying for control of the Directorate, the highest political position in the city, until Armand is betrayed and sent to a prison camp to mine deadly bloodstone.
Meanwhile, Maximilian is sharing his mind with another being: the joker-god Aya. Aya leads Max to the realm of the Elo-Talern to seek a power source to remove Aya from Max’s brain. But when Max and Aya return, they find the vigilants destroying the last remnants of House power.
It seems the seditionists' hopes for a new age of peace and prosperity in Caeli-Amur have come to naught, and every attempt to improve the situation makes it worse. The question now is not just whether Kata, Max, and Armand can do anything to stop the bloody battle in the city, but if they can escape with their lives.
The Stars Askew is the highly anticipated sequel to the New Weird adventure begun by talented young author Rjurik Davidson. With the seditionists in power, Caeli-Amur has begun a new age. Or has it? The escaped House officials no longer send food, and the city is starving.
When the moderate leader Aceline is murdered, the trail leads Kata to a mysterious book that explains how to control the fabled Prism of Alerion. But when the last person to possess the book is found dead, it becomes clear that a conspiracy is afoot. At its center is former House Officiate Armand, who has hidden the Prism. Armand is vying for control of the Directorate, the highest political position in the city, until Armand is betrayed and sent to a prison camp to mine deadly bloodstone.
Meanwhile, Maximilian is sharing his mind with another being: the joker-god Aya. Aya leads Max to the realm of the Elo-Talern to seek a power source to remove Aya from Max’s brain. But when Max and Aya return, they find the vigilants destroying the last remnants of House power.
It seems the seditionists' hopes for a new age of peace and prosperity in Caeli-Amur have come to naught, and every attempt to improve the situation makes it worse. The question now is not just whether Kata, Max, and Armand can do anything to stop the bloody battle in the city, but if they can escape with their lives.
411 pages, Paperback
First published July 12, 2016
4 people are currently reading
734 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 17, 2016
In combining revolutionary theory with bursts of thaumaturgical power and political intrigue Davidson has, once again, written a story that both delights and challenges your thinking. Powerful, gripping, and utterly addictive. The Stars Askew is the type of story I'd happily take with me to a deserted island.
The full review can be found here:
http://smashdragons.blogspot.com.au/2...
The full review can be found here:
http://smashdragons.blogspot.com.au/2...
October 26, 2016
I eagerly got this from the library as soon as it came out: I'd read Rjurik Davidson's two previous stories set in this world (Unwrapped Sky https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..., and Nighttime in Caeli-Amur, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) and absolutely loved both of them. Unfortunately, I had a really hard time getting into this direct sequel to Unwrapped Sky.
'The Stars Askew' is a very astute exploration of what happens after a revolution - when glorious ideals start falling victim to the ambitions and power struggles of those who planned a coup, and the new leaders turn out to be just as corrupt - if not worse - than those they recently supplanted. It's true-to-life - an important elucidation of real truths.
However, as far as story goes- I just couldn't manage to get into the flow of the plot or to care deeply about the characters. Perhaps it'd just been a bit too long since I read the last book. This one follows the characters we've already met, including the main one, Kata. But for those who don't have the previous part of the story fresh in their minds, it can seem choppy, as we jump between events happening in different places, with a few different people and situations, and little reminder of who they are and how they got there. The setting also feels a bit less 'weird,' and more reminiscent of the historical French Revolution.
The three main plots follow the characters:
Kata, who is still in the city of Caeli-Amur. She has found herself in a leadership position after the revolution, but the revolutionaries are quickly splitting into antagonistic factions, and her allies are turning up murdered...
Armand, formerly a leader, has been sent to the 'salt mines.' (Actually, what they're mining is worse than salt, and far more poisonous.) He has hopes of escape, but as fellow prisoners die around him, a miracle seems less and less likely.
Max, whose mind has been hijacked by the ancient 'god' Aya. The two personalities war for dominance, as they travel with conflicting agendas...
Overall, it wasn't bad, it just didn't live up to my extremely high expectations. I'd still read more from this author.
'The Stars Askew' is a very astute exploration of what happens after a revolution - when glorious ideals start falling victim to the ambitions and power struggles of those who planned a coup, and the new leaders turn out to be just as corrupt - if not worse - than those they recently supplanted. It's true-to-life - an important elucidation of real truths.
However, as far as story goes- I just couldn't manage to get into the flow of the plot or to care deeply about the characters. Perhaps it'd just been a bit too long since I read the last book. This one follows the characters we've already met, including the main one, Kata. But for those who don't have the previous part of the story fresh in their minds, it can seem choppy, as we jump between events happening in different places, with a few different people and situations, and little reminder of who they are and how they got there. The setting also feels a bit less 'weird,' and more reminiscent of the historical French Revolution.
The three main plots follow the characters:
Kata, who is still in the city of Caeli-Amur. She has found herself in a leadership position after the revolution, but the revolutionaries are quickly splitting into antagonistic factions, and her allies are turning up murdered...
Armand, formerly a leader, has been sent to the 'salt mines.' (Actually, what they're mining is worse than salt, and far more poisonous.) He has hopes of escape, but as fellow prisoners die around him, a miracle seems less and less likely.
Max, whose mind has been hijacked by the ancient 'god' Aya. The two personalities war for dominance, as they travel with conflicting agendas...
Overall, it wasn't bad, it just didn't live up to my extremely high expectations. I'd still read more from this author.
October 11, 2016
Originally published at Risingshadow.
Rjurik Davidson's The Stars Askew is an enthralling fantasy novel that does not disappoint speculative fiction readers. I was deeply impressed by it, because it's an original, inventive and imaginative novel that explores life, death, revolution, society, governance and freedom in a rich and unique way.
I didn't think it would be possible for the author to surpass Unwrapped Sky in terms of skillful storytelling and good characterisation, but he has managed to pull it off. The Stars Askew is the kind of a sequel that all sequels should aspire to be, because the author expands the fantasy world, reveals new wonders and terrors to his readers and delivers a fast-paced story with an excellent ending.
Rjurik Davidson has matured a lot as an author since his first Caeli-Amur stories, which were published in The Library of Forgotten Books (PS Publishing, 2010). Although he has always been an excellent author, he now seems to have reached the full potential of his writing skills and writes more confidently than before. His rich and evocative prose is a pleasure to read, because he has the gift of engaging narration. His lush desciptions about the various places are breathtakingly beautiful and mesmerising, and he writes captivatingly about the characters.
I consider The Stars Askew to be a remarkable achievement in fantastical storytelling. In this novel, the author exceeds himself in worldbuilding and characterisation. Compared to Unwrapped Sky, this novel feels more robust and more rounded, because it has more of everything that made Unwrapped Sky a good novel and there's a perfect balance between the different elements.
This novel gives readers an opportunity to read about such wondrous sights as minotaurs, Gorgons, Augurers, technological wonders, ancient machines, dangerous magic, blood-orchids etc. It is filled with visually stunning imagery that is reminiscent of China Miéville and Anthony Huso and has a dash of old-school weird fiction coupled with modern dark fantasy.
I think it's good to mention that it's advisable to read Unwrapped Sky before reading this novel. It's possible that you may be able to enjoy this novel as a standalone novel, but I strongly recommend reading Unwrapped Sky first, because you'll miss out on a lot of details unless you're familiar with the background story and the characters. (It's also good to mention that there are a few bloody and violent scenes in this novel that may be disturbing to those who are easily shocked.)
Here's a bit of information about the story:
- The story is told from the point of view of three main characters: Kata, Armand and Max.
- In the beginning, Thom asks Kata to take a letter to Aceline, the seditionist leader, who resides at Marin's water palace. When Kata goes to see Aceline, she finds her murdered. She also finds the bodies of two thaumaturgists who seem to have killed each other by using a burning conjuration. She begins to investigate what has happened and hears about a mysterious old book with a sheen of thaumaturgy on it...
- Armand has fled Caeli-Amur and thinks that an assassin is following him. He has stolen the Prism of Alerion, which allows its controller to halt the dangerous effects of thaumaturgy on the body. He is on his way to Varenis to meet Karl Valentin who was once his grandfather's protégé and now works as a Controller at the Department of Benevolance. He seeks his help, but is betrayed...
- Maximilian shares his mind with the joker god Aya, because he allowed Aya access into his head in the Great Library of Caeli-Enas, the Sunken City. He travels deep into the heart of the mountain to a place that is inhabited by the Elo-Talern. Soon Aya takes full control of Max's body in order to do what he wants to do...
This is the beginning of a fast-paced, vivid and well-crafted story that combines impressive worldbuilding, intense atmosphere and rich characterisation in an entertaining way.
I like the way Rjurik Davidson draws inspiration from historical happenings, transforms them into a fantastical format and seasons them with New Weird elements. By taking elements from revolutionary France and Nazi Germany and spicing them with elements of betrayal, revenge, manipulation and hope, he creates a vibrant blend of harsh realism and fantastical strangeness. His deep understanding of mythology, philosophy, revolutionary themes and political issues adds complexity to the story.
The characterisation is satisfyingly complex. The richly-drawn and realistic protagonists have their own lives, feelings, ambitions and needs that define them as persons. The author's way of telling the story from their perspectives feels natural and vivid, because he writes about what they do and how they react to various happenings in their lives.
Kata is a former philosopher-assassin who used to work for the Houses. She has become a seditionist who feels comfortable with the moderate faction of the seditionists. She still struggles with certain aspects related to friendship and trust. Armand is a former House Officiate who wants to restore the dominance and power of the Houses and desires a good position for himself. He has fled from Caeli-Amur and has stolen the valuable Prism of Alerion, which is said to contain the dying spirit of the god. Maximilian shares his mind with Aya, the joker god, because he made a bargain with Aya in exchange for the knowledge of thaumaturgy. He doesn't like sharing his mind with Aya and struggles for control.
I want to mention separately that I enjoyed reading about Dexion, who was Kata's minotaur friend. The author wrote intriguingly about him and his characteristics.
In this novel, character interaction is excellent and realistic. The author fluently describes how the major and minor characters feel about each other and how their ambitions and needs collide with each other. What happens between Max and Aya is handled exceptionally well, because they share a body and mind. They have to tolerate each other despite their differences and contrasting opinions. They both fear that they may end up becoming permanently combined if they're not careful and able to separate themselves.
What happens between Armand and Karl Valentin is intriguing. Armand seeks help from Valentin, but is badly betrayed and ends up in the terrifying Camp X, which is a speculative fiction equivalent to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany and the Gulags in Stalinist Russia.
Camp X is the pride of the work camps of Varenis. It's a slave labour camp where prisoners mine deadly and dangerous bloodstone for the Empire's thaumaturgists. The author's vision of Camp X is simply stunning in its terrifying bleakness, because the prisoners suffer from mining bloodstone and won't live long. He describes well how the prisoners are treated at the camp and how they're being supervised. The conditions at the camp are inhuman and everyone who arrives there will soon submit to working hard as long as he lives.
The worldbuilding is excellent and satisfyingly vibrant. The author paints a breathtakingly beautiful sight of Caeli-Amur and the vast urban metropolis of Varenis, the centre of which is dominated by the Twelve Towers (there's one tower for each of the Sortileges, the thaumaturgic rulers who hover above the city). Varenis is different from Caeli-Amur in many ways, because it's a city that is surrounded by farmlands and has suburbs, villas, waterways, canals, tall buildings, train lines, walkways and the Undercity. I was fascinated by the strange beauty of Varenis and its different areas. It was also fascinating to read about Lixus, which was called the Ruined City.
Because I've always been interested in botany, I enjoyed reading about the semi-sentient blood-orchids that suck on blood and bone. These carnivorous flowers and their feeding habits are a sight to behold.
In this novel, the author continues to write excellently about the dangerous magic called thaumaturgy and its effects on its users. Although thaumaturgists are aware that touching the Other Side is extremely dangerous and it distorts them, they do it anyway, because they have no other way to control and use the power. Much has been forgotten about thaumaturgy over the years and people don't recall how to use it safely anymore.
Rjurik Davidson's way of writing about politics is interesting, because he fluently combines politics and philosophy. Because there have been times when I've felt that certain authors pay a little too much attention to politics and forget to balance it with other matters, it was nice to see that the author maintained a perfect balance between political intrigue, thaumaturgy, murder investigations and plot twists.
Because I was fascinated by the thought-provoking elements in Unwrapped Sky, I was delighted to find out that the author continued to use them in this novel. The aftermath and the consequences of the revolution are handled in an exceptionally skillful way, because the seditionists face severe problems and all their attempts to make things better seem to fail and only worsen the situation. Reading about how things escalate and become difficult for the seditionists is intriguing, because it feels realistic.
In this novel, the author makes his readers ask these three important questions: "What happens when the rulership changes?", "Are new rulers better than the old ones or just as bad as them?", and "Is it acceptable for new rulers to resort to using violence and purges to enforce their ruling?" I think it's great that the author isn't easy on the readers and doesn't underestimate their intelligence, but makes them think about what's going on, because reading this kind of a thought-provoking story is rewarding.
In my opinion, certain elements in this novel are clearly indebted to such masters of the weird as H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith. There's something about the Elo-Talern that reminded me a bit of old-fashioned weird fiction and dark fantasy. I found the author's depictions of them to be mesmerising, because he told what has happened to them since their engines have broken down and what kind of a fate awaits them.
The Stars Askew is exceptionally good and wonderfully original fantasy fiction for adult readers. If you're fed up with mediocre fantasy novels and want to read something different and original, The Stars Askew is perfect antidote to countless mediocre novels that endlessly recycle the same plots over and over again without any kind of originality and style, not to mention substance. It's a refreshing reading experience due to its originality, imaginative story and bizarre fantasy world.
Along with China Miéville's Bas-Lag series, Anthony Huso's The Last Page (Tor Books, 2010) and Black Bottle (Tor Books, 2012) and David Edison's The Waking Engine (Tor Books, 2014), The Stars Askew is one of the finest achievements in epic New Weird-ish fantasy fiction. Because it has plenty of depth and an uncanny feel of darkness to it, it will please many speculative fiction readers.
As you can probably tell by what I've written above, I was very impressed by The Stars Askew and found it amazing. I give it full five stars on the scale from one to five stars.
Rjurik Davidson's The Stars Askew sparkles with sublime beauty and captivating strangeness. It's a successful combination of various elements ranging from epic fantasy and horror to steampunk, weird fiction and New Weird. It takes readers on a rewarding journey into another world which is filled with beauty, terror and strange wonders. You can't afford to miss it, because it's one of the best and most memorable fantasy novels of the year.
Highly recommended! (More, please!)
Rjurik Davidson's The Stars Askew is an enthralling fantasy novel that does not disappoint speculative fiction readers. I was deeply impressed by it, because it's an original, inventive and imaginative novel that explores life, death, revolution, society, governance and freedom in a rich and unique way.
I didn't think it would be possible for the author to surpass Unwrapped Sky in terms of skillful storytelling and good characterisation, but he has managed to pull it off. The Stars Askew is the kind of a sequel that all sequels should aspire to be, because the author expands the fantasy world, reveals new wonders and terrors to his readers and delivers a fast-paced story with an excellent ending.
Rjurik Davidson has matured a lot as an author since his first Caeli-Amur stories, which were published in The Library of Forgotten Books (PS Publishing, 2010). Although he has always been an excellent author, he now seems to have reached the full potential of his writing skills and writes more confidently than before. His rich and evocative prose is a pleasure to read, because he has the gift of engaging narration. His lush desciptions about the various places are breathtakingly beautiful and mesmerising, and he writes captivatingly about the characters.
I consider The Stars Askew to be a remarkable achievement in fantastical storytelling. In this novel, the author exceeds himself in worldbuilding and characterisation. Compared to Unwrapped Sky, this novel feels more robust and more rounded, because it has more of everything that made Unwrapped Sky a good novel and there's a perfect balance between the different elements.
This novel gives readers an opportunity to read about such wondrous sights as minotaurs, Gorgons, Augurers, technological wonders, ancient machines, dangerous magic, blood-orchids etc. It is filled with visually stunning imagery that is reminiscent of China Miéville and Anthony Huso and has a dash of old-school weird fiction coupled with modern dark fantasy.
I think it's good to mention that it's advisable to read Unwrapped Sky before reading this novel. It's possible that you may be able to enjoy this novel as a standalone novel, but I strongly recommend reading Unwrapped Sky first, because you'll miss out on a lot of details unless you're familiar with the background story and the characters. (It's also good to mention that there are a few bloody and violent scenes in this novel that may be disturbing to those who are easily shocked.)
Here's a bit of information about the story:
- The story is told from the point of view of three main characters: Kata, Armand and Max.
- In the beginning, Thom asks Kata to take a letter to Aceline, the seditionist leader, who resides at Marin's water palace. When Kata goes to see Aceline, she finds her murdered. She also finds the bodies of two thaumaturgists who seem to have killed each other by using a burning conjuration. She begins to investigate what has happened and hears about a mysterious old book with a sheen of thaumaturgy on it...
- Armand has fled Caeli-Amur and thinks that an assassin is following him. He has stolen the Prism of Alerion, which allows its controller to halt the dangerous effects of thaumaturgy on the body. He is on his way to Varenis to meet Karl Valentin who was once his grandfather's protégé and now works as a Controller at the Department of Benevolance. He seeks his help, but is betrayed...
- Maximilian shares his mind with the joker god Aya, because he allowed Aya access into his head in the Great Library of Caeli-Enas, the Sunken City. He travels deep into the heart of the mountain to a place that is inhabited by the Elo-Talern. Soon Aya takes full control of Max's body in order to do what he wants to do...
This is the beginning of a fast-paced, vivid and well-crafted story that combines impressive worldbuilding, intense atmosphere and rich characterisation in an entertaining way.
I like the way Rjurik Davidson draws inspiration from historical happenings, transforms them into a fantastical format and seasons them with New Weird elements. By taking elements from revolutionary France and Nazi Germany and spicing them with elements of betrayal, revenge, manipulation and hope, he creates a vibrant blend of harsh realism and fantastical strangeness. His deep understanding of mythology, philosophy, revolutionary themes and political issues adds complexity to the story.
The characterisation is satisfyingly complex. The richly-drawn and realistic protagonists have their own lives, feelings, ambitions and needs that define them as persons. The author's way of telling the story from their perspectives feels natural and vivid, because he writes about what they do and how they react to various happenings in their lives.
Kata is a former philosopher-assassin who used to work for the Houses. She has become a seditionist who feels comfortable with the moderate faction of the seditionists. She still struggles with certain aspects related to friendship and trust. Armand is a former House Officiate who wants to restore the dominance and power of the Houses and desires a good position for himself. He has fled from Caeli-Amur and has stolen the valuable Prism of Alerion, which is said to contain the dying spirit of the god. Maximilian shares his mind with Aya, the joker god, because he made a bargain with Aya in exchange for the knowledge of thaumaturgy. He doesn't like sharing his mind with Aya and struggles for control.
I want to mention separately that I enjoyed reading about Dexion, who was Kata's minotaur friend. The author wrote intriguingly about him and his characteristics.
In this novel, character interaction is excellent and realistic. The author fluently describes how the major and minor characters feel about each other and how their ambitions and needs collide with each other. What happens between Max and Aya is handled exceptionally well, because they share a body and mind. They have to tolerate each other despite their differences and contrasting opinions. They both fear that they may end up becoming permanently combined if they're not careful and able to separate themselves.
What happens between Armand and Karl Valentin is intriguing. Armand seeks help from Valentin, but is badly betrayed and ends up in the terrifying Camp X, which is a speculative fiction equivalent to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany and the Gulags in Stalinist Russia.
Camp X is the pride of the work camps of Varenis. It's a slave labour camp where prisoners mine deadly and dangerous bloodstone for the Empire's thaumaturgists. The author's vision of Camp X is simply stunning in its terrifying bleakness, because the prisoners suffer from mining bloodstone and won't live long. He describes well how the prisoners are treated at the camp and how they're being supervised. The conditions at the camp are inhuman and everyone who arrives there will soon submit to working hard as long as he lives.
The worldbuilding is excellent and satisfyingly vibrant. The author paints a breathtakingly beautiful sight of Caeli-Amur and the vast urban metropolis of Varenis, the centre of which is dominated by the Twelve Towers (there's one tower for each of the Sortileges, the thaumaturgic rulers who hover above the city). Varenis is different from Caeli-Amur in many ways, because it's a city that is surrounded by farmlands and has suburbs, villas, waterways, canals, tall buildings, train lines, walkways and the Undercity. I was fascinated by the strange beauty of Varenis and its different areas. It was also fascinating to read about Lixus, which was called the Ruined City.
Because I've always been interested in botany, I enjoyed reading about the semi-sentient blood-orchids that suck on blood and bone. These carnivorous flowers and their feeding habits are a sight to behold.
In this novel, the author continues to write excellently about the dangerous magic called thaumaturgy and its effects on its users. Although thaumaturgists are aware that touching the Other Side is extremely dangerous and it distorts them, they do it anyway, because they have no other way to control and use the power. Much has been forgotten about thaumaturgy over the years and people don't recall how to use it safely anymore.
Rjurik Davidson's way of writing about politics is interesting, because he fluently combines politics and philosophy. Because there have been times when I've felt that certain authors pay a little too much attention to politics and forget to balance it with other matters, it was nice to see that the author maintained a perfect balance between political intrigue, thaumaturgy, murder investigations and plot twists.
Because I was fascinated by the thought-provoking elements in Unwrapped Sky, I was delighted to find out that the author continued to use them in this novel. The aftermath and the consequences of the revolution are handled in an exceptionally skillful way, because the seditionists face severe problems and all their attempts to make things better seem to fail and only worsen the situation. Reading about how things escalate and become difficult for the seditionists is intriguing, because it feels realistic.
In this novel, the author makes his readers ask these three important questions: "What happens when the rulership changes?", "Are new rulers better than the old ones or just as bad as them?", and "Is it acceptable for new rulers to resort to using violence and purges to enforce their ruling?" I think it's great that the author isn't easy on the readers and doesn't underestimate their intelligence, but makes them think about what's going on, because reading this kind of a thought-provoking story is rewarding.
In my opinion, certain elements in this novel are clearly indebted to such masters of the weird as H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith. There's something about the Elo-Talern that reminded me a bit of old-fashioned weird fiction and dark fantasy. I found the author's depictions of them to be mesmerising, because he told what has happened to them since their engines have broken down and what kind of a fate awaits them.
The Stars Askew is exceptionally good and wonderfully original fantasy fiction for adult readers. If you're fed up with mediocre fantasy novels and want to read something different and original, The Stars Askew is perfect antidote to countless mediocre novels that endlessly recycle the same plots over and over again without any kind of originality and style, not to mention substance. It's a refreshing reading experience due to its originality, imaginative story and bizarre fantasy world.
Along with China Miéville's Bas-Lag series, Anthony Huso's The Last Page (Tor Books, 2010) and Black Bottle (Tor Books, 2012) and David Edison's The Waking Engine (Tor Books, 2014), The Stars Askew is one of the finest achievements in epic New Weird-ish fantasy fiction. Because it has plenty of depth and an uncanny feel of darkness to it, it will please many speculative fiction readers.
As you can probably tell by what I've written above, I was very impressed by The Stars Askew and found it amazing. I give it full five stars on the scale from one to five stars.
Rjurik Davidson's The Stars Askew sparkles with sublime beauty and captivating strangeness. It's a successful combination of various elements ranging from epic fantasy and horror to steampunk, weird fiction and New Weird. It takes readers on a rewarding journey into another world which is filled with beauty, terror and strange wonders. You can't afford to miss it, because it's one of the best and most memorable fantasy novels of the year.
Highly recommended! (More, please!)
September 8, 2016
Rjurik Davidson borrows from the French Revolution in the Caeli-Amur. It’s been a millennium since a high-magical civilization destroyed itself in war. It’s a strange world with a few minotaurs and gorgons. The city is trying to run itself with committees, and is killing rebels with the new bolt machine. Kata, a former assassin, is a member of the moderate party and starts finding her friends murdered. Maximilian picked up the mind of one of the god-like mages and goes off the mountains to find an ancient power source to remove his passenger. Former house administrator, Armond. goes to a neighboring city for help and finds himself a political prisoner set to work in the mines. The Stars Askew (hard from Tor) fells like the middle book of a fascinating trilogy.Review printed by Philadelphia Weekly Press
March 15, 2024
I don't know what to think of it.
Unwrapped Sky was one of those books you read and don't feel like you're actually reading. I loved it and was so excited to read the sequel and get back into this fascinating world and characters. However, I felt very disappointed by it.
I'll be brutally honest: it felt more like a draft. It clearly needed some work on it. The dialogue felt awkward. So much inner monologues. The characters I liked from book 1 seemed different here. I understand they've changed due to the events, but the drastic changes felt too sudden. For instance, Kata hadn't seen Max for a while yet immediately sensed he wasn't the same man she had met at first. Don't tell me this, show it to me. Show me how Max's decision are so different. That was one of the issues I'd with this one: too much telling, less showing.
Unwrapped Sky was one of those books you read and don't feel like you're actually reading. I loved it and was so excited to read the sequel and get back into this fascinating world and characters. However, I felt very disappointed by it.
I'll be brutally honest: it felt more like a draft. It clearly needed some work on it. The dialogue felt awkward. So much inner monologues. The characters I liked from book 1 seemed different here. I understand they've changed due to the events, but the drastic changes felt too sudden. For instance, Kata hadn't seen Max for a while yet immediately sensed he wasn't the same man she had met at first. Don't tell me this, show it to me. Show me how Max's decision are so different. That was one of the issues I'd with this one: too much telling, less showing.
July 24, 2016
I was mildly trepidatious about this book - I very much enjoyed the first in the Caeli Amur series, but it was hard to see how the momentum could be maintained. I shouldn't have worried, I frankly devoured the book, in that magical everything-else-falling-away land, which great genre fiction excels at. The second entry in the series is a more self assured, polished work than the first, building on the strengths of Davidson's approach, and smoothing over some of the rougher patches.
And the strengths of Davidson's work are very, very strong indeed. First among them is immersive world building - the landscape, the history, the mythology, the human culture, the technology of Caeli Amur and its surrounds are fully realised. While they certainly riff off of Western legend and mythology, they never (with the exception discussed below) feel like a riff of another culture, but rather stand fully realised. As the book spreads its wings beyond the series' titular city, this becomes even more enjoyable, as the tale splits into several interwoven strands, each able to explore both separate and common themes. Armand's journeys to Varenis, for example, give us a taste of different jostling metropolis, one based on raw power, and intense urbanity. While Max and Aya's journeys flesh out the potent mix of history, legend and mythology that provides both world exposition, and tension-building foreshadowing. Meanwhile, in the city, Kata is living out an alterna French Revolution - the most clearly "riffing" part of the narrative, which does at times become a little too meta, but is grounded by the other strands (A mention on page 2 of washerwomen, sets the tone here, well before we hit the Guillotine homage Bolt).
Each of these strands is almost in its own genre - at various times we have a POW-era escape thriller; a mythological epic romance; and a tense spy game, for example - but all are underpinned by the emotional journeys of the POV characters, tied to a central theme of power and leadership, and how the process of assuming these changes the wielder, and hence their intentions and actions. Another of Davidson's strengths here is his capacity to present differing viewpoints - we repeatedly see the same series of events through different eyes. The shift of action beyond the cities borders (oh, and the addition of an old god character :) )adds another layer here, of outsider views on events our protagonists are so deeply involved in.
The book is unashamedly political, and as I suspect I wrote in the last one of these but am too lazy to check, I guess some readers don't know what to do with this. We live in an era where cynicism about political change is widespread enough to become orthodoxy: a boom in dystopian narratives, and a culture which embraces morality tales of antiheroes more comfortably than it roots for heroes. We have become so much better at schadenfreude than hope. In this context, the idealism of Davidson's characters, and the seriousness with which he takes ideas - about society, about people - may seem out of place in a work of vivid imagination. But to me, at least, the interweaving is seamless. This is no simply Utopian tale, it is a serious examination of the process of social change. With Minotaurs and man eating plants.
The book has weaknesses still - while the prose is gorgeous, the occasional overly obscure word lands with a clunk, and the chapters from Kata's POV felt less smooth than the rest of the work, with Kata's emotional arc feeling confusingly jumpy at times. Some of this may be because of the sheer needs of the narrative, which required some fast turns in attitude. I'd also like the series to tackle the issues of gender a bit more - the obvious French Revolution parallels, for example, raised the spectre of the role, and defeat, of feminist revolutionaries and their demands for gender equality. There are hints in the narrative of a highly gendered society (and in both books, women whose power is related their sexual role) but this seems abstract from our female POV character, in a way it wasn't to women leaders in France, or Ireland. Nevertheless, Kata comes through this as a compelling character in her own right, and I really can't wait to see where it all goes next.
And the strengths of Davidson's work are very, very strong indeed. First among them is immersive world building - the landscape, the history, the mythology, the human culture, the technology of Caeli Amur and its surrounds are fully realised. While they certainly riff off of Western legend and mythology, they never (with the exception discussed below) feel like a riff of another culture, but rather stand fully realised. As the book spreads its wings beyond the series' titular city, this becomes even more enjoyable, as the tale splits into several interwoven strands, each able to explore both separate and common themes. Armand's journeys to Varenis, for example, give us a taste of different jostling metropolis, one based on raw power, and intense urbanity. While Max and Aya's journeys flesh out the potent mix of history, legend and mythology that provides both world exposition, and tension-building foreshadowing. Meanwhile, in the city, Kata is living out an alterna French Revolution - the most clearly "riffing" part of the narrative, which does at times become a little too meta, but is grounded by the other strands (A mention on page 2 of washerwomen, sets the tone here, well before we hit the Guillotine homage Bolt).
Each of these strands is almost in its own genre - at various times we have a POW-era escape thriller; a mythological epic romance; and a tense spy game, for example - but all are underpinned by the emotional journeys of the POV characters, tied to a central theme of power and leadership, and how the process of assuming these changes the wielder, and hence their intentions and actions. Another of Davidson's strengths here is his capacity to present differing viewpoints - we repeatedly see the same series of events through different eyes. The shift of action beyond the cities borders (oh, and the addition of an old god character :) )adds another layer here, of outsider views on events our protagonists are so deeply involved in.
The book is unashamedly political, and as I suspect I wrote in the last one of these but am too lazy to check, I guess some readers don't know what to do with this. We live in an era where cynicism about political change is widespread enough to become orthodoxy: a boom in dystopian narratives, and a culture which embraces morality tales of antiheroes more comfortably than it roots for heroes. We have become so much better at schadenfreude than hope. In this context, the idealism of Davidson's characters, and the seriousness with which he takes ideas - about society, about people - may seem out of place in a work of vivid imagination. But to me, at least, the interweaving is seamless. This is no simply Utopian tale, it is a serious examination of the process of social change. With Minotaurs and man eating plants.
The book has weaknesses still - while the prose is gorgeous, the occasional overly obscure word lands with a clunk, and the chapters from Kata's POV felt less smooth than the rest of the work, with Kata's emotional arc feeling confusingly jumpy at times. Some of this may be because of the sheer needs of the narrative, which required some fast turns in attitude. I'd also like the series to tackle the issues of gender a bit more - the obvious French Revolution parallels, for example, raised the spectre of the role, and defeat, of feminist revolutionaries and their demands for gender equality. There are hints in the narrative of a highly gendered society (and in both books, women whose power is related their sexual role) but this seems abstract from our female POV character, in a way it wasn't to women leaders in France, or Ireland. Nevertheless, Kata comes through this as a compelling character in her own right, and I really can't wait to see where it all goes next.
June 20, 2016
I have been waiting with anticipation for the follow-up to Rjurik Davidson’s strikingly original debut, Unwrapped Sky (2014), and The Stars Askew does not disappoint. The “young master of the New Weird” fleshes out his wonderfully bizarre world, a world that blends familiar elements of history and mythology in unique ways.
Read my full review at Pop Mythology.
I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher.
Matt Hlinak
Author of DoG
Read my full review at Pop Mythology.
I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher.
Matt Hlinak
Author of DoG
December 1, 2025
Even if this had meant to be a trilogy, as I've heard, it stands complete. It has a complete narrative arc and a satisfying conclusion. Davidson does a really good job of depicting the complexities of governance, and how, as in real life, just because a movement is well-intentioned, doesn't make them automatically good at running things. And how the best ideologies don't often survive collision with reality unstained.
April 19, 2017
Such a great book, even better than the first one! full review here:
https://littlepandareads.wordpress.co...
https://littlepandareads.wordpress.co...
March 12, 2018
I was invested in the first book in this series because of the sheer amount of arresting images, despite some issues I had with characterization. The second installment in this series made me toss my criticisms of its predecessor out the window because not only are the issues I had with Unwrapped Sky resolved, The Stars Askew takes the snippets of the strange, unique world of Caeli Amur that we had previously been shown and broadens them, weaving together a complex, intensely nuanced and compelling tapestry of a world that is like our own yet not, heavily inspired by a comprehensive knowledge of mythology and sharp, relevant political criticism alike.
Before going any further I really cannot stress enough to readers who read to be overtaken by Somewhere Else the degree to which this book will take you there. Somber valley of ancient mechanized Tolkien-esque statues slowly decaying as the last remnants of the age of the gods disappear from the world around them? Check. Carniverous plant cult? Check. Copious and welcome use of the word "thaumaturge?" Check and check. Also included: excellent gallows humor, the chilling city of Varenis and its fleshy cyberpunk realpolitik, and a truly weird reimagining of the Fates.
The world is the main attraction in this series- and rightly so, more aggressively raw and original than anything I have read in some time, yet impossible to classify as escapist because of its constant return to the demons plaguing our own time and place- but in the second installment its characters shine in a way they did not, in my opinion, in the first book. Unwrapped Sky gave me the impression that the characters lacked agency and existed mainly to further the plot. There were some interesting, touching and unsettling elements- especially with the villain, Director Boris Autec- but characterization did not come together in the way that it does in the Stars Askew. Interestingly enough the theme that the characters lack agency in crucial ways continued through for me, but rather than limiting their emotional depth this imparted an intense sorrow to the whole book. I should add that when I say characters lack agency, I don't mean they're not doing things. I mean that in the first book many of the characters are pawns of political groups or ideologies, and some are even representative of specific philosophies. In the second book this is still the case but there is a degree of awareness of it that, as I said, is sad and even frightening in that it resonated with me as a person living in a complicated and troubled world.
In any case I believe I have said all that I can usefully say. This was a phenomenal read and I didn't read anything close to being as good until finally picking up China Mieville's Perdido Street Station this March.
Before going any further I really cannot stress enough to readers who read to be overtaken by Somewhere Else the degree to which this book will take you there. Somber valley of ancient mechanized Tolkien-esque statues slowly decaying as the last remnants of the age of the gods disappear from the world around them? Check. Carniverous plant cult? Check. Copious and welcome use of the word "thaumaturge?" Check and check. Also included: excellent gallows humor, the chilling city of Varenis and its fleshy cyberpunk realpolitik, and a truly weird reimagining of the Fates.
The world is the main attraction in this series- and rightly so, more aggressively raw and original than anything I have read in some time, yet impossible to classify as escapist because of its constant return to the demons plaguing our own time and place- but in the second installment its characters shine in a way they did not, in my opinion, in the first book. Unwrapped Sky gave me the impression that the characters lacked agency and existed mainly to further the plot. There were some interesting, touching and unsettling elements- especially with the villain, Director Boris Autec- but characterization did not come together in the way that it does in the Stars Askew. Interestingly enough the theme that the characters lack agency in crucial ways continued through for me, but rather than limiting their emotional depth this imparted an intense sorrow to the whole book. I should add that when I say characters lack agency, I don't mean they're not doing things. I mean that in the first book many of the characters are pawns of political groups or ideologies, and some are even representative of specific philosophies. In the second book this is still the case but there is a degree of awareness of it that, as I said, is sad and even frightening in that it resonated with me as a person living in a complicated and troubled world.
In any case I believe I have said all that I can usefully say. This was a phenomenal read and I didn't read anything close to being as good until finally picking up China Mieville's Perdido Street Station this March.
July 30, 2016
The Stars Askew picks up where Unwrapped Sky left off, and pretty much follows three story threads throughout the book - of Kata (who to me is the main protagonist), Armand, and Maximilian - as they all go through an ordeal of sorts before confirming what they really stand for.
This book is a lot more political than Unwrapped Sky, with less focus on the strange and fantastical settings and characters described in the first book. I felt the sense of wonder and strangeness of the first book is lessened (I was hoping for more on the Minotaurs), but at the same time the development of the characters from book one takes new turns and kept me interested. Which I know is the way it should be in the second book of a series.
We still had plenty of weird flora and unusual beings, and the writing is very accomplished, so overall still a great read.
This book is a lot more political than Unwrapped Sky, with less focus on the strange and fantastical settings and characters described in the first book. I felt the sense of wonder and strangeness of the first book is lessened (I was hoping for more on the Minotaurs), but at the same time the development of the characters from book one takes new turns and kept me interested. Which I know is the way it should be in the second book of a series.
We still had plenty of weird flora and unusual beings, and the writing is very accomplished, so overall still a great read.
August 9, 2016
I had almost no memories of the previous book, other than that it was interesting, but also weird. (I suspect that my at-the-time ongoing divorce was as responsible for that as the originality and strangeness of the setting.) Happily, this was self-contained enough for me to enjoy, reminding me of what I'd forgotten as I needed it -- it's the story of a city in the grip of revolution, and the stories that go along with that. It's hard to say how much I could recommend it, but for what it's worth, I enjoyed this.
June 8, 2021
Rjurik Davidson is a very original writer- he's come up with some concepts that I've never seen before. His world is unique- it's beautiful, grotesque, disturbing, filled with turmoil, authoritarianism and revolution.
He's also very politically philosophical. Caeli-Amur went through an uprising in the previous book, and now the revolutionary factions are jockeying for power. Moderates and extremists are trying out their philosophies in the real world and eventually we'll see whose theory wins. There's also a "civilized", decadent, somewhat fascist city in a different part of the world that serves to illustrate Davidson's views about that sort of government.
However, Davidson is also an awkward writer. He turns out many a clunky sentence, which made it difficult for me to fall into the story because I kept noticing the ungainly writing. It also made me more aware that this book is a way for the author to explore his own political theories and the polemic aspect was much more noticeable for not being covered by an engrossing story.
So, in the end I had a hard time with this one. I'd be interested to read more by this author, and I don't know if this series will ever be finished. Caeli-Amur is a seductive city that I'd love to read more about, but I also think that the author needs to hone his craft a bit more.
He's also very politically philosophical. Caeli-Amur went through an uprising in the previous book, and now the revolutionary factions are jockeying for power. Moderates and extremists are trying out their philosophies in the real world and eventually we'll see whose theory wins. There's also a "civilized", decadent, somewhat fascist city in a different part of the world that serves to illustrate Davidson's views about that sort of government.
However, Davidson is also an awkward writer. He turns out many a clunky sentence, which made it difficult for me to fall into the story because I kept noticing the ungainly writing. It also made me more aware that this book is a way for the author to explore his own political theories and the polemic aspect was much more noticeable for not being covered by an engrossing story.
So, in the end I had a hard time with this one. I'd be interested to read more by this author, and I don't know if this series will ever be finished. Caeli-Amur is a seductive city that I'd love to read more about, but I also think that the author needs to hone his craft a bit more.
January 10, 2017
I had been excitedly awaiting the release of this book since the moment I finished Unwrapped Sky. I had never before, in a lifetime of proud book-nerd-ery, become so completely enraptured by any author's creation -- I literally counted down the days until I would be able to return to Caeli-Amur -- to find out what would become of Max and Kata -- to root for the seditionists as they fought to find their way in a world that held so many threats and uncertainties, internal and external, that they had never before had to face.
The Stars Askew, though, delivers so much more than what I had been impatiently awaiting. The intricately-designed world in which Unwrapped Sky unfolds is broadened far beyond the borders of Caeli-Amur; characters both familiar and new continually reveal unexpected depths; and instead of the neat, concise answers that readers of Unwrapped Sky might have thought we wanted, we are ultimately left with that same sprawling, beautiful, chaotic uncertainty that kept us thinking and dreaming of Caeli-Amur as we waited for The Stars Askew to bring us home.
The Stars Askew, though, delivers so much more than what I had been impatiently awaiting. The intricately-designed world in which Unwrapped Sky unfolds is broadened far beyond the borders of Caeli-Amur; characters both familiar and new continually reveal unexpected depths; and instead of the neat, concise answers that readers of Unwrapped Sky might have thought we wanted, we are ultimately left with that same sprawling, beautiful, chaotic uncertainty that kept us thinking and dreaming of Caeli-Amur as we waited for The Stars Askew to bring us home.
December 13, 2020
This book follows up on Unwrapped sky. The wealthy houses have been over-thrown, a revolutionary cabal rules much of the city, and various individuals pursue their destinies either in the city or elsewhere. This is wonderful stuff and I'm somewhat disappointed that the almost inevitable book 3 has not so far been published.
April 20, 2025
Those who are into fantasy sagas will find a lot to like here, but they really need to read the first book in the series first, which I didn't. It took me a long time to orient myself to this universe, and the main characters. There's a lot of action--battles and bloodshed and death--as well as heroism. Davidson's prose makes this ultimately a satisfyingly immersive experience.
November 18, 2016
It suffers from middle book, when I couldn't fully remember the first, but it grew on me, so 3.75 stars because I look forward to the next.
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