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The Skyfire Saga #2
Shattered Lands
Environmental devastation has left Earth a wasteland, but an even more nightmarish fate looms if the woman known as H124 can’t stop an extinction-level asteroid from destroying the planet.
The Skyfire Saga
On the run from a dangerous media empire, H124 places her hope in learning more about the Rovers, the last bastion of humans to embrace science as a solution to Earth’s ongoing environmental catastrophe. But with the planet under imminent threat from plummeting asteroid fragments, H124 must take on a perilous new mission: find and assemble the pieces of an ancient spacecraft capable of pushing the deadly projectiles off course.
Her journey will lead her to the hurricane-ravaged remains of the east coast, and onto the brutal streets of Murder City, where she learns a startling secret about her own past. Death Riders and night stalkers prowl the badlands, but an even greater danger lurks above as H124 fights to build the craft that is humanity’s only hope for survival.
The Skyfire Saga
On the run from a dangerous media empire, H124 places her hope in learning more about the Rovers, the last bastion of humans to embrace science as a solution to Earth’s ongoing environmental catastrophe. But with the planet under imminent threat from plummeting asteroid fragments, H124 must take on a perilous new mission: find and assemble the pieces of an ancient spacecraft capable of pushing the deadly projectiles off course.
Her journey will lead her to the hurricane-ravaged remains of the east coast, and onto the brutal streets of Murder City, where she learns a startling secret about her own past. Death Riders and night stalkers prowl the badlands, but an even greater danger lurks above as H124 fights to build the craft that is humanity’s only hope for survival.
- GenresScience FictionAudiobook
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 11, 2018
23 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Alice Henderson
29 books803 followersAlice Henderson's love of wild places inspired her thriller series which begins with A Solitude of Wolverines, and continues with A Blizzard of Polar Bears and A Ghost of Caribou. The latest novel is The Vanishing Kind, about jaguars in New Mexico. The series features a wildlife biologist who encounters dangerous situations while working to protect endangered species.
She has also written media-tie in novels, including official novels for the TV shows Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While working at LucasArts, she wrote material for several Star Wars video games.
She was selected to attend Launchpad, a NASA-funded writing workshop aimed at bringing accurate science to fiction.
In addition to being a writer, Henderson is a wildlife researcher, geographic information systems specialist, and bioacoustician. She documents wildlife on specialized recording equipment, checks remote cameras, creates maps, and undertakes wildlife surveys to determine what species are present on preserves, while ensuring there are no signs of poaching. She's surveyed for the presence of grizzlies, wolves, wolverines, jaguars, endangered bats, and more.
Please visit her at www.AliceHenderson.com.
She has also written media-tie in novels, including official novels for the TV shows Supernatural and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While working at LucasArts, she wrote material for several Star Wars video games.
She was selected to attend Launchpad, a NASA-funded writing workshop aimed at bringing accurate science to fiction.
In addition to being a writer, Henderson is a wildlife researcher, geographic information systems specialist, and bioacoustician. She documents wildlife on specialized recording equipment, checks remote cameras, creates maps, and undertakes wildlife surveys to determine what species are present on preserves, while ensuring there are no signs of poaching. She's surveyed for the presence of grizzlies, wolves, wolverines, jaguars, endangered bats, and more.
Please visit her at www.AliceHenderson.com.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 25, 2019
This us the second volume in The Skyfire Saga, and Alice Henderson won an award for writing scientifically accurate science fiction... and it's no wonder. I'd add that this strikes me ccx as science fiction horror--it's that disturbing in parts. I didn't think that while reading the first volume (and this is the second).
My favorite part of this series is seeing the protagonist grow from a lonely and isolated worker--a drone, you might say--to an adventurer with a group of friends to whom she grows attached. She's gradually adjusting to having a circle of friends and associating with people all the time, after years of being alone. In a poignant moment, she wishes Astoria would smile warmly at her some day, and I was really anticipating that moment.
My favorite part of this series is seeing the protagonist grow from a lonely and isolated worker--a drone, you might say--to an adventurer with a group of friends to whom she grows attached. She's gradually adjusting to having a circle of friends and associating with people all the time, after years of being alone. In a poignant moment, she wishes Astoria would smile warmly at her some day, and I was really anticipating that moment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2019
Book two of the Skyfire Saga by Alice Henderson builds on the interesting premise of Shattered Roads but also left me with a few more questions than the author may have intended. I really enjoyed the opening installment of this series as Henderson threw the reader into a new world with elements from all sorts of other recognizable science fiction futures and a blank slate lead character on the run. Here H124, Rowan, Raven, Byron and Willoughby from the first book are still on a mission to stop an asteroid from destroying the Earth with about a year of time to do so, but some of the questions as to who everybody is are starting to get filled in.
The best parts of this book for me were the destruction of much of the planet both by man made decisions in the past and asteroid fragments in the present (of the novel). We get some explanation for the night stalkers here, mysterious shadow creatures that hunt at night. The greed of those in power in the mega-cities also even leads to a somewhat credible reason for why some humans might prefer some asteroids to hit the planet. We get some added depth to the supporting cast, with Rowan and Byron providing the somewhat predictable love triangle, but Willoughby's arc has been a very nice surprise. I predicted from his first appearance he'd end up being the bad guy in the book, but through two books in this series Henderson's got me clueless as to which way he'll end up at the conclusion of the series.
My main issues with this book come from the protagonist and a logistical question with the world Henderson's built. H124 was such a blank slate that her being on the run in book one made a lot of sense for her discovering things as she went. Now that she's in the middle of a mission to save the world, I can't help but wonder why she's in the middle of all these missions to secure vital technology when it'd seem there're a ton of Rovers (the only people with scientific expertise in the world) more qualified to do so. The best explanation I can come up with is that the technology in her head gives her advantages on making entry to various secure areas, but all of that is done via a hack where she sends inconsistent commands to the locks. How have her credentials not been revoked, or how has this fix that she's come up with not been exploited by thousands of others?
My increased attention on H124's role in the story also has me wondering about the over population mechanics of the world. Apparently most of these cities have so many people that they are literally eating some of them to fight the hunger issue. However, H124's indicated that children are no longer conceived or raised in the traditional sexual/family dynamics. I'd love for some more explanation as to the overpopulation boom contrasted with the societal constructs that the people live within.
I'm still on board for book three of the series, as Henderson has been increasing the stakes nicely with destruction of cities and deaths of supporting characters. My hope for book three is that the series gets back to more of the race for survival feel of the first book and as well as some additional world development.
The best parts of this book for me were the destruction of much of the planet both by man made decisions in the past and asteroid fragments in the present (of the novel). We get some explanation for the night stalkers here, mysterious shadow creatures that hunt at night. The greed of those in power in the mega-cities also even leads to a somewhat credible reason for why some humans might prefer some asteroids to hit the planet. We get some added depth to the supporting cast, with Rowan and Byron providing the somewhat predictable love triangle, but Willoughby's arc has been a very nice surprise. I predicted from his first appearance he'd end up being the bad guy in the book, but through two books in this series Henderson's got me clueless as to which way he'll end up at the conclusion of the series.
My main issues with this book come from the protagonist and a logistical question with the world Henderson's built. H124 was such a blank slate that her being on the run in book one made a lot of sense for her discovering things as she went. Now that she's in the middle of a mission to save the world, I can't help but wonder why she's in the middle of all these missions to secure vital technology when it'd seem there're a ton of Rovers (the only people with scientific expertise in the world) more qualified to do so. The best explanation I can come up with is that the technology in her head gives her advantages on making entry to various secure areas, but all of that is done via a hack where she sends inconsistent commands to the locks. How have her credentials not been revoked, or how has this fix that she's come up with not been exploited by thousands of others?
My increased attention on H124's role in the story also has me wondering about the over population mechanics of the world. Apparently most of these cities have so many people that they are literally eating some of them to fight the hunger issue. However, H124's indicated that children are no longer conceived or raised in the traditional sexual/family dynamics. I'd love for some more explanation as to the overpopulation boom contrasted with the societal constructs that the people live within.
I'm still on board for book three of the series, as Henderson has been increasing the stakes nicely with destruction of cities and deaths of supporting characters. My hope for book three is that the series gets back to more of the race for survival feel of the first book and as well as some additional world development.
March 11, 2021
H124 and her friends are tracking down the three pieces needed to build the space craft that they plan to use to divert the asteroid. They'll have to travel to numerous places and face both old and new dangers.
I really enjoyed this novel, more than Shattered Roads. The world building was great, I loved reading abut Sanctuary City and Basin City. They were so different and yet they worked well together in the story. Basin City made Sanctuary City seem so much more peaceful, beautiful and necessary. Basin City had such a dangerous, chaotic and destructive element to it. My favorite part was where the team was in Basin City as I loved its dark and dangerous atmosphere and the reader gets to learn about the origin of night stalkers.
The plot was good but I felt it had a little too much action. I really didn't like the Death Riders as they seemed unnecessary. And the death games they forced onto civilians was silly. There were already enough baddies in the novel (PPC and the environment) that death stalkers weren't necessary.
H124 grows and changes in this novel. She explores the world more and it helps her become tougher. The budding romance with Byron surprised me, I always thought she'd pick Rowan. H124 learns more about her parents which was shocking but well written.
In conclusion this is a great dystopian novel with a strong emphasis on climate change. It had great world building with a good plot and good characters.
Thank you to Rebel Base Books and Netgalley for this ARC.
I really enjoyed this novel, more than Shattered Roads. The world building was great, I loved reading abut Sanctuary City and Basin City. They were so different and yet they worked well together in the story. Basin City made Sanctuary City seem so much more peaceful, beautiful and necessary. Basin City had such a dangerous, chaotic and destructive element to it. My favorite part was where the team was in Basin City as I loved its dark and dangerous atmosphere and the reader gets to learn about the origin of night stalkers.
The plot was good but I felt it had a little too much action. I really didn't like the Death Riders as they seemed unnecessary. And the death games they forced onto civilians was silly. There were already enough baddies in the novel (PPC and the environment) that death stalkers weren't necessary.
H124 grows and changes in this novel. She explores the world more and it helps her become tougher. The budding romance with Byron surprised me, I always thought she'd pick Rowan. H124 learns more about her parents which was shocking but well written.
In conclusion this is a great dystopian novel with a strong emphasis on climate change. It had great world building with a good plot and good characters.
Thank you to Rebel Base Books and Netgalley for this ARC.
September 3, 2024
3.5 rounded to 3 Stars.
H is a great protagonist but this one fell into middle book territory. Some parts felt unnecessary while others were much stronger and needed more depth. I'm looking forward to the final book. I appreciate the clear thought on social commentary and genre nods throughout. If certain parts weren't shoehorned in for the sake of expectation, this would have been a 4 star as well.
H is a great protagonist but this one fell into middle book territory. Some parts felt unnecessary while others were much stronger and needed more depth. I'm looking forward to the final book. I appreciate the clear thought on social commentary and genre nods throughout. If certain parts weren't shoehorned in for the sake of expectation, this would have been a 4 star as well.
September 28, 2024
Well, I don’t think I’m going to plod through the finish. There really wasn’t much fresh going on here and the author went from one vague love interest to 2 strong ones. It seems as though the whole direction is going a different way than I expected for a post apocalyptic series and it’s just fizzling out for me.
February 4, 2021
I didn’t enjoy this installment as much as the first book. It felt like there was a bunch of filler to try and stretch the book out. Basically just a bunch of running around and getting into sticky situations each time, and repeat.
April 5, 2019
Maybe 2.5 due to the endless, somewhat repetitive battles, redundant battles. The characters could have used more attention.
September 2, 2024
Great action packed series. You will need to suspend belief a bit, but the pieces are integrated nicely so far…
December 20, 2021
Enjoying listening to this scifi trilogy.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews