Review: Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Aurora Burning picks up right where Aurora Rising leaves us, with our heroes searching for a weapon to defeat the Ra'haam, the evil collective plant being thing trying to take over the universe. Well, it doesn't pick up right there, it picks up with Tyler and Scarlett trying to sell their ship to a pretty hostile furry alien while things are breaking bad for the team. They run into a series of hurdles, including Kal's murderous sister, being universe-wide fugitives, and the group being separated. Anything more would probably spoil it, though it is safe to say you will be all sorts of worried and delighted.
I have certainly been in what the internet calls a reading slump for many many months. But Amie Kaufman (and Jay Kristoff obviously but I am more well-versed in the Amie side of things) can always pull me in and make me have an excellent time. This book was a mega-fun, dangerous space adventure that, as Amie and Jay are want to do, punches you in the face right at the end. These books are just fun over the top adventures, and that was exactly what I needed. Gonna start with the negatives to get that outta the way. Book opinions are always highly subjective (personal pet peeve is when people pretend their opinion on a book is objective truth), but I feel that maybe these opinions are extra subjective. I just am kind of over being told continuously that everyone is supernaturally hot at all times, I get it, they are attractive heroes, we don't have to be reminded every time someone has an outfit change that they are ungodly hot. It weirded me out a little bit throughout the whole book.
I still really love the characters! The only character I didn't really like (spoilers for Aurora Rising) died at the end of the first book, so everyone left I continued to be very excited to be in their head. And I did really like seeing how the events of the last book impacted each of the characters, made me wish I had been sad about Cat.
I am bananas excited that they dove into who Zila is in this book. I wanted so much more Zila in book one, and they super delivered on this. No spoilers, but Zila opening up was well worth the wait. I wanted Zila's story to be the most compelling to me, but all six of our point of view characters had really solid emotional arcs, everyone had to branch out from the role they played in book one, Amie and Jay really deliver on second books. They certainly go in and turn the world upside down and challenge both their characters and the way the reader perceives the world.
I really loved the juxtaposition of Tyler and Scarlett and Kal and Saedii. It is so heartbreaking to read Kal watching Scarlett being an excellent sibling who deeply cares for her brother while he deals with the giant ball of disfunction that is his family life. Kal is really and truly put through the wringer in this book. Having your face on the cover might not be an enviable position for whoever is on book three.
I particularly loved how the narrative was over and over emphasizing how important connection and trust are. Even though this is not the path everyone is on at all points of the narrative.
This is an Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff book. It is full of twists. You will catch some and feel like a genius while some will thump you over the head. I am not sure which I like better. I went back and skimmed through Aurora Rising before I sat down to write this, and some of the twists were so clearly telegraphed in book one, and my dumb ass just didn't notice at all. I might need to go back and do a book three fact-finding mission reread of the first two soon.
In short, Aurora Burning is just as fun as everything else from these authors has been. It is funny and a tad saccharine at times but all full to the brim of action and danger. I adore every second of the ride and really am looking forward to the last book of the series.
