#sk dunstall

[ofliterarynature]

TBR TAKEDOWN: Week 4 (June 23)

TLDR: I have too many unread books, and I’m asking tumblr to help me downsize. Pick one or none, and comment if you can - a convincing sentence is worth a dozen votes! You’re also welcome to just choose the one that sounds the worst :D Book descriptions below the cut, see my pinned post for more info.

Stars Uncharted by S.K. Dunstall

Three people who are not who they claim to be:

Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.

Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.

Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.

Josune's captain sends her to infiltrate Roystan's ship, promising to follow. But when the Hassim exits nullspace close to Roystan's ship, it's out of control, the crew are dead, and unknown Company operatives are trying to take over. Narrowly escaping and wounded, Roystan and Josune come to Nika for treatment--and with problems of her own, she flees with them after the next Company attack.

Now they're in a race to find the lost world...and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy.

A Prince Without a Kingdom by Timothée de Fombelle

(description taken from book #1, Between Sky and Earth)

A breathless adventure from international award winner Timothée de Fombelle charts a desperate search for identity across the vast expanses of Europe.

In a world between wars, a young man on the cusp of taking priestly vows is suddenly made a fugitive. Fleeing the accusations of police who blame him for a murder, as well as more sinister forces with darker intentions, Vango attempts to trace the secrets of his shrouded past and prove his innocence before all is lost. As he crisscrosses the continent via train, boat, and even the Graf Zeppelin airship, his adventures take him from Parisian rooftops to Mediterranean islands to Scottish forests. A mysterious, unforgettable, and romantic protagonist, Vango tells a thrilling story sure to captivate lovers of daring escapades and subversive heroes.

The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman

London, April 1812.

On the eve of eighteen-year-old Lady Helen Wrexhall’s presentation to the queen, one of her family’s housemaids disappears-and Helen is drawn into the shadows of Regency London. There, she meets Lord Carlston, one of the few who can stop the perpetrators: a cabal of demons infiltrating every level of society. Dare she ask for his help, when his reputation is almost as black as his lingering eyes? And will her intelligence and headstrong curiosity wind up leading them into a death trap?

[hanchewie]

character aesthetics: nika rik terri

There was always room, even in basic repairs, for a little style.

– Stars Uncharted, by S.K. Dunstall

[unapologeticallya]

Review: Stars Uncharted by S.K. Dunstall

Stars: 5/5

I was so pleasantly surprised by Stars Uncharted! This was a really fun, fast-paced sci-fi novel. You've got your classic cast of rogue misfits running away from the evil corporations through space. Think The Lunar Chronicles meets Guardians of the Galaxy. What really sets this book apart for me was the super fascinating way the authors wrote about body-modding. Nika Rik Terri, one of the protagonists, is a famous body modder and she's so into it that she make me like so excited to read about her like weirdly altering people's bodies in a vat of plasma?? I honestly enjoyed the scenes when Nika was working on mods sometimes even more than the high-action spaceship chase scenes. Overall, the characters were so appealing. There are four main characters and I loved them all so much! While I could definitely predict how some of their relationships would play out from the very beginning, I enjoyed watching it all unfold. This is technically an "adult" book, I can see it appealing to slightly older YA readers as well as sci-fi fans. This was such a refreshing read for me that now I'm looking forward to reading S.K. Dunstall's other works. Comparable Titles: Zenith Invictus Cinder Starflight Artemis

***I received an e-ARC through Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for an honest review ***My review is also posted on Goodreads

[icescrabblerjerky]

Popping my head in from holidays to urge people to please read these books I need fandom to interact with pleeeeeaassssee.

[lizadawsonassociates]

We’re so excited to get our hands on these galleys of STARS UNCHARTED! The epic new sci-fi adventure from S.K. Dunstall is out in August 2018! http://ow.ly/eANt30iVrqF

[lizadawsonassociates]

If you’re a fan of sci-fi, you should really check out Linesman by S.K. Dunstall! It’s an amazingly unique “soft” science fiction book about the adventures of Ean Lambert. Ean is the only one who can speak the language of the mysterious lines that spaceships need to cross the galaxy (or that is, he can sing their language). Join Ean on an amazing journey as he makes a name for himself as he begins to crack the lines’ secrets.