Aurora Burning

by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Everyone who has read this claims no one is ready for this book. Nearly everyone is also screaming for book 3. So I put off reading it, partially to prepare myself, partially to make the time gap to book 3 smaller.

But who am I kidding?

So, I’m diving in.

To start off with, I’m trying yet another approach to writing reviews. This time, I’m trying to add to this review every time I stop reading. That will probably lead to a longer post-spoiler-line review, but hopefully it’ll add more fun and detail for you guys!

Recommendation: if you liked Aurora Rising, you’re more likely than not going to enjoy this one even more. If you haven’t picked up Aurora Rising, but you’re into sci-fi/fantasy that includes a splash of time-y-wimey-ness, there’s definitely a chance you’ll enjoy this series.

Aurora’s character arc in this is . . . interesting. I struggle with her reaction to some things [and the rest of the squad, to be completely fair], but the sacrifices she’s asked to make [because we all knew there was going to be sacrifices, let’s be honest here], while expected, are a tad . . . extreme. This is likely intended, but I’m interested to see how that continues to play out in book 3.

Kal – Kal I can’t really cover without spoilers except to say he’s really, really dumb. Like, really dumb. I’m not exactly sure how I would have handled his situation, but I’d like to think I would have handled it at least a little better than he did. Because, let’s face it – just about any other approach likely would have gone down better than his did.

Tyler – you do see some progress and changes in him here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up a certain “place” [more below spoiler line] by the end of book 3, and I’m not sure how the readers/fans will take it. However, he sees less character arc changing than I expected him to – though a truth bomb associated with his identity later will likely be the catalyst for quite a bit of change in book 3!

Zila – I love her character arc progression in this book! I love seeing more of her, and more inside of her head. I’ve been looking forward to her backstory, though I knew it would be rough, and I’m so glad we got a glimpse of it!

Finian also didn’t get a ton of character development in this book, but his presence and contribution to the story was so, so enjoyable, as always!

I think Scarlet will play a big role in Aurora’s mission in book 3, and I’m so excited to see it! Scarlet is such a fun, well-developed character, and I’m just generally looking forward to seeing her in book 3!

My overall feelings of the book are mixed, and it will likely take a reread to decide exactly how I feel about it.

**TAKING NOTES AS I GO MEANS SOOOOOOO MANY POST-SPOILER-LINE, SPOILER-FILLED COMMENTS, SO – YOU’VE BEEN WARNED. TURN BACK NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT TO HAVE SPOILERS! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!**

At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the parallel intro of being in the middle of action with Tyler to then go back and set it up before picking back up in the present again, but a few minutes after I finished reading it, I decided I liked it – though they better do it in book 3. Which it seems like, from that ending, that they’re setting themselves up to do just that. That being said, they may use that consistency to start book 3 off differently to imply Tyler’s demise between books. Mixed feelings on that, but more on that later.

ANYWAY – I kind of wish I hadn’t known who Saedii was going into this book. I wonder how that scene would have hit for me if I hadn’t known she was Kal’s sister.

This whole book takes a very serious turn in the direction of time-y-wimey, and my goodness am I both here for it and unsure about it. We’ll see how that plays out as we go. I love things like this, but it can easily be ruined by a bad explanation [on how they knew this futuristic knowledge]. While I don’t anticipate Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman giving a bad explanation, it’s always possible, and this sort of thing is a very, very delicate situation.

But, seriously – the cigarillo case wasn’t sneaky, sir, I see you. If you don’t get that reference, please, please read Nevernight. And then Godsgrave. And theeeeeeen Darkdawn. You’ll both love and hate me for that. [Disclaimer note: that series is adult, not young adult. Please get your parents permission before reading it if you’re a young adult!]

You’re welcome.

MOVING ON – Tyler is a brilliant tactician. Seriously. That fight with the drakkan? Nothing short of impressive.

So, Zila’s backstory, at least the chunk we get in this book, is terrible, but it makes so much sense [with how she acts]. And I’m loving her POV chapters. Seriously. I like that we’re seeing more of the inside of Zila’s mind. I’m looking forward to more of that! I can’t get enough! While I don’t identify a lot with her backstory [I don’t think many of us have lived through something even somewhat similar, though some, sadly, have], I do identify, on some level, with how her brain works, and how she approaches solving things, at times. I love Zila!

Tyler, though. This poor Squad 312 is taking a beating, it is. I’m really, really curious on Fin’s pen, though, followed closely my Scar’s pendant. We knew Cat would be used to pull on Tyler’s heartstrings and put him in a tough situation, but, no matter how expected, it was still a rough scene.

Speaking of Scar’s pendant, though – theory time! So, Starslayer is harnessing the abilities of Waywalkers to increase his own power, right? And they’re all somehow “attached” [maybe that’s partially impaled, maybe that’s just a constant contact, but it seems tied] to the Eshvaren crystal. And now that we know Scar and Ty are Waywalkers, I’m thinking Scar’s pendant has to do with her helping lend power to Aurora.

But I’m probably several shades off, tbh. Ignore this if book 3 comes out and this is horribly wrong . . .

Also, Kal being the Starslayer’s son was so obvious it almost isn’t a spoiler. I mean, c’mon. Especially with how dedicated Saedii is to the Starslayer’s cause. Given how long the lifespan of the Syldrathi is, Saedii is unlikely to have made it to the “rank” she has without being his daughter, to be completely honest. If Kal and Saedii are considered children or barely adults by human standards, they’re almost definitely still viewed as children by Syldrathi standards. But somehow she’s a trusted, high-ranking “officer”? I don’t buy it, not without her clearly being the Starslayer’s daughter.

On the note of Saedii, though – I can seriously see Saedii and Tyler getting paired off. There’s a lot of Cat in Saedii, and I can see Tyler discovering his Syldrathi roots drawing him more into Saedii as book 3 progresses. I can also, however, see the parallels and similarities to Cat making that coupling impossible, since the loss of Cat is still so fresh.

Onto Kal, though – WHY DIDN’T HE TELL HER SOONER? Like, the “hints” provided to the squad have clearly paid off for them by the time his is revealed, and the introduction of Saedii would have been an amazing time to say, “So, I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, but I feared you wouldn’t accept me if you knew – while I don’t support the Starslayer’s actions or beliefs, I am his son.” Or something. If he made the reveal his instead of the squad [especially Aurora] finding out through external sources, it’s possible that would have gone down better. It likely wouldn’t have gone down well, mind you, but better. And maybe he wouldn’t have been ostracized.

That being said, I think the squad’s reaction to that news was still overly harsh and extreme. I’m hoping he’s somehow accepted back into the squad. I think it’s in Kal’s nature to try to make amends for what he’s done, but I don’t know that the damage he caused is repairable, at this point.

The ending, honestly, is about what I expected. I didn’t know how they would make it so all of the squad members’ fates were undecided, but still expected to leave us on a massive cliffhanger. That being said, I wasn’t as screaming for book 3 as I thought I would be, given everyone’s reactions, but maybe I need to give this book an unbiased, fresh read, like I gave Aurora Rising, and see if my opinions change.

I have a couple more reviews I’m working to catch up on, so stay tuned for those!