Hey Bookworm friends, it’s time for this month’s Old Review Dust-Off! I’ll be clearing the cobwebs from an indie sci-fi adventure/thriller: Violet Skies.
If you’re reading this review I invite you to leave a link to an old review of yours and I’ll show it some love!
Link-ups
Thanks to the Sci-Fi Month hosts: Imyril at There’s Always Room for One More,
Lisa at Dear Geek Place,
Annemieke at A Dance with Books,
and Mayri at bookforager
About Violet Skies
Author: Brenda Poppy
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Publisher: Glass Fish Publishing
Format Read: E-Book
Year Published: 2024
Cover Artist: Wes Cathon
Synopsis
A year ago Violet Innova woke up aboard the Echelon and had no memories of her life and nothing to her name. Now she’s built a new life from scratch— she’s a lounge singer and she has friends she would do anything for, but her lack of memories still disturbs her. When she gets invited to perform at a Senator’s party she has no clue that she’ll become a fugitive, accused of murder and that she’ll have to clear her name before the real murderer finds her.
Pace: Fast-Paced, Plot-Driven
Tone: Adventurous, Mysterious
Mini Review
Violet Skies is a dystopian Sci-fi mystery that I think would make a really fun movie because it is filled with heart-pounding action scenes. The setting of an old generation ship, with the lavish senator quarter and the squalor of the common people’s neighbourhoods, is so fun to explore and I felt like I was running around the ship with Violet. The pace was adrenaline-fueled which made it hard to put down the book. Well, that and because I was attached to the MC.
Sometimes the trope of ‘The MC has amnesia’ can feel pretty cheap because it turns the MC into a person with no personality but Poppy manages to give Violet a distinct personality and make you connect with her. As the story progressed it was wonderful to see Violet come to terms with who she has become and embrace her own path rather than the one prescribed to her by others. She’s a bit morally gray and a badass in more ways than one but ultimately so easy to root for because she has the courage to value human connection and community in a world where the government actively discourages that.
I just wish it was explained how it’s even possible to meddle in someone’s memories in the context of this world. But aside from that, I’m happy to suspend my disbelief because the story was so addictive and enjoyable. Furthermore, because the scope of the mystery is huge and Violet’s world is being blown wide open, I am eager to find out what happens in the next installment of the series.
Violet Skies Rating
Please note that when I wrote this review I was not using the CAWPILE rating method. I’ll attempt to rate the categories as best as my memory allows given I read this earlier in January. (For reference I gave it 4 stars on GR).
| CAWPILE | Rating (0-10) |
|---|---|
| Characters | 8 |
| Atmosphere | 8 |
| Writing | 8 |
| Plot | 7 |
| Intrigue | 8 |
| Logic | 7 |
| Enjoyment | 8 |
Content Warnings
Graphic:
Death, Violence, Blood, Memory Loss
Moderate:
Alcohol
Minor (Mention):
Let’s chat in the comments!
What book do you think would make a fun movie? Feel free to share the links for a review you think needs more attention so I can check it out!
This sounds fun! I think I’ve only encountered generational ships in a couple of books — one of them a Star Trek Voyager title.
As far as books that would make good movies, Suarez’s “Influx” definitely comes to mind. The ending is very Michael Bay-like.
Ah cool, I have not read many books with generation ships but now I really want to, it’s a theme/setting I really like. & I’m not surprised you find one in a Voyager novel 🙂
Ah wow, I saw you mentioned Suarez in your Sci-Fi tag post too! I’ll look up Influx, thanks ! 🙂
I’m think I’m in the maybe/maybe not camp for this one. Perhaps I’ll wait and see what you think of the next one.
As to old reviews, I think I’d pick Cuckoo’s Egg by CJ Cherryh: https://dragonrambles.com/2023/04/22/cuckoos-egg/
I’m curious to see what I think of the next one too not gonna lie! It has the potential to really widen its scope which is super exciting to me. Thanks for playing along, I’ll go visit your link 😀 I love the idea of giving some attention to old posts/reviews ♥
I haven’t read sci-fi in a while but Violet Skies sounds good. I’m ok with suspending disbelief sometimes. I like the idea of sharing older reviews!
Violet Skies was a really fun adventure and I was pleasantly surprised! Thanks 🖤 I especially love to re-share ones for Indie books that I think need more love and attention! 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed this one. It’s a shame that you don’t get more answers about how the memory meddling works as I do think that it can be used as an excuse to have a character in the dark sometimes. But a dystopian sci fi mystery certainly sounds fun.
It was a fun ride that’s for sure. I agree that sometimes having memory meddling can sometimes be used as a crutch in a way that makes the writing seem lazy and that’s not the case here but I still would have wanted more answers on that front but maybe they’ll come in the next book, I dunno 🤷🏽♀️ Either way I enjoyed my time with this overall!
I’m glad that wasn’t the case here. Hopefully those answers will come in a future book as you’ve said 🤞
Yes here’s hoping 🙂