Sky Without Stars

Yes, Sky Without Stars is a retelling of Les Misérables set in space. Yes, it has your Jean Valjean, your Javert, your Marius, your Cosette, and your Eponine characters. Yes, it has an infamous criminal hiding from the police, a clueless adopted daughter, a member of the upper class questioning everything he knows about class, and a female street urchin caught up among all their stories. But what starts as a retelling becomes so much more.

What it becomes is a reminder of the power of the printed word. It is a call to remember history as accurately as possible because when you forget the past, you allow those who have not to gain control over you. It is the ease with which the monied exploit the poor and the many ways those in the show more middle ignore the exploitation. It is another example of how often history repeats itself without proper education and diligence.

It is a story about resources – people, money, food, and natural – and the dangers of having too much or too little. It is the lengths people will go to survive when desperate. It is the relationships that bind us to one another, whether we want them to do so or not. It is about secrets and political machinations that run deeper than anyone knows and the dangers of uncovering such plots.

Lastly, it is a space opera. Set in a different universe, on a plant that never sees the light of a sun, the permanent darkness plays a significant role in the mood of the people and the tone of the novel. Survival on a planet with limited resources is an aspect of the story that did not exist in the original. Nor did space travel, computer systems, embedded technology, androids, and other space elements. These add their own twist to the novel that makes it even larger and more spectacular than Hugo’s masterpiece.

Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell do an excellent job taking Hugo’s story and making it their own. I like that they focus on the three younger characters rather than on the dynamic between hunter and hunted. I particularly like how they flesh out each of those characters, making them less insipid, more complex, more morally ambiguous, more human. I also enjoy how they downplayed the love story to focus on the political interplay. Best of all, by the time the novel ends, the story is heading in directions Hugo never went, making it original and providing enough unanswered questions to make anyone anticipate the sequel. show less

Let me start by saying that I have essentially zero knowledge about Les Mis, so the retelling aspect of this was completely insignificant to me. That aside, I still have mixed feelings about this book.

On the one hand, it was a fantastic novel about the divide between the upper class elites, the lower working class, and the middle ruling class. The authors did a fantastic job making me feel the tension and expectations placed upon each class and I did enjoy the world they've created on Laterre.

The most interesting character by far was Chatine, or Tio as she disguised herself as a young boy in public. I really enjoyed her interactions with Marcellus and the bit of confusion he seemed to display as their friendship progressed, knowing show more that something was off but not able to put it into words. Much like Chatine, I didn't care for Alouette - something just seemed off about her for me. It could have been the narrator or the character herself, but I'm not sure if that was the intent or it was just due to the lack of any real character development.

The book checks out at just under 600 pages, and for a YA Sci-Fi, I feel that it was entirely too long and drawn out. Things could have moved much more quickly and been about 100 pages shorter while easily doing the story justice, and there would have been no doubt in my mind that I really liked the book. As it stands, I will still give the book a 4 star rating, although it's probably closer to a true 3.5 star. If I remember to look for it, I will probably borrow the sequel from the library to see how the story continues, but it's not on my must-buy list. show less

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me a copy to review.

This book is good. Really good. There are so many layers to this, it’s going to be hard to do it justice.

Sky Without Stars is the first book in the System Divine series. It’s a reimagining of Les Misérables. It follows the stories of Chatine, a girl disguising herself as a boy; Marcellus, the son of a traitor and grandson to the General of the Regime; and Alouette, a refuge who protects a hidden library. It’s beautiful watching how these stories unfold, tangle together, and end up all changed by one another.

500 years ago twelve families and their descendants left Earth and came to the System Divine in hopes of a new start. A French family settled on one of the planets show more named Laterre, hoping to start anew and not repeat the mistakes that were made on Earth. Does that ever work?

Chatine lives in the Frets, she is part of the Third Estate, the lowest Estate on Laterre. She wants nothing more than to escape Laterre aboard a ship to Usonia, a sister planet. She’ll do anything. For years she has gone by the name Theó to hide her gender. The life of a girl is never good for the Third Estate. Her family are all cons and crooks, minus her sister who is dutiful and hopeful. A perfect foil for Chatine. When the Premier Enfant is murdered Chatine’s life is forever changed. That is when her story becomes tangled with Marcellus. He is her ticket off Laterre.

Marcellus is of the Second Estate and is nothing like his father. Or so he wants to believe. You’re constantly judged when you’re the son of a traitor. His grandfather, the General, has raised him after his father was sent to the Bastille which is the highest security prison built on Laterre’s moon. Marcellus wants to do good and prove to his grandfather that he is not his father’s son. He tries so hard to do the right thing, but it’s never enough. Not when there’s so many questions about his father and no answers that make sense. Marcellus, along with Chatine, start digging into Vanguard business. The business that branded his father a traitor. Marcellus and Chatine then become entangled in Alouette’s story.

Alouette lives in the Refuge with her father and the Sisters. She lives a very structured life and has hopes of one day becoming a Sister and taking care of the library. All books were destroyed or left behind when they left Earth, but the Sisters believe they need to remember in order to not repeat the same mistakes. Alouette tries to be dutiful but she is curious and there’s secrets that she cannot find answers to unless she breaks all the rules she’s been taught. Sometimes the search for answers is dangerous.

This book is so beautifully done. It has French words sprinkled in which really immersed me into the world. You don’t even need to know French in order to understand this book, it’s very well done. The characters all have their own stories, dreams, and goals, and the way they’re all woven together is a real art. I did have issues with Alouette in the beginning. I found her annoying, but she grew on me and now am excited to see where she goes and how she grows.

I put this book down a lot, not because it was boring, but because I was always busy. No matter how long I put it down for, the second I picked it up I was immersed right back into the world. I never forgot anything, it was easy to keep track of everyone. I always dread picking up a book after I take a break from it, but it was never a problem with this! I loved it. This is masterful storytelling.

I recommend this book to everyone. It has spies, mystery, romance, hopes and dreams, death, adventure, and everything else you could think of. I have never read or seen Les Misérables but this made me think I’d really enjoy it. If I could, I’d give it a 4.5 because it is really good. I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait for more. I hope there’s books for each planet and each family. I do love Chatine and I do want to read more about their stories, I also want to explore the other planets. Maybe we will through Chatine, Marcellus, and Alouette. Only time will tell. show less

“‘What good would it do to send you back there? You’ll only escape again. I’ve chased you across Laterre. Hunted you down for far too long. You’ve evaded me one too many times, LeGrand.’ Limier clicked his neck to the side, and Alouette could swear she heard metal parts grinding. ‘I’m done chasing you. This is where the hunt ends.’”

There are a lot of similarities between the Les Miserables and Sky Without Stars, but enough of a change so you don’t feel like you’re just reading the same book in a different setting, which is a big leap forward when compared without retellings. Where Les Miserables seems more centered around Jean ValJean (LeGrand) and Javert (Limier), Sky Without Starts is more centered around show more Chatine (Eponine), Alouette (Cosette), and Marcellus (Marius).

In this book, the revolution hasn’t really started. It sets up all the characters’ pasts, they reveal secrets about themselves, and like pieces on a chess board, they’re put in position for the revolution to begin.

Chatine is the character that really makes the story take flight. Much like the Les Mis version of Eponine, she’s hard and streetsmart. She definitely has a deep grey area when it comes to morals, but unlike her parents, she does seem to have a line that she won’t cross.

Marcellus is much like Marius in that I don’t care for him much. Maybe I have a thing against love-sick rich kids. I do have to give props to the authors for giving Marellus a deep back story with his father and grandfather.

I feel about Alouette much as I do Marcellus. She seems to have a stronger personality than I remember Cosette having in the book, and she’s more inquisitive instead of just accepting things as they are; but she also just has that love-sick personality that grates on my nerves.

The world building in this book is amazing! Laterre the planet where the story takes place. It’s widely influenced by French culture, but spun so there’s no doubt you’re in a sci-fi setting. There are three suns in the sky that no one has seen for years due to thick grey clouds, making the setting even more dark and dismal.

There are three estates (and classes); the first estate consists of the monarchs, the second is the government, and the third is the workers. Most of this book takes place in the third estate where the conditions are deplorable. Luckily for them, once a year The Ascension allows one worker to move up in class. Workers accumulate points for going to their jobs. The more points, the more chances they have in being chosen at The Ascension. Hard workers, like Chatine’s sister, strive to be that one lucky person, while Chatine herself sees it as a fantasy.

The second estate governs and policies the third; police being composed of large robots with tasers, and beings such as Inspector Limier, who is some sort of cyborg. I loved this addition because it gives Limier a stoic personality, but it also hints that the character may not have human feelings and was designed that way to better do his job.

For those that only watched the Les Mis musical, there are a few easter-eggs that you won’t quite understand that the book-readers will drool over. In Hugo’s book, Eponine has three brothers one being Gavroche, the little boy of the barricades, and a sister, Azelma. The musical tends to skip that information, but Sky Without Stars gives Eponine (or at least her dopple in this book) her sister and at least one brother back.

Though most of the readers are probably going to be picking up Sky Without Stars because of their interest in Les Mis, you don’t have to be a fan in order to enjoy this story. Overall, I can’t wait to get the next book not only to see the differences in the story compared to Hugo’s original work but to also keep following this space opera on its own. show less

Les Mis plus Lunar Chronicles is a good way to describe this

I know the Les Mis story well, but this retelling changes enough that I'm still left guessing what will happen

It's pretty fast paced, but also focuses on the characters enough to really understand motivations behind each character's actions

I listened to the audiobook, and I'm basically obsessed. It's been a while since a book has captured my attention so thoroughly. Fantastically told story

unfortunately ends in a pretty big cliff hanger. I have a pretty big dislike for those when they feel tacked on unnecessarily, but this one isn't bad because it feels like the story is just too big for one book and the three books are all one continuous story

I also had book two ready to dive show more into immediately, which helped too

Perfect series to binge read show less

Brody, Jessica, and Joanne Rendell. Sky without Stars. System Divine No. 1. Simon Pulse, 2019.
It is not unusual for science fiction writers to rummage through classic literature for inspiration. The Odyssey has been done many times as a space opera. Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series drew heavily on Gibbon’s Decline and Fall. Brody and Rendell are not too far out of bounds by doing Les Misérables. We have a decadent society on the planet of Laterre that very much resembles 18th-century France, complete with a guillotine that has been enhanced with laser technology. Hugo is not only turned into space opera but young adult space opera at that. All the major characters are teens or children. Only a few of the villains are adults. show more Marcus is a young officer, Alouette lives in a convent that is not what it seems, and Chatine is a thief who knows her way around the underworld. Authors Brody and Rendell have the chops to do what promises to be a long series, but I wonder if it will make Simon and Schuster a profit unless a film deal can be cut. The story reads well with plenty of romance and adventure, but it seems aimed at an older audience than Harry Potter, which may mean lower sales. show less

Settle in friends, because this is going to be a fairly long review. I was deeply excited for Sky Without Stars, since Les Miserables is one of my favorite stories of all time. While there were a lot of portions of this story that caught me up in their magic, there were also a fair amount of issues I had that kept me from really loving story. Once again, I find myself with a book that has me sitting right on that proverbial fence. So bear with me while I sort it all out.

First, let's talk setting. Laterre is an an absolutely fascinating setting for this story to talk place. Imagine the dregs of a world that was supposed to be a new start for the masses. A place that promises a fair chance for fair work, but in reality just enslaves over show more half of its population for the benefit of the wealthy. That on its own is already an amazing setting for a retelling of this nature, but add in the fact that there are science fiction elements galore and you have a space that truly amazed me. Les Miserables in space is a perfect description, and you're in for a treat when you visit Laterre.

In terms of the story line, it actually sticks fairly closely to the original subject matter that it is pulling from. Of course there are differences, since this is a YA book that is set in space, but I enjoyed the fact that Brody and Rendell honored the original story so well. You can see glimpses of Jean Valjean, Eponine, and Inspector Javert. I could see the story unfolding in a similar manner to the original story. A revolt. A rebellion. Unfolding love. Terrible tragedies.

So what made this a three star read? First off, the characters were rough to love. While I saw their counterparts firmly in my head, all of them but Chatine had no depth for me. Marcellus is frustratingly unsure of himself throughout this whole book. Alouette is just that lost little girl who needs people to save her over and over again. I found myself skimming their chapters because they were just so slow. If this whole book had revolved around Chatine (which yes, I know it wouldn't make any sense that way) I would have loved it. She was the fierce peasant, the wily street rat. In other words, my favorite kind of character. Her chapters are what helped me make it through this story.

Which leads to the fact that, yes, this story is lengthy. While the writing is well done, and not too flowery, there are definite portions that felt like they dragged well beyond what they needed to be. This is a tome, to be honest. I completely understand that the source material is also this long, having read both the book and watched the musical, but there's something that's a bit lost in translation in Sky Without Stars. It doesn't feel like the length adds to anything, but more tends to slowly pull the reader out of the story being laid out in front of them. I think if this book had been just a little shorter, focusing more on character development, I would have loved it that much more.

As it stands, I rate this a solid three star read. It wasn't my favorite book, but it does have potential. Since this is the first in a series, I'll probably pick up the next book to see how things evolve. Perhaps my characters will pick themselves up a bit, and things will move along at a quicker pace. show less