Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff— Book Review

Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff— Book Review

– A Case of Boneheaded Heroics –

So, se-squeal! But really. The second book is always hard, however, Aurora Burning does exactly what the title suggests— it burns brightly. 

What needs to be addressed first is how Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff found the perfect way to do a summary of the first book canonically— thanks to Magellan. Aurora Burning comes in hot on the heels of Aurora Rising, dropping readers into the high-stake chase of our crew on the run. If it’s possible, I think I loved this book more than the first.

Plot

Aurora Burning does not hit that middle book slump. In fact, I don’t think it ever takes a break. Dropped into an immediate firefight, I love every second of this sequel. It knew when to have a lull and when to build, and that is due credit to its authors. While it’s a high-octane ride from start to… (ahem) finish, the reader never loses sight of what the end goal is. There is a clear directive with Squad 312 and though they may scatter and break up and a slew of other things, we cling to the core of this journey — which is a case of boneheaded heroics to take it directly from Scar’s mouth.

Character

To go through each individual character would be excessive, and I’m all for excessive, but why do that when I can sum it up short and sweet? I love all of them. Each character goes through growing pains, grief, heartbreak, and yet they never faulter from what makes them unique. We also get to meet Kal’s sister, Saedii, who is on mission to return her baby brother to their father (Who is he? Well, Spoilers. But I think we all know that answer to that). While Squad 312 scatters across the stars we get to have pair-ups that deepen relationships and form new alliances that will be sure to play a role in book 3. 

Setting

From Space, to space station and ships, to jail cells and the equivalent of a sarlacc pit, Aurora Burning is filled with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it details. That said, each moment is vivid (minus the grey tone of the Fold), built into the world and story without tripping the reader up. From the Eshvaren home world to Unbroken ships and a derelict Hadfield, there is a lot of beautiful, and sometimes deadly, world to enjoy.

Remember when Jay changed his social media name to Jay kills your favs off? I won’t spoil anything… but you should know that the ending is REDACTED.

All said, Aurora Burning is a thrill-seeking adventure with turns that will keep you on your toes and may give you a case of boneheaded heroics. Squad 312 will(?) return in book 3 but from Amie and Jay’s past books, I can’t imagine where we go next.

In case you wonder what I normally do with Jay and Amie book reviews— I present OBSIDIO: Beware of The Illuminae File spoilers as OBSIDIO is the final book.

Keep Fangirling!

Xo, Camille