"Light of Impossible Stars" is a deeply satisfying read that does something very rare: it ends a trilogy in a way that not only doesn't disappoint but excites and surprises.

I loved the first two books in this trilogy, "Embers Of War" and "Fleet of Knives" so I'd pre-ordered the final book and dived into it as soon as it arrived.

Like it's predecessors, it was a fast-paced, page-turning, epic science fiction story, crammed with original ideas and strong world-building, yet what kept me reading were the characters in the book and the empathy and humour of the writing.

All of the books have followed multiple storylines that slowly reveal the big picture. The strength of the characterisation, especially in this final book, keeps those storylines intimate and relevant.

I'd say it kept the book human but some of the main characters are not human and part of the strength of the book comes from how clearly their thoughts and hopes are articulated,

Gareth Powell is very good at letting his characters be themselves, without judgement or apology, where the character is a genocidal psychopathic poet, a warship who has grown a conscience and resigned her commission, a non-human engineer who believes in work and rest and the world tree, a young woman trying to discover who or what she is or an ex-military officer looking for redemption through service.

I like the fact that, in this world, actions have consequences: not everyone survives, those that do survive are often damaged and neither the pain nor the occasional love is glossed over. I like that some characters fail to learn and are doomed to repeat their mistakes while others grow, develop and find new mistakes to make and some just get by day to day as best they can.

I admire the truly epic scale of the plot and the depth of the world-building and that, despite how strong the plot and SF ideas are, they never push the characters out of the way.

Now that I've read all three books, I want to go back and read them again, so that I can take in the grandeur of the big picture and spend more time with characters I've grown to know well.

Finally, I have to say that I am, as I'm sure I'm supposed to be, deeply attached to Trouble Dog and I hope to hear more of what happens to her now the trilogy is over.

"Light Of Impossible Stars" works very well as an audiobook with different narrators presenting chapters written from the point of view of the main characters. Click on the SoundCloud link below to hear a sample.

... I like the way Gareth Powell writes and I admire the breadth of topics he writes about.

This is the third book of the Embers Of War trilogy, that I've read as they were published.

Embers of War

Fleet of Knives

I had "Light Of Impossible Stars" on pre-order so I could read it as soon as it became available. I've put all reading challenges to one side so I can give this my attention. It's epic SF at its best: fast-paced, credible and still surprising. I've only just started and already I'm immersed in it.

The Sleeping Prince - Tödlicher Fluch - 5 stars

Der Näher - 4 stars

Girl on the Train - 5 stars

This Impossible Light - 5 stars

Exodus of Magic - 5 stars

Jessica Jones: Alias Vol. 1 - 4 stars

Der Augenjäger - 5 stars

Captain Marvel Vol. 1: Higher, Further, Faster, More - 4 stars

Favorite book(s) of the month: every single one of them

Books started this month but haven't finished yet: Artificial Sweethearts, The Book of Whispers

This has been the greatest reading month I had so far. 8 books finished, and I love all of them. This rarely happens, so I'm gonna hold on to that amazing feeling for the rest of the year.

First things first: I received this book through NetGalley.

Trigger warning: eating disorder.

Summary: Fifteen-year-old Ivy's world is in flux. Her dad has moved out, her mother is withdrawn, her brother is off at college, and her best friend, Anna, has grown distant. Worst of all, Ivy's body won’t stop expanding. She's getting taller and curvier, with no end in sight. Even her beloved math class offers no clear solution to the imbalanced equation that has become Ivy’s life.
 
Everything feels off-kilter until a skipped meal leads to a boost in confidence and reminds Ivy that her life is her own. If Ivy can just limit what she eats—the way her mother seems to—she can stop herself from growing, focus on the upcoming math competition, and reclaim control of her life. But when her disordered eating leads to missed opportunities and a devastating health scare, Ivy realizes that she must weigh her mother's issues against her own, and discover what it means to be a part of—and apart from—her family.

This book. THIS BOOK!!!
This book totally caught me off guard. Once again it's one of those books that I got from Netgalley, forgot about it and then started reading it without reading the summary again and didn't know what to expect.

The book deals with some tough topics but I think, they are handled really sensitive and respectful. The writing was so damn beautiful. Seriously, some of these moments in Ivy's life were so painful but they were written in the most beautiful way.

Poetry is my new favorite thing but I only ever read books with lots of different poetry, this time it was a whole book, a whole story. And it was beautiful.
It was super easy to get into, I started the book and pretty soon was half way through it. The characters were wonderful and so fleshed out.

Aaaah, I just love this book so much, it made me feel all the things and I highly recommend it.

The story. The writing. The poetry. The words.

I feel lots and lots of things.