Thank you Netgalley & Machmillan Audio for an alc of this title.

The Deep Sky follows a deep space mission where a lethal explosion causes three crew member's deaths. The sole witness is our main character, Asuka who is seen as an outsider by the surviving members of their space ship. She goes on to find out what happened and chaos ensues.
There is definitely some interesting world building in this, and honestly for a debut it was incredibly well done. We had a present storyline as well as a past storyline with memories of Asuka's childhood, grounding her choices and giving us a clear picture of who she was. There were layered interrelationships with all the crew members, some training sequences, and of course a mystery at the center of it all.
I also think this makes a very good audio experience if you're considering a format to read this story. Even though the structure was a bit muddy at times and the pacing wasn't exactly what I hoped for, the narration kept my attention throughout the book.
While it wasn't for me, I'd definitely recommend it to the avid scifi customers at our shop!

I really enjoyed what Kitasei did with this story, she explored the nature of humanity in a place of unknown limits and great expectations. A crew chosen to forge the path anew for humanity, cultivated in a school of competitive performance, given the tools and destination to plant the seed of new hope on Planet X.

But there amongst the stars, a saboteur lurks and begins to affect the very psyche of the crew. Instilling fear and mistrust, causing death and damage all the while remaining integrated within the team.

Through the perspective of Asuka and her interactions with both the ship's crew and AI, we are led from suspicion to speculation to finally uncovering the very human motivation of the perpetrator. The mettle of minds and the strength of broken and minded friendships are tested as we see how this team came to be.

Kitasei does this with compassion and an eye turned to the inevitable appetite for conquest that humans return to time and again. She also explores the tension that erupts between nations that are supposedly working together for the good of all the world, but selfish agendas remain and nationalism is still embedded strongly in the choice of representatives and what they could possibly do for their countries.

I would have loved to have gotten other perspectives as through only using Asuka narrows how the reader interacted with the other characters and the story, as she was our only touchpoint of trust.

Does sci fi scare you? Does floating endlessly through space sound like a nightmare to you? Me too! This would make it seem like this book was not for me, but WOW was I wrong!

This book was so incredibly engaging - I was hooked almost instantly. This book follows Asuke, a mixed raced girl who is on a spaceship going to "Planet X" to, ideally, begin populating the planet and begin a new world. The ship is a multi-country effort, and Asuke, as a child of one American parent and one Japanese parent, is unsure of how she truly fits in. This is made further complicated by her role as an alternate. The book is told in nonlinear fashion, and Asuke's backstory to getting onto the ship is not only interesting on its own, but really gives light to the timeline on the ship.

This book is incredibly progressive in its characters. All of the people on board the ship are biologically able to give birth, but that does not mean they all present as women. I feel like many books that are trying to be progressive these days are very "hand-holdy" when it comes to this, where they have to explain the concept of being nonbinary, etc. Kitasei, instead, just lets her world be the progressive world that it is without explanation. It was extremely refreshing.

If you're typically not a sci fi reader, do not let this book's setting scare you off. The technology was all either very understandable (like the DAR, which is essentially a version of virtual reality) or not understandable, but understandable *enough* to get the gist you need for the plot. I typically do not like sci fi, and this did not feel overly complicated for me.

The audio was great. I really enjoyed the narrator, and she did a great job at changing voices for different characters. I immersively read this (with the text in front of me as I listened to the audio) and my only complaint is that there are "text messages" (of some sort? I'm unsure completely) that are not as clearly indicated in the audio. Sometimes people are having two conversations at once, one through speaking and one through text, and I think this would be difficult to get as an audio-only reader.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a review and commentary for the audiobook (for the book, see additional review at that page).
THE DEEP SKY by Yume Kitasei: the audiobook is narrated by Sarah Skaer who generally does a good job. I just found it difficult to follow the story using that format because the author moves between multiple time periods (primarily before flight while at school and then during flight after an explosion). One is told over years and the other over hours. It is well done, but difficult to listen to without some added guides about the timing switch.
3.5 stars for audio book

2.5 stars rounded down

Unfortunately, this one did not work for me. The premise sounded fun, a sci-go mystery, but the story/characters never pulled me in.

The book read more YA than I expected, which I think was part of my issue, since the story, apart from the flashbacks, followed people in their early 20s. The characters didn’t feel fleshed out and became irritating to me the further I got into the book. A lot of my issues stem from the dialogue/character interaction. I found the dialogue to be too juvenile considering they were sent into space on this massive mission and had been trained their entire adolescences to do this. I know they were still young and had been competing their whole lives for this opportunity, but I thought they would have started to come together a little when they final 80 were chosen. The author does somewhat address this by mentioning that they weren’t the “best” candidates for this mission, they just happened to get lucky and win the lottery which allowed them to end up there, but it didn’t make the reading experience any more pleasant.

I also didn’t enjoy the pregnancy storyline sprinkled throughout the whole book. This isn’t a trigger for me, but it felt like it was there just to be there. I could tell the author was trying to address struggles that women face and the stigma that comes along with that when you aren’t able to conceive, but it never really fit the narrative for me. I almost DNFd the book within the first 15% due to this, but I continued on. If this had been in a different book and we were able to fully explore it, I don’t think it would have bothered me as much.

The mystery ended up being a little too easy to solve, once I remembered a particular character existed and what they did on the ship. At first there were a lot of accusations just being thrown around, so I was happy when the author addressed this and made the characters actually think it through before they tore the whole crew apart.

The ending was okay, and we did finally see some character growth within the last few chapters, but it was a little too late for it to bring the book back around for me.

Whew, this was quite a ride! A mystery/thriller wrapped up in a deep space exploration with some crazy AI to top it off. First of all, the cover? Stunning. And plays in so well to the themes. Also, in SFF books, I’m usually hooked by the science fiction elements — what does humanity look like in the future? What kind of imaginative devices, languages, etc. does that author come up with? These exist and are well done here, but the central mystery and the relationships between the characters was absolutely the selling point. It was fascinating — maybe not my favorite at the moment because of its heaviness, but I think sci fi lovers will want to check it out!

While the driving plot device of this deep space travel novel is a bomb detonating almost 11 years after takeoff from earth, the real interest is in the character's relationships. Through chapter-by-chapter time jumps, we follow the main character as she enters the rigorous training program to prepare her for the species-saving mission on earth while navigating a difficult relationship with her immigrant mother, bonding and fighting with the other girls (and uterus-having people) through an extremely arduous program, waking up after 10 years aboard the ship and struggling with her infertility, grappling with the fact that the environmentalist cult her mother is a part of may be responsible for the mission's demise, weaving through a trail of clues that will lead her to the culprit without making lifelong enemies by accusing the wrong person.
So many cool sci-fi elements in this extremely human book hike up the interest. Many bonus points, in my book, for having an all-child bearing crew that includes trans men and non-binary people.
My only complaint is that the time jumps back to the academy days on earth sometimes felt a little sluggish. Almost like a YA and adult novel smushed into one, which doesn't necessarily translate that well.
Overall, I do recommend!

[Sci-fi thriller. Dual Timeline. Space setting. Debut author. POC author. 2023 release.]

A space mission. A lethal explosion. A highly suspicious crew. The Deep Sky follows Asuka, the last picked in a representative group of a girls sent into space to save humanity. Halfway on their way to a distant, healthier planet, an explosion goes off, killing some of the girls and spreading distrust amongst the survivors. It is up to Asuka, the only surviving witness, to find the culprit before they strike again.

This book read eerily realistic. Chronicling a not-so-distant future where Earth is doomed, I thought the intricacies of society’s devolution, as depicted in the past timeline, were very well-done. I also liked how technologies (i.e. digitally augmented reality and AI), while not a new concept, played an enjoyable, convincing, and active role in the plot. For me, my favorite parts of this story were in the past timeline, specifically the competition to secure a place on the ship. It gave much needed context to the character’s situations as well as giving each individual character much more depth. And of course, I always give props to stories with complex and diverse characters.

All of that said, a lot of my frustrations with this book were because of the marketing. This was marketed as a sci-fi thriller, a hybrid genre which I typically love. However, it read overwhelmingly like a sci-fi mystery (and anyone who knows my reading tastes knows I don’t really care for mysteries…) Because of this, the story quickly lulled. It was a lot of amateur sleuthing and accusing and not a lot of progress, which is probably why it had started to lose my interest about halfway through. <Spoiler: Also, because there had been so many accusations, I found the reveal at the end largely underwhelming.>

Much of my other struggles were with not really connecting with the characters (namely Asuka), specifically in the present timeline. The story is told in dual timelines, and I much preferred the the past timeline where you get more of the characters backgrounds and the competition that landed them in space. But, because the focus of this book is on the mystery of the present timeline, I had difficulty making myself care for what happened to the characters, which ultimately lowered the stakes.

Altogether, I was intrigued by the world and sci-fi elements, but not invested in the characters or the mystery plot. That being said, the majority of my hang-ups with this book were taste-related more than anything. However, if you like sci-fi mysteries, this might be exactly the book for you.

P.S. For those who read this by audiobook: I didn’t particularly care for the narration, namely the narration of the dialogue. Because there were so many characters, it was hard to determine who was talking at times. I’d definitely recommend reading this physically or physically with the audiobook companion.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: miscarriage, fertility issues, terrorism, death of a child, racism, gore, strong language

Thoroughly enjoyable, diverse read. I especially loved the way the AI character was crafted, seeming different enough from human to feel real but close enough in many of the ways we care about.

Let me pile on the descriptive adjectives: new-adult debut feminist science fiction mystery-thriller set in deep space. Engaging and refreshing, it felt more YA than I expected from the description. The narrator was extremely talented, with different voices and accents (often slipping seamlessly into Japanese) for each character. Still, her tone felt “young,” which makes sense if all the characters are in their early 20s.

“It is the eve of Earth's environmental collapse. A single ship carries humanity's last hope: 80 elite [20-something] graduates of a competitive program who will give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But halfway to a distant but livable planet, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks The Phoenix off course.” (GoodReads)

Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read THE DEEP SKY in advance of its publication.

3.5/5 [rounded down]

Yume Kitasei’s The Deep Sky is an impressive debut novel, that overall left me wanting more. There are some impressive science / speculative fiction ideas contained within — the DAR devices that alter reality around all of the members of this near future world (and the potential woes that brings), biomedicine printers, a quantum device, superhuman AI, and much more. Kitasei’s ideas are creative and unique, and each new one provided fresh looks into this massive world she has created around the main character, Asuka.

I appreciated how small side stories (without spoiling major plots points — building a “hopper” in engineering class, interactions with the AI character, Asuka’s experiences in the refugee camp) did become important as the story developed. But, some plot points became diversions from what was driving my interest — Asuka’s journey to arriving on The Phoenix, the events on the ship, and the chaos that unfolded. It felt like a lot of the interpersonal drama was lost on me, and detracted from a compelling main storyline.

By the end, my expectations were met — some interesting ideas and a good ending (with some interspersed mental delusions along the way) kept me interested and excited. The novel left me wanting more depth in the science and the chaos, rather than drama and interpersonal affairs — either way, I’m excited to read more of Kitasei’s work!

Huge thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the incredible Sarah Skaer — I prefer audiobooks to print / Kindle, and this one was top tier!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The book cover is gorgeous, but unfortunately this did not work out for me.

This debut started off really strong for me - and really hopeful. I thought this could fill my Becky Chambers void (impatiently waiting for more....) but....this really was a 3-3/5 star read for me. I enjoy the setting and the idea of a competition to be chosen by your home country for a mission into space in search of a living planet, as Earth is on the verge of environmental collapse. Yet the story was laid out in a very weird way and I am usually very happy to read non-linear timelines when it is done really well. By about 30% I lost hope of this being a new favorite sci-fi. I didn't feel connected to the characters or really the stakes of the plot. I'm not sure I even cared about the "who-done-it" aspect by the end. I'm going to be very interested to see how author Yume Kitasei progresses, since I know many readers already love this book.

I also feel like there could have been a greater discussion of the idea and reality of forced pregnancies on the ship, lack of men, issues of the governments essentially grooming young children for a mission they cannot fully comprehend, etc. There was a lot of potential to explore these issues but I feel like they were just left in the dust - when they could have been a really boon to the narrative.

If you continue to enjoy this title as you read it will be a fast & fun time but for me it was slow going and I just struggled to finish when other books were calling my name. Certainly one to give a chance if you love close quarters sci-fi or mysteries!

I really liked the premise of this book but i felt like the pacing was really off. The first couple of chapters were great and I was loving it. Then it felt like everything came to a crashing halt. Things got so incredibly slow and I felt like I was prying information from this book.
I will say I really liked the characters and the slow pacing allowed me to really get to know the characters. I got a chance to really bond with the characters. It did feel a bit repetitive in places as well.
I would say if you are really into character driven stories this is definitely for you. If you are like me and prefer books with a bit more action this one may be a skip.

“𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸: 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥. … 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦: 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴.”

Imagine being a part of a small, elite crew trained for a journey across the solar system to an inhabitable planet while yours explodes in cultural and political war when suddenly an explosion knocks your ship off course, killing a few of the crew, the technology is starting to show signs of distortion, and the close quarters cause tensions to rise?

That’s The Deep Sky. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC audiobook of this debut. I do wish I had an e-copy or physical book to read as there are flashbacks to when the crew were younger as they trained for this mission and it took me a couple of relistens at first to get some characters straight.

It is definitely female-focused, and at times is unashamedly biased about it. I didn’t mind the overall story and liked the message about community, teamwork, and being a part of something bigger than yourself. It wasn’t as sci-fi as I was expecting and hoping for, and sometimes the talk of the character’s virtual worlds from their ship’s AI could get confusing (listening, maybe reading it would have been different). Content includes some strong profanity, racial discrimination, fertility issues and miscarriage, homosexuality, and violence. Overall, I give it a fair 3/5.

If you like The Expanse series (one of my favorites!) and To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, you might end up liking this one too.

“𝘐𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴… 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. First off, since this was an audiobook, I want to note that I really liked the narrator. As for the book itself, I quite enjoyed this sci-fi thriller/murder mystery. What sets it apart from your usual fast-paced, action-packed space story is the focus on the characters. Deep Sky is told in alternating timelines of the current space mission and the years leading up to it, focusing on main character Asuka and her relationship with her mother. I plan to recommend this to young adult readers as I think there's plenty of crossover appeal considering the age of the characters and the feelings they're grappling with.

I love genre-blending books- a space opera, post-apocalyptic adventure, and a thriller mystery all rolled into one? Sign me up. Yume Kitasei is a debut author to boot, but I could barely tell. The pacing was near perfect and the characters jumped off the page. I was enthralled from the first page. This is the perfect mix of timely climate warning, science fiction, and deeply engaging mystery. I couldn’t put it down. Grab this if you’re looking to expand your horizons.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Deep Sky is a recently-released SF-Thriller debut from Yume Kitasei. This story features a deep space mission where a lethal explosion causes the survivors to question the loyalty of their fellow crew members. We follow Asuka, one of the crew and sole surviving witness to the explosion that killed three mission members and knocked their ship, The Phoenix, off course.

The set-up was interesting and scarily plausible. With Earth on the brink of an planet-altering environmental disaster, the countries of the world nominate individuals to compete for a spot on a humanity-saving mission.

As with any interstellar mission, space is limited. Asuka is selected as a contender to represent her mother's native-Japan. Although not initially chosen, Asuka earns a spot as an alternate due to unforeseen circumstances. Because of this, Asuka can't help but feel like an outsider.

When the explosion happens, and Asuka is nearby and survives, she becomes a bit of a suspect in the eyes of some of the other crew members. Asuka feels like she needs to get to the bottom of what caused the explosion. She can clear her name and find out what is actually going on with the rest of the crew. Thus, a mystery twist unfolds.

This was really good. I was a bit on the fence at first. The story wasn't fully able to capture my attention until around the halfway mark. I was very pleased that Kitasei was eventually able to pull me in through the intensity of the storyline and completely pulled it off in the end.

The story is quite thoughtfully-written and the SF-elements provided plenty of interesting possibilities for our future. This would make a great one to discuss with friends, a book club, or other SF-readers in general.

I did feel like the idea of the mission, the way it was initiated was well-developed and thought out. I feel like when you are writing something futuristic like this, you can really go anywhere with it. Kitasei's take was creative and frankly, believable in a frightening way.

The aspects of this that didn't work as well for me were the story construction, especially in the beginning, and some of the character work.

The narrative jumps around from present to the past frequently and I felt like, for me, those transitions weren't smooth enough. They were quite jarring and I kept feeling out of touch with what was happening because of it. Additionally, as far as the characters go, I had a hard time remembering anyone besides our main, Asuka.

None of them felt distinct to me like Asuka did. In spite of that though, I still appreciate what the author developed here. I think this story shows a lot of great creativity and thoughtfulness about the potential future of humanity.

Overall, I was impressed with this as a debut story. It's complex, multifaceted and thought-provoking. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would definitely recommend the audio version. The narration fit the story very well.

This is a debut? Wow! It’s good! I love me some spaceshipping sci-fi/dystopian/mystery/horror!

80 young elite traveling to a far off world. A bomb kills 3 & the remaining survivor Asuka quickly becomes suspect number one!

Asuka was the last chosen for the expedition & only when she’s presented as the elite candidate from Japan which has left her with imposter syndrome as she’s only half Japanese & estranged from her mom. Her inability to become pregnant on a ship where that is the prime directive and an unsolved mystery with growing tensions ratchets up the fear of an impending second bomb.

I enjoyed the two timelines where everything Asuka does or thinks now is justified by something in her past.

There were a few slow spots but Asuka is such a familiar character that they were nearly imperceptible to me.

Well they’re off course now with a mystery and politics and suspicions and murder. Excellent story! Nice change of pace for me. Reviewed on Amazon too.

Space adventure into the future. This was a great interstellar moving to the future story. The mysterious elements of the plot added great suspense to an already exciting adventure. This story does jump back and forth in the time line so keeping track of where you are in time becomes confusing at times if you aren’t careful. The plot does flow very well even with the back and forth of time. The characters are could be more developed but the story is mostly told from the main characters perspective so you miss some of the sub characters character arc. Over all I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of Andy Weirs work.