This absolutely needs to be a series or a movie or something visual, because I absolutely loved it so much.

The worlds building (yes, multiple) was so vivid and descriptive without being too much. I loved getting to know the MC's and side characters.
As the main world Starga was so much fun to discover, it is whimsical, yet intricate and at times dark.

I think that's also where the Studio Ghibli influences shine through. You have this magical, whimsical place, but ultimately dysfunctional with heavier subjects. Which is something I absolutely love and it's a construct not easily written yet nailed in this book. I would definitely recommend it to Ghibli lovers for that very same reason, but also maybe to those that love Dungeon Crawler Carl as it does have a vibe I find similar.

Both the characters and side characters had a lot of depth and it was easy to connect. I think a lot of that again had to do with the balance between whimsy and dysfunction.

This book gave me all sorts of different emotions, sometimes all at once. The ending has a beautiful leadup that I emotionally didn't like, but ended up loving anyway. Especially with the knowledge of another book coming. It is something I will definitely impatiently be on the lookout for.

It is almost two books in a row now, but I can only say again that this would be six stars if it was possible.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bindery Books / Skies Press for letting me read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

︎4.75 stars˙⋆✮⋆˚࿔

Thank you to Bindery Books for providing me with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In so many good ways, The Archeology of Falling Worlds also reminds me a bit of Gachiakuta, Arcane, and Honkai Star Rail, perfection all in one. Plainly said, <i>I am the target audience for this book.</i> I finished it the next day I got approved for it, and if that's not telling how interesting and engaging this book was, then I have no words left.

Downright from the start, we are seamlessly introduced to our main characters; Frey, a "corpo princess", Alasar "He was born for it" Kazei, and Silver, the "worm". Yes, void worm. The three of them made up a fun group dynamic to follow, but Alasar's character stood out to me the most. Without revealing too much, his whole ARC and personal struggles were one of my favourite parts of the book.

Chee effortlessly introduced social commentary through clever worldbuilding. Starga is yellow, violet, vibrant, full of many different alien species and are still divided by class. Many praises to Chee because the descriptions of Starga were so good that it took shape and came alive into my imaginations. You know how in Ready Player One, the player wears some kind of VR and enters the cyberpunk game? That's how I feel when reading this. Completely transported and immersed in the setting. I am fascinated with the desbrisfall; and how it became a part of culture/way of life in Starga, and the difference of debrisfall acceptance towards different societies there.

The book was marketed as Cyberpunk 77 meets Ghibli, and even though readers are not familiar with either of the two media, we'll still get a clear image of how Starga should be. Seriously, some of the creations like the makeup, the mushroom apartment, the playground were so creative. Everything was so whimsical (unless it's Upper Starga, and we're hit with so close to reality). It was worth mentioning that I'm not a big sci-fi reader, but Chee's world crafting did not alienate me as a newbie in this genre, which I appreciate very much. I could imagine this being adapted like Arcane or Spiderman: Into the Spider Verse level animation.

I enjoyed watching the conflict and camaraderie throughout it. There was never a dull moment in this book, and the storytelling was entertaining. The pacing doesn't feel slow, but wasn't rushed either. We get a perfect amount of time to be introduced with any storyline in the book. The ending broke me a little. I don't know if this is a planned series or standalone, but even if it's a standalone, then I think it's still a perfect ending. Overall, I would recommend this to Ghibli fans! The whimsical worldbuilding but deep messages layered inside resonated deeply inside me, and I'm sure that so many readers will love it too!

P/S: Small thing, but as a Malaysian, I love the word usage of "kopi" instead of coffee.

The Archeology of Fallen Worlds by Megan Chee is as colorful and dizzying as the cover promises, a feat of fresh imagination. As in a thriller, the characters routine very quickly gets disrupted and we jump into non-stop action from there on, with two main characters getting tangled into a search for truth and its dire implication for their world.
I loved the cosmopolitan city of Starga, and how unique and new all the different alien species felt. The tropes and archetypes are used to their fullest, such as multiverse shenanigans, evil corporations, the orphan girl raised on the streets, the golden heir boy.
A thoroughly enjoyable read!

This was absolutely fantastic. I found the world mesmerizing and I quite literally could not put it down. When I received the notification I’d been approved for the e-ARC on NetGalley, I stopped mid other book to immediately start reading it. If you’re looking for sci-fi that poses and seeks to answer questions like “why are we here?” and “what do we owe to the people in our community?” this is the book for you. I’m reeling. Wow.

⭐ 4.75/5
This was such a weird book in the best possible way. The whole cyberpunk + fantasy + Ghibli feeling worked so well, especially with all the different creatures and alien races living together in Starga. I really liked how the world could feel colorful and whimsical one moment and then suddenly get really dark and brutal. The characters were also a big part of why I enjoyed it so much because I actually got attached to them instead of just caring about the worldbuilding. There are also so many small details that made the world feel alive. The ending genuinely got me a little and I think this is definitely one of those books that will stay in my head for a while.

Wow! What a book. I went into this one barely skimming the description, and I was absolutely blown away. On more than one occasion I stayed up longer than I should have because I just couldn’t put it down. The ending was solid but I wouldn’t be mad about a sequel, if only so I can spend more time in these worlds, with these characters. Starga was so vibrantly written it felt like its own character, and the world was so fleshed out. I read this in only a few days but by the end I felt like I’d been on the entire journey with these characters. I have nothing constructive or negative to say about this book, I absolutely loved it.

Everyone needs to read Megan Chee’s The Archaeology of Falling Worlds, an SF (science fantasy; speculative fiction) work brimming with moral dilemmas, characters with organic developments, and immersive, imaginative worldbuilding. Archaeology speaks to the ecological crises of our time, as well as our relationship with technology—in the vein of critical posthumanism, I might add, our entanglements with the more-than-human Others and the environment. Chee said Cyberpunk 2077 with Studio Ghibli vibes and delivered exactly that. I can even see this novel adapted as a comic or anime. Even before I got to the end, I already want a physical copy of Archaeology (and its sequel!) to annotate on. I might even add that if you like Shadowverse (think “Invasion of the Worldreaver” arc) and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, it is highly likely that you will enjoy Archaeology.

Chee is a master at pacing; she artfully slows down and ramps up the narrative to amplify and relieve tension (and hence suspense and other affects). Central to the changing tensions are Frey, a winged human whose care and curiosity for artefacts paint a target on her back, Alasar, a clone grappling with identity, familial legacy, and trust in the people in power, and Silver, a shape-shifter who seeks to fulfil a wild promise and duty. All three of them have great chemistry and different dynamics with each other. The other characters are just as compelling; Izir, specifically, reminds me of Ross Lockhart from Don DeLillo’s Zero K, someone you might dislike, or even loathe, but also understand to some extent. The various worlds are also inventive and contrast/complement each other well to offer new dimensions of living and caring.

As someone who enjoys SF, I am thrilled that many Singaporean authors, including Chee, are writing SF. Reading Archaeology in the backdrop of recent events, though, makes it a heavier read than expected. The discourse around our islands and marine life, the whole debate on our forests and (endangered) wildlife, conversations around the place of AI all weigh on my mind. Throughout the novel, I am also continually reminded of Donna Haraway’s statement: “we are compost, not posthuman”. All this is to say that readers from all around the world may thoroughly enjoy Megan Chee’s The Archaeology of Falling Worlds, may close the book feeling and thinking deeply about various interconnected affairs, and may want to read Chee’s other works and keep their eyes peeled on any future works from her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a unique and enjoyable read. I truly felt like I had been transported to this beautiful and chaotic world. Everything from the interesting bars they visited to the delightful secret adventure place Frey & Alasar visited was described so beautifully. I have seen this compared to Studio Ghibli and Arcane and I think those comparisons are very accurate!

My favorite character was the interesting little space worm but Alasar definitely was a close second.

I enjoyed this book immensely and can't wait to purchase a copy for my bookshelf! I need to read this again so I can feel like I'm once again in Starga.

An extremely original and imaginative debut! Frey, Alasar, and of course, Silver stole my heart. They bounced off one another so well, and their dynamic—especially between Frey and Alasar worked so well.

About half way through the book the scope of the story expands quite a bit which might be hard to chew for some. I thought Chee did a fabulous job with setting up Starga at the start of the book which could also perhaps contributed to this tonal whiplash. She painted such an immersive and detailed setting, and it’s clear she really cared about creating a very believable world for our characters to live in. I’m very excited to see what she writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

The Archaeology of Falling Worlds follows aliens Frey and Alasar as they discover a sentient blob that unravels the secrets of their universe.

This book was a super cute and cozy sci-fi read. I loved the worldbuilding and thr character development was remarkably charming. Despite being otherworldly beings, I resonated deeply with Frey and Alasar—their relationship was a breath of fresh air. Silver was also beloved.

While the plot dragged a bit from 60-80%, the stakes and the inner turmoil the chatacters grapple with kept me intrigued. I felt really invested in the mystery of Starga in the beginning and curious how everything would resolve in the end. I really appreciated the lore in this universe, particularly the magical vs scientific worlds. What a neat concept!

Though not as deep as other series I've read, it felt very fleshed out, digestible and intentional despite being a tall order. It is impressive for the author to have built this world up thoroughly in only 400-odd pages.

This was a super fun read that i would definitely recommend for all types of readers. I think there's something for everyone in this book, and that's what makes it a success.

4/5 stars.

💥𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀 is a debut novel by Singaporean author Megan Chee. The book self-describes as Cyberpunk 20277 meets Studio Ghibli with worldbuilding that blends elements of urban fantasy with dystopian, cyberpunk sci-fi elements. The city of Starga is futuristic and diverse but rife with class inequality and hazards. Namely, large artifacts from other worlds constantly fall from the sky like hail. On literal higher ground, the privileged few have decent jobs, security and law enforcement, and infrastructure offering shelter from the falling debris. In lower districts, the rest of the city inhabitants enjoy few protections and struggle to survive by any means.

The story reminded me of the Gachiakuta manga+anime series with trash from the Sphere in the sky raining down to the wastelands below. It also gave Jeff VanderMeer’s Borne vibes with its shapeshifting void creature, and portal worlds of Tad Williams’s Otherland series as we get glimpses of universes beyond Starga. Overall the worldbuilding felt fresh and imaginative. The scavenged artifacts get repurposed into novel innovations that benefit society in clever, magical ways. There was one exceptional scene where I even got a little emotional over some sentient rocks. Yup. Though some harder cyberpunk elements add bleakness, these were outweighed by the more whimsical, fantastical moments. Several story developments were predictable but the book’s conclusion differed from what I had expected. The ending felt a bit rushed, but there’s a sequel coming! The Archaeology of Falling Worlds was a really fun adventure and I look forward to rereading it before the sequel comes to learn more about Frey, Alasar, and Silver.

Sci-Fi & Fantasy, 360 pages
Publication Date: February 23, 2027
My rating: 4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Thank you Bindery Books, Skies Press, and NetGalley for providing this ARC book for my honest review.

#TheArchaeologyofFallingWorlds #NetGalley #2026books #bookstagram #booklover

First and foremost i think i should say that Sci-Fi is not normally a genre that i read. So let me tell you that i was very happy that i enjoyed this book so much.
I had a really fun time reading the story of Frey, Alasar and Silver and i really liked all three of them.
Starga is such an interesting and fun but also dangerous place to be. I could have read a lot more stories just about the setting alone.
I loved the ending for the characters even though it is a bit sad.

The Archaeology of Falling Worlds is a fun and wonder-invoking book with the visuals and vibes of a Ghibili anime set in a Cyberpunk world. Actually, this would be a great anime--somebody please turn this into an anime!

It takes place in a city called Starga which is a sort of inter-dimensional refuge for people (and artifacts) from across the universe who fall out of the sky with no memories. The story follows two "archaeologists" from completely different sides of Starga who study the artifacts that fall into Starga during its regular "debrisfall" as they discover a mysterious and dangerous but cute Ghibli-esque shapeshifting black ball-like creature and get pulled into an adventure involving the mysterious origins of their world.

This premise is the perfect set-up for Megan Chee to display her masterful worldbuilding skill. Starga is home to countless fascinating peoples, creatures and cultures, from a giant priestess that whispers prayers from worshipers to the sky, to snail doctors, tentacled medical bots and a sentient playground. Every chapter is filled with the kind of lush worldbuilding that readers of Chee's short fiction will find very familiar.

The story's two protagonists, meanwhile, are smart and likeable but still fallible characters that struggle with mistakes and choices that make them feel very relatable in a way I didn't expect for this type of science-fantasy story. They struggle navigating government/corporate bureaucracies and finding meaning in their work in such authentic ways that I'm sure Chee must be channeling from her own experience. They make mistakes on who to trust--both peoples and institutions--and grapple in the third act with making a world-changing decision that seemed obvious to me at first, but that Megan deftly explores the nuances of.

In short I really enjoyed and highly recommend this book!

Cyberpunk 2077 meets Studio Ghibli was the tagline and that alone sold me. It's fun, whimsical, and exactly what I needed after a run of horror.

The setting is Starga, an overcrowded city full of megacorps, gangs, and corruption, home to everything from sentient slugs to ghostly things to humanoids. Every so often, things fall out of the sky from other worlds: people, houses, whole skyscrapers. Archaeologists (think scientist, detective, rock star, and engineer in one) work out how to use these artifacts, some of which have special abilities. We follow two of them from opposite ends of the city: a well-connected son of a big name, and a gifted hobbyist from the gang-ridden lower levels who's just trying to get out.

The scope gets huge as it goes, and I was worried it'd end up with a half-arsed ending where nothing gets explained. Nope. Everything that needed answering was answered, and it was really satisfying.

Keen to read whatever Megan Chee puts out next.

When I heard the description of this book I knew it would be something right up my alley, but I didn't expect to fall head over heels with this author's writing. Beautiful prose and amazing, in-depth world building makes this a book that's impossible to put down. I always eat up an alien story with a deep root of humanity and this book delivers that tenfold. The characters are layered and complex, with unique dynamics and relationships with each other. The conflicts feel real and believable, and by the end I had given my whole heart to this book. I can't wait to see more from this author, I can only imagine how she will grow and expand her craft.

The Archaeology of Falling Worlds was SO good. I loved how completely weird and different this world was. The creatures, magic, technology, and all the strange things falling from the sky made this such a fun book to get lost in.

I loved Frey, Alasar, and Silver and got way too attached to them. I also loved that the story could be funny and whimsical one minute and then hit you with something surprisingly emotional the next.

The worldbuilding was definitely my favorite part. Starga felt so creative and I could actually picture it all while I was reading. There was so much going on underneath the story too, which made it feel like more than just a fun adventure.

I honestly loved this from beginning to end. Weird, beautiful, creative, funny, and emotional. Easy 5 stars for me. I already want more from this world.

Thank you to Bindery Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book! I was immediately drawn into the story and Chee’s writing style. Incredible character-driven world building. I loved the found family element and the story felt very cozy to me. I really hope there is a sequel because I want to keep reading about Frey and Silver’s adventures.