“A world of nevers under a never sky.”
– Veronica Rossi, Under The Never Sky
Synopsis : EXILED from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland–known as The Death Shop–are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild–a savage–and her only hope of staying alive.
Under The Never Sky is a post-apocalpytic road story sprinkled with dystopian elements. The female protagonist, Aria lives a safe and secure life in underground pods, spending her days in vitural realms. Perry lives on the outside or “The Death Shop” a world filled with tribal warfare, Aether storms and savagery.When their worlds collide they learn they may not be as different as they thought.
The novel starts out a little shaky to me, almost everything in the story is told or explained immediately, in an almost checklist like fashion. There is very little mystery and I would have liked to slide easier into the story. Once we get past the introduction the writing does get better and the story begins to take shape.
Basically, Aria and Perry each have their own plot MacGuffin that propels them to journey together in search of what they are looking for. While this jump starts the plot it isn’t my favorite set up.
Aria has to adapt to the outside world and dangerous Aether storms with Perry’s help. The novel has a steady pace and as more about their worlds are revealed the more intense the story becomes.
Narration switches from Aria to Perry, which is a bit of a bother for me because they are always together in the story. I found myself more interested in learning more about Perry’s life, living in the post-apocalyptic world where people gain increased senses from the dangerous Aether storms.
As I was reading I really though this was a stand-alone novel and I really want to see how this will turn into an overarching series
While it wasn’t my favorite,Under The Never Sky has an orginal concept and will appeal to people who enjoy a more apocaplyptic/survivalist tales as oppsed to a dystopian.
Indiebound| Better World Books| Amazon
1/2 of the blogging duo at Books and Sensibility, I have been blogging about and reviewing books since 2011. I read any and every genre, here on the blog I mostly review Fantasy, Adult Fiction, and Young Adult with a focus on audiobooks.