Review by Booklist Review
Jayanthi yearns for something beyond a life stranded on Earth. Humans have earned a reputation for greed and destruction, but she knows there are ways to fight that perception and show that they have changed. She gets the opportunity to explore Meru, a newly discovered world, to test its ability to sustain human life. Vaha, a newly graduated alloy pilot, is determined to prove themselves and be successful. At first an unlikely pair, Jayanthi and Vaha set off on the adventure of a lifetime. Divya's latest (after Machinehood, 2021) is full of twists and turns to keep readers glued to the pages, with rich world building that will truly invest them in the characters' fates. Classic sf themes are explored here: What does it mean to be human? What do you do when the right thing isn't black and white? The story unfolds impossibly quickly, considering the novel's length, and each character undergoes extensive growth as preconceived notions are challenged and bonds are made, broken, and remade. Meru transcends genres and will appeal to fans of sf, philosophy, and fantasy.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Empathy convincingly overcomes anxiety in this thoughtful, inventive, and impressively understated space opera from Divya (Machinehood). Having devastated the environments of both Earth and Mars centuries before the start of the book, humanity has confined itself to Earth so as not to wreck any more planets and has accepted guardianship by the alloys, humankind's post-human, space-faring descendants. Now, Jayanthi, a human raised by alloys, wants to believe that humanity has outgrown its toxic "Aspiration and Avarice Disorder" and is fit to travel the universe again. To prove this, she sets out for the newly discovered planet Meru, hoping to demonstrate her theory that people with sickle cell anemia like her will be particularly well suited to the planet's environment. She manages to recruit fledgling alloy pilot Vaha, and, despite the limitations of their human and alloy natures, the pair discover first mutual kindness and then love--but both are unaware of the alloy Pushkara's plot to sabotage the experiment. Divya filters the immensity of outer space through the lens of close personal relationships, crafting compassionate and responsible characters (whatever their physical forms may be) that will surely win over readers. The result is subtle, strange, and immensely satisfying. Agent: Cameron McClure, Donald Maass Literary. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Divya's (Machinehood) latest is a wholly inventive space opera full of intriguing characters, unexpected twists, and broken promises. Humans have been restricted to Earth for the past 500 years while alloys, descendants of humans, have the freedom to explore all the galaxy has to offer. When a planet like Earth is discovered, Jayanthi, a human adopted daughter of alloys, jumps at the opportunity to prove that humans can take care of a planet. Her alloy pilot, Vaha, sees this as an opportunity for personal success. The two form a bond as they hurtle across space in a journey that has the potential to forever alter alloy-human relations. Can the two succeed against impossible odds? Hugo- and Nebula-nominated Divya offers an ambitious and richly described first installment in her new "Alloy Era" series. Deepa Samuel narrates, giving a robotic, unemotional narration of alloys, which captures their inability to comprehend human emotions; alternately, she gives inflection and emotion to Jayanthi, enhancing her tenderness and grit. VERDICT This book will appeal to science fiction readers who appreciate meticulous worldbuilding and learning about societies that are governed by a set of axioms. This impressive audio is a must-add for any science fiction collection.--Elyssa Everling
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A galaxy-spanning space opera about two lost souls determined to prove themselves. As the adopted human child of two more-than-human parents known as "alloys," Jayanthi wants nothing more than to prove she has the skills to design new genomes. But when her mentor tells her she'll never achieve her goals, she starts to look for another way to prove her worth. When she realizes that her sickle-cell disorder could actually be a beneficial adaptation on the newly discovered planet of Meru, her mentor comes up with a new plan--to send Jayanthi herself to Meru in an attempt to prove that humans can once again be allowed to explore the universe without making harmful changes to a planet's biosphere. Meanwhile, Vaha, an alloy whose body is adapted to live in the vacuum of space, is desperate to prove that zie isn't the failure as a pilot that zir maker believed zie was. With no other offers for work coming in, Vaha jumps at the chance to carry Jayanthi to Meru, continue practicing new types of flight in orbit around a planet, and hopefully fulfill zir maker's ultimate design for zir life. Throwing two lonely people with something to prove together is a great recipe for drama, and these characters and their relationship do create a strong throughline for the novel. The world presented here is rich and complicated, but it's so different from our own that the resulting exposition and explanations can have the effect of distancing the reader from the characters. Still, the love story, plus plenty of jaw-dropping space scenes, will reward readers patient enough to explore this far-future world. A complex and sometimes slow-moving but ultimately rewarding novel. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
