Review : Nova by Margaret Fortune
Nova by Margaret Fortune
Pages : 320
Genre : Science Fiction, YA
Series : Nova, book 1
My Rating : 4/5
About the Book :
The clock activates so suddenly in my mind, my head involuntarily jerks a bit to the side. The fog vanishes, dissipated in an instant as though it never was. Memories come slotting into place, their edges sharp enough to leave furrows, and suddenly I know. I know exactly who I am.
My name is Lia Johansen, and I was named for a prisoner of war. She lived in the Tiersten Internment Colony for two years, and when they negotiated the return of the prisoners, I was given her memories and sent back in her place.
And I am a genetically engineered human bomb.
Lia Johansen was created for only one purpose: to slip onto the strategically placed New Sol Space Station and explode. But her mission goes to hell when her clock malfunctions, freezing her countdown with just two minutes to go. With no Plan B, no memories of her past, and no identity besides a name stolen from a dead POW, Lia has no idea what to do next. Her life gets even more complicated when she meets Michael Sorenson, the real Lia’s childhood best friend. With the fate of not just a space station but an entire empire hanging in the balance, Lia races to find the truth before her time—literally—runs out.
My Thoughts :
One of the fun things about Nova is that I discovered it the old school way; by perusing the shelves at my favorite bookstore. It sounds a little strange – and sad, maybe – but it’s true : these days I rarely add a new book to my shelves or my wishlist without having first heard of it on a blog, a website, on goodreads, or simply by browsing on online stores. Nova though, I first saw it at the bookstore; its purple cover and title immediately called to me, and the summary was exactly my kind of thing. It wasn’t long before I brought it back home.
I’m glad I did, because Nova turned out to be a really fun experience. The narration was really easy to slip into and the mystery of Lia’s identity/existence was extremely compelling. I kept wondering who Lia was and who made her the way she was; and while I thought Lia made a few too many suppositions and assumptions through the story (girl, get a grip please!), the road to the truth was still a very entertaining one.
The story develops like a thriller in space, and is extremely accessible to readers who prefer the fiction to the science in the science-fiction genre. We get a good sense of the political tensions without being overloaded with unimportant worldbuilding, and while I love detailed worldbuilding and think the story could have handled a little more depth, I still felt like I had the important bits to understand what was going on exactly.
The story also wasn’t too heavy on the romance. The fully summary seems to insist on it, and it does play an important part, but it’s not an “insta-love” kind of thing and it doesn’t distract Lia from her existential questions too much. And the interesting thing to me was that her story did what science-fiction often does best; question humanity by placing it in a completely new yet strangely familiar context. It’s not just about the romance or the adventure, and I really enjoyed the possible discussions the book contained.
And I loved the ending. It’s not unanimous amongst readers, but from my point of view, it ended as it should have. That’s all I’ll say! 😉
When I read Nova, I understood it to be a stand alone, and I thought the story worked really well as such. Sure, there were plenty of less important questions left to answer, mostly about the setting, but Lia’s and her friends’ story felt complete. I was both surprised and pleased to discover it is in fact part 1 of a 5 books series! I’m not sure where the author will be taking the story next, but very excited to find out!
Intrigued? Read an excerpt on the author’s website!
