Rating: 4/5
Humanity's last hope has arrived at the planet dubbed "Kepler." Their mission is to colonize the planet and keep the human species alive. This is to be done at any cost, including wiping out any existing population. Orrin and his crew of soldiers, botanists, and scientists are all clear about what is at stake and what needs to be done. However, when they finally arrive on Kepler, things become less clear for Orrin. He sees the human-esque population of the planet and begins to think that genocide is not the answer. Aya, the daughter of the ruler of the Vaklaran (native) people, wants to escape her fate of marrying Garret. He was chosen to be her betrothed by her father but she wants a different life. She sees the human ships fall to the planet and sees the immediate effect that they have on the flora and fauna. She soon meets these humans and her beliefs are also challenged. Will the humans and the natives be able to live in peace?
What I liked about this book was that there were some really thought provoking issues brought up and everyone's ideas about their world and their existence were constantly being challenged. What at first seemed like a clear cut case of alien invaders coming to a planet to exterminate all sentient life became more complicated as it became clear that there were other powers at play. It really makes one question something very basic that is engrained in the very fiber of humanity - could there come a point where humans simply don't deserve to survive? Humans spend a lot of time and energy working to preserve our existence. But should it be preserved?
There were a lot of twists and turns in this book that made it really interesting and engaging. It did feel ultimately like a retelling of the Pocahontas story, but I think it was done well. There were some things that I was still a little confused about at the end of the book that I wish were more thoroughly explained but it was still quite enjoyable.
Grammar/Editing: Abysmal/Poor/Needs Work/Good/Excellent - There were almost no issues of word misuse or misspellings. There were very few punctuation issues. There were minor grammatical issues here and there (at some points this may have been done on purpose since there were language and cultural differences between the humans and the natives).
Profanity: None/Mild/Medium/Heavy/Extreme - There were a few f-bombs and uses of the word "shit." Overall, there was nothing too excessive.
Violence: None/Mild/Medium/Heavy/Extreme - There was quite a lot of explicit violence in this book with guns, spears, and blades. The descriptions are quite thorough and could be very disturbing to some people. At one point there is a battle where multiple people are tossed around, squished, and cut up so badly that organs start making appearances.
Sexuality: None/Mild/Medium/Heavy/Extreme - There were two kisses in this book and that is it. No sexual content whatsoever.
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