Book Review – Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Our heroes are back… kind of. From the bestselling co-authors of the Illuminae Files comes the second book in the epic series about a squad of misfits, losers, and discipline cases who just might be the galaxy’s best hope for survival.

First, the bad news: an ancient evil – you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal – is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.

Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.

And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.

Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.

When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.

Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes – and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.

My rating:

I found the first 70 or so pages actually a little hard to read, which was surprising as I’d remembered loving book one. I think it was partly the tone of voice – particularly for Magellan (though the catch up at the start *was* very helpful!), Tyler and Scarlet. Those last two felt a bit flat in the initial first-person chapters, but grew on me again as we went through.

However, once the action got rolling I was fully swept up by it. I loved being back with the squad, and also having the book feel even more space-y than book 1, as we spend time planet-hopping, and more time in space itself. I also loved getting to see Kal’s race, and meeting his terrifying badass of a sister. I ended up loving her, even though she’s not a good person 😀 I found Kal difficult in this book – his romance with Auri still feels meh, all instalove and no substance, though it was good to see them get to spend some proper time together. But the twists at the end of his story in this book just made him fall a little flat for me, as much as I liked the story itself.

I loved getting to see more of Zila, and I’m really looking forward to seeing her share with her squad everything that happened. We also get to see more of Fin in this, and he continues to be amazing and flirt with everything 😀

There is some serious intrigue going on here – there is obviously some time element that will come into play in the next book, and I’m really excited to see what it will be. And the ending definitely left me NEEDING the third book right now.

Buy Aurora Burning from Waterstones.

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