Semi-spoiler free reread review.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I reread Acorna. I do remember being absolutely enamored with it. Acorna was probably my first "Adult" sci-fi book, though rereading it now, it definitely feels more in the Young Adult sphere... though the themes of child slavery and pedophilia are very strong here, through the second half of the book. Honestly, the whole thing reads like fairly rushed setup. It's not bad, exactly, just quite rushed. There's not really much given time to breathe properly.
I kind of enjoyed some of the world-building here. It's interesting that Islam has apparently survived into the far future, though I know next to nothing about it so I can't speak to how accurate its portrayal is or isn't. The stuff with Jana in the mines was quite vivid, also reminding me of Mercedes Lackey's Mags character ( The Collegium Chronicles ) in the process. But that's really where the world-building excelled. Everything else just kind of fell flatly into "here's a planet with very delineated class boundaries we're not really going to look into" territory.
I felt Acorna's rise to mythical figure happened way too fast. It was, what, weeks, maybe? That was also very unclear. Also the adult relationships just falling into place. Everything neatly tied off with a bow, though technically open ended was Calum and Acorna are presumably going off in the next book to actually find her planet. Even the over-arching menaces/antagonists were a non-issue. it was very clear Acorna et. al. had plot-armor out the wazoo from the beginning. Just... yeah. Everything felt rushed. There was enough detail to keep one interested but... other than that... bleh. I definitely wasn't as into Acorna this time around as I used to be. Really hoping the rest of the series is better.
Favorite Line
"Can any system really compete with the massive inefficiencies of a well-entrenched bureaucracy?" - Rafik Harakamian
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