Every Sky a Grave REVIEW

Every Sky a Grave - Jay Posey
3/5 Stars
Received for review from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.


Every Sky a Grave is an intricate tale seeped in mystery and intrigue, with even a little magic mixed in. It felt like sci-fi mixed with fantasy; it's set in an otherworldly, sci-fi , realistic setting with fantastical elements dotted here and there. It definitely had an original concept, dealing with the power of language along with the power to destroy or create, all within a sci-fi setting. It had some action, mystery and political intrigue which did make for an interesting read.

The world building is complex - a little too complex at times. Don't get me wrong, it's fantastically rich and vivid in its descriptions of the worlds but I was a little lost at times. I was just a little lost at times and a little confused at what was happening. I'm fully aware that that may be down to my understanding, however it did hinder my enjoyment of it as a whole.

Elyth was a great character; she's strong, intelligent and intuitive. Despite this, I felt a little detached from her and her story. I enjoyed her as a character more as the story progressed, but her lack of background just didn't allow me to gel with her really as a character. Her character arch did make me empathise and care for her and I liked how she developed as a character - especially at the very end! I loved Hok and his team; I kind of wish we had more of them in the story. I love a team and seeing group dynamics. I had my suspicions early on about the true 'villain' of the story but it was still good to see it all unfold, and see that it's more complex, with grey characters rather than straight up good and bad individuals.

I'm in two minds about the writing. First, it took me a while to get into the story and it wasn't until 30% of the way through that I started to feel invested in what was happening. I did like how metaphorical and vivid the writing was though; some of the metaphors and symbolism in the story were beautiful. However, it did seem to slow the pace of the story down at times.

Overall, I did enjoy Every Sky a Grave. I thought it was an original concept that I've  never really encountered before. I liked the world and its vivid descriptions. I'm in two minds about continuing as I'm intrigued to find out what enfolds next but aware that the story didn't quite gel with me as a whole. I'd recommend this book to those who enjoy a complex sci-fi story and likes a bit of originality and intrigue.