Darkness in a Sky of Embers

by Catori Sarmiento

There could be no doubt of the terrifying presence of the Helgrammaw...


She had seen them when the Ashfall came. The day of humanity's upheaval. The day when the creatures arrived and her morbid curiosity drove her to see them again with her own eyes, and kill them.

“Mad” Madeline Yazzie, a young Ordnance Corps soldier on the front lines of humanity's fight against the Helgrammaw, an unknown species overtaking the Earth, discovers the price of war and the nature of her enemy.

142 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 11, 2022

Reviews

[Elena Linville-Abdo]

DNF at 25%.

This was so boring that I fell asleep twice reading it. Pages upon pages of exposition with absolutely nothing happening. The dialogs are so clunky they are painful to read.

The protagonist is rather annoying and immature. For a 21 year old refugee who grew up in wartime, she acts like a high school prima instead. Sorry, but hard times mature people much quicker than that.

Also, the author needs to learn how to show, not tell. The writing style is so bland that the book (and the protagonist whose point of view we follow) has no distinctive "voice", which probably didn't help with me empathizing with her.

The action finally started at the 20% mark, but it was tepid and just as boring. So I'm out.

PS: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Ilena Holder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in one day, it was so good! Ms. Sarmiento has written a fine YA/SciFi book. The first few pages put me in mind of the old Ender's Game, which was a big hit movie. Unfortunately, I disliked Enders. Darkness in A Sky Of Embers is way better! The protagonist (Engineer Madeline Yazzie) is a young fifteen-year-old soldier. She is enlisted in something similar to our Space Force. The story is set in the far future and there has been a terrible alien invasion. I don't want to give away a lot about the aliens, but there are four other types of creatures that come and go in the story. Madeline has other soldiers who are in battles with her named Goodway and Rostein. They are secondary characters but play important roles. Ms. Sarmiento must have more than a passing knowledge of our US military because she weaves in bits about "marriage and military don't mix", military awards for battle actions, respect of rank and insignias, even active duty service members who take out military allotments to aid their family members

[Lillian Cummings · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madeline was just a normal teenager when the word was evaded. Things have changed for the worst so when she is able to enlist to fight the enemy she jumps at the chance. She is the younger member of the team as she is only years old and she hasn't even seen battle. On their daily trips she gets to see what the enemy can do and she wonders if she is going to get the chance to kill as many as she can.
On the one trip out things don't go well and she has to make the choice to save herself or to be taken over by one of them. She did what she had to save herself but she no longer has a place in the team.
What will she do now as all she wanted was to fight?
A good read.
Madeline is a unique young woman who believes in her mission but I wonder why she always wants to fight authority? She had to make a hard choice and yet she did it.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the copy. This is my voluntary review

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 3 out of 5]

A grim snapshot of a dystopian future for humanity.
The bleak short story shows the lengths humanity will go to survive (recruiting teens into the military), the world’s violent reaction to creatures it can’t understand or comprehend, and the fallout of trauma and mutations sustained by the next generation.

“Mad”’s story is one of survival and the first 3/4 are fast paced and interesting. Things get a little confusing once she has a close encounter with the invasive alien species, but the ending is great.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley & Backlit PR for a copy.

[Jason Kornelis]

Keeps you thinking!

This is a must read for everyone. Veterans will especially love the references the author uses. This story has me thinking about not only the characters, but the philosophy and questions the characters have still! I will definitely read other books written by Catori.