For Darkness Shows the Stars (For Darkness Shows the Stars, #1) in DC Public Library

May 05, 2014 Sonali rated it liked it

Shelves: female-protagonist, friendship, rich-girls, siblings, historical, steampunk, based-on-literature, problematic

Mostly, this made me want to read Persuasion.

Elliot, a farmer/ slave owner love Kai, a former-slave/well-made-man. Based on Jane Austen. I actually really liked this except for the wholly unnecessary sci-fi element. There were enough problems in the world that the (spoiler!) ERV stuff was a huge distraction. I'm willing to buy hybridized grain in four years but not (spoiler!) GMO horses and humans. The end is way too fairy tale, but, okay, its a riff on Jane Austen!

Oh, hey, did anyone notice ho ...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Erin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: youngadult, sf, dcpl-has, dystopian, apl-has, ebook, mythic-retelling

4 1/2 Stars.

A page-turning plot and great world-building, with characters and themes that I'll be thinking about for a long time.

I read this as someone who hasn't read the Austen novel that it's inspired by (though I know the general plot from English major osmosis), and I can definitely say that it stands on its own, though Austen fans probably get an extra layer of enjoyment.

I feel like I'm not doing this book justice at all--I have _a lot_ that I could say about it, but I just don't have the ...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Christina rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, 2012

Sci-fi/dystopian re-telling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. This is one of the better thought-out dystopias I've read, and it worked well as an adaptation of Persuasion because after the revolution that led to the dystopian situation, the social order ended up being structured in a way that was similar to Regency England: a landowner caste with all the money, an up-and-coming caste with resources (a la military officers in Jane Austen's books), and the landless/powerless Everyone Else. I liked the ...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, young-adult, sci-fi-speculative

Not only does "For Darkness Shows the Stars" have an absolutely gorgeous cover, it's also based on Jane Austen's Persuasion. I love retellings and this book was definitely one that was well done. Set in the future when some people have tried to mess around too much with science and went against nature, society is divided. There are now three groups of people. There are the Luddites, those who have shunned technology. There are the Reductionists, those that have been reduced to almost shells of t ...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Mariko rated it liked it

Jane Austen-inspired post-apocalyptic sci-fi coming-of-age story by a DC author. What's not to like? It took the plot and characters a few dozen pages to come to life for me, but then I fell happily into Elliot's world. ...more

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Dec 10, 2013 Keets rated it liked it

Perfect vacation read. The story is familiar enough: young people who are in love but circumstances keep them apart. The setting is what makes it special, though . The world created by Peterfreund is fascinating. Made me want to learn more about the events preceding this story.

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