Iain Hawkes’s Reviews > Aurora Burning > Status Update
Iain Hawkes
is on page 180 of 495
While this is still looking at a 3/5, this is so far better than its predecessor. While there's plenty of shooty shooty bang bang (and the tropes are just as tropey as ever), for whatever reason, I'm not bothered as much by them. Maybe the first book 'inoculated' me to it? Maybe. Still, Scarlett's reflections on her father and the war do lend some gravitas to things.
— 8 hours, 16 min ago
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Iain’s Previous Updates
Iain Hawkes
is on page 112 of 495
So how does everyone else function? The GIA for instance - are they just less effective because they need to use cryo for the twenty-somethings and later? Is the Aurora Legion "that good" because of prodigy teens? If so, why aren't other organizations in the galaxy recruiting teens and young adults? Clearly the Cabal isn't. Also, how nice that apparently every species ages the same way. I know, nitpicks, but still...
— Feb 20, 2026 07:15PM
Iain Hawkes
is on page 112 of 495
Short read, can't say much except nitpick. I can't recall if this was specified in the first novel, but apparently FoldSpace starts taking a toll on you post-age 25, hence why the Aurora Legion skews young. From a Doylist sense, I get why - this is YA, it focuses on late teens/early twenties, has to justify why such people are given fancy spacecraft. From a Watsonian sense however...
— Feb 20, 2026 07:14PM
Iain Hawkes
is on page 102 of 495
That was okay, I guess. Took 100 pages just to get off Emerald City, but I guess it introduced some decent elements, such as Kal's sister and possible existence of time travel/precognition.
— Feb 16, 2026 08:04PM
Iain Hawkes
is on page 82 of 495
Wasn't a fan of the first book. Burning is effectively more of the same, but done a bit better - it's the same style of humour, but less annoying. That said, 80 pages in, and we're still in the same location after a lot of false starts.
— Feb 12, 2026 03:10PM
