TL;DR Review – Immensely addictive and character-driven progression sci-fi fantasy. Familiar yet wonderfully fresh.
Spoiler:
Courage Iro will shatter the Gates of Power to protect his fleet.
Born talentless, Iro has all but resigned himself to a life of drudgery, watching his sister hop across to the massive space titan for supplies. But when the titan explodes and his sister is killed, Iro finds a new determination to take her place. He’s not about to let weakness prevent him.
When the fleet encounters a new titan, filled with powerful monsters, deadly traps, and mysterious cloaked figures, Iro is the first to spontaneously manifest a new talent. Now sent to a different ship, to train with others far beyond his strength, Iro will have to train twice as hard just to catch up.
To protect his fleet, and to uncover the mysteries of the titans, Iro won’t just open the Gates of Power. He’ll break them.
A progression sci-fantasy perfect for fans of Cradle and Iron Prince.
Full Review:
I was addicted to Titan Hoppers from Chapter One!
In the opening scene, we meet young Iro, a “talentless” human who possesses none of the abilities his older sister, Neyo, and other Hoppers like her command. We’re instantly bonded to this pair of siblings—and then watch that bond get ripped apart when Neyo’s mission goes wrong.
Neyo’s death rips a hole in Iro’s heart, and he fills that hole with years of hard work as a mechanic aboard humanity’s last space-bound fleet. That hard work puts him in exactly the wrong (or right) place at the right time to discover that he’s not quite so talentless as he believed. He discovers he has the powers of a Hopper, too, but they’re unlike anything he thought possible.
While the story starts off following only Iro’s perspective, eventually we get to see through the eyes of his bully and antagonist, Emil, and the insight into his character proves how surprisingly complex and fascinating his story promises to be.
Both boys start off on the poorest, oldest, clunkiest ship in the fleet, but when Iro’s new ability takes him away to more advanced training on a better ship, Emil is left to fight for their ship on his own. Over time, we see him slowly shifting from being Iro’s antagonist to being…if not a friend, at least a reluctant ally.
The dynamic between the two characters is sharp and painful at times, but Iro’s life isn’t easier with most of his fellow trainees, either. He has to struggle and scrap for every inch of ground he gains. His journey is the classic progression fantasy hero’s journey, but it’s written so well that it’s enjoyable to follow along and discover all his new abilities along with him.
The other characters around Iro and Emil are colorful and varied, with Master Rollo (Iro’s trainer) being a particular favorite. He reads like the typical anime “reluctant instructor” character, but through his actions, we see just how deeply he cares despite his fatalistic façade.
The pacing, progression, and character work in this book is all excellent—and equally excellent is the worldbuilding.
The fleet travels to Titans, which put me in mind of Marvel’s Eternals or Galactus, only they’re dead and monsters are living in their planet-sized corpses. The internal mechanisms of the Titans and how they sustain humanity aren’t exactly clear from the onset, but we get to have fun exploring and learning alongside Iro. With every new Hop (traveling from the ships to the Titans), we delve deeper, face new foes, and discover some fascinating and fresh secret.
It strikes a wonderful balance between sci-fi and fantasy, making it both relatable and incredibly unique. Perhaps one of the most unique progression fantasy series around!
All in all, Titan Hoppers does an amazing job of telling a compelling, fast-paced, action-packed yet character-driven story. I’m already addicted and can’t wait to see what comes next!
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