Synopsis
Earth That Was has faded into myth. After millenia spent wandering, humans are no longer nomads. Twelve tribes stand allied under the United Tribal Axis; but there is a signal in the darkness that threatens to destroy everything.
All Skyla wanted after leaving the Navy was to be left alone. Just her ship, the stars, and a new adventure. But when a strange virus disables her ship, she is thrown into the middle of a conflict she doesn’t understand, forcing her to take on responsibilities she swore she never would again.
Hinata always followed the rules, honor above all else. He always won, until he didn’t. Sentenced to exile for his failures, he is determined to prove himself, until a mysterious woman arrives on his station and chaos threatens to break already fragile alliances.
Freyja was always angry, an outcast, playing the part of admiral and black ops operative. But she is tired of being a pawn in the Empress’ games and when she’s stranded on the wrong side of enemy lines after a vengeful battle, she’s forced to ally with her adversaries to clear her name.
A Rogue.
A Commander.
And an Admiral.
Brought together by circumstance, held together by duty.
Can they find a way to work together to save humanity?
Quick Review
Umbra is an epic science-fiction story with a bit of everything: Exploring other worlds, dogfights in space, complex politics, and a slow-burn romance to top it off. All of it comes together neatly in this stellar debut.
Full Review
Thanks to Amber Toro for providing me with a digital advanced reader copy.
Despite the sentient spaceships and complex politics in the background, Umbra is a deeply character-driven story. We follow three points of view, all of whom have their own baggage. However, for me, each character’s introduction didn’t quite land. Part of this was due to some awkward prose or repetitive worldbuilding. Other times this was due to an action-packed opening, which—while exciting—sometimes moved too quickly and left little time for us to get to know any of our main characters. One in particular was simply jarring. In her opening chapter, we see Skyla meet a man at a bar. The next time we see her, years have passed, and that man is leaving her for dead.
In retrospect, all of the action and perceived awkwardness makes sense having completed the book. That man, for example, matters later on in the story. Without these initial scenes, the impact of his return wouldn’t work at all.
Toro spends a lot of time setting up the world, establishing the major political alliances (and grievances), and helping us get to know the characters. It’s all interesting, but I was a bit confused about where this book was heading until around the halfway point. After that, the story became clearer to me, and I had a difficult time putting it down.
Umbra is a love letter to classic science fiction, but never feels dated. The story has no shortage of dogfights, exploration, and a slow-burn romance. By the end, all of this works together to tell a story that feels huge, while remaining focused on the main cast—this ragtag crew who doesn’t entirely want to be together. It even finds time to take a breath and indulge in the characters doing nothing: Scenes of them playing cards or having a meal that reminded me of the dinner scenes from Firefly (a massive point in Umbra’s favor, in my opinion).
Toro wraps up the story neatly. Everyone on the crew gets some kind of conclusion, but there’s plenty left unsolved about the situation they’ve been put into, and a new mystery for Skyla to unravel (presumably in book two). This is perhaps one of the book’s strongest moments. I’m very excited to see what Toro will do next, especially now that she’s established the setting and characters already.
Leave a Reply