Sky on Fire

Gr 9 Up–In a futuristic magical world of space stations ruled by feuding families and technology fueled by gene-mages, Morgan stands apart. Having studied at a prestigious university on the Katla Station since the age of 12, her controversial research portends disaster for their society, which relies on “gene-sense,” people’s innate connection to the all-powerful aether. Unfortunately, the ruling Katla family is far more concerned with maintaining stability within the crumbling empire and finding new food sources than preparing for an unproven future disaster. Set within the world of Johnston’s Aetherbound, this title can stand alone, but it greatly benefits from the context of the prior novel, as many characters and events overlap. As a fully developed character, Morgan is the novel’s greatest strength. She is single-minded in her research and socially isolated, not only by her rare lack of gene-sense (the magical connection to aether) but also due to her difficulty in forming human connections. While the first half of the novel takes time to establish Morgan’s place in a complex society, that character-driven narrative fundamentally changes in the second half, which is filled with space battles, technological failures, and characters from Johnston’s previous novel. This change in pace is jarring, particularly as the book attempts to establish a queerplatonic relationship between asexual Morgan and her research assistant—whose name she learns halfway through the book.