Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

City of Shattered Light

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

As darkness closes in on the city of shattered light, an heiress and an outlaw must decide whether to fend for themselves or fight for each other.

As heiress to a powerful tech empire, seventeen-year-old Asa Almeida strives to prove she's more than her manipulative father's shadow. But when he uploads her rebellious sister's mind to an experimental brain, Asa will do anything to save her sister from reprogramming—including fleeing her predetermined future with her sister's digitized mind in tow. With a bounty on her head and a rogue AI hunting her, Asa's getaway ship crash-lands in the worst possible place: the neon-drenched outlaw paradise, Requiem.

Gunslinging smuggler Riven Hawthorne is determined to claw her way up Requiem's underworld hierarchy. A runaway rich girl is exactly the bounty Riven needs—until a nasty computer virus spreads in Asa's wake, causing a citywide blackout and tech quarantine. To get the payout for Asa and save Requiem from the monster in its circuits, Riven must team up with her captive.

Riven breaks skulls the way Asa breaks circuits, but their opponent is unlike anything they've ever seen. The AI exploits the girls' darkest memories and deepest secrets, threatening to shatter the fragile alliance they're both depending on. As one of Requiem's 154-hour nights grows darker, the girls must decide whether to fend for themselves or fight for each other before Riven's city and Asa's sister are snuffed out forever.

  • Creators

  • Series

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • School Library Journal

      November 1, 2021

      Gr 9 Up-Winn begins this science fiction thriller with action right from the start. Alternating perspectives first introduce silver-haired Riven Hawthorne, who lives on the renegade Requiem. She does heist jobs with her crew, and when one of her missions is thwarted by bounty hunter Morphett Slade, Winn finds herself in trouble with the crime overlord, owing a hefty sum of money. Asa Almeida is heir to the tech firm Almeida Labs, run by her corrupt father, Luca, on the wealthy planet Cortellion. While working on some new technologies, with rumors of dubious methods, Asa discovers her sister Kaya's mind was transferred to a living Etri organ, a brain-like biostructure. Asa steals the artificial organ in a biocapsule in order to reunite it with her sister's body and escape the tyranny of their father. She lands on Requiem with the aid of Morphett. Riven meanwhile, aiming to get back at Morphett, steals the bounty, knowing this might help pay down her debt. While all this is happening, a computer virus called Banshee is spreading, threatening everyone's safety as it also hunts for the biocapsule. A love triangle develops among medic Ty, a member of Riven's crew who is described as having striking eyes and ginger blonde hair, Asa, and Riven, though the development of the relationships feel a bit like an afterthought and the romance doesn't play a large role in the story. The fast pace keeps readers interested and desirous of the next book. LGBTQ+ relationships are well represented. VERDICT A good choice for science fiction shelves needing more LGBTQ representation and readers wanting nonstop action.-Megan Huenemann, Norris H.S., Firth, NE

      Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      September 1, 2021
      An heiress on the run joins a ragtag crew of smugglers in this high-stakes debut. In the city of Requiem, a human colony on one of Alpha Centauri's moons, Riven Hawthorne's crew runs against the clock to pay a debt to a powerful underworld faction. Their last-ditch idea is to rob an infamous bounty hunter, but Riven doesn't know who the bounty they stole really is until too late: Asa Almeida, the daughter of a tech magnate, on the run herself from her own father and trying to save her sister, Kaya, from a terrible fate. When she is taken by Riven, Asa offers a deal: they help her rescue Kaya in exchange for getting the money they need to pay off their debt. Before long, Riven realizes the danger they face, because Asa carries with her the key to Project Winterdark, an advanced human-computer interface using alien tech. Now multiple factions are after them all, including a powerful AI who threatens the very survival of Requiem. This fast-paced title mixes nonstop hijinks, a lovable group of rogues who have a found-family dynamic, and a side of refreshingly drama-free triangle-shaped romance. Asa and Riven are fleshed-out protagonists sharing alternating third-person viewpoint chapters, and the story teases interesting complications that go beyond the immediate danger they face. Asa is brown-skinned, and Riven reads as White; both girls are bisexual. Fantastically entertaining, with great character development to boot. (Science fiction. 14-18)

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      November 1, 2021
      Grades 8-11 In a distant, techie future, two girls cross paths while trying to save the things dearest to them in this debut novel. Riven, a thief and gunslinger, had her last job sabotaged by a super-assassin, and she needs to come up with 20,000 denar before the matriarch in charge of the district sells her and her team for their body parts. Asa, once destined to be the heir to super-high-tech company Almeida Industries, needs to reunite her sister's body with a computerized brain to get back the only friend she's ever known. Meanwhile, Riven is stationed on the mercenary-controlled moon Requiem, intent on stealing assassin Morphett's newest score; what she doesn't realize is that the bounty is Asa and the tech she's traveling with. This is high sci-fi with an edge of tech-based fantasy, and it has a thrilling setup: an exciting plot anchored by a core of interpersonal and family drama. Give it to fans of The Expanse or Killjoys TV shows or to readers of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff's Aurora Cycle.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading