Way Down Dark

Way Down Dark by JP Smythe

There's one truth on Australia: You fight or you die. Usually both. Seventeen-year-old Chan's ancestors left a dying Earth hundreds of years ago, in search of a new home. They never found one. The only life that Chan's ever known is one of violence, of fighting. Of trying to survive. But there might be a way to escape. In order to find it, Chan must head way down into the darkness - a place of buried secrets, long-forgotten lies, and the abandoned bodies of the dead. {goodreads summary}

My first sci-fi novel in a while! I watch a lot of sci-fi films and TV shows, but don't seem to end up reading many novels, for some reason.

"After I helped to kill my mother, I had to burn her body."

Way Down Dark follows Chan's life on board the Australia - a space ship divided by fierce gangs, where caring too much, or showing the slightest sign of weakness, can get you killed.

"You aren't special, Chan. None of us are."

I loved the concept of the Australia. It placed really interesting limitations on the characters and plot due to the cramped confinement and lack of resources. It was a dangerous, but exciting setting and was the thing I liked most about WDD. There was so much you couldn't do, and so much that you couldn't escape from. It was a bleak world and the ship was as important to the novel as any of the characters. 

"'I'm not special,' I say, 'that's right. I'm really not. Anybody could have done what I'm doing, but they didn't.'"

But that doesn't mean that the characters weren't great too! Chan was a really interesting protagonist, and I loved the exploration of where she was 'special' and whether that actually meant anything - she was determined to try and make a difference because it was the right thing to do, not because she thought she was important or worth following. The novel was packed full of action and there was enough peril that I never felt assured of any of the characters' safety, which made it an exciting read. 

"I need her to believe that life isn't just death and revenge."

There is, however, one major reason I'm not racing to read book two, but I don't want to mention it here as it's definitely a spoiler. Way Down Dark was a great book and I really enjoyed reading it, but it hasn't left me rushing to complete the series.