Sky's End (Above the Black)

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When Cassiel’s manipulated into a perilous mission, she encounters a warrior species bred to protect the universe from an even greater threat. And she learns that her secret visions are at the heart of it all. The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life. Truly, Cassiel spends most of the time thinking about sex or how sexy someone is (and nearly all the characters are sex toys - her harem). With her fellow cadets, with the aliens...really, with anything that moves. She even dismisses characters by whether they are attractive or not for sex. So most of the book is discussions by characters and her thinking about how sexy they are at that particular moment. As such, I would put this is the romance category and not really anywhere near sci fi. And even then, I don't know how much romance there really is here since it is all about sex and not relationships. But that's just a tease because there is no graphic sex in there. A thrilling YA fantasy debut, Sky’s End plummets readers into a kill-or-be-killed competition where a scrappy underdog hell-bent on revenge must claw his way to the top. Anyone living on the socially stratified floating islands can rise in status by dueling or entering a Trade. Conrad, once a High, is demoted after his uncle kills his father and assumes the role of Archduke. After his mother is killed, Conrad tries to reunite with Ella, the sister his uncle abducted, but Uncle demands that he first enter the Selection and rise through the ranks of one of the Twelve Trades. Chosen by Hunter, which is responsible for exterminating the menacing, steel-scaled gorgantauns, Conrad is soon taking part in the Gauntlet, a deadly contest between airships to see which crew can kill the most gorgantauns. But he won’t just have to battle sky serpents—Conrad also faces the ever-present threat of mutiny, a murder attempt, and shifting loyalties. Amid budding friendships, the crew unearths startling truths about their world, revealing a more profound conflict than Conrad envisioned. Gregson’s YA debut provides a skillful blend of action, suspense, and comic relief. After each airship battle, readers can barely draw breath before political intrigues turn the story on its head, but this is also a touching story of found family and personal growth. Most major characters read white; in this racially diverse world, one crew member has dark skin.

Everything about this book put me off as a reader. Everything. There is so much wrong with the writing here, not the actual words, but the construction of the plot, pacing, and characterization. A Sky spokesperson said the company had recently signed an extension with its satellite provider to keep the service on air for the next decade, while customers are still welcome to sign up to Sky to use its Sky Q satellite box. Alongside these well thought out characters is a rich and detailed world that is just epic. Gregson’s world building was just great and I really loved how he just interwove facts about the world into the narrative - little details about different islands eating different foods for instance was just a really nice touch. I definitely had lots of questions about the world as I was reading but I do appreciate the author’s decision to not info dump and rather show us the world (although I don’t mind the odd info dump and it might have been nice to have had a little more context to the wider world at some points).In the beginning of the story, Cass is painted as a bit of a weak character. She’s not a great cadet, and struggles through the ESE tests, but she’s driven by her love for her brother, and the mere fact that she joined ESE on a hunch shows how strong she really is. She also has a really awesome but strange gift, one she’s always tried to hide, except from Daz, and I was excited to see her in action with it. When her first mission reveals so much more about her than anyone would have ever expected, she really came into her own, and her character continued to develop with each hurdle she faced. Cassiel was such a big win for me. I loved her character. She's insanely feisty and sarcastic. She's extremely head strong and determined. She's also SUPER stubborn. She trusts some people too easily, she doesn't trust others enough. When she puts her mind to something, she WILL do it. Even if it isn't the best decision. She drove me nuts in this regard but I wouldn't have had her any other way. She made SKY'S END such an amazing story to read. I'll warn you, she's got a mouth on her. But honestly, it's what made Cassiel Cassiel. In addition, I hate how despite everything she sees to prove that she might not have been given accurate information and despite all the times she realizes that things were purposefully kept from her, she still clings to all those half-truths and lies even though she has evidence to the contrary, even though she has lived something different from that. (Side note: I apologize for being so vague, I’m trying to stay away from Spoilers, but I highly encourage you to read the book and come talk to me about it!).

Millions of British homes have installed dishes since the 1980s to enable them to receive more television channels, with the market dominated by Sky after it took over the “squariels” of its short-lived rival British Satellite Broadcasting. But the days of rows of dishes on the sides of homes are numbered due to changes in technology and consumer behaviour. A wider debate about how Britons receive television is under way, with doubts raised over the long-term future of the network of transmitters that provide Freeview services to most British homes through rooftop aerials. Sky does not consider that its standalone pay-TV services fall within the definition of an electronic communications service and maintains it is not required to comply with GC 1.10 for such services.First comment: I hate the title. This book is much too bad-ass for such a lame-ass title. Seriously. "Sky's End" sounds too sappy. I also would have liked some evidence of either, or both, of the love interests' dismay upon "losing" Cassiel. The type where they are tearing rooms apart in agony and jumping down their friends' throats because they just cannot think straight with her gone. I know the book is told from her POV, but I still feel there are ways to work these kinds of moments in.