The Sky Is Yours

By: Chandler Klang Smith

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 15 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

A sprawling, genre-defying epic set in a dystopian metropolis plagued by dragons, this debut about what it's like to be young in a very old world is pure storytelling pleasure 

In the burned-out, futuristic city of Empire Island, three young people navigate a crumbling metropolis constantly under threat from a pair of dragons that circle the skies. When violence strikes, reality star Duncan Humphrey Ripple V, the spoiled scion of the metropolis' last dynasty; Baroness Swan Lenore Dahlberg, his tempestuous, death-obsessed betrothed; and Abby, a feral beauty he discovered tossed out with the trash; are forced to flee everything they've ever known. As they wander toward the scalded heart of the city, they face fire, conspiracy, mayhem, unholy drugs, dragon-worshippers, and the monsters lurking inside themselves. In this bombshell of a novel, Chandler Klang Smith has imagined an unimaginable world: scathingly clever and gorgeously strange, The Sky Is Yours is at once faraway and disturbingly familiar, its singular chaos grounded in the universal realities of love, family, and the deeply human desire to survive at all costs. 

"There have been a lot of books heralded as heirs to Infinite Jest, but I can happily say: this is it." (Leah Schnelbach, Tor.com)

©2018 Random House Audio; 2018 Chandler Klang Smith

Critic Reviews

"Hyperimaginative...Smith's novel calls to mind the works of Nick Harkaway and Game of Thrones....An auspicious debut with enough inventiveness for two novels." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Chandler Klang Smith comes roaring out the gate with a raucous, inventive gem of a debut. Science fiction, coming of age, and adventure novel, The Sky Is Yours blends its genres brilliantly. To top it all off the book is funny as hell." (Victor LaValle, author of The Ballad of Black Tom and The Changeling)

"Brilliant, darkly hilarious, and almost impossible to describe. Imagine if Terry Gilliam adapted a coming-of-age adventure set in William Gibson's dystopian sprawl and threw in a dash of Jane Austen. I loved it." (Scott Hawkins, author of The Library at Mount Char)

Disappointed

I first heard of this book on a list of best Science Fiction by women, so I went looking for it.
And I wanted to love it. I tried. I read other reviews to figure out why I should. But I didn't.

Some of the concept was interesting--the sociological issues of being raised entirely within what is essentially a jail, vs being raised by the ultra wealthy, vs growing up isolated from all human contact on a garbage pile.
But I couldn't get past the SUPER INTENSELY ANNOYING male protagonist (whose name I have now blocked out). This dude was written like the author was a man. You know all that garbage where we have to listen to the male protagonist write about how he should be getting more sex, etc (I'm looking at you Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, East of Eden, and any number of books I've abandoned because I don't enjoy the immature hormonal teenage male perspective).

I did enjoy the different perspectives and the fact that the story moved back and forth and I could appreciate that the male characters annoyingness was balanced by the different annoyingness of the two female characters, but this still wasn't for me.

#Dystopian # UrbanFantasy #Dark #ChildProtagonist #FemaleProtagonists #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

What a story. Smart. Dragons but not really.

I usually avoid stories that have dragons in them. And Magic. and this has dragons and some sort of paranormal Magic? When it really might just be a function of genetic engineering or something. this is not a story about magic and Dragons. it's a story about attempting to be something more in a world that is descending rapidly into something much less. it's about New York City essentially devastated in abandoned but for a few people, old money trying to stay ontop, and then a second town inside it, filled with incredibly resilient survivors scrapping by, who are really outcasts or criminals. it's filled with a number of really good characters. really good characters. Since it had dragons in it, I wasn't sure I was going to finish it, but I sure did. It kept me going the whole way through. great read. Or listen.

satirical dystop. urban fantasy & amazing narrator

I enjoyed the strange and the familiar, the bleak and the hopeful, the love and the rejection, and the magic and the mundane in this unique story. Some rather adult themes are peppered throughout the teenagers' rebellions. the story isn't really about the dragons, for those of you who usually steer clear of Arthurian sword & sorcery literature. To me, the book was full of the unexpected, drew me in and kept me interested. The satire wasn't so snarky and jestful that it was tiresome, but just enough to be in on an inside joke. Uncle Osmond was hilarious and brilliant, and Sharky was relatable in a way that I actually felt sorry for him. Abby, well, I can't give anything about her away, but I felt for her too. We're all just doing our best in this world, with the cards we've been dealt. And what a game was played in this book!

I also want to give kudos to the narrator. apparently I've already listened to her in the book Amatka as well. She seamlessly transitions from male to female, young to old. she can depict humorous and somber tones alike. I can't wait for her to record more!

Most perfect author and narrator combo ever

I seldom write reviews, but this audio book experience was exceptional. The author wove her plot with skill and attention to detail, tying the characters' stories together perfectly. Ms. Potter proved equal to the writing with her narration, getting every nuance of accent and personality. My only quibble might be that the character of Sharkey was voiced a bit tritely, but otherwise she was flawless. It's been a while since I listened to a book that kept me in the car after I reached my destination, but this one did in 108 degree weather.

It Gets Good about A Third In

This book was a little off putting to me at first with all the sexual stuff the author wanted to throw in. One of the main characters, Duncan is a crass teenage boy and you hear the crass thoughts of a teenage boy throughout.

However, after about 6 hours of listening, the foundation of the story is finally set and the storyline begins to thicken and then unfold. By the middle of the listen I was hooked and wanted to listen til the end. The character development is what kept me interested the most. This listen was a little hard to get into (I almost quit listening and returned it) but I stuck with the story and was rewarded. If you don’t mind a story taking a little bit to get going then this book is a good listen for you.

New Fantasy headliner

Go into this book without a boiler plate expectation of the fantasy genre and you will enjoy it. This is not written for someone who likes classical fantasy tropes. Honestly it resonates as a story because it feels like the author wrote what she would want to read and wasn’t writing in order to cater to someone else’s taste. This is written to be more of a science fantasy story that blends elements of sci-fi and the fantasy genre in order to create something fresh. Imagine the dark humor within the Game of Thrones series, the writing style of Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy, and the Lord of the Rings level of detail. It has a very modern voice and makes a lot of social commentary about internet culture, United States Politics, Social media culture, Brotastic Broes, a thirteen year old girl’s closeted sexual desires
, the economic divide, sense of entitlement, and the use of dragons in fiction. I want to listen to it a second time already so I can pick up new things.

It was just alright....

This was like some took a kids book and through it in a thesaurus and added some sex.

2 of 8 people found this review helpful