Defy the Worlds

By: Claudia Gray

Narrated by: Nate Begle, Kasey Lee Huizinga

This is the thrilling and romantic sequel to Defy the Stars from the New York Times best-selling author of Star Wars: Lost Stars and Bloodline.

An outcast from her home

Shunned after a trip through the galaxy with Abel, the most advanced cybernetic man ever created, Noemi Vidal dreams of traveling through the stars one more time. And when a deadly plague arrives on Genesis, Noemi gets her chance. As the only soldier to have ever left the planet, it will be up to her to save its people...if only she wasn't flying straight into a trap.

A fugitive from his fate

On the run to avoid his depraved creator's clutches, Abel believes he's said good-bye to Noemi for the last time. After all, the entire universe stands between them...or so he thinks. When word reaches him of Noemi's capture by the very person he's trying to escape, Abel knows he must go to her, no matter the cost.

But capturing Noemi was only part of Burton Mansfield's master plan. In a race against time, Abel and Noemi will come together once more to discover a secret that could save the known worlds - or destroy them all.

In this thrilling and romantic sequel to Defy the Stars, best-selling author Claudia Gray asks us all to consider where - and with whom - we truly belong.

©2018 Claudia Gray (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"The action raises the stakes, for individuals and entire worlds, and the romance satisfies without overwhelming, right up to a huge cliffhanger ending. A fast, fun follow-up." (Kirkus Reviews)

Not as Good as the First

It's been one year since I read the first book in this series, and I'm having a really hard time identifying if it's me that's changed or if this book is just that much worse. I adored the first book, and I actually almost had a hard time getting through this one at times.

While there were a few moments that really gripped me like any of the downright terrifying scenes with the half-formed mech/kid Simon creeping around the the ship like some kind of horror movie, a lot of this book just felt long, weirdly introspective, and not all that interesting. The romance (which I loved in book one) was basically non-existent until the last 10% of the book or so, and the world of the book just felt so much smaller and less interesting.

The best way I can describe it is that the author was trying to make some kind of deep, interesting point about the meaning of life, humanity, souls, etc., but she just wasn't sure what it was. Either way, I wasn't here for it.

I'll still read book three since I'm invested (and it's too late to return the audiobook I already paid for), but I'm definitely discouraged by this one.

Like the first book, the female narrator was great, and the male narrator was meh at best.

Great follow-up

This is the second book in a trilogy, and I'm assuming everyone's either unaware of this (in which case you should begin with Defy the Stars, it's a fantastic book), or you've already read the first book and you're just checking to make sure the sequel keeps up the momentum (It does!)

The same dual narrators return, and personally I'm a big fan of their performances, but I know not everyone is. Whether you liked or hated it before, it's back, and I'm grateful for such a creative delivery of a story that reinforces this is a book for everyone, men and women. (I only wish they had thought to try this with Lost Stars.)

I won't spoil anything of the story, except to say the war with Genesys isn't over, and this is once again the catalyst that drives the plot.

Crazy Space Happenings

I loved the first book and bought this one about a second after finishing it.

The good: More action, a new weird set of human and mech antagonists, and more ethical dilemmas. Oh and of course, more heartwarming themes of humanity, and more heartbreaking examples of people with little to no humanity.

The bad: This is going to be a minor nitpick on the audiobook- It does suffer the same fate of many dual narrorator books, the one where the narrators didn't compare notes and give weirdly different voices to the same person. Not a deal breaker, but there it is.