Review: A Million Worlds with You

A Million Worlds with You by Claudia Gray
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Claudia Gray's Firebird Trilogy has proven pretty polarizing in the two years since it started getting published, with opinions ranging from "OMG SO AWESOME!" (basically Brett Michael Orr's reaction, because it was one of the primary inspirations for The Bureau of Time) to "OMG TOO MUCH ROMANCE NOT ENOUGH SCI-FI UGH!!" (a few of my friends' reactions) to "OMG GROSS WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT THAT RAPE?" (the Avid Reader's reaction, pretty much.)

Let me tell you, after Avid Reader posted a list of problematic books and included A Thousand Pieces because of its romanticized rape, that specter basically ensured I wouldn't enjoy this book nearly as much as its immediate predecessor, which I considered an improvement. Hell, A Thousand Pieces was already damaged for me because I'd found that one scene skeevy af even before I saw people condemning it as veiled, romanticized rape.

But even if that specter weren't hanging over my head as I read this, I still wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much as Ten Thousand Skies, because I thought it brought back all the things that I hated about this trilogy in the worst possible way - excessive focus on a ship I didn't support (and certainly can't support now), and confusing multiple universes and their narratives colliding all the time.

At least there were a few geek references - including to Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron - to liven up the story a bit and keep it from plunging into complete, utter unreadability for me.

Color me very disappointed with the Firebird Trilogy. If you want a good Fringe-style universe-hopping story, go instead for Brett Michael Orr and The Bureau of Time. Far less problematic.

View all my reviews