As a huge fan (and I mean HUGE) of the Legends of the Duskwalker trilogy by Posey, I was incredibly excited for this and I wasn't disappointed at all.
In this story, we follow Elyth, an agent of the galaxy’s peace-keeping order, the First House of the Ascendance. They’re also the custodians of great power, the Deep Language which was understood to control everything. And when a planet stepped out of line? That’s when the Ascendance would step in and rectify that.

In total honesty, I was completely blown away by the world building. Posey has pulled out all the stops when it comes to creating this universe where an all-powerful Deep Language forms the basis of everything that exists. While Every Sky A Grave is classified as science-fiction, there is a spellbinding quality to this concept that I think will make even fantasy readers feel at at home. And then there’s the sheer scope of the galaxy and the idea of a vast system of planets at your fingertips. That said, I think as the story progressed, I wish we had a better understanding of the ways of the First House of the Ascendance as well as more about the Deep Language, particularly as the plot began involving more of its inner political conflicts and tensions. It grew a little confusing, causing the pace to slow considerably in certain sections in later parts of the book.

Still, I had a great time with Every Sky A Grave, despite some fogginess in the second half where the story suffered a bit of fraying at the ends. The world building and character development remained strong throughout, however, and overall I’m impressed with this solid opener to Jay Posey’s new Ascendance series. I look forward to the more with interest!

4 / 5 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2020/08/18/every-sky-a-grave-by-jay-posey-review/

A planetary assassin from an all-women sect that wields a forgotten tongue as a weapon, Elyth was taught that her actions save lives and protect the universe from conflict and evil. Her order, the House of Ascendance, have been taught the Deep Language since they were young. Combined with the Herza—soldiers that wield advanced technology—they make up the two arms of the Ascendance, which rule the galaxy as a whole. Over millennia they have honed it to root and strife and dissidence from within, protecting the Ascendance from threats.

Elyth is a true believer, one that will do everything in her power to serve the Empire’s vision, even if it means giving her life in the process. Fresh from a successful mission to quell a planet on the verge of sedition, Elyth is sent to Qel, a world possibly infected by the Markovian Strain—a corrupted version of the Language, thought to have been wiped out.

See, there’s a reason why only women are trusted to learn the Deep Language. Years prior, a man named Varen Fedic began using the Language for evil, attempting to dominate the Empire for his personal rule. Though it started on Markov, the strain soon boiled over to other worlds, and the corruption spread. Together, the Herza and House were able to defeat and destroy the Strain, but its legacy of terror remains.

And so Elyth is sent to Qel to investigate.

Unfortunately, nothing goes to plan. When her ship crash-lands on Qel, Elyth is hunted like prey, barely able to get a sense of the world she has come to investigate. But that which she does only builds her disquiet. For whatever is happening on Qel is truly strange and mysterious, but despite all the warnings she received regarding the corruption of the Strain, Elyth begins to suspect what the House taught her—while certainly its truth—perhaps wasn’t the full story.

As with many other reviewers I’ve seen, I was quickly impressed by the world-building. From the very first chapter (which gives a taste of both the Language and the Ascendancy), I had no trouble imagining and detailing the adventure unfolding. Posey does an excellent job building up the world (or worlds), the hierarchy of its empire, and the ancient—yet still enigmatic—Deep Language. While I was prepared for it to be just another attempt at blunt words-of-power magic, it somehow manages to convey something more, an intricacy that’s intertwined with the foundations of the universe. What follows is a curious blend of space opera scifi and sorcerous fantasy that I enjoyed on two levels, and think will appeal to fans of either genre.

Unfortunately, the world-building is not without its flaws. While early on we are treated to a decent history lesson on the foundations of the world, throughout the text there are references that made me think that the author was holding out on me. While the Markovian Strain plays a huge part in the story, the history of the Ascendancy itself felt lacking—as it was hard to tell just how old or noble they really were. Though it’s not absolutely necessary to the events on Qel, I really feel it would’ve been helpful to compare the evilness of the Strain to something. Being told something is evil isn’t always enough; it’s often important to relate how or why it’s bad. While it…. urrrgghh. Okay. While the world-building was excellent, it often felt as though the history of the Ascendancy as it related to the story was lacking. Or incomplete. Does that make sense? It didn’t contract from the story, but felt like it was missing out on an opportunity to really bolster it.

Elyth is a strong lead, and her character development—while not the best ever—was quite something. A true believer from the outset, it’s interesting to watch her evolution as she discovers that while she was told the danger of the Strain, perhaps it wasn’t the whole truth. She’s a loyal and stubborn servant, but also an inquisitive and independent one. While she does whatever she can to fit her discoveries within the lines of what she believes, she never discounts anything out of hand, despite what it means for those beliefs. And so her evolution is interesting—whether it be progression or regression, even sometimes both.

I had little issue getting into Every Sky a Grave, but a slight problem in the middle. Action, stealth and tension war with philosophy as to which controls the pacing, but neither wins out. As such, the pacing was a bit odd at times, making it easy for me too rattle off fifty pages, only to take me a half hour to get through a dozen. While I never struggled to read this, it’s not exactly an action-packed thriller. There are periods of action, yes, but it’s all balanced with stealth, mystery, philosophy, and more. That wasn’t an issue for me, though it might be for you.

Though the conclusion wowed me (there was even a certain LOTR moment that brought chills), the lead-in to it was hit and miss. There were some unlikely events, some great ones, and even one that was a head-scratcher. All in all, however, it was a great adventure.

TL;DR

Every Sky a Grave combines in-depth world-building with strong dialogue and fascinating character progression to tell a tense, gripping story that somehow manages to incorporate both fantasy and science fiction, while committing to neither genre. The mysterious Deep Language is a unique magic-system, while its space-opera roots are evident in the world and its characters. With a strong female lead and an interesting story you should have little trouble getting into the read, though its second half struggles to decide between philosophy, action, and stealth—which really makes the pacing odd. At times I tore through pages, while others I had to read and reread sections to make sure I understood them. Despite this I thoroughly enjoyed Every Sky a Grave and look forward to the continuation of this new series, Posey’s best start since Three!

The story idea is right in my wheelhouse and I really should have enjoyed this book more, but it was really hard to get through and I ended up DNF at about halfway through. The writing style didn't click with me, and the pacing was off and a bit grueling to read. I intend to go back and try to finish it at a later date and will update my review when that happens.

Unfortunately, Every Sky a Grave is a heavy drag. The various pieces of it all could be interesting in theory: chiefly, a mysterious order influencing the fate of planets across the galaxy and a magical means of manipulating reality. But the way that the book drops you right into the story with absolutely no exposition and never provides any as it goes along is unable to make for an interesting mystery because the main character, Elyth, is so one-dimensional. The book never drops a single inkling of what its plot is for the entire first half, which again, isn't itself a problem, but the long descriptions of mundane events make it hardly worth trudging along to find out what is going on. One could well skim entire swaths of the book and never miss anything important or discern anything interesting, which is unfortunate because the book isn't a poor concept, it's just executed with mediocrity.

The description and the genre should have been right up my alley, but I found it extremely hard to enjoy and focus because of the writing and use of words. Because of that I felt like the pacing was a drag and overall I could give it a full 5 stars.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this book. I made it through about the first quarter, but I couldn't find the desire or interest to continue reading. I feel like the story and series has a ton of potential. The premise is different and enticing, but the style of storytelling did not appeal to my interests.

The best way that I can describe the language and storytelling of the book is "heavy". It felt like I was constantly fighting through the words to continue reading the story. I cannot quite place exactly why I felt this way, but something about the style of writing was tough for me to engage with and did not make me want to continue reading.

I may try to pick the book up again in the future, but for now, I had to put it down.

I had such a difficult time reading this book that I was glad when it finally ended. It had some really interesting ideas. Which is why I picked it up in the first place. I like the idea of using Language as a control mechanism. I like the idea of Language being corruptible.

I just did not care for the execution. It started off incredibly poorly. The first seven percent of the book was a fight scene that just. would. not. end. And I have no idea who she was fighting or why she was fighting. Now, I don’t mind fight scenes; they’re not my favourite thing, but I can get into them. But I have to know who the character is and why they are fighting in the first place. I have to be invested. This book dropped me almost immediately into that fight scene. And I may not remember who or why she was fighting because it took me two weeks and two separate attempts to get through this. I would read a paragraph and have no ability to retain it because I had no emotional investment, and it was just ‘a boring fight scene’. I personally feel like the first 10% should do everything it can to get you invested in the character and story, and this book did not do that.

And then the fight ended at the end of chapter one. And chapter two immediately started another.

I cried. No lie, actual tears were shed.

But, I powered through. And even after that I didn’t like what I saw. The main character crash landed on a planet, leaving a burning pile of spaceship behind, after she was shot down. She didn’t know who was after her or why. And I was like “oh no, is the whole book going to be her trying to escape capture and surviving in the wilderness? No, she just gave herself up to the first guys that showed up, after trailing them for a while.

And then she escapes them and crash lands in the wilderness again? Why does it repeat itself?

And the worldbuilding feels like it only works on the most superficial of levels. I had so many questions and for the most part, none of them were answered. And each question spawned a dozen more. I’ll admit that a few of my questions might have been answered in the parts I skimmed – and I skimmed them because I could just not make my brain care even a little bit about what they were doing or saying. I tried my hardest to read every bit of worldbuilding there was. But there were a lot of info dumps (most of them in clumsy ways, sorry).

Even the ending was unfortunately lackluster. I feel like my mind was supposed to be blown by the events that happened in the end of the book. It wasn’t. It was entirely predictable. And honestly? A little boring. Every Sky a Grave was just not worth the read for me. I will not be continuing this series.

Elyth can destroy a world with just her words. She is a member of the Holy order named First House, where she was trained in the use of the Deep Language. This is the language that made the universe and keeps it going. She was also trained in infiltration and other skills needed to do her job. She is sent when corruption is found, so that she can correct it.

This is how she ends up on her way to Qel. A world where corruption has appeared. Her problems start even before she can land on Qel. Her ship is attacked and destroyed. She is left on her own, trying to figure out what has corrupted this word and how to fix it.

Every Sky a Grave is the first in a series. It can be read as a stand alone also. I'm very thankful to the author Jay Posey for NOT leaving this on a cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers! This is the first book I've read by this author but I will be reading more! Can't wait for the sequel to this one!

From the author who brought us Legends of the Duskwalker and and Outriders brings us an all new adventure with some epic scale science fiction, and really finding our own path as the main focus of the main character Elyth. Part action/adventure, part space opera, and part coming of age story, Jay Posey’s writing does an excellent job of enveloping the reader providing vivid visual description, that sometime becomes a little wordy, but overall I recommend libraries purchase this title for their collections. The story is told from the point of view of Elyth, the main character and her developing her own sense of self within a space-opera level of universe-building, and leaves the series open for wonderful opportunities for the character. Science fiction fans will enjoy the intricacies of the storyline, and general readers will find a refreshing story with almost limitless possibilities. The use of language as the a focal point of the story was an aspect I really enjoyed.

I enjoyed this book but sometimes found the writing to be a bit verbose. An entire paragraph to describe a cup of tea was a bit much for me.

Great story. Great Character. Elyth is trained in the deep language. Her abilities range from subtle manipulation of people to destroying worlds. Several action pact sequences establish Elyth's physical prowess - she's a force to be reckoned with. This book is why I read science fiction - to find great stories with cool characters and plot lines. This book has that. I read it in a day and can't wait for the next book in the series. Four thumbs up and 10 out of 5 stars. This is the first book I read by Jay Posey, I have his Outriders series (way cool covers) and will be ripping through those soon. I would not be surprised if Every Sky a Grave is up for a Hugo next year - I plan on voting for it.

Solid scifi in a first person narrative. I haven't read a lot of space opera, but this seems fairly unique both in style and story. It's quite well done. My first book by this author, who has written quite a few others, so he knows now to effectively tell a tale. Recommended for scifi fans.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

Posey does a fantastic job in Every Sky a Grave in imparting the feeling of a lone operative at one with nature; the prose and tone evokes being in a primordial forest, solemn and everlasting. Unfortunately, this wordiness also causes the story to feel longer than necessary, as pages are dedicated to the environment and sensations felt by the protagonist, Elyth. These passages, while beautifully written, seem to occur so regularly, I began to catch myself skimming over them until the next plot point hit. However, the system of "magic" that Posey has created with language and universality is fascinating, and his protagonist is a joy to watch develop. Her experiences clearly shape her growth, and you never get the impression that he's trying to shoehorn her into decisions she wouldn't make naturally. Every Sky a Grave felt like a book I should have been reading outside, and I hope to see more from Posey within this universe.

I love me some good sci-fi, and requested this thinking that the description sounded pretty interesting.
Unfortunately, the writing was one of the biggest barriers for me enjoying this book: it was extremely wordy! A lot of the wordiness felt incredibly unnecessary to the plot, and made this an incredibly long slog to get through. It was not for me.

“Every Sky A Grace” is the first book in an amazing brand-new science fiction series. The main character, through whose eyes we see the story unfold, is Elyth, an Advocate of the Voice, a sworn member of First House. Elyth has powers beyond comprehension and can follow threadlines to a planet’s core and kill a planet. The First House deals with mystical powers known as “ Deep Language” which allows the users to talk to planets, to nature, to the cosmos. They are a women’s order, like the Bene Gesserits of Dune and are scornfully referred to “gray witches.” They are a secret order and the First House (like a Chapterhouse) shares power precariously balanced with the Hezra, which is the technology arm of civilization, the nobles, and the space fleet.

There’s a lot of background and worldbuilding and not all of it us explained. In this novel, the spaceships and rockets take a backseat to the mysticism and magic that the Advocates of the First House, particularly Elyth, can wield.

The storyline in fact begins with Elyth on a mission to destroy a world that has been corrupted. And, it’s never fully clear how she does this but she calls forth with her “Deep Language” the roots and the fault lines. It’s quite a shocking thing to do.

The formality with which the First House is Run is remarkable and feels almost like a religious order. But, most of the story does not take place on the Vaunt or in the capitals of Herza. Rather, the political battles are played out through proxies in the hinterlands. And when Elyth is sent on a secret mission to Qel, a mission never fully explained to her, she is essentially on her own trekking through wilderness and with no natural allies.

This is a well-written story that combines interplanetary adventure with mysticism and ideas about chaos and entropy. Focusing on a single point of view rather than multiple points of view as many authors now do enhanced the readability of this book and gave us someone to root for. All in all, this book was a pleasant surprise and you leave it wondering where the story goes from here.