This science fiction thriller mainly takes place on a deep space flight, which is where the title comes from. The main character is Asuka, a young American-Japanese woman who has never felt settled in her identity. The Earth is in a state of environmental collapse, and the mission of the Phoenix is an attempt to ensure the survival of the human race by establishing a colony on a distant Earth-like planet.

The story opens with what appears to be a routine event: a spacewalk to examine an anomaly on the ship's hull. Suddenly there is an explosion, and everything about the mission changes in an instant. Several crew members die (including the ship's captain), and Asuka is almost lost, unable to get back into the airlock. In the aftermath the crew regroups, and Asuka is assigned to investigate the incident. Was it an accident, or sabotage?

As she goes about her detective work there are numerous flashback chapters. They explain how Asuka came to be on the flight, her relationships with her shipmates and her mother, and the environmental and social changes that led to the Phoenix's mission. The social commentary gives the story resonance with contemporary events and a dystopian vision of how the near future might go.

In the end the crew figures out what was happening in time to save themselves. Asuka even makes peace with her mother, although it is unclear whether her mother will ever receive her message. The conclusion is open-ended: not entirely satisfying, but leaving the possibility of a hopeful future for the ship and its mission. There could even be a sequel.

Thanks to NetGalley for the Advance Readers Copy.

Asuka is one of the elite few chosen for a one-way deep space mission to colonize another planet. (Or, she’s sort of one of the elite few. She was an alternate, chosen because someone else dropped out, a fact that niggles at her constantly.) When there’s an explosion on board the ship, sabotage is suspected, and Asuka is tapped to investigate. With the mission past the point of no return, the ship knocked off course, and the suspicious crew turning on each other, Asuka must discover and stop the saboteur before they strike again.

I absolutely loved this book! The plot is fast-paced and entertaining with a story that packs an emotional punch, the worldbuilding involved in the technology is solid, the descriptions are vivid, and the characters are diverse and compelling. For repopulation reasons, the crew of the ship is entirely made up of people able to bear children, to be impregnated by donor sperm sent along for the journey. That means this book has almost no cisgender men in it – the ones who do appear are all in flashback. If that bothers you, don’t read it, simple as that. Personally, I think if they make this book into a movie (it would make a fantastic movie), the crew of the ship should be a cast entirely made up of women, trans men, and nonbinary actors. I don’t know about you, but I would watch the shit out of that movie.

An unreserved five stars for this one. Go read it!

Representation: POC characters (including main character), nonbinary and transgender characters, characters with disabilities

CW: miscarriage, fertility issues, terrorism, death of a child, racism, gore, strong language

The Deep Sky is an unusual novel, with no male characters and the kind of immersive setting that breathes life into a scifi story.

The plot borrows from the thriller/ mystery genre and the combination of scifi and thriller is seamless—the flashbacks into Asuka’s life adding wonderful layers. It all feels familiar yet foreign, the magic ingredient that makes a novel the darling of the masses and critics alike.

The ease and fluidity of the narrative never lets up—I read the entire novel in two sittings, and enjoyed every minute of my journey with Asuka. If you’d like a locked room mystery in space, with elements of dystopia and a truly diverse caste of characters, pick up Kitasei’s debut. You won’t regret it. If you’re like me, you’d be pressing copies of it into the hands of friends.

The Deep Sky is such a suspenseful, exciting mix of genres! I mean obviously, you have the sci-fi element of a colony ship in deep space, which is awesome. But you also have a lot of mystery and thriller elements, which makes it that much more entertaining. Frankly, I could not put the thing down.
So we catch up with the crew of the Phoenix, headed to a far-flung planet that should sustain life. They're supposed to have space babies, and kind of populate from there. Anyway, as we meet Asuka, the main character, she's about to go take a space walk to fix some space junk with a pal when... boom. Now, how is there an explosion in deep space? Well, there's your first mystery! The who, why, when, etc, they'll come too, but there are a lot of questions, and a lot of distrust, as you can imagine. Not only did the explosion kill Asuka's space buddy, but it also killed the ship's captain and another one of the crew.

In telling the story, we're privy to the current events as Asuka is living them, but we also take a look into her past and how she ended up on this space trip, and what that means to the story. Not only do we get a look at Asuka's personal story, but we get to see what brought society to the point where we catch up with it: dying, and sending colonies to set up shop elsewhere.

I loved every bit of this story, from the characters and their very complex relationships, to the worldbuilding, to the excitement and mystery of the plot. I don't want to give too much away because truly, you need to unravel these clues for yourself. And so many clues there are! In fact, I want to reread it so I can see for myself exactly all the breadcrumbs that the author left along the way. Also, I really really would love a sequel, if anyone wants to grant wishes?

Bottom Line: As soon as I finished this book, I added it to my wishlist, so that's really all you need to know.

We love to see biracial rep and in The Deep Sky it is done so beautifully. Kitasei examines the ways the world seeks to put people into a box. All the ways we can feel like an Imposter, the ways the world can make us feel that way. It's incredibly timely considering the questions of allegiance we hear about for the Olympics, and this is just on an even bigger scale. Reading The Deep Sky I loved the way this Science Fiction Thriller/Mystery was able to examine identity and friendship in this high paced setting.

I was initially drawn to this book by that stunning cover—it has to be one of the most gorgeous ones I've seen this year—and was then hooked by the summary. It seemed to promise elements of mystery, science fiction, cli-fi, and more. Although some of these elements were overshadowed by things I didn't expect (and didn't necessarily like), the book came together in the end in a very satisfying way.

Content Warnings:
- lots and lots of pregnancy
- suicide mention

Representation
- the MC is a Japanese American girl
- many of the secondary characters are diverse (a Black sapphic woman, an Israeli sapphic woman, a Chinese woman, and others)

Asuka, one of eighty crewmembers aboard a ship on a journey to faraway Planet X to help save humanity from climate disaster, is out on a spacewalk when a bomb goes off and kills three crewmembers. It also knocks them off course. The captain orders Asuka to find the culprit while everyone else on the ship tries to find a way to get themselves back on course to Planet X. But their levels of oxygen were only meant to last for the trip to the planet, and if they don't course correct in time, they'll suffocate. That is, if the bomber doesn't make another move—or if the crew doesn't end up killing each other first.

Despite all of the wonderful things this book promised, it took a while for me to warm up to it. Until the second half, the story's strange emphasis on pregnancy, the almost "teen drama-esque" fighting between characters, and the humor that really wasn't my thing and felt out of place considering what the characters were going through sapped a lot of my desire to keep reading. But ultimately, I'm glad I kept with it. Toward the end, things finally began to pick up, and the last couple chapters wrapped things up very well.

I do have to say another word on the issue of pregnancy, though. I thought it was a very wasted opportunity to have an entire crew made up of people who could give birth—which includes trans men!—and not have a trans man be one of the main or secondary characters. Asuka struggles to accept that she might not be able to conceive, but these trans men don't seem to have any issues with their own bodies or even have any thoughts related to giving birth themselves? That could have been wonderful character exploration. That's just my two cents as a gender fluid person, though.

Speaking of character exploration, I do wish that these characters were a little more well rounded. I'm well aware that it's difficult to do with such a large cast, but what we're left with seems to be characters defined by one or two traits. However, I loved that Asuka has a great love for birds—and that her interest in them comes into play in the actual plot. That doesn't happen often, and though the hints were a little bit obvious, it was very fun.

My favorite parts of the book were Asuka's relationship with her mom and a specific conversation Asuka has with two other crewmembers in space regarding the grueling competitive program they had to go through to get where they are now. I wish that the book didn't alternate each chapter with flashbacks to that competitive program, because it seemed to slow down the book's pace and put a stop to any tension it was building throughout the chapter. But in the end, it got to a satisfactory ending. It didn't resolve every issue it opened, but I was very happy with how it ended, and I stayed up pretty late to finish it. I'm excited to see where this author goes in the future!

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for letting me read a copy of this book!

I got about 10% and I was bored and kind of disappointed. After making myself finish it, I realized that I just wasn't the right reader for it. I can see how this was appealing to those who are deeply interested in space and the exploration of the unknown and how it relates to the exploration of the self, but the character development for me was lacking in a way that I couldn't quite grasp anything with meaning.

Asuka was written interestingly in the beginning, but ultimately she was kind of one-note. Snarky and with a bit of a chip on her shoulder, there's something I can't put my finger on that turns me off of her. That being said, I may revisit it later on and see if my mind is changed by time.

I love a good dystopian space story - where some subset of Earthlings are out there looking for a new planet to inhabit. The Deep Sky delivers adventure, mystery, and social commentary - it's all packed into this debut novel. There is a large cast of characters, jumping between the back story and the present dilemma, so you may need a strategy to keep track of them all. I used my Kindle search tool a fair bit. The ship's AI substory was underdeveloped, IMO, and some of the science could be more robust. The quantum communicator, for example, fills a story need but, otherwise, is just plopped in there with little explanation). Bottom line: The Deep Sky was a solid space-mystery with a strong character focus.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for a review.

This book is absolutely beautiful. This is something that was created with the utmost care and love, and I will not be forgetting this anytime soon.

This book deals with so many real issues in such a real way. I'm just absolutely blown away by the impact this had had on me. It's something very relatable, and I definitely recommend this!

Out July 18, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

They left Earth to save humanity. They’ll have to save themselves first.

It is the eve of Earth’s environmental collapse. A single ship carries humanity’s last hope: eighty elite graduates of a competitive program, who will give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But halfway to a distant but livable planet, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks The Phoenix off course. Asuka, the only surviving witness, is an immediate suspect.

A space thriller set on a generation ship whose mission is to ensure the future of humanity in the stars. Earth's environment has deteriorated so badly that survival for the species is no longer guaranteed, so the best and brightest of the world went through a competitive screening process to earn a spot on The Phoenix. Asuka, our protagonist, is on what seems to be an only slightly abnormal spacewalk to investigate an anomaly when a bomb goes off and shatters the illusion of cooperation and harmony that the crew had been operating under since launch.

As Asuka is tasked with investigating the explosion due to her proven innocence from her almost being blown into space, she discovers unwelcome secrets and frightening glitches which could threaten the lives of everyone on the crew and spell doom for their mission.

I greatly enjoyed The Deep Sky, and found myself very invested in the characters. What I was most surprised about was how fascinated I was when the story took time to flashback to Earth. I loved the horrifying snapshots of a planet on the edge of collapse, the political movements and conspiracy theories that emerge in response to the situation, and the depiction of the pressures that the people trying to do something about it are facing.

An easy recommendation for sci-fi fans.

Easily one of my favorite books I have read so far this year.

I was blown away by this debut sci-fi novel. The concept behind the book was really clever and the idea of the DAR drew me right into the story with some strong creative visuals. The writing style fit the story well and I appreciated the thriller/mystery aspect which kept me guessing all the way through. I only wish the ending had been slightly more built out, as it left me wanting to know more! It feels like this is a stand alone novel, but a second book couldn’t hurt, Yume Kitasei *nudge nudge* The novel had some really fun details incorporated. My favorite was definitely the bird references!

A long-duration space mission with a murder mystery and multiple factions fighting is a sweet spot for me reading-wise, so "The Deep Sky" was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. The fact that it was an all-female crew made me think we would get some cool gender exploration as well, but that wasn't touched on at all in the parts I read. Honestly, it felt like a way for a woman who hates women to write about how terrible women are. No, thank you.

The first two chapters start with a bang (literally and figuratively), and I was expecting a new favorite book at that point. Unfortunately, the novel takes a swift turn with too frequent and too long flashback chapters and paragraph length chapters about cuckoos for some reason. The main character has zero emotions or personality, and the rest of the crew are flat or nonexistent in the narrative. The story got boring fast, and I had to stop at 35% because I was falling asleep.

If pregnancy or infertility are a trigger for you, don't read this book.

Wow.
Once upon a time, I used to read a lot of SF. Then I grew older, life was tougher, covid came and I have found myself reading mostly books that I can predict the ending within a few pages. Because we all know, "it will turn out okay in the end " feels safe. With Yume Kitasei's The Deep Sky, this was absolutely not the case. But unlike many stories, this one was always hopeful-- maybe the hope was buried deep, but it was always present. I am so glad to have read and experienced this story. I'm not sure what else to say -- the characters felt real, the situation seemed scarily plausible, the writing was excellent. I was almost late for work yesterday because I didn't want to put my device down... My thanks to Ms. Kitasei, her publisher and NetGalley for making this ARC available to me. I enjoyed it immensely.

This book was AMAZING! I don’t think I’ll ever stop recommending this novel to people, especially science fiction lovers. It reminded me so much of Andy Weir, especially The Martian and Project Hail Mary, how they really need to work the problem and figure out how to save themselves. I loved that so much.

Aside from the huge problems the characters need to face to stay alive, it was also a murder and sabotage mystery. A who-dun-it in space? I couldn’t get enough.

I enjoyed all the characters in this book. Ruth made me frustrated at times, but she was a great supporting character and by the end I had changed my mind about her.

The writing was excellent and I loved the dual timelines. I didn’t think I’d like the earlier parts of Asuka’s life as much as I did. I also liked that those chapters were short and it went back to the ship drama quickly.

I was pretty fascinated by the concept of DAR (which could honestly happen any day now IRL).

Overall, this is a huge 5 star read!

Mur Lafferty has released some memorable sci-fi mystery cross-genre books in recent years, and now we have Yume Kitasei’s The Deep Sky following the same cross-genre path.

I am here for this.

Maybe the cross-genre elements of books have been overlooked or downplayed in the past. Or maybe the primary genre was so dominant, any second genre elements felt like subplots or tangents, although that makes them sound superfluous. Some of the greatest works have mastered the blending of genres, but they haven’t always been labeled that way.

The Deep Sky starts with a bang and in many respects, it’s one metaphorical bomb after another. While there is plenty of action, there’s a lot of depth. Through Asuka’s memories, we learn about her family tragedy and why she applied for this mission. Her motives make her sympathetic and relatable. She’s also treated like an outsider, with many of the others on board overlooking the fact that she’s every bit equal to the rest of the crew.

And Asuka has to figure out how to investigate a crime in the ultimate closed room mystery scenario.

The author’s woven layers into this story and they serve it well. It touches on the price we’re paying by shutting off reality in favor of technological distractions. It looks at where our priorities are in terms of impending environmental disaster. It delves into how, in politics, symbolism and nationalism often take priority over practical, life-saving actions. (Although the book doesn’t use this example, think building a border wall versus paying to fix crumbling infrastructure. One gets votes from certain types of people, one saves lives and improves the daily lives of citizens.)

There’s also a lot in there about forgiveness and compassion and well-meaning people who get led astray. I was teary-eyed at the end, which is a testament to a book that kept me spellbound and delivered something entertaining and meaningful.

Thank you to Yume, the publisher, and Netgalley for this ebook ARC.

5/5 stars.

Description: Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to travel through space? Well this book may make you change your mind. We follow Asuka, who joined a program called EvenStar to be one of eighty females to travel in space to Planet X. Flipping between past and present. we see Asuka go through the program while trying to fix the problems on the spaceship. Mainly: a bomb exploded, throwing them off course, and Asuka has to find out who did it and hopefully get the ship on track. There's action, mystery, twists, and turns. If you like sci-fi even a little, I really think you'd enjoy this book.

The good (since there is only good):
- The representation is phenomenal, seamless, and as it should be in books.
- The pacing is so fast you won't even realize you're reading, you're so immersed on the ship and school settings.
- The TECHNOLOGY and descriptions are gorgeous.
- The mystery keeps you on your toes the ENTIRE way. I could only guess one of the many twists, which kept me extremely engaged.
- I feel like the ending was satisfying.

Overall: PICK THIS UP!!! I cannot recommend it enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and FlatIron Books for the eGalley of The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei

This story was so much fun to read, it really placed me within Asuka's mindset and immersed you in the world of these young women who felt so helpless stranded far away from all their supports, trying to solve so many impossible problems. It kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat until the very end. Would definitely recommend if you like mysteries, climate fiction, ship science fiction, and close up character studies.

This wasn't quite what I was expecting--the description had me thinking this would be more of a thriller/mystery with faster pacing. It turned out to be a more meditative read on the future of humanity with some interesting points to think about.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

This is such a good debut! I went into this completely blind, intrigued by the discription. "The Deep Sky" really delivers on what it promises: a space thriller on a spaceship in the middle of nowhere, claustrophobic and exciting and beautifully written. There are two timelines - the present, in which someone sabotaged the spaceship our protagonist, Asuka, is on, and the past in which Asuka is chosen for this mission, trains for it and reveals her troubled history. I loved the relationships in the book, both between Asuka and her (former) best friend Ruth and between her and her mother, which is strained for many reasons.

Thy mystery at the heart of this thriller is a good one, and yes, it does remind one of 'Among Us'. I didn't guess the culprit, and while I wasn't entirely blown away by the motivations behind the sabotage, the journey there was exciting. It's the kind of thriller that is not particulkarly loud, but still constantly moves forward, making it almost unputdownable.
The mission of this spaceship crew is a really interesting one, two: The whole crew consists of women (and one trans man), tasked with finding and then populating a new home for humanity in the stars. Does the concept make a lot of sense, especially the "all the women should be pregnant during the journey instead of on the new planet" deal, but I haven't read something like this before so I enjoyed it - even though, admittedly, I did get annoyed about the constant talk about pregnancy. Most of the characters are also not very fleshed out so I didn't care too much about them. On the other hand, Iimmensely liked how augmented realities were included here, it made for some really interesting storytelling and character insights.

All in all, I really enjoyed my reading experience and can't wait to see what the author writes next.