I’ve been looking for books with solarpunk vibes as of late, and stumbled on Loka. With the cover and not knowing much else, I was interested, but a bit concerned seeing it was the second book of a series. I decided to take a dive and got a nice coming of age adventure with major themes about nature and humanity, that will appeal to both YA and adult readers alike.

As a disclaimer, I have not read the first book in the series, Meru, but I didn’t feel lost while listening to Loka. Loka, while a sequel, can serve as a standalone adventure, as it follows the daughter of the protagonists of the first book. I’m sure reading Meru would have enhanced my understanding with the world with more background information, but enough was provided in Loka that I understood the story. I do want to go back to read Meru at some point though.

While this is an adult book, this is very suitable for a Young Adult audience, as it deals with coming of age themes with our protagonist being 17 years old, as well as the content being suitable for ages 12 and over. It follows a young genetically engineered posthuman, Akshaya, as she’s on the cusp of visiting Earth for the first time and believe it’s where her future lies. She’s going with her friend, Somya, on a dangerous challenge to travel the world all for the chance for freedom. Though her moves are being watched by Jaya and Vaha for safety.

It did take me a little bit to get into the story itself, but by the time the actual challenge got going, I was fairly engaged in each of the trials the pair have to get through in order to travel across the world in time. It was paced well, and I did like how the stakes escalated as their journey continued. The main characters had some depth to them and it almost felt fun to proceed through the adventure as they faced dangers, both internal and external, throughout their quest to travel the world. They learn and grow as their adventure continues and I do love where the leads wind up by the end of the story and it was so wonderful to see. The supporting cast was mostly one note, but they usually weren’t around for an extended period, and many of them had a memorable part of the journey, so it didn’t feel like a huge problem.

The major themes were split between nature conservation and humanity’s relationship to nature, humanity’s behavior, building a future after a devastating past, and society in general. And it goes rather in depth about how going around the world can be considered dangerous and how ambition is considered bad for humans now, and even with centuries of changing behavior, in some ways, humans haven’t changed much. Also, there’s a non-Western based viewpoint, so that was refreshing. I did enjoy that while there is romance, it’s not the focus of the story and doesn’t take over the main adventure and other important themes.

The world building was fleshed out, and by the time I was done, I had a good grasp of the world, even though there were a few things I was a little confused by, but wasn’t a major issue. The solar bikes were pretty cool, as well as the other types of tools introduced in the storyline.

The prose was easy to follow for the most part. The narrator, Deepa Samuel, took getting used to, as I felt some of the narration was stilted, but was fine enough for the story. I also noticed that tone slightly changed during the handful of non-Akshaya chapters.

This is a great read for those wanting a sci-fi adventure story with some danger, little to no fighting, and with some themes about the environment and being human in many complex ways.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from Author, NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I never feel like I read enough science fiction. I enjoy the technology and the power structures between humans, aliens, AI and corporations. In the first book Meru, the world has evolved past most of the greed and corruption for monetary purposes and what remains is about ego. Humans ruined the Earth and then Mars once they settled there. Alloys are the creation of humans, an AI who may or may not be humanoid in shape. They are now the guardians of the universe from contamination. Humans are restricted to life on Earth and their behavior has been trained for years to not contaminate or waste to cause the destruction of the past.

Meru is the story of Jaya, a human child of alloy parents. Her journey of trying to create genetic structures for human / alloys. She also has to deal with sickle cell anemia. She falls in love with Vaha, an alloy and they set up the planet Meru where the oxygen levels and atmosphere are better for those with sickle cell anemia.

Loka is the journey of Jaya's daughter, Akshaya. They have been exiled for the past 16 years for creating Akshaya. Now Akshaya will see Earth for the first time. She and her friend, Somya want to do the Anthro challenge which is a trip around the world with only human support, no alloy conveniences. In Loka region, the alloys control the weather and keep things comfortable. They may need to travel in the Out of Bounds, where it is more dangerous without those controls, plus the people who live there may have been exiled to there for not following the rules.

Most of the book is Akshaya and Somya doing the challenge, traveling with solar bicycles, camping and then partly on ships as well. They are teens, quite young, but they made an agreement with their parents about the challenge. There was almost no thoughts on the conservation aspects which were a big focus in the previous book. They overcome many obstacles and learn much about Earth, its humans and themselves. I did not like Akshaya very well in the beginning because she wants to only stay on Earth and not go to Meru. She and Somya think they can form a community in the Out of Bounds.

They learn a lot about people and politics during their travels. I enjoyed the areas they saw as the Earth is beautiful and they limited their people interaction. Akshaya deals with her sickle cell flares for the first time; the worst she has ever experienced. Loka is an exciting combination of a survival story and personal growth. I hope there might be more adventures in the Alloy Era series.


Narration:
I enjoyed the narrator and the distinct voices suited the characters well. Most of the characters were female. Almost all the story is from Akshaya's point of view. The performance enhanced my enjoyment in the story and kept me from having to figure out how to pronounce things. I listened at my normal 1.5x speed.

The vibes of this book is very different from book one… for me for the better…

In this the daughter of Jayanthi and Vaha has been raised on a ship as an outcast for the crimes of the first book so when the sentencing is over she wants to go to Earth to complete an anthropological quest sans alloy assistance (which is even more challenging with her sickle cell). Her parents agree as long as they have someone close by to bail her out but if that happens she will have to move to Meru, if she completes the challenge she will have the option to stay on Earth.

The world building in this series is really cool and interesting and in this one it had more characters and it gave a richer dynamic to play around in. Adventurous and very enjoyable.

Thanks to netgalley and brilliance publishing for an alc

This is very much a YA adventure novel that happens to start on another planet then move to Loka, the future name of Earth. It’s a story about a 16-year-old person who decides to undertake an around-the-world challenge in order to prove theirself capable of living on Loka. It’s not what their parent +maker want, but they are headstrong and will take up the challenge along with their “heart” (bff). There are some interesting concepts and situations in the story, some allusions to intimacy (but nothing other than hand holding and kissing are described), and some losses. I won’t tell you if the main character completes the challenge, just that it could be an empowering read for young women. Family dynamics and communication play an important role in the story, as does “the kindness of strangers.” 3.5 rounded up.
My thanks to the author, publisher, audiobook producer, and #NetGalley for the advance access to #LOKA for review purposes. Loka will be available Aug 13, 2024.

the first thing that I can compare to this book is Around the World in Eighty Days, but with a much more modern twist, but that being said, I still liked Around the World in Eighty Days, best. But let me explain, I didn’t feel connected to the main character, she came to me, in the beginning, more as a complaining girl, more determined to prove her mother wrong than what is best for everyone… that doesn’t mean that she is like that the whole story…

I got to listen to the audiobook, and while I say the person performing the audiobook tried, I think I was a bit bored how the story was going, it was not bad, but it wasn’t my favourite…

its not a bad story, even more if you don’t know Around the World in Eighty Days, and if you like young adult stories, or better coming of age stories, but I think they faced too much danger for an hypothetical reward.

Thank you Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio, for the free AAC, and this is my honest opinion.

Full disclosure, I was not aware that this was part of a series when I read it. I will say that it worked fine as a standalone, but some of my points in the following review may be a result of not having that background.

"Loka" is a story about a journey, but not an adventure. Caught between coming of age and rebellion, Akshaya is at a difficult part of life for anyone. She's constrained not only by limits to her physical body but more than just legally being bound to her parents she feels caught up as a puzzle piece of their picturesque future. Her desire to seek a grand tour is partially to claim her own space and in part a true love and fascination with the place of her mother's origin. This juxtaposition of parts is the continual element that I realized most of the way through that was bothering me. This story is so many pieces, a bric-a-brac of several great little tidbits. I could sit here and make a huge list of things to praise, and I will provide highlights, but they never really come together in a way that makes me feel the writers' core intention.

I was absolutely fascinated by the rules and evolution of the worlds we've come into now. It was interesting to see how certain changes and type can mold philosophies both in those who have remained in earth, those out of bounds and in Loka, and the alloys who have a encyclopedic and nearly clinical view of the past. It was absolutely charming to see a love of earth through the eyes of someone who is and isn't alien which can ironically almost be comparative to our modern selves as so many of us have lost that connection to nature. I give this series so much praise for focusing on regions of this earth that don't get a lot of love in western literature. There is top notch representation for found family, different cultures, and for the impacts of living with a medical condition. I also applaud the author for capturing that our impulsive sense of purpose when youth is maybe something we really should listen to if not our parents than other people in and take literally existence altering decisions with gravity.

But what exactly is at the heart of this story? Is it self discovery? Is it about the revelation of making your own spaces? Call me stubborn but there seems to be a lack of autonomy in this too as it feels less of a choice and more of a stringency in that you can't change the world so you should just except it and run away if that's the case. Or maybe it's that you don't have to fit a standard. No, no you don't. maybe it's supposed to be that there are spaces just for you. okay, but those shouldn't be the ONLY places. Was it to implant the heart of an adventurer? maybe, but there seemed to be some finite conclusions. Or, at least decisions made that are irreversible.

The biggest hold up for me was the pacing. i have no trouble with a leisurely love letter to the natural world. But the author has set a hard task for themselves. They had to balance the many things that would realistically go wrong and the tension and attention to detail that characters like this would have. i think where I started to really have problems is how quickly and how many times Akshaya became absolutely resigned to give up. Now, in any great feat many people have just as many doubts. But every other chapter it seemed she had to be talked down. if you are going for the 'adventure' perspective, this creates hiccups in pacing. Such crisis should be if not singular than at least limited or split between characters. Now, I do concede that teenagers are moody and change their opinions with the wind at times. But for someone who feels their very existence depends on doing this, it just didn't hit as I think the author intended.

Then there was the political aspects and the filming. Personally? i loved the opportunity this presented and the glimpse it gave you of the larger universe. but much like the journey, it never quite has it's 'big bang' moment. It's also up in the air. You don't feel the tension that builds up to this rebellious vote or campaign to change laws.

There's lots of ground work, but in the end, I feel like you're still left with a framework rather than a structure. It continually seemed caught between wanting to be that reflective, insightful, view of the world both outer and inner and something that had huge stakes for more than just the characters that were admittedly endearing.

"Loka" has a lot of concepts, characters, and ideas to love. i just didn't tie together into a really gripping novel that I thought this was going to be. It felt like the story the author wanted to tell was just out of focus at all times.