Science Fiction Annotation: The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei

 “Born on a rock spinning through space, and now here we are, rushing off to another. How come we can never just be? We've always got to go somewhere.”

Author: Yume Kitasei

Title: The Deep Sky

Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery

Publication Date: July 18, 2023

Number of Pages: 399

Geographical Setting: Deep Space

Time Period: The Future

Series: Not Applicable

Plot Summary: 

In the near future, the environmental consequences have caught up to humanity. The major powers of the world have pooled funding towards a deep space mission sending 80 young women towards Planet X, a habitable world orbiting a distant star. Over 800 candidates representing several countries entered the training academy at 12 years old, and ten years later the final 80 were weeded out to make the final team.

After 10 years of hibernation and about two years awake, the crew has settled into their roles. When Asuka and Kat are assigned to a spacewalk to investigate an object stuck to the side of the ship, an explosion is triggered that kills Kat and two other crew members. 

As the alternate, Asuka is assigned to find those responsible for the explosion. With news coming in from war-torn Earth, the ever-present ship AI in her head, and the ship knocked off course, Asuka must solve the mystery to save her crew mates and the future generation they're expected to bring into the universe. 

Subject Headings:

• Science Fiction
• Interplanetary Voyages
• Environmental Disasters
• Space Flight
• Japanese Americans

Appeal:

Storyline: "The works in (science fiction) contain an almost overwhelming richness of concepts as well as difficult questions that unfold on multiple planes" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 94). The Deep Sky contends with hard questions relevant to current issues and presents realistic scenarios related to those questions in a science fiction storyline. It is intricately plotted weaving between the characters' past on Earth, and their present on the spaceship journey. There is plenty of action while also being character-driven.

Tone: "(Tone) disorients (or reorients) readers, taking them outside their comfort zones and forcing them to reimagine situations and events in other contexts" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 97). The tone of The Deep Sky is dramatic, suspenseful and thought-provoking. The tension and mystery are centered, but the questions of conservation and human-caused environmental issues drive the narrative, giving readers real issues to think about.

Setting: "Science Fiction is consistently evocative and visual" (Wyatt & Saricks, 2019, p. 95). Kitasei puts much emphasis on immersing readers into the world of the spaceship, as well as the DAR (holographic-like visuals) created for each crew member. The Earth the crew left behind is also richly detailed, giving readers a good sense of what was being left behind and the stakes involved.

3 terms that best describe this book: 

• Futuristic
• Tense
• Mysterious

3 Relevant Fiction Works:

• From Darkest Skies by Sam Peters
• After the tragic death of his wife Alysha, Keon Rause returns to the distant colony world of Magenta, bringing along an artificial recreation of his wife's personality that he hopes can help him piece together how she actually died. (From Novelist)
• Relevancy: Thought-provoking, science fiction mystery, space colonization

• Emergent Properties by Aimee Ogden
• Emergent Properties is the touching adventure of an intrepid A.I. reporter hot on the heels of brewing corporate warfare from Nebula Award-nominated author Aimee Ogden. (From Goodreads)
• Relevancy: Thought-provoking, intricately plotted, artificial intelligence

• The Sleepless by Victor Manibo
• Journalist Jamie Vega is Sleepless: he can’t sleep, nor does he need to. When his boss dies on the eve of a controversial corporate takeover, Jamie doesn’t buy the too-convenient explanation of suicide, and launches an investigation of his own. (From Goodreads)
• Relevancy: Suspenseful, thought-provoking, science fiction mysteries

3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works:

• Dragonfly: NASA and the Crisis Aboard Mir by Bryan Burrough
• A routine space mission, a joint effort between American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts, plagued with bad omens becomes one of the most dangerous missions in history. (From Goodreads)
• Relevancy: Tense, space travel, global relations

• Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly
• A stunning memoir from the astronaut who spent a record-breaking year aboard the International Space Station – a candid account of his remarkable voyage, the journeys that preceded it, and his colorful formative years. (From Goodreads)
• Relevancy: Science, space travel, adventure

• When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach by Ashlee Vance
• The remarkable, unfolding story of this frenzied intergalactic land grab by following four pioneering companies—Astra, Firefly, Planet Labs, and Rocket Lab—as they build new space systems and attempt to launch rockets and satellites into orbit by the thousands. (From Goodreads)
• Relevancy: Science, space colonization, thought-provoking

References

Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction. ALA Editions