Review of Unlight

[Smrithi Arun]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Unlight" by Chandra Shekhar.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Unlight by Chandra Shekhar is a fantasy that follows the life of five uniquely skilled individuals through a post-apocalyptic setup. Larry Brandon flees to a shelter along with the Miller family when an opaque takes over the earth ending all contact with the sun and turning the planet into a cold, inhabitable place. These people have a sole mission – survival.

Unlight attempts to solve the curious question of how survivors in a post-apocalyptic event as such would get along without eliminating each other. It is a fast-paced, to-the-point novel with excellent world-building qualities. Shekhar has explained the interiors of the shelter, referred to as the ‘Shell,’ with utmost precision. He left no stone unturned while explaining the various technologies used to keep the place running. The story is a good example that proves basic knowledge in most topics can go a long way. Each chapter ends with the problem arising in the next chapter, giving it a semi-natural transition.

The highlight of the plot for me was when we switched to first-person perspectives through something as simple as journaling. Getting a view into the minds of all the characters was extremely impactful and helped to understand their situation better as a reader. Shekhar has also touched upon topics like mental health and meditation to maintain peace within.

It is pleasing to see Jessica, an initially difficult character, have massive character development and a blooming relationship with her sister, Anna. I assumed she would create immense trouble for everyone in the Shell during their time there, but I guess such events have their way of affecting peoples’ personalities.

Although I absolutely loved the book, I wasn’t quite satisfied with some of the details in the story. As mentioned earlier, the story was crisp. However, it would’ve been enlightening to read more about the characters winning interpersonal conflicts with the usual Shell-related battles. I understand the author’s reason for not including some human conflict in the story, but minor disagreements would’ve made it more realistic. Furthermore, I felt the conversations around relationships and sex were slightly unnatural, considering the characters were a family. I also thought the twist in the climax was predictable. Since the rest of them stood out, I could let this one slide. Regardless, I believe these issues were minor and subjective.

I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. Unlight is a well-edited, complete book with no loose ends. I believe anyone above the age of 16 with a taste for science-fiction and fantasy will thoroughly enjoy reading this book.

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Unlight
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[Margi zuu202]

Global catastrophic disaster the sun disappear in the thick clouds he survived the disater