Lost Souls Review
Author: Ryan Skeffington
Rating: 7.0 GOOD
What’s it about?: Living on the premier Ring, Maximus, a brilliant engineer, hungers for more than the monotony of daily existence mandated to him by those that control the Ring. The relentless pursuit of Infinite Existence is a collective purpose assigned to all, but for Maximus, it's a hollow dream that leaves his soul yearning for its own legacy. Determined to escape his repetitive life, Maximus seeks out a destiny that will offer his life significance. When shocking revelations about the Ring’s underbelly intertwine with the hidden truths of his own lineage, he’s propelled into action. Fueled by a spirit passed down to him by his indomitable father, he devotes his unshakable resolve to reshape the Ring. Maximus embarks on a mission to challenge the unassailable leadership of the Rings. He’s ready to wager everything, even his own life, on liberating all those that have lived below him from the ruthless grip of their oppressors.
The Review
Lost Souls by Ryan Skeffington is a visceral and heartfelt science fiction story that mixes hard science with thought provoking questions that will have you pondering your own existence. This book gripped me from the start and provided me with the type of science fiction I had been craving.
“Her gentle invitation, pulling you from life to death, was a dance so pure the rhythm of your existence instinctively followed her tempo.”
Right from the start you find out that author, Ryan Skeffington isn’t messing around. The violence is brutal and sets this tone that tells you that you’re in for an intense ride. The main protagonists Maximus and Kana are some of the most fleshed out and compelling characters I’ve read. Both characters are forced into making very different but nonetheless grueling decisions regarding morality that struck a cord with me. It gave their plight a deeper meaning. Their contrasting backstories pulled me into the story and weaved an interesting dynamic between the two. All of the characters within Lost Souls feel very real and fit well within the context of the world and their respective classes within the setting called, the Rings. The character development as a whole is fantastic. There’s so much heart and passion that went into each personality. I found myself attached to each and every character for different reasons. In fact, at one point I wasn’t sure who the “side characters” were because they were so well-done and brought to life. Part of what I enjoyed so much was that at key moments throughout a characters narrative, we get to hear snippets of thoughts that are running through the characters heads. Sometimes it lead to comic relief, other times it put much needed context to a situation. These insights built my affection for each character. It wasn’t overdone and was always at the right moments.
The world-building is done in a couple of smart and unique ways that lead me to want to learn more about the world and the inhabitants of the Rings. There is some hard science sprinkled throughout the narrative that was a welcomed change of pace from the character-driven plot. Two topics that are intimately explored within Lost Souls are grief and legacy. In times of grief we often ask ourselves the meaning of life and what our purpose is. Skeffington hits all of the painful and heart-wrenching notes and explores these difficult questions with realism and sincerity. The way he approached these topics had me shedding both tears of sadness and hope. So many times I’ve read stories where characters tragically die, then are glossed over and forgotten in the following chapter. This is not the case here. It’s raw emotion on a page. But that’s just the beginning, characters may be gone but they aren’t forgotten in lost Souls. Passionate writing is sometimes difficult for me to describe but I know it when I read it. It’s mark is all over Lost Souls. You may not connect with the characters the same way I did, but you have to respect them for the way they’re written. And that’s the beauty of Skeffington’s writing. These topics will evoke different emotions from you through your own experiences. I thought it was a brilliant way to approach these difficult topics.There are of course, many other themes explored in Lost Souls as well. The author skillfully takes a simple theme such as wanting a better life and injects his passionate writing style that elevated the plot and character development. The realities of this world are devastating and brutal with a class system that makes you feel for the oppressed. At times while reading this story, I felt like a dispensable piece of meat that will eventually go bad and be discarded. Sounds awful doesn't it? It is. Skeffington is very skilled at evoking emotion, both good, bad, and everything in between. It’s a sign of a good book and in case you couldn’t tell, I really enjoyed the writing style.
The main issue I had with Lost Souls was it’s pacing. Initially, I thought the plot was a bit slow but the character development was so good that I brushed it off. The majority of the narrative that unfolded feels mostly like world-building as a setup for future conflicts. The pacing really suffers because of this and I found myself losing steam around the halfway mark. However, the engaging characters pulled me back in time and time again. My concern is that if you don’t connect with these characters like I did, you will have some difficulty with it. Additionally, portions of the plot seem to be glossed over and not explored. The author does a great job showing the efforts of our protagonists but doesn’t spend enough time showing the effects they are having on the people they are fighting for. The last third of the book feels extremely rushed. So much so that I felt like it undermined some of the stellar character development that pushed me throughout narrative and had me so emotionally invested. Pacing aside, Lost Souls is an engaging character-driven science fiction book in every way. don’t let these criticisms turn you off from reading it.
Lost Souls made me feel so many different things throughout the story. It asks existential questions and thinks big while also exploring the deeper and more intimate side of human existence. It’s exactly what I wanted from a good science fiction book. I recommend Lost Souls by Ryan Skeffington.