Defy the Stars (2017)
Defy the Stars is a 2017 science fiction. book written by Claudia Gray.
Noemi Vidal is seventeen and sworn to defend Genesis, a colony planet at war with the Earth that once seeded it. Abel is a mech left drifting in space for decades, his programming quietly evolving past the loyalty it was built for. When chance strands them on the same ship, the soldier and the machine she was taught to despise have to travel together toward a strike that could end the fighting. Claudia Gray keeps the plot moving while pressing on the question underneath it: what separates a person from a very good imitation of one.
Quick answers
What is Defy the Stars about?
Noemi Vidal is seventeen and sworn to defend Genesis, a colony planet at war with the Earth that once seeded it. Abel is a mech left drifting in space for decades, his programming quietly evolving past the loyalty it was built for. When chance strands them on the same ship, the soldier and the machine she was taught to despise have to travel together toward a strike that could end the fighting. Claudia Gray keeps the plot moving while pressing on the question underneath it: what separates a person from a very good imitation of one.
When was Defy the Stars published?
Defy the Stars was published in 2017.
Who made Defy the Stars?
Defy the Stars was written by Claudia Gray.
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A few thoughts on Defy the Stars
Abel's slow drift toward personhood rhymes with Mass Effect 2, where a synthetic crewmate earns her own inner life, and with Portal 2, whose captive AI is funnier and sadder than it first seems. For the odd-couple-across-space warmth, Project Hail Mary pairs a lone human with an unlikely companion under a countdown.
A soldier paired with a machine built to be used up
Noemi is trained to hate machines, then finds herself trusting Abel, a mech whose programming keeps drifting past what he was built for. Ex Machina's test of a created mind, Her's devotion to a voice with no body, Ghost in the Shell's cyborg questioning what her memories are worth, and Portal 2's wary, funny partnership with an AI all ask the same question Defy the Stars does.
A ragtag crew betting everything on one mission to end a war
Noemi and Abel are thrown together on a strike that could end the long war between Genesis and Earth, a small pairing carrying impossible stakes. Mass Effect 2's suicide-mission squad, Old Man's War's newly enlisted recruits, Redshirts' expendable crew realizing what they are for, and Interstellar's small team chasing one shot at saving everyone share that same weight.