''The Splinter in the Sky'' is the debut novel of American writer Kemi Ashing-Giwa. Written at 19 during the author’s sophomore year at

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, the book was published by Saga Press, an imprint of

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, in July 2023. It appeared on the USA Today Bestseller list and won the 2024

Compton Crook Award The Compton Crook Award is presented by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) to the year's best English language debut novel in the science fiction, fantasy, or horror genres, as voted by its members. BSFS confers the award at their annua ...

Reception

''The Splinter in the Sky'' earned starred reviews from ''

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'', ''

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'',

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, and ''BookPage''. It won the 2024

and appeared on the 2023 Locus Recommended Reading List alongside Ashing-Giwa's short story "Thin Ice" in ''

Clarkesworld Magazine ''Clarkesworld Magazine'' is an American online fantasy and science fiction magazine edited by Neil Clarke. It released its first issue October 1, 2006, and has maintained a regular monthly schedule since, publishing fiction by authors such as ...

''. The novel was highlighted as one of the best debuts of that year by ''BookPage'' and ''Booklist'', and was named one of the best science fiction books of 2023 by ''BiblioLifestyle'', and of July by

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and

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. It was further featured in ''

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'', '' Tor.com/Reactor'', ''

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'', ''Publishers Weekly'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', and ''

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''. Critic Aigner Loren Wilson, writing for '' Lightspeed Magazine'', called the debut "intriguing and enthralling," highlighting the "cultural divides, setting, and bigotry in the world in a way that mimics... what marginalized people from colonized cultures in the real-world face." Natalie Zutter, writing for ''Reactor Magazine'', wrote that Ashing-Giwa had discovered "inventive new ways to critique colonialism through a sci-fi lens, in a standalone novel that nonetheless has an eye toward a hopeful future." Though she noted that the novel at times "resembles a rushed tea ceremony," she concluded that "if you look into its figurative dregs at the end, you’ll still find a profound message that will stick with you long after you’re done."

References

External links

Excerpt of ''The Splinter in the Sky''
in '' Reactor''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Splinter in the Sky, The 2023 science fiction novels American science fiction novels 2023 debut novels