Senne
The Blighted Stars is the first book in a trilogy that mixes science fiction with romance. There are not that many of those around, so I was excited to check this one out. And it took me by surprise!
This book is set in a world where people have the technology to map their consciousness and download it into a printed body. It's like 3D printing on steroids! While this could open up many discussions about humanity, death, gender, … it’s unfortunately not that kind of sci-fi book. The printing process itself isn't flawless and feels well thought out. It raises questions like "What if the printing goes wrong?" "What if I can't afford it?" or "What if my neural map falls into the wrong hands?"
One of the two main characters is Tarquin Mercator, whose father is the head of one of the five influential families in this world. The Mercator family gathers their wealth from mining relkatite, a rare mineral that is necessary for the printing of bodies.
Naira Sharp, the other MC, believes that Mercator is killing earth-like planets during this mining process. These habitable planets are necessary for the survival of humankind and Naira is part of the revolution that wants to protect these new earths.
Tarquin is sent on a mission to one of those planets to start mining relkatite. Disguised as Tarquin’s new bodyguard, Naira plans to prevent this from happening.
However, the mining mission goes completely wrong and both of them end up on a dead planet, where they need each other to survive.
The pacing in this book is excellent from the very beginning. There are some action packed sequences, but also enough room to let the characters grow. Twists, political scheming and a growing mystery keeps you engaged throughout. The subtle horror elements are a nice addition to the story and there are even some pov’s from a spaceships AI!
Although the romance was very cheesy, I liked it a lot and I caught myself grinning several times.
I enjoyed reading this book and I think it’s an easy recommendation for first time sci-fi readers. It’s a very accessible story and Megan O’Keefe’s writing is perfect for this.
I can’t wait to read book 2!
The Blighted Stars is the first book in a trilogy that mixes science fiction with romance. There are not that many of those around, so I was excited to check this one out. And it took me by surprise!
This book is set in a world where people have the technology to map their consciousness and download it into a printed body. It's like 3D printing on steroids! While this could open up many discussions about humanity, death, gender, … it’s unfortunately not that kind of sci-fi book. The printing process itself isn't flawless and feels well thought out. It raises questions like "What if the printing goes wrong?" "What if I can't afford it?" or "What if my neural map falls into the wrong hands?"
One of the two main characters is Tarquin Mercator, whose father is the head of one of the five influential families in this world. The Mercator family gathers their wealth from mining relkatite, a rare mineral that is necessary for the printing of bodies.
Naira Sharp, the other MC, believes that Mercator is killing earth-like planets during this mining process. These habitable planets are necessary for the survival of humankind and Naira is part of the revolution that wants to protect these new earths.
Tarquin is sent on a mission to one of those planets to start mining relkatite. Disguised as Tarquin’s new bodyguard, Naira plans to prevent this from happening.
However, the mining mission goes completely wrong and both of them end up on a dead planet, where they need each other to survive.
The pacing in this book is excellent from the very beginning. There are some action packed sequences, but also enough room to let the characters grow. Twists, political scheming and a growing mystery keeps you engaged throughout. The subtle horror elements are a nice addition to the story and there are even some pov’s from a spaceships AI!
Although the romance was very cheesy, I liked it a lot and I caught myself grinning several times.
I enjoyed reading this book and I think it’s an easy recommendation for first time sci-fi readers. It’s a very accessible story and Megan O’Keefe’s writing is perfect for this.
I can’t wait to read book 2!