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A review by kentanapages
The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dying planets, extreme capitalism and monopolization of resources and power. rebels risking it all to fight for change. dangerous yet powerful technology. some serious family drama. sentient ai. sentient fungi. adorable emotional support robots. queernorm world.
“It is the dark between the stars that lets them shine”
The Blighted Stars is an engaging, action-packed space opera with deeply human characters, cool use of technology and science, body horror and and some of the best flirtatious banter I’ve read in a while. It’s also a commentary on capitalism, privilege, access, and environmental sustainability. I found the second half a bit draggy and also a bit inconsistent with the science and tech, but by that point I was invested, and the dialogue and character nuance kept me coming back.
5 ruling families control what’s left of humanity and the known universe. Earth has been destroyed. Humans have developed a technology to create neural maps and download them into printed bodies, or prints. A newly discovered mineral called relkatite powers this printing process and enables humanity to survive this way, but the mining process has a side effect that may be much worse than anyone realizes, and may be destroying earth-like worlds. Are humans willing to destroy the remaining habitable worlds to let them keep this technology? Is their drive to continue mining really their own, or are they being influenced by someone or something?
Things I loved:
--trans main character and queernorm world. In this future universe, humans have invented a technology that allows them to map their brains and upload into a “printed” (fabricated) body. Our main character Tarquin was a male born in a body that didn’t feel quite right, and because his family had money, he was able to be mapped and printed into a body that felt more like himself at a young age. In fact, all types of body dysmorphia or even just personal preference can be addressed this way, with people having “preferred prints” that feel right to them–as long as they can afford it. Future capitalism is just as dystopian as, well, current capitalism.
--cool technology and science. The first half of the book does an especially good job of introducing cool technologies, such as neural mapping and printing of bodies, pathways, or enhancements built into these “prints” to increase mental or physical abilities, mining technology and a mineral called Relkalite, sentient fungus, body armor that molds to your shape, a geology bot that doubles as an emotional support / anxiety support robot named Pliny the Metal.
--Pliny the Metal <3 calling this little bot out separately because I loved it so much.
--The dynamic between our two main characters, Tarquin and Naira. For me, the romantic subplot is usually secondary, and sometimes even a distraction for me. I'm lukewarm on really cutesy romances. In this case, it was just fun, and I found myself rooting for these two and laughing out loud, even when it bordered on cheesy. I totally fell for the banter, and it was just so well executed and enjoyable that I was emotionally invested before I realized it.
--Badass ladies!
--Open-minded, thoughtful characters willing to grow and learn
Things I didn’t love as much:
--The second half felt longer than it needed to be, and at the same time it felt like some big jumps in logic that were used to forward the plot but felt less natural or sensical than the very scientific approach laid out previously. I enjoy when a true scientific approach is taken in SFF, so when it was replaced by characters leaping to conclusions that would not actually be obvious or scientific given the information they should have at that time, it was a bit abrupt and disappointing to me. The world building was also great in the beginning, and seemed to shift more into “telling” than “showing” by the second half.
--I would have loved to see more of the sentient AI in the ship, and felt that was really superficially touched on, and not explained as well as I would have liked. Short story on just this character please :D
-THE ENDING. To be clear, I didn’t dislike how the book ended, although it was a bit heartbreaking; but I feel that it’s very unfair to be left on this ending without a date for the next book 😂 I'm going to be anxiously worrying about these 2 until then!
Overall I really enjoyed this, and I’ll be on the lookout for the rest of the series!
"WE CAN NEVER LEAVE"
“It is the dark between the stars that lets them shine”
The Blighted Stars is an engaging, action-packed space opera with deeply human characters, cool use of technology and science, body horror and and some of the best flirtatious banter I’ve read in a while. It’s also a commentary on capitalism, privilege, access, and environmental sustainability. I found the second half a bit draggy and also a bit inconsistent with the science and tech, but by that point I was invested, and the dialogue and character nuance kept me coming back.
5 ruling families control what’s left of humanity and the known universe. Earth has been destroyed. Humans have developed a technology to create neural maps and download them into printed bodies, or prints. A newly discovered mineral called relkatite powers this printing process and enables humanity to survive this way, but the mining process has a side effect that may be much worse than anyone realizes, and may be destroying earth-like worlds. Are humans willing to destroy the remaining habitable worlds to let them keep this technology? Is their drive to continue mining really their own, or are they being influenced by someone or something?
Things I loved:
--trans main character and queernorm world. In this future universe, humans have invented a technology that allows them to map their brains and upload into a “printed” (fabricated) body. Our main character Tarquin was a male born in a body that didn’t feel quite right, and because his family had money, he was able to be mapped and printed into a body that felt more like himself at a young age. In fact, all types of body dysmorphia or even just personal preference can be addressed this way, with people having “preferred prints” that feel right to them–as long as they can afford it. Future capitalism is just as dystopian as, well, current capitalism.
--cool technology and science. The first half of the book does an especially good job of introducing cool technologies, such as neural mapping and printing of bodies, pathways, or enhancements built into these “prints” to increase mental or physical abilities, mining technology and a mineral called Relkalite, sentient fungus, body armor that molds to your shape, a geology bot that doubles as an emotional support / anxiety support robot named Pliny the Metal.
--Pliny the Metal <3 calling this little bot out separately because I loved it so much.
--The dynamic between our two main characters, Tarquin and Naira. For me, the romantic subplot is usually secondary, and sometimes even a distraction for me. I'm lukewarm on really cutesy romances. In this case, it was just fun, and I found myself rooting for these two and laughing out loud, even when it bordered on cheesy. I totally fell for the banter, and it was just so well executed and enjoyable that I was emotionally invested before I realized it.
--Badass ladies!
--Open-minded, thoughtful characters willing to grow and learn
Things I didn’t love as much:
--The second half felt longer than it needed to be, and at the same time it felt like some big jumps in logic that were used to forward the plot but felt less natural or sensical than the very scientific approach laid out previously. I enjoy when a true scientific approach is taken in SFF, so when it was replaced by characters leaping to conclusions that would not actually be obvious or scientific given the information they should have at that time, it was a bit abrupt and disappointing to me. The world building was also great in the beginning, and seemed to shift more into “telling” than “showing” by the second half.
--I would have loved to see more of the sentient AI in the ship, and felt that was really superficially touched on, and not explained as well as I would have liked. Short story on just this character please :D
-THE ENDING. To be clear, I didn’t dislike how the book ended, although it was a bit heartbreaking; but I feel that it’s very unfair to be left on this ending without a date for the next book 😂 I'm going to be anxiously worrying about these 2 until then!
Overall I really enjoyed this, and I’ll be on the lookout for the rest of the series!
"WE CAN NEVER LEAVE"