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A review by siavahda
The Stars Undying by Emery Robin
4.0
HIGHLIGHTS
~be careful of pearls and wine
~unreliable narrators ftw
~gods vs AIs
~a rather important carpet delivery
When I opened The Stars Undying and read the first page, my heart leapt: it instantly gave me the same vibes as the Teixcalaan books. Now that I’ve finished it, I would say that The Stars Undying is in some ways a more approachable Teixcalaan – much less baroque and byzantine, but still possessing a proud and regal grace all its own.
The Stars Undying is inspired by – or is maybe a retelling of – the story of Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and Mark Anthony, and there is plenty here to delight anyone who went through a Cleopatra phase (don’t try saying it was just me, I know full well it wasn’t!) Altagracia – Gracia – is a character very worthy of Cleopatra’s legacy; powerfully intelligent, intoxicatingly magnetic, dedicated to her people, and made up of equal parts cool ruthlessness and inexhaustible passion. Ceirran makes a very convincing Julius Caesar. I know a lot less about Mark Anthony, but his reincarnation Anita is a fierce, fiery, feral creature that might have been my favourite character in the entire book.
There are plenty of Easter eggs for the Cleopatra enthusiasts – none of which can’t be appreciated by someone not familiar with Cleopatra’s story/history, so no worries there. But my favourite definitely has to be the pearl – there’s a(n almost certainly fictional) tale of how Cleopatra once dissolved a pearl in wine and drank it, and here in Robin’s debut, the substance called quicksilver pearl (which is utterly destroyed if it comes into contact with alcohol) is a massive part of the plot and worldbuilding. I was (and remain) completely delighted with it, with the way that Robin drew from the lore around Cleopatra for The Stars Undying and spun it into something wildly new!
Other parts of the worldbuilding didn’t quite work for me – if I sit and think about it, I’m very confused about the level of technology; it feels more like Robin was building an aesthetic rather than multiple planets and their cultures. But crucially, that didn’t actually bother me while I was reading. Stars Undying is the kind of book that drags you under like a riptide; you simply can’t look away from the glorious, blazing cast for long enough to nitpick literally anything. Their charisma doesn’t just mesmerise the characters sharing the pages with them; it’s more than strong enough to hypnotise the reader too, and Robin makes it look effortless.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
~be careful of pearls and wine
~unreliable narrators ftw
~gods vs AIs
~a rather important carpet delivery
When I opened The Stars Undying and read the first page, my heart leapt: it instantly gave me the same vibes as the Teixcalaan books. Now that I’ve finished it, I would say that The Stars Undying is in some ways a more approachable Teixcalaan – much less baroque and byzantine, but still possessing a proud and regal grace all its own.
she taught me to navigate like star charts those who made up what she called the quality of our city: how to distinguish between money and power, how to foment a grudge or end one, how to appease or to leave hungry.
The Stars Undying is inspired by – or is maybe a retelling of – the story of Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and Mark Anthony, and there is plenty here to delight anyone who went through a Cleopatra phase (don’t try saying it was just me, I know full well it wasn’t!) Altagracia – Gracia – is a character very worthy of Cleopatra’s legacy; powerfully intelligent, intoxicatingly magnetic, dedicated to her people, and made up of equal parts cool ruthlessness and inexhaustible passion. Ceirran makes a very convincing Julius Caesar. I know a lot less about Mark Anthony, but his reincarnation Anita is a fierce, fiery, feral creature that might have been my favourite character in the entire book.
There are plenty of Easter eggs for the Cleopatra enthusiasts – none of which can’t be appreciated by someone not familiar with Cleopatra’s story/history, so no worries there. But my favourite definitely has to be the pearl – there’s a(n almost certainly fictional) tale of how Cleopatra once dissolved a pearl in wine and drank it, and here in Robin’s debut, the substance called quicksilver pearl (which is utterly destroyed if it comes into contact with alcohol) is a massive part of the plot and worldbuilding. I was (and remain) completely delighted with it, with the way that Robin drew from the lore around Cleopatra for The Stars Undying and spun it into something wildly new!
Other parts of the worldbuilding didn’t quite work for me – if I sit and think about it, I’m very confused about the level of technology; it feels more like Robin was building an aesthetic rather than multiple planets and their cultures. But crucially, that didn’t actually bother me while I was reading. Stars Undying is the kind of book that drags you under like a riptide; you simply can’t look away from the glorious, blazing cast for long enough to nitpick literally anything. Their charisma doesn’t just mesmerise the characters sharing the pages with them; it’s more than strong enough to hypnotise the reader too, and Robin makes it look effortless.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!