The Blighted Stars

The Blighted Stars is a lot of fun and a wonderfully written story. Equal parts space opera, scifi-horror, and socio-economic class commentary that even has a cute love story thrown in.

The story is mostly told from the perspective of a Mercator family corporate-prince named Tarquin and a former Mercator family bodyguard turned revolutionary named Naira. The mainstory arc revolves around these two characters reluctantly joining forces to uncover the true horrific nature of the family empire, Tarquin developing greater class consciousness while going through a heroes journey, and an unlikely love story between our two protagonists from opposite sides of the class-divide.

All around well written and a page turner. Although the story is built around classic tropes, it's kept from being stale or predictable by the scifi-horror element tied to the secrets uncovered about the family. I'd recommend this book for anyone who enjoys space opera, scifi-horror, or so-called woke-lit and of course any existing fans of Megan E O'Keefe.

4 stars - Spoilers !  Space opera following Tarquin Mercator, a geologist and member of a powerful family whose mining  may be responsible for the destruction of habitable planets. While on on an expedition to a new planet, he will cross paths with Naira Sharp, a revolutionist who disguises herself as Tarquin's bodyguard to put an end to this fateful expedition. 
Overall I liked this book!!  The world building was great with queernorm elements that I always love to see, and it was definitely one of my favourite things about this book.  I really liked the plot too especially the sentient parasites as the antagonist and how it slowly invaded the humans. There's a really element of terror about it that also echoes what we have in real life with viruses and pandemics.  The main characters were both compelling to read through their own point of views , and I did like that some side characters also had their own chapters so it gave us a more complete understanding of the events.  However, I felt some world building elements weren't explained enough while others where too detailed, or explained too late into the story. The overall pacing of the story was a bit off too, some events happened too quickly while other parts were too convoluted and could have been slimmed down, especially the first half of the book. Also there wasn't enough angst and conflict in the romance and concerning one of the character's changing sides, it went a bit too quickly for my liking.  The writing was pretty good, with some nice turns of phrase but sometimes a bit superfluous.
Despite these elements I disliked, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. 

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!

I love me a good sci-fi involving malevolent hive mind aliens and body horror “zombies”!

I liked the major characters, from the antagonists to the protagonists. Some of the side/lesser characters were kinda flat, but not so much that they bored me when they were on page.

Tarquin and Naira's relationship developed a little faster than I wanted, but it wasn't as fast as an “enemies to lovers” romantasy, so I'll take it. No sex, only tender moments and sparing kisses. I liked their personalities separate and together, and the webs that were woven throughout. I thought their reunion at the end was a little too convenient. I get that there is a lingering ghost memory, but the beginning-of-the-book Naira wouldn't've trusted him so quickly..

I really liked the technology here. And how it all goes together. The body-swapping and pathways were fascinating. While fictional, it felt grounded.

I loved how quickly it turned from a space opera to a horror story especially when Naira boards the Einkorn (I wish that sequence was a little longer, but maybe the sequels will have some Dead Space 2 residential sequences (please).

The Blighted Stars (The Devoured Worlds Book 1) by Megan E. O'Keefe


I am giving this a solid four out of five stars for the science fiction, and then subtracting a star for the Romance.

Megan O'Keefe has penned a solid adventure story set in a unique future with characters who face some unique problems. Her story fires on all cylinders from the start as we placed on one of the two star ships approaching a planet called “Sixth Cradle.” Things immediately fall apart as one ship fires on the other ship, which is beset by a problem involving “misprinting” crew members. A handful of crew members abandon ship. Their shuttle discovers that the planet is already in the grips of the Death Shroud lichen, which kills off all plant life native to the planet. The expedition is headed by the Tarquin Mercator — heir to the Mercator dynasty — who does not know that the EX who is supposed to protect him is his deadly enemy Naira Sharp, who has been printed into the EX body for nefarious reasons.

WTF?

There is a lot going on here, and virtually none of it gets explained up front. Yet, the confusion and ambiguity is part of the charm of this book.

We discover through the book, that habitable planets are called “cradles.” Somehow all cradles, and the Earth, have been infected with the Death Shroud lichen, which causes complete ecological collapse within months of introduction. How the Death Shroud lichen gets introduced to planetary ecosystems, and where it came from, are mysteries.

In addition, science has discovered the key to uploading people's memories, personalities, and experiences onto “maps,” which can then be loaded into “printed” bodies. How that happens is not explained, but it allows society to resurrect people and confer immortality.

Society has been hegemonized by six or seven mercantile families that control this high-tech and have areas of specialization. The Mercator family specializes in building starships and mining Relkalite. Relkalite is a miraculous mineral used in building the shield of starship warp cores and in the “pathways” that are installed into “prints.” These pathways improve the printed bodies' strength, stamina, or dexterity.

Relkatite is mined with the Canus fungus, which was found on Venus.

That turns out to be important.

The story has an impressive science fiction component. Tarquin has to figure out what's going on with the Sixth Cradle. How did it get infected? What happened with the ships? What is causing the “misprints,” essentially bodies without human souls loaded into them? He has to do this while facing a dangerous planet loaded with dangerous misprints and no food. This part of the story was wildly successful. The story moves along at a fast clip, and we get answers to the mysteries.

You might think that Tarquin was the story's hero, but you would be wrong. The hero is Naira Sharp, an “iced” Ex, who is a stone-cold killer, and impossibly attractive. An “Ex,” aka “EX” or “E-X,” is a bodyguard with hair-trigger reflexes and killer instincts wired by pathways into their bodies. I assumed that Sharp was a fireplug of a creature, but given Tarquin's infatuation with her, I began to assume that she was built more like Sydney Sweeney.

Sharp is dangerous, beautiful, commanding, misunderstood, and courageous. She is the Mary Sue of Mary Sue.

Her introduction turned this science fiction story into a Romance with all of the tropes of Romance. Tarquin is a gentleman, but he is drawn to this person, who he does not know is the person he testified against for claiming that the Mercators had created the Death Shroud plague. She knows and hates him. But he's cute and noble, and her ice shell begins to thaw. He realizes that he cannot compromise her, but he knows that she is literally “incredible.”[1]

She hates him, but she likes him. She's so confused. Can these two crazy kids ever say what they feel? Just when they do, they are torn away, and her memories are wiped.

I don't read Romances, but I've seen at least one Romance in the process of being written, and I learned that the misunderstanding, sulking, drama, and changing emotions at the backbone of the genre.

I hated it.

Other people like Romance. Their fantasy is not to solve the death of planets but to be so adored that they can act like brats—brats with the ability to kill dozens—and still be forgiven.

I liked the science-fiction element of this book a lot. If that's all there was, I would be signing up for Book 2. But I did not like the Romance element at all. Frankly, I found the Romance far less believable than the Science Fiction, and I did not believe that fungus could become sentient.

Eventually, the story becomes about the mineral (Relkatite) and the fungus (Canus) as the McGuffins of the story. If you are interested in what that is about, you must read the book.

It wasn't a bad story. If you are in the possession of two X chromosomes or are oriented in that direction, you will probably find the story exceptional.

Footnote:

[1] We know this because Tarquin tells his mother that very thing!

“Naira was right,” Tarquin snapped. “She's not vile. She's incredible.”

O'Keefe, Megan E.. The Blighted Stars (The Devoured Worlds Book 1) (p. 417). Orbit. Kindle Edition.

Megan is a very good successor to Bujold, with very little space unfilled in those shoes. The hints of Delany and LeGuin are delightful and not intrusive, in what is a significant step up from velocity weapon's protectorate trilogy. An author to follow attentively.

It was really good until about 100 pages from the end, we get a chapter or two or pure exposition and then an incredibly ill paced ending. Such a shame, could've been a fantastic story.

This book started so good! The premise is fantastic and I liked the opening chapters and the two lead characters. The story builds tension in an excellent way and the themes of technology gone awry and human consumption were worked into it seemlessly.

The book did start to drag for me in the second half, and I found the romance to be...just not very good or believable. Some of the lines were cringy, but also I just didn't buy that these two people would fall for each other. And it took up a LARGE portion of the book.

I will read the sequel!

While I was initially drawn in by the incredible cover art, I was pleased to find that the book itself is terrific too!

The main plot centers on the mining of earth-like worlds for a precious mineral named relkatite. Unfortunately, the unintended aftereffect of the mining process is a devastating fungal blight that effectively destroys the planet. Not ideal!

We've also got 3D printers capable of spitting out human bodies with a neural map/mind in tow. Well, that's how it's supposed to work. Sometimes the body misprints. Sometimes the mind cracks after you've been printed out too many times, or – gasp! – your mind is printed into two bodies at once.

O'Keefe dives into the unintended consequences of technological progress and humanity's insatiable push to over-consume our planetary resources as we move throughout the cosmos.

I'm often overwhelmed with sprawling space operas, but the limited narrative scope of The Blighted Stars allows a few central characters and their motivations to stay top of mind. The character development is well-done and the swift pacing kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

Overall, The Blighted Stars is an exciting start to a promising new series. If the cover art stays cool and the story stays compelling, I'll certainly be along for the ride.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

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