Starbounders #2: Rebellion

Starbounders #2

by Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson

Zachary Night and the Starbounders are back, in the sci-fi adventure series Pseudonymous Bosch calls "a great ride and a great read," from Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson, authors of the Familiars series. Zachary Night may have saved Earth, but back at Indigo 8, he's still just a Starbounder-in-training. And unlike his fellow trainees, who are having a blast gearing up for the annual Indigo Games, Zachary has more important things on his mind. He has yet to decipher the cryptic warning Professor Olari left him, and it looks like someone is trying to beat him to it. When all the clues start pointing to a larger conspiracy, Zachary and his friends must once again leave Indigo 8 behind and take matters into their own hands. Their investigation will lead them through the far reaches of space, and it will test their friendship, too. And, oh yeah, did they mention the fate of the outerverse hangs in the balance? With the "winning combination of action and humor" ( SLJ , starred review) that earned The Familiars an Indie Next List Pick and eight state-award nominations, Rebellion catapults readers out of this world and onto a deep-space journey that's thrilling from beginning to end.

Genres: Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2014

About the author

I grew up in Great Neck, NY loving all things fantasy and science fiction - from Dungeons and Dragons and the Legend of Zelda to Star Wars and Dr. Strange. I created and imagined new worlds and stories from an early age but never knew that I had the talent to be a writer until seventh grade, when my English teacher assigned our class to write the first ten pages of a sequel to The Good Earth. After that, I was hooked.

I now live in Los Angeles with my wife, two children and a black and white alley cat with a bite out of his ear. I write with a partner, Andrew Jacobson, who is a much better typist than I will ever be.

Reviews

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zachary and friends are being called upon again to save the multiverse. This time they must prevent a planet of robots from spreading a virus that can kill all biological life forms. The robots are rebelling against being the servants of those who created them, so you can kind of see their point, but they are too drastic.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Starbounders #2: Rebellion continues the story where the previous book left off. As with the first book, there is a lot of action and most of the story is about the kids going off on their own and solving a lot of puzzles/adventures in order to save the universe. This is very distinctly a middle school/pre-tween book: adults would have to shut their brain off but there's definitely enough action to keep kids reading. But at the same time, this is more of an Ewok Adventure type plot than a full Star Wars movie.

Story: Zachary, Quee, Ryic, and Kaylee are pondering the riddle set by Olari at the end of book one. When they start to unravel the clues, they will go AWOL from Indigo 8, commandeer ships, and head out to find a device necessary to decipher the strange symbol on Zachary's arm. What they will find is a plot bigger than they could have gaussed, and they will have to use each of the member's unique talents in order to not only survive, but also save the outerverse.

Those who were a bit bored by the academy scenes in book one will be glad to know that most of the book 2 takes place all across the outerverse. The group of friends will follow one lead, only to get another, until eventually they begin to find the cause behind Olari's frantic fears. By the end of the book, they will have solved one mystery but discover there is even more out there, involving the past and the future, that the crew will have to solve.

There isn't a lot of science in Starbounders, which seems a shame to have it set in the sci fi genre. But the authors make good use of the warp gloves and there's definitely no down time in this second book in the series (more to come). The kids pretty much operate autonomously, disregarding nearly all boundaries and laws - breaking in, stealing, disregarding adults, etc., and get rewarded for that at the end. I think parents will cringe at the themes here but my 12 year old liked it decently enough. My adult brain kept picking apart the logic holes and unrealistic scenes (a robot having a unique biometric handprint to unlock a ship's command? A planet following the sudden orders of an academy boy in space to blow up a starship, no reason given? Blowing up a random sun or two just to see if their bomb works before setting after the real target? Quee can hack anything, anywhere, any time?)

There's definitely adventure fun here, though neither my daughter nor I laughed outloud or found any humor (other than well trod quips). She rated it four stars and since she's the intended audience, I am using her rating.

Reviewed from an ARC.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the end of the first book, Zachary was given a coded message by Prof Olari about something that endangered the entire universe. And the professor warned Zachary to trust no one but Kalley, Ryic, and Quee with this information. So while the professors at Indigo-8 think that the quartet is just having a hard time adjusting back to normal life at the academy after their grand adventures in the last book, in reality, they are plotting their next adventure. They have to find a way to decode the message, and that seems to mean going to another planet. And it isn't like they can just ask someone for a ship to borrow, because Olari said there were clearly spies on Indigo-8. Meanwhile, news reports are coming in that someone is killing stars, stars that are the suns for major solar systems that support life. The kids get the feeling that the star killers and Skold's heist at the end of their last adventure may all be mixed up in the mission Prof Olari gave them with his dying breath.

The first part of this book Zachary & gang come off as a little smug and stuck up after saving the universe, and it wasn't as fun to read. However, once they finally manage to get themselves out in space with a ship, it quickly swings back to a fun Starbounders' interstellar adventure in a race to save the universe like the first book. Once again, there were a few moments of dubious science, but I can forgive that in a middle grade sci-fi book. The target audience isn't likely to notice or care. They'll be more interested in the cool new worlds, tech, and high-octane escapades, all of which are found in plenty.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. Once again, there are serious space battles that do result in injuries and fatalities. However, blood and gore are kept to the very minimum.

[Ginamolter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is absolutely perfect for tween boys who want a little literature with their action-adventure...emphasis on the LITTLE. With phrases like "blazers a-blazing", this book will never go down in the annals of great classics, but it is a never-slowing down thrill ride of adventure that will get even the most reluctant reader turning pages. Personally, I didn't care for it- there was no depth to the characters, hardly any exposition or world-building and even with an introductory illustration of some new term that would be used in the chapter, the authors were far too careless with making readers familiar with their vocabulary, which can be rather important to sci-fi books! Plus, the sheer implausibility of what the kids managed to accomplish by sheer dint of good luck is laughable at best. All that being said- I am clearly not the book's target audience, and I have to admit, I think the target audience will eat this book up and ask for more!

[Carterkempgmail.Com · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second in a series: this book has multiple references to its predecessor and is best read in sequence. Zachary Night is a young teen 'Starbounder', a literal space cadet learning to drive spaceships, break academy rules and kick alien booty (apparently). There's a plot here involving rebelling robots but really, it's all a thinly developed setup for our main characters to get into (and win) chases and fights with a succession of alien and android enemies. Throughout our heroes are unfailingly smarter, faster and, well, just better than both their opponents and the clueless adults they're supposed to be learning from. I found this utterly predictable and dull.

[Erin Pauley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like this one as much as the first but it was still decent. I thought the story kind of lacked the excitement and suspense of the first one, the rebellion sort of plodded along for me. The first was all about meeting the characters and following them through there start at Indigo 8 and all of their surprise adventures, this one didn't really connect too well for me. I enjoyed despite it's slower plot and I will most likely continue reading if there is another one which I am sure there will be since the end of Rebellion indicates that.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn’t quite stand on its own as book 2, but wasn’t too bad. It’s great to see science fiction for middle grade. This was fast-paced and had some fun, creative details, but wasn’t really fleshed out in a way that made it completely understandable to me what was going on or how things worked. Also, there were a few moments that were surprisingly violent.

[Robert Keck · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cliffhanger alarm from Professor Olari combined with Zachary's cryptic tattoo propels the Indigo 8 gang of four is back in action. We know they're going to figure it out in time and save the universe but it's a fun mystery to see how they do it.

[Iandesjardins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was good but it was a little fast. This book is about 4 kids, Zachary, Ryic, Kaylee, and Quee that go on an intergalactic space mission. There goal is to find out what Professor Olari's dying message was but it turns to a mission that they need to save the entire outer verse.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

The teenaged Starbounders sneak away from school to save the outerverse, again. The book is exciting for a ten year old, but full of convenient circumstances to ensure victory for our heroes. Entertaining read, though.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Low threes for this one. My six year old boys liked it though. We didn't realize it was the second book in a series and I think you definitely need to read book one first. Perhaps we would have enjoyed this one more if we had.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the fast paced adventure book with my son, and I would recommend adding this to your child's summer reading list as he enjoyed it as much as me!

[Irwin]

I just won this book free as a goodreads giveaway! I am waiting to read it. Thanks.

[The Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

After finishing the first book in the series, Asher (8yo) couldn't wait to get his hands on this one. Read it all in just a few days.

[Paige Canetto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and there was action, adventure, and danger throughout the book. I also loved the mystery woven throughout; it made it much more fun to read.