The Stardust Grail

by Yume Kitasei, Katharine Chin (narrator)

Save one world. Doom her own.

Maya Hoshimoto was once the best art thief in the galaxy. For ten years, she returned stolen artifacts to alien civilizations—until a disastrous job forced her into hiding. Now she just wants to enjoy a quiet life as a graduate student of anthropology, but she’s haunted by persistent and disturbing visions of the future.

Then an old friend comes to her with a job she can’t refuse: find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction. Except no one has seen it in living memory, and they aren’t the only ones hunting for it.

Maya sets out on a breakneck quest through a universe teeming with strange life and ancient ruins. But the farther she goes, the more her visions cast a dark shadow over her team of friends new and old. Someone will betray her along the way. Worse yet, in choosing to save one species, she may condemn humanity and Earth itself.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook, Space, Aliens, Adult

12 pages, Audiobook

First published June 11, 2024

About the author

Yume Kitasei (www.yumekitasei.com) is a Brooklyn-based Japanese and American writer of speculative fiction. She is the author of three novels, THE DEEP SKY, THE STARDUST GRAIL, and SALTCROP. Her stories have appeared in publications including New England Review, Catapult, SmokeLong Quarterly, Baltimore Review, and Nashville Review. She chirps occasionally @Yumewrites at Instagram and Bluesky.

Reviews

[EmmaSkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars An absolute delight of a sci-fi novel. Yes, it's a heist book, but it's also a lot more than that in ways that I'm just going to let you figure out as you read because it's such a fun ride to take.

The pacing in this book is great. I'm in the midst of a gnarly reading slump where it feels like I can barely focus on written words for more than 5 minutes at a time, and still this book managed to break through that and had me hooked very fast with the opening chapters and excited to keep going. The highs and lows and the action and the downtime and the discoveries are all just balanced out really well in this story. The core group of characters are fun and varied and feel real and believable (even the one with all the tentacles) and the way we integrate everyone together in the story is, to repeat myself, paced very well.

The action is good, the tension is well timed, there's humor and grief and loss and love and a taste of Found Family and more story than the synopsis preapres you for, which is a GREAT way to do a synopsis rather than revealing far too much in an attempt to hook people in. What can I say? I really enjoyed my time with this book.

Kitasei has a vision of the future in both of her novels now (The Deep Sky set in near future and now The Stardust Grail set in far future) that does so well at striking tones both pessimistic and optimistic, at finding the good in the bleak, and never leaves you too mired in one over the other. And the way she maintains humanity and culture in these stories - and particularly here in The Stardust Grail - is something I really wish we saw more of. So many sci-fi stories - once they escape the bounds of Earth and go interstellar with other planets and aliens and far flung adventures - tend to flatten humanity to one homogenous Human™ culture (often a white, western sense of culture) among the interstellar community, but Kitasei maintains her characters' individuality. Maya may be a spacefaring thief, but she's also a half-Japanese half-American struggling grad student living between two cultures just on the human side, not to mention her otherworldly travels. It's grand in its physical scale and yet still feels grounded and relatable and realistic and human.

I also really appreciate what this story has to say about colonialism and anthrocentrism and again Kitasei strikes a great balance of making the astronomical feel relatable and knowable to the 21st century earth-bound human reading the story.

In case it wasn't clear, I had a great time with this one.

LAST BIT, the audiobook for this one is great! The narrator does a great job with the voices and makes some really cool choices in the style for sections I won't get into here. do recommend if you're an audio reader.

I loved this book so much I asked the author if she'd like to sit down for an interview and she kindly agreed! So here's that conversation.

[I read this book as an Advanced Reader Copy in two forms. The Audiobook, through NetGalley, provided by the publisher; and a physical copy, provided by the author.]

[Veronica Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming at you with another "here's the blurb"/"here are my unvarnished thoughts" review--

I blurbed this book because I really loved The Deep Sky (which I bought simply because it sounded interesting, something that becomes rarer the longer you work in book publishing, because you get to know so much of the behind-the-scenes stuff and you hear about things so early, etc.). Anyway, I loved this one, too, and here's what I said about it blurb-wise:

"Come to THE STARDUST GRAIL for Indiana Jones-style outer space heist adventure, stay for the sensitively drawn characters and thoughtful exploration of other forms of life far beyond our own-- Yume Kitasei's second novel is an engaging, fascinating story that you don't want to miss."

That blurb really hits all the beats of why I loved this book-- Yume Kitasei knows all about a tense, high-stakes plot. The Deep Sky was a locked room thriller in which the "locked room" in question was a spaceship, which made the stakes that much higher; The Stardust Grail is a heist in which the setting for the heist is a system of planets, and the stakes are, you know, the survival of a species.

But despite the HIGH, HIGH STAKES, there is a feeling of intimacy in this story that made it easy to connect to-- the same thing was true of The Deep Sky, which dug into the friendships and history of the people inside the aforementioned locked room. Here, the focus is on a friendship between two people of very different species, and their ways of being are impossibly mysterious to each other, which is sometimes just amusing and sometimes...heartbreaking. It feels like an exaggeration of any friendship between people of different backgrounds, that we can love each other without perfect understanding, but our love doesn't keep us safe from conflict.

This book is a tangle of questions about loyalty and love and understanding and survival, and I feel like describing it that way might for some reason communicate to you that this book is not EXTREMELY FUN, but like. Let me assure you. This book is also extremely fun.

Anyway: read it, please and thank you.

[Yume Kitasei]

Thank you so much for reading THE STARDUST GRAIL. Whether you enjoyed it or not, I appreciate you giving it a try! I've included content warnings at the bottom of this note if you want them.

I had a lot of fun writing this book (though it was also painful, because as I learned, deadlines are painful), and I hope you have fun reading it.

I was obsessed with Star Wars as a kid (I once could recite the entirety of A New Hope from memory). I used to try to dream myself into that other universe every night, writing fan fic in my head. THE STARDUST GRAIL has elements of all the subgenres of science fiction I enjoy: space opera, a dash of horror, space heist, and yes, a small star war.

But! If you don't read much science fiction, please don't swerve away just because of that - hey, maybe you'll even be surprised to realize you like it! In which case, I'm so excited for you to discover all the amazing books and authors out there.

- Yume

PS I'm sorry there's no spaceship cat. There was in an early draft, but I kept worrying about him bashing his little head every time the ship accelerated.

--

CW: violence and gore, xenophobia, xenocide, colonization, vomit, torture, war, infertility, chronic illness, confinement, suicidal thoughts (minor), pandemic, migraines

[Mai H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

$7.59 hardcover at Book Outlet

Goodreads Choice Awards Final Round - Readers' Favorite Science Fiction

Goodreads Choice Awards Opening Round - Readers' Favorite Science Fiction

API Month

You had me at anti-colonial space heist. I find the colonization of worlds fascinating, as surely humans aren't the only beings out there. Maya Hoshimoto didn't grow up on Earth, but a mostly Japanese populated colony world. She is infected, which is mentioned often, but not really in a wow sort of way.

Space operas are often hit or miss with me, but I enjoyed the cast of characters in this one. I think this was made better on audio, as the voices truly brought this story to life. I don't want to spoil anything, as many things happen, but I truly enjoyed the ride.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

[Samantha (ladybug.books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Come for the heist novel stay for the contemplations of existence and morality.

The Stardust Grail was so much more than I expected it to be. In this book, we follow ex-art thief Maya who is essentially hiding in graduate school after a heist goes very, very wrong. Despite efforts to leave her past behind, Maya is roped into “one last mission” that has the potential to save an entire alien race.

The Stardust Grail grabs your attention with the SciFi heist setup but there is so much to discover in this book. There is found family with a really fun and eccentric cast of characters. Characters navigate discussions of identity and morality. The story explores history and who is remembered as the “good” and “bad” guys. Halfway through the story, the book takes an unexpected, weird turn and from that point on I was completely hooked.

Yume Kitasei has quickly become an auto-buy SciFi author for me. I was a big fan of her debut, The Deep Sky, when I read it last year. What I particularly love about both of her books is the way she creates a sense of culture and how culture and identity are central to these far-future SciFi stories. These elements make the stories rich and engaging.

In The Stardust Grail, the sense of rich cultural identity shows itself both in the human beings and in the other life forms in this universe. The story is not just humans and then everyone else are these generic aliens. There’s a really rich sense of diversity and culture among the other space-capable people in this universe. There is this extensive sense of politics, art, history, and conflict between these people. Human beings are such a small part of the history of the universe as a whole. This book really captures the sense of things being so much bigger than one person. But at the same time, the book highlights the impact of individual choice through this line that recurs throughout the book:

You cannot live in the universe without leaving footprints

I would highly recommend the audiobook if you're interested. There are some cool moments where the narrator plays with voices that really add to the reading experience.

Thank you Flatiron for the advanced reader copy

Links to my TikTok | Instagram

[Greekchoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. Delightful!

The Stardust Grail is a sci-fi heist following a group of characters who plan to rob a museum for a single artifact, which will allow the continued survival of an endangered alien race.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Kitasei's characters are fun, believable, and credibly found family. I was drawn particularly to Maya, who manages to both be a passionate thief and a lazy PhD student; this could come across as millennial 'derpiness' but lands as a complex main character.

The world is large and interesting, the themes of museum repatriation, preservation, personhood, and imperialism are taken seriously. My only real complaint is that a character's actions often felt disproportionate to their consequences. Some minor conflicts are treated with grave dignity; at another point nearly an entire species is intentionally annihilated and the characters brush it off within a few chapters, which feels at odds with the book's investment in conservation.

I don't know if this book is doing anything particularly fresh, but I'm interested in Kitasei's potential as a writer, and I look forward to trying her other books.

Please note that I work for Macmillan but opinions are my own. I am not involved in book production.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes when I read a book that is a bit of a mess with its pacing and structure, I try to look past that to see the potential of the great story that we could have had. But unfortunately here, it was so messy that it was extremely difficult to look past it at all.

(Apologies in advance if I spell any of these names incorrectly, I listened to it on audiobook)

Maya is a student at Princeton in the far future. The child of settlers of a different world, she has a complicated relationship with Earth, who often see her people as simply colonists who view Earth as their true home, while settlers actually take pride in their identity separate from Earth. As a child, Maya was infected with a virus spread by another octopus like alien race, the Fremroe. While this infection killed many humans and aliens alike, Maya survived, and has residual abilities as a result of it, such as being able to mentally connect with other Fremroe or other infected beings, as well as dreaming of both the past and the future. While Maya truly is a graduate student at Princeton, her motivations are really in finding more information on a lost alien artifact, the Stardust Grail, which is said to be the only device that will allow the Fremroe to reproduce, something that is becoming critical as their numbers dwindle. Specifically, she is trying to help her best friend Uncle, a Fremroe and her right hand as they thieve and pillage stolen artifacts across the galaxy, returning them to their rightful owners. They can travel across the galaxy using gates that were created by the Fremroe, but due to the strange nature of Fremroe memory and a kind of hivemind culture, they don't all remember the specifics. So Maya and Uncle set off in a chase to track down the Stardust Grail, joined by Will, a disgraced soldier fighting for the pro-Earth faction, and her med-bot who is trying to become more human. Conflict after conflict, the group gets themselves into dangerous situations as they try to save Uncle's species, but also perhaps the entire galaxy.

Okay so what's to be said about this. Firstly, I want to say that I loved The Deep Sky so much, and I was really looking forward to that quality of a story here, but this is nothing like that. While The Deep Sky is a mystery wrapped in a sci-fi setting, this is Indiana Jones wrapped in a sci-fi setting. And I think the struggle with maintaining both the action and the intrigue was ultimately what made this book suffer. After the first act of the story when Maya and the crew leave Earth, it kicks off a seemingly endless cycle of "go to place to steal something, run away. go to place to steal something, run away. go to place to steal something, run away..." ad infinitum. But to keep it fresh, towards the end it just gets, frankly, absurd. As if a child is coming up with the next story beat, desperately trying to dial up the action and stakes in every paragraph to the point that it seems ridiculous. Get attacked in the temple, someone gets hurt, but actually they're okay. Oh there's a big monster that grabs someone, but they kill it. But they encounter a plasma wall! But they get through it. They leave the temple and face the deadly flora and fauna! But they kill it. Actually they go back into the temple now. Robots!!

It was all just too much, and it ended up feeling like a slog. At about the 50% mark, I couldn't believe that the story was still going, but also not getting more interesting. They had the same goal the whole time, and they just limped along to get to it rather than the story shifting and winding its way to the conclusion. Add to this that I feel the author was really trying to create a Becky Chambers Wayfarers-esque dynamic amongst our characters. That is, make everyone lovable and complex and create dynamic relationships between characters in a very character forward story, but the nature of this story really didn't allow for that. All relationship development was surface level at best, and at worst felt forced.

I don't know, this became exhausting fast and I really wanted to like it. I'll still read anything from the author, but if you really liked The Deep Sky, temper your expectations when you pick this up.

Also the nonbinary character was named Pickle, and I can't get over how nonbinary that name is.

[Abolfazl Nasri · Rating 5 out of 5]

جام اختر غبار
یومه کیتاسی

یه داستان فضایی متفاوت، گرم، و پر از دل‌مشغولی‌های انسانی

کتاب اونجوری نیست که بخواد با فیزیک کوانتومی یا تئوری‌های پیچیده علمی خفه‌ات کنه. اتفاقاً برعکس، تمرکزش روی روایت و شخصیت‌هاست — به‌خصوص «مایا»، زنی با گذشته‌ای خاکستری که بین دنیای دانشگاهی و خاطرات سفرهاش تو فضا گیر کرده.

کتاب با اینکه توی ژانر علمی‌تخیلیه، ولی بیشتر یه داستان درباره‌ی گم‌گشتگی، دوستی، دلتنگی برای فضا، و امیدی در دل بی‌نظمیه. رابطه‌ی مایا و آنکل (که یکی از خاص‌ترین بیگانه‌هایی بود که تو داستان‌ها دیدم) واقعاً از آب دراومده. چند پیچش داستانی هم داشت که حسابی غافلگیرم کرد.

از اون کتاب‌هاست که موقع خوندنش هم می‌خوای زودتر بدونی چی می‌شه، هم دلت می‌خواد کند بری تا بیشتر تو دنیای داستان بمونی. شاید علمی‌ترین داستان فضایی نباشه، ولی اصلاً هم لازم نداره باشه — فرم و حال و هوای خودش رو داره و همونو عالی اجرا کرده.

در یک کلام: قشنگ، هوشمند، و دوست‌داشتنی. به ترجمه‌ش فکر می‌کنم حتما.

[John (LHBC) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Galaxy's greatest art thief turned grad student holds the fate of two worlds in her hands......

Book Information

The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei is a 320-page sci-fi novel with a publication date of June 11, 2024. The audio version of the book is narrated by Katharine Chin and spans 13 hours. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an Advance Readers Copy for review.

Summary

Maya Hoshimoto, once the galaxy's top art thief, spent a decade returning stolen artifacts to alien civilizations until a disastrous job forced her into hiding. Now a graduate anthropology student, she seeks a quiet life but is plagued by disturbing visions of the future. When an old friend offers a mission to find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction, Maya reluctantly accepts, despite knowing no one has seen it in living memory and they aren't the only ones searching. Her quest through a universe of strange life and ancient ruins reveals betrayals and forces her to choose between saving an alien species and potentially dooming humanity and Earth.

My Thoughts

I became a fan of Yume Kitasei's writing after reading her debut, “The Deep Sky”, last year. Her latest work, “The Stardust Grail”, only deepened my appreciation. Though it's been called Indiana Jones in space, I found it more fitting to describe it as a relentless sci-fi adventure with a heist at its core.

The cast of characters is delightfully quirky and varied, each one feeling authentic and well-rounded. The pacing of the book is impeccable, driving the narrative forward without ever feeling rushed. Kitasei has a knack for creating immersive worlds; the cultural and historical details of her universe are meticulously crafted. Kitasei crafts a universe so rich in detail, that you’ll forget you’re reading fiction and feel like you’re part of the adventure. Human beings play a minor role in the grand tapestry of this universe, a perspective that she skillfully maintains throughout the story.

The political and historical intricacies of different planets and species were fascinating, with no clear villains but rather complex characters with understandable motivations. The blend of humor, grief, loss, and love adds depth to the story, making it not just a sci-fi adventure but also a poignant exploration of relationships and emotions. The sci-fi aspects paired with the theme of found family makes it especially engaging.

A central theme in the book is the friendship between two characters from vastly different species. Their relationship is both mysterious and profoundly touching, offering moments of both amusement and heartbreak. This dynamic is a highlight of the novel, adding layers of emotional resonance.

Katharine Chin's narration is nothing short of outstanding. Her ability to bring different accents, genders, and species to life, each with a distinct personality, is truly impressive. Her narration clarified the story’s many layers, keeping the listener engaged and immersed in the vivid world Kitasei created. Despite the complexity of the plot and characters, Chin's performance made it all accessible and gripping.

One of the standout aspects of “The Stardust Grail” is its commentary on anti-colonization, environmental issues, and the importance of interpersonal connections. These are high-stakes issues and the action is intense, but at its heart, the book is a meditation on understanding, forgiveness, and authenticity.

If I had any criticism, and it’s a minor one, it would be the unique pronouns used for different alien species. While this added an interesting layer to the world-building, it occasionally disrupted the flow of the story for me, particularly in the audio version where each pronoun momentarily pulled me from the immersion of the story while I made the required mental adjustment.

All in all, “The Stardust Grail” is a stellar read. Kitasei's ability to blend thrilling adventure with deep, meaningful themes makes this book a must-read for sci-fi enthusiasts. It's an exhilarating journey that leaves you with much to ponder.

Recommendation

If you're looking for a thrilling sci-fi adventure with a heart, “The Stardust Grail” by Yume Kitasei is a must-read. With its quirky characters, impeccable world-building, and deep themes of friendship and understanding, it offers a compelling narrative that will keep you hooked from start to finish.

Rating

4 Alien Stars

[Me, My Shelf, & I · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was unexpectedly fun and original and creative-- an interstellar heist with the future of multiple civilizations depending on the results. Moral quandaries and alien infections and connected space highways and chases and battles and long-dead alien planets. 4.5/5 rounded up!

The first thing that I loved was the characters. I only had the audiobook so apologies if I misspell, but I adored Auncle (her Fenro alien friend). They were delightfully sweet and excitable and empathetic, and had cute alien phrasings like considering "emotional digestion" or calling Maya zir "splendid, squishable friend" and apparently zir species has 20,043 different emotions they can experience. Maya had a strong personality and voice that I appreciated, and I really grew to like Wil as well, but it was mostly the aliens that did it for me.

I also thought the politics and histories of these different planets and peoples was really interesting, and I could see the motivations behind each of them so there were no true villains, just peoples who -in fighting for their survival and what's right for them- were put in direct odds against everyone else. Which is the kind of nuanced antagonism I appreciate.

This was also, probably, my favourite use of premonitions/prophecy/etc? This is a trope I've complained about a lot in the past, because it's very hard to implement in a way that feels successful for both the reader and the characters. But I really liked how the virus altered Maya and gave her this occasional glimpse into possible futures. It was very dreamlike, so not necessarily 100% true to reality, but could give just the tiniest edge needed to spin the odds in their favor. It never overstayed its welcome and was well-worked into the greater world-building.

And lastly, this book did something I truly love: in the last 25% we get dropped on a planet of a people that have long since died out. Their structures and even statues remain, and complex buildings rife with booby traps and treasure and long-guarded secrets; but even their demise is unfathomably ancient. (This sort of thing has always delighted me-- from being a kid and reading The Magician's Nephew or watching The Fifth Element, to more modern properties like Canaan House of Gideon the Ninth).

Overall I would definitely recommend to fans of properties like Stargate and Firefly. While it has more in common with the complex network of travel and alien histories of Stargate, you're also following a lovable group of -ostensibly criminal- rogues who are fighting to uphold their own morality despite might be technically legal or not.

Audiobook Notes:
I think my love for the aliens is in no small part due to the narration. Even Elephant, who lasted a short time on page, has an outsized proportion in my memories because I just loved the life she breathed into zir.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for granting me an audio ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Allison Hurd · Rating 1 out of 5]

Second attempt with this author. Thought I was getting along better. A fun look at academia in space.

But it's like you can feel in the book where the outline stopped and the making it up as she went part of the book happened. Suddenly things stop making sense. Suddenly all the plot points from the first half of the book are irrelevant. Characterization goes to absolute hell.

I gave up at 65%.

Content warnings: war, torture, medical experimentation, genocide by illness

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good! So much better—and different—than the author’s first book. If you want a fun space opera with some adventure packed in, I have a book for you.

Maya Hashimoto used to be the Robin Hood of art thieves–stealing from the rich and their museums, and giving back to the alien civilizations where they were stolen from. Maya lives in a world where First Contact happened ages ago, humans still kind of ruined the planet, but also moved out to colonize the stars. Only, the colonies wanted independence, as colonies do. They even fought a war about it. Maya was born on another settlement but is now on Earth, having forgone her life of crime, in order to get a PhD. But when the chance to find the mysterious Grail (an object lost by a race of aliens long ago that is said to have mystical properties by those who are ignorant, and by the aliens who lost it, to have the knowledge of how to create offspring, which was lost in a genocide thousands of years before (look, it’s a long story, just believe me that’s how it works).

What follows is Maya and a ragtag crew, of course, adventuring across the galaxy, trying to heist and find the Grail faster than the evil corporate colonizers, who are also on its trail. To make matters worse, the system used to traverse the stars seems to be failing. Network points are just disappearing, and people on the other side are now cut off from the rest of the galaxy. No one knows why these network points are disappearing, making the Grail even more urgent to find (it’s also said to help with this problem? omg I’m so bad at explaining today).

My favorite part of this book was how imaginative the world is that the author created here. I’ve read a lot of sci-fi, and read and watched a lot of space opera, and this one felt unique. I didn’t want the book to be over, just so I could spend more time in the world. I hope she writes more books set in this world.

For those who also read Kitasei’s debut, I liked this one a lot better. That book was more depressing and claustrophobic, and the many flashback scenes to the MC’s life were irritating rather than informative. Here, she got it exactly right, at least for me.

Will definitely read all this author’s future books!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stardust Grail is a captivating space opera with themes pertaining to anti-colonialism, how the depth of connections made with others can transcend species and experiences and the ethics of stealing artifacts to return them to their original cultures.

The worldbuilding in The Stardust Grail is intriguing and the alien species depicted have distinctly unique cultures, appearance and histories, but are not so unusual as to be unsympathetic. No one perspective is presented as morally “right,” as the biases of each species-including discrimination of humans towards one another-infuences their perspectives and behaviors.

The characters are engaging: possessing flaws and motivations that make them relatable. Although some felt slightly more developed than others, their interactions with one another and in relation to the ethical quandaries presented in their overall mission are compelling. The friendship between former art thief turned graduate student Maya Hashimoto and the Frenro known as Auncle is particularly endearing.

While mostly a heist novel, as Maya and her crew travel to different locations in their search for the Stardust Grail in an effort to save an alien species, political influences, questions of morality and even moments of utter horror are also present. Although there are some truly dark moments within the novel, there is also an optimism and a genuine sense of wonder that prevent the story from becoming overly depressing.

The narration by Katharine Chin is also superb. She does a wonderful job of infusing the characters with distinct voices and personalities and her narration contributes to the gripping nature of the novel.

Thank you very much to Macmillan Audio, Flatiron Books, NetGalley and Yume Kitasei for providing access to this audiobook. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was entertaining and fast paced romp through intergalactic space as Maya Hoshimoto (sometime artifact thief, currently anthropology student) helps her alien friend search for a relic of an almost extinct alien species. No one has seen this artifact in living memory, no-one is quite sure what it looks like, or how it's supposed to work. The friend is convinced it will help save them from extinction. This artifact may also help humanity build it's own intergalactic nodes. So there are a variety of competing interests to find the artifact, dubbed the "stardust Grail", first. This is almost like an Indian Jones quest for the lost grail, only in space - blundering scholars, adventurers, museums, tunnels, booby-traps, and ruins of ancient civilizations abound. I love the detailed and complex world building in this novel. The aliens are alien enough to make this interesting, with motivations of their own that don't match what the humans expect. The interactions between characters were nuanced, and there is not a single whiff of "romance" between anyone. There were also some nice twists and unexpected events/actions that made the story compelling and enjoyable. Of course, some humans have to muck up things, but that's basically our default setting, right? ;)

[Cuorebrave · Rating 1 out of 5]

Who knew, 500 years from now, future aliens we meet will all be hyperfocused on pronoun usage!? The aliens you meet in this book will make a big deal about each of their pronouns, ze/they, like they're a group of far left, blue haired, wackadoos. Progressive drivel. Unless that's your bag, skip. Wish I could give zero stars.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this one.

The story starts out interesting, with a kind of cosy SF/Indiana Jones in space feel. It is written in such a clearly fantasy fictional way that I wasn’t too bothered by lack of SF realism or anything like that. However around the last third of the book things started to make less sense to me. I’m still not totally sure about what happened at the end.

I think the “feelings forward” characters will appeal to a lot of people, especially lovers of cosy SF, but for me the overall experience of this book was just OK.

[akacya ❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 reads: 155/250

i received an advanced listening copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.

once the best art thief in the galaxy, maya hoshimoto is now in hiding from her dangerous past life. but she can’t resist a job from an old friend that might mean saving an alien species from extinction. the more she explores the universe, the more her visions of the future cast a dark shadow on those she calls friends.

even though i really enjoy this genre, i rarely read sci-fi books. when i read the description of this one, though, i knew i had to try it out! as a fellow graduate student, i found maya really relatable in this aspect (unfortunately, i cannot speak to the space explorer bit at this moment). i also thought it was interesting how her visions mimicked real-life migraines!

narration: this was narrated by katharine chin, who i’ve only heard in one other audiobook. i really enjoyed her narration and thought it was great for the story and for our main character!

[Blaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Frenro had threatened humanity because they had foreseen humanity would destroy them, but the CNE only came for them because humanity was threatened, and maybe it all came down to a fundamental misunderstanding between their people, a failure to see what the other would do in fear.

Maya Hoshimoto, former art thief, is now a 30-something graduate student, though one who has strange visions of the future. Her best friend and former partner, an alien named Auncle, returns to her and says he’s finally found the location of a stardust grail—a living device that is vital to the Frenro reproductive cycle. Maya signs up for one last heist, but they aren’t the only ones search for the trail because it can also, somehow, allow Earth to rebuild a series of interstellar nodes that humanity relies upon to travel through space.

I wasn’t a big fan of The Deep Sky. I thought it tried too hard to be about too many things. But I met Ms. Kitasei at a book festival this summer, and decided to give her another try with her sophomore novel, The Stardust Grail.

There were parts of The Stardust Grail that I quite liked. The world building is really interesting and imaginative. It does a really good job of exploring its anti-colonialism ideas while creating a paradox at its heart that fleshes out the risks of misunderstandings between peoples. And the writing is really good, certainly better than most sci-fi: “They regarded each other under the half-light of a moon shattered in pieces across the sky.”

Unfortunately, though, I think the story in The Stardust Grail is flawed. For a book being touted with words like “thrilling” and “breakneck quest,” the pacing is all wrong. It’s quite slow for long stretches until shifting into overdrive in the final pages. And for a book centered around a heist, there’s not very much to the heist itself. There are twists, but they are often driven by unknowable features of this world, and it made for a flat, rather emotionless reading experience. I never really was drawn into the story. A bit disappointing, but this may be a ‘it’s not you it’s me’ situation.

[Carlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

After finishing her first novel, The Deep Sky, I was really eager to read something more from this author and, boy-oh-boy, Yume Kitasei was up to the task again. A wide-ranging stand-alone science fiction novel, about friendship between different cultures, in which the story is central to the development of the characters and even the minor ones are credibly portrayed. I can't wait for the third one to arrive!
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Dopo aver terminato il suo primo romanzo, The Deep Sky, ero davvero ansioso di leggere qualcosa di più di questa autrice e, ragazzi, Yume Kitasei è stata di nuovo all'altezza del compito. Un romanzo di fantascienza autonomo di ampio respiro, sull'amicizia tra culture diverse, in cui la storia è centrale rispetto allo sviluppo dei personaggi e anche quelli minori sono tratteggiati credibilmente. Non vedo l'ora che arrivi il terzo!

[Zoë · Rating 5 out of 5]

space 👏🏼 museum 👏🏼 heist 👏🏼

this is my new bible

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to rate this one.

It started brilliantly. Maya is a thirtysomething (yes!!) graduate student coming back to Princeton after a ten-year hiatus doing...art heists. Stealing artifacts from museums and private collections and returning them to their peoples and/or places of origins. She left after an accidental tragedy—ditching her long-time partner and friend and xyr quest for children.

There's commentary on academia and and colonialism and history and climate change and depression and heartsickness and everything else.

When the heist began it kinda started to fall apart, just a little.

What I adored about this was the lore: the worldbuilding, the future, the history of this richly imagined world. The idea that the Infected can see the glimpses of the future and the past. The world itself is queer as hell.

What I struggled with were the action scenes, particularly some epic space battles that I just wasn't really feeling strongly about. Also, some of the characters fell really flat for me (not the aliens—those were fine—it was the humans I had issues with).

What I wanted was a little more exploration on the stakes. Maya is making a choice that is going to end one entire species or another: either her own or the Frenro. Humanity will be cut off from the rest of the galaxy if they don't get the stardust grail. Without the stardust grail, the Frenro will not be able to make children and will slowly die out. I also wanted a little exploration on the Infected and what it means for them.

Anywho, it ended on an interesting note. I enjoyed it. The twists were fun. However, I could definitely tell this was a book written under a deadline. It feels a touch rushed. Which isn't bad, but I just know what with a little more time it could have gone from a four to five star read for me.

I received an ARC from NetGalley

[Esmay Rosalyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blending a dash of mystery, a sprinkle of horror, and a whole lot of heart, The Stardust Grail is a character-driven space heist that will appeal to fans of both Becky Chambers and Pierce Brown.

After loving Kitasei's debut, The Deep Sky, I knew I would blindly jump into anything she put out next, and this sophomore novel did not disappoint. Though slightly more action-packed than its predessecor, The Stardust Grail still offers everything that made me fall in love with Kitasei's writing style in the first place, only increase the chaos by a few notches.

Maya quickly proved to be a very compelling protagonist, and I really enjoyed following this ex-art thief as she unintentionally gets drawn into 'one last mission' together with a motley crew of morally gray characters, both human and otherwise. Oh and no pressure, it's only the existence of an entire alien race at stake!

For me, Kitasei absolutely nailed the balance between the humour and the horror of this story, which is exactly what makes it so engaging to read. The complex dynamic between all these characters amused me to no end, and I loved the begrudging found family vibes that slowly started to develop. Also, the giant tentacled Fenro alien Auncle is objectively the MVP of this story, what a gem!

Moreover, through their bonds and conflicts, the deeper themes of humanity, cultural identity, anti-colonization, morality, and redemption really get to shine. There are no clear heroes and villains in this story, and all the difficult moral quandaries add so much nuance and complexity to what could otherwise have been just another entertaining yet forgettable space adventure.

Now, even though I really enjoyed the fast pacing of this story, I do think The Stardust Grail could have been a bit longer to really let the rich themes shine even brighter. Some of the revelations felt a bit rushed to me, which somewhat lowered the weight and larger emotional impact of the story. However, there's so much heart packed into this narrative that I could forgive some of those quibbles, and the surprising ending left me utterly satisfied.

Kitasei is quickly proving to be one of my new favourite authors in the sci-fi space, and I can't wait to see what her brilliant mind cooks up next. Filled with equal parts action and emotion, The Stardust Grail is a fast-paced yet unforgettable space adventure that will leave you star-struck in the end.

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook, sf adventure story, which is objectively better (and unobjectionable) than the 2 stars I am giving it, but it got on my nerves a lot and I had more expectations. I ended up mentally comparing it with Becky Chambers and Bethany Jacobs and all, nevermind the SF I actually really like, so well finger slipped down because this is less interesting, more boring and unoriginal than all of those.

Unobjectionable but so unoriginal, and the plot is just so trite. Come on thing, it's like you guys have never watched or read classic SF? Probably not. This is very Gen-Z, for all its stereotypes, but without being self-aware to actually be a good manifesto of what matters to them or their specific worldview. Maya, our main character with tons of biographical details (minus the future thing and all) in common with the author (this seems to be another Gen-Z thing) who is 31 one year old is just so passive, so woe-is-me, so reactive rather than active. (It is actually making me itch to go read some real Baby Boomer sf adventures for a palate cleanse - but I will not due to a complete lack of time.

Underwhelming to me, though I expect it might be very popular, but it is just very much not my cup of tea.

I listened to the audiobook, and it was, meh. Not bad for me to quit, but I did not love it either. And like the work itself, it was a bit low energy, I ended up speeding it just a little bit.

[lookmairead · Rating 3 out of 5]

To fans of Becky Chamber, this one is probably worth TBR consideration.

If I had to pitch this, I would say “cozy space heist” despite the long list of TW’s.

Really decent pacing and sweet found family vibes. It maybe didn’t tug my emotions as deeply as I hoped, but I was definitely entertained.

(Also, this cover is just stunning. Kudos to the artist on this.)

3.75/5 (For my mood reading friends… recommended when your TBR needs a hug.)
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Many thanks to @macmillan.audio for letting me be part of #MacAudio2024

[Eliza Pillsbury · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was karma for not reading from my tbr

[Cher 'N Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars = Good and worthwhile.

When stealing valuable artifacts, there were several important things to keep in mind: first, a diversion is key. Second, always be ready with a story. And third, if you can’t be sneaky, be bold.

This was a fun read about a space heist, set in our world in the far future when travel throughout our galaxy is fast and easy thanks to portals or nodes created by another advanced species. It was plot driven with nonstop action, danger, and adventure. Its themes include anti-colonialism and finding a way to connect with others, no matter how different they may be.

The main character, Maya, is in her early 30’s, recently retired from a decade of space exploration and thieving, and is now back on Earth, enrolled in a graduate anthropology program at Princeton. Her closest and best friend, an alien named Auncle, seeks her out for assistance in recovering a precious artifact that could prevent their dwindling species from going extinct. Other people also want and are searching for this same artifact so that humans can create their own travel portals in space. You know right from the beginning, Maya is going to have some very difficult decisions to make.

Grief was a universal thing, no matter what sun you’d been born under. And they were both of them choking on it now, oblivious to the danger around them.

Most of the book takes place in space and there is no romance element in the plot. I was most impressed with the author’s imagination to create around half a dozen vastly different alien species, most of which are not humanoids which was refreshing and quite appreciated.

Even with the author’s provided descriptions, I had a hard time visualizing several of the aliens because I do not have a vivid imagination and they are so foreign, that I had difficulty creating visual images of them. Having illustrations of them included would have been helpful and made the story more immersive. Despite this, their uniqueness and novelty was probably what I enjoyed most about the book.

If the synopsis sounds appealing and you enjoy plot driven, space-faring stories that read like a movie, then this is an easy recommendation. My personal preference is for less action, as too much of it ironically leaves me feeling bored and I don’t enjoy the tension you feel when being catapulted from one dangerous situation straight into another.
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First Sentence: The largest private collection of rare artifacts from other worlds could be found in central New Jersey at Princeton University, and if anyone knew Maya Hoshimoto was a thief, they wouldn’t have let her anywhere near there.

Favorite Quote: Humans…What an unusual species. Each one, their own Whole, an ecosystem unto themself. They’re one of the least cohesive and collaborative advanced people we’ve ever met…They deprive each other of resources and knowledge. Until we met them, we thought it was impossible a people such as this could even have achieved intrasolar space travel.

[Danielle Pulliam · Rating 4 out of 5]

**𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒃𝒚 𝒀𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒊

Release Date: June 11, 2024

4⭐️0🌶

This is a beautiful soft scifi story of a The Holy Grail retelling. Maya is a professional thief. She leaves her Ivy League schooling to travel the galaxy and steal expensive objects. She decides to come back to Earth and pursue her PhD at her alma mater when an ancient journal appears at the museum intake that she has been looking for for years. This journal is meant to lead her to the space Grail that will teach her how to made more "nodes" or portals to solar systems that have life forms.

This is a futuristic Earth where most people live off-planet due to the poor air quality on Earth. A "node" appeared in the solar system and once explored it was found to go to another solar system that has other higher level sentient life forms. This node leads to a whole system of nodes that lead to many other planets with sentient life forms.

Maya finds that the nodes are dying and she needs to find the Grail in order to save all of the nodes and their current way of life.

I would recommend this book for any fans of The Aurora Cycle Series by Amie Kaufman or Ready Player One by Ernest Cline!

A big thank you to @netgalley for approving me for this ARC!

[Sydney Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars. It had the potential to be a 5 star read for me, but it missed the mark. It was very reminiscent of Planetfall by Emma Newman and the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers, so of course I enjoyed it, but the following items were why this one didn't fully land for me:

- I did not enjoy Maya as an MC. I did not relate to her and I found her moral superiority to be quite frustrating.
- The Frenro seemed like a copy of Octavia Butler's Oankali species.
- I felt like I was expected to love the reluctant camaraderie of Maya, Wil, Auncle, Liam, and Medix, but it fell flat for me. It felt forced.
- The pacing was another issue. I kept getting closer and closer to the last few pages and was left wondering "how will this be concluded in 10 pages?" It was disappointing because the majority of the book felt like a random goose chase.

That's not to say I didn't like the book. I loved the nodal systems, the chasing of a "grail," and the concept of the Encyclopediam and hunting ancient lost civilizations. I'll still read another book by this author.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cool premise and world, but ultimately felt a little cyclical in its narrative and it didn’t hook me as much as Deep Sky.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privilege of reading a very early draft. It’s a galaxy-spanning caper, set atop a lot of grand world building and ideas. I think Stardust Grail is going to be a lot of fun and I look forward to reading again it in its final form.