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The Song of the Forgotten Stars #1
Stardancer
While on their first space voyage, two Princesses from a small backwater planet find themselves hurtled across the Galaxy to a world that sees them either as saviors, come to rescue their world from a ten-thousand-year confinement, or as the greatest threat their world has ever seen. As they search for a way home, Princesses Tariana and Margeth learn things about themselves, and their universe, that they never dreamed possible.
- GenresFiction
403 pages, Paperback
First published November 12, 2014
3 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Sedinger
6 books24 followersI live near Orchard Park, NY with my family: my beautiful wife, wonderful daughter, two typical cats, and one very odd (and newly adopted as of September 2014) retired racing greyhound. Luckily I have my own book room to which I can retreat!
In addition to reading and writing, I love long walks, riding my bike, and am passionate about music. I also have an odd quasi-obsession with bib overalls. If you see a long-haired fellow in a Buffalo-area cafe or library, wearing overalls and banging away on a laptop, there's a good chance that's me!
My online presence is as follows: Official author site, http://forgottenstars.net; personal blog, http:byzantiumshores.blogspot.com; Twitter and Instagram @Jaquandor.
In addition to reading and writing, I love long walks, riding my bike, and am passionate about music. I also have an odd quasi-obsession with bib overalls. If you see a long-haired fellow in a Buffalo-area cafe or library, wearing overalls and banging away on a laptop, there's a good chance that's me!
My online presence is as follows: Official author site, http://forgottenstars.net; personal blog, http:byzantiumshores.blogspot.com; Twitter and Instagram @Jaquandor.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 28, 2019
I'm pretty cynical when it comes to self-published authors. I have fairly low expectations, and given the vast amount of reading material available, and my general lack of copious amounts of free time, I'm really choosy about what I pick up. This novel was written by a fellow whose blog I have been following for years; who I used to interact with on a discussion forum for another author we both admire; who I am a "Facebook Friend" with. Early on, he posted the first chapter on his promotional website for the book, and I took a look. I read a few pages, and it didn't really catch my interest. But, when the e-book was released on Amazon with a very reasonable price, I figured, what the heck. For a few bucks I could afford to buy it - more in support of a friend than anything else - and if I never read it, well, he didn't ever need to know.
But, I was gonna give it an honest shot.
So. Synopsis: Tariana and Margeth Osono are Princesses of the Royal Family of Gavinar, a planet that is part of a a galaxy-spanning empire. Their Mother is Queen, but their Father is not King, having set aside that position in order to travel to the Capitol Planet of the Imperium to join the Imperial Senate - no wait - Imperial Parliament (I was thinking of a different space story). As we first meet them, the Princesses and their Mother are preparing to voyage to said Capitol Planet to join in the celebration of the Imperator's birthday. They embark aboard a brand spanking new spaceship, built specially for the occasion, set out, and promptly all hell breaks loose. They somehow get lost, and end up in the completely wrong star system, get attacked by some kind of electric star creatures who destroy the ship, and escape in a lifeboat, just the two girls and one member of the ship's crew. In a desperate flight away from the danger, they inadvertently end up on the far side of the Galaxy, thousands of light years away from any known planets. Luckily, they do find an inhabited planet, where they make an emergency landing, only to find themselves hailed by the locals as returning representatives of a ten thousand year old Galactic Empire that, as far as they can tell, ceased to exist thousands of years ago. They are immediately thrust into the centre of a political struggle between the two major powers of the world they've found, but there's a lot of mystery here. How did they get here, thousands of light years away from where they started? Where did this planet come from, and why don't its inhabitants know the Galactic Empire they think they are a part of is long gone? And what are these strange new abilities the Princesses appear to be developing?
If you're picking up on a bunch of well worn Sci-Fi tropes in the above, that's by design. The author deliberately set out to write a "Space Opera" style story, and is one of the world's biggest fans of the best know space opera series ever made, as I alluded to above. The Princesses are part of a galactic empire. They have a robotic school teacher. Along with the "Golden Age of Science Fiction" stylings comes a real youth fiction feel. The protagonists are young girls. They lament never having the freedom to make their own decisions in life. The older one is becoming interested in boys, and the younger one is oblivious to it.
But don't be fooled. There is far more complexity to this story than your average young adult pulp-fiction sci-fi novel. There are true mysteries for the girls to figure out. Mysteries that are mysterious enough that, as a reader, I was curious to find out more about them as well. The universe the novel inhabits is fully realized. It has a ten thousand year history that the author doles out in mere tidbits here and there, leaving a trail we are compelled to follow. I have to say I was more than pleasantly surprised by this novel. I was entranced. I totally bought into the characters. I genuinely want to learn more about the mysterious galactic empire that seems to have inexplicably disappeared without leaving a trace, except for one lonely, isolated world. And I want to find out more about the strange new abilities the sisters seem to be developing that they don't understand.
Sure, there are some little rough spots. Some idiomatic language in the narrator's voice that pulled me out of the story here and there. But they were minor, and simply marks of a young writer, working without the benefit of a professional editor. The story, however, is more than good enough to keep you interested enough to pull you past those moments, and keep you engaged. I'm glad I bought Stardancer, and I eagerly await the sequels. Highly recommended (and a real deal to boot).
But, I was gonna give it an honest shot.
So. Synopsis: Tariana and Margeth Osono are Princesses of the Royal Family of Gavinar, a planet that is part of a a galaxy-spanning empire. Their Mother is Queen, but their Father is not King, having set aside that position in order to travel to the Capitol Planet of the Imperium to join the Imperial Senate - no wait - Imperial Parliament (I was thinking of a different space story). As we first meet them, the Princesses and their Mother are preparing to voyage to said Capitol Planet to join in the celebration of the Imperator's birthday. They embark aboard a brand spanking new spaceship, built specially for the occasion, set out, and promptly all hell breaks loose. They somehow get lost, and end up in the completely wrong star system, get attacked by some kind of electric star creatures who destroy the ship, and escape in a lifeboat, just the two girls and one member of the ship's crew. In a desperate flight away from the danger, they inadvertently end up on the far side of the Galaxy, thousands of light years away from any known planets. Luckily, they do find an inhabited planet, where they make an emergency landing, only to find themselves hailed by the locals as returning representatives of a ten thousand year old Galactic Empire that, as far as they can tell, ceased to exist thousands of years ago. They are immediately thrust into the centre of a political struggle between the two major powers of the world they've found, but there's a lot of mystery here. How did they get here, thousands of light years away from where they started? Where did this planet come from, and why don't its inhabitants know the Galactic Empire they think they are a part of is long gone? And what are these strange new abilities the Princesses appear to be developing?
If you're picking up on a bunch of well worn Sci-Fi tropes in the above, that's by design. The author deliberately set out to write a "Space Opera" style story, and is one of the world's biggest fans of the best know space opera series ever made, as I alluded to above. The Princesses are part of a galactic empire. They have a robotic school teacher. Along with the "Golden Age of Science Fiction" stylings comes a real youth fiction feel. The protagonists are young girls. They lament never having the freedom to make their own decisions in life. The older one is becoming interested in boys, and the younger one is oblivious to it.
But don't be fooled. There is far more complexity to this story than your average young adult pulp-fiction sci-fi novel. There are true mysteries for the girls to figure out. Mysteries that are mysterious enough that, as a reader, I was curious to find out more about them as well. The universe the novel inhabits is fully realized. It has a ten thousand year history that the author doles out in mere tidbits here and there, leaving a trail we are compelled to follow. I have to say I was more than pleasantly surprised by this novel. I was entranced. I totally bought into the characters. I genuinely want to learn more about the mysterious galactic empire that seems to have inexplicably disappeared without leaving a trace, except for one lonely, isolated world. And I want to find out more about the strange new abilities the sisters seem to be developing that they don't understand.
Sure, there are some little rough spots. Some idiomatic language in the narrator's voice that pulled me out of the story here and there. But they were minor, and simply marks of a young writer, working without the benefit of a professional editor. The story, however, is more than good enough to keep you interested enough to pull you past those moments, and keep you engaged. I'm glad I bought Stardancer, and I eagerly await the sequels. Highly recommended (and a real deal to boot).
December 25, 2014
As a child, I did not read nearly as much as I should have, nor as much as I wanted to; I had a hard time sitting still long enough for books. Now in my adulthood, I am making up for it by mixing in a lot of young adult books to my reading list.The few books I loved had a few things in common. First, they had strong characters, usually young people, in charge of themselves. Second, they took place in settings that were beautifully described by the authors’ descriptions. Finally, they were full of adventure. The young reader in me that could never sit still for a book loved Stardancer, wanting to pick it up to read a bit more every chance I got.
A couple of months ago I finally picked up a young adult “classic” that sat on my shelf for twenty five years--sadly, I found myself very frustrated by it. See as a more enlightened adult reader I have become hypercritical of narrow-minded views. My main grievance with this other book was the absolute lack of female characters for over 50% of the novel. Once female characters did appear I got even more angry because they were mostly voiceless and completely helpless. I just don’t have time for such stories, nor would I want to pass them along to my nieces who are quickly approaching womanhood.
When I began reading Stardancer I worried about a story that centered on princesses falling into easy tropes that might weaken the characters--those fears were happily quelled. I found myself immersed in a world where leadership is not limited to one gender or the other. Thank you, Mr. Sedinger for giving so many strong female characters equally strong voices. I will be happy to recommend this book to my nieces.
A couple of months ago I finally picked up a young adult “classic” that sat on my shelf for twenty five years--sadly, I found myself very frustrated by it. See as a more enlightened adult reader I have become hypercritical of narrow-minded views. My main grievance with this other book was the absolute lack of female characters for over 50% of the novel. Once female characters did appear I got even more angry because they were mostly voiceless and completely helpless. I just don’t have time for such stories, nor would I want to pass them along to my nieces who are quickly approaching womanhood.
When I began reading Stardancer I worried about a story that centered on princesses falling into easy tropes that might weaken the characters--those fears were happily quelled. I found myself immersed in a world where leadership is not limited to one gender or the other. Thank you, Mr. Sedinger for giving so many strong female characters equally strong voices. I will be happy to recommend this book to my nieces.
March 12, 2015
OMG, it's 1am and I literally just finished reading and now I have to gush about it. Where do I begin?... This book was beautifully written from flying in space to the entrance into a whole new world come alive across the pages.
Imagine being a sheltered princess lost on a distant planet trying to survive, figure out who to trust, where exactly they are, and finally how to get back home.
Love love loved it!!!
Imagine being a sheltered princess lost on a distant planet trying to survive, figure out who to trust, where exactly they are, and finally how to get back home.
Love love loved it!!!
May 28, 2015
The characters and the story line in Stardancer are absolutely solid, no matter where it happens to take place. Yes, the setting is on a strange, unknown planet with two moons. Yes , there are plants and animals (beautifully described, by the way) which are not of this earth. But what will hold most readers, young or not-so-young, will be the relationships among the characters, the fast-paced action, and the lovely unexpected unfolding of a story well told. I love the word pictures in this book. Sedinger strikes an excellent balance with enough description to create a lush world the reader can fully experience without losing the pace of the page-turning plot. While the primary characters in the novel are female, this is not a "chick book". Nor is it just for young readers, even though the protagonists are very young. What this author has managed to pull off quite well is a very nice balance between including both males and females, both adults and kids. There is really something for everyone who enjoys fiction - even if sci fi/fantasy is not generally one's preferred genre. It's simply a very enjoyable story about getting lost (and let's face it, we've ALL been lost at some point, right?) and trying to sort out who to trust, where to go, and what to believe on the long journey home.
March 27, 2015
Enjoyable YA read. The story sucked me right in and kept me engaged. Lots of fun. My main disappointment was that, while the writing is good, it could have been cleaned up a lot more. Lots of redundancies and places where things could be tightened up. Also, the epilogue felt tacked on. I really didn't need all those extraneous plot points cleared up. It would have been better as the opening for the next volume (of which there are supposed to be nine?) perhaps. I found the actual ending of the last chapter to be a stronger way to go out. 3.75/5
March 11, 2015
Have already and will continue to recommend this one. Engaging read with interesting characters and just great fun. Can't wait for the others to come out (keep writing, Kelly!)
July 8, 2017
If you've read through Paul's review earlier, I can only concur with much of what he wrote. The only other impression I would add, is how much happiness, love and optimism shines through the story. It's refreshing, and I felt happy to read it.
I read it a while ago, and was so glad to find not one but TWO sequels are now out. I will definitely follow through. :)
I read it a while ago, and was so glad to find not one but TWO sequels are now out. I will definitely follow through. :)
June 17, 2017
Stardancer is an excellent read and extremely impressive for a self-published book. The story felt unique and authentic; the characters were anything but trite. I found the book compelling and had a hard time putting it down. The only thing that bothered me at all was the slight over-use of "think on what you know," which I'll forgive because it was instrumental in moving the main character's inner dialogue along. I absolutely recommend and will definitely pick up the sequel!
August 16, 2021
Sedinger has a knack for keeping the reader on edge. Up until the end, this story had me guessing and questioning whether our heroines/heroes will succeed. Speaking of which, at least half the main cast is female, and I cheered repeatedly for Sedinger giving them center stage.
Some of the imagery in Stardancer just has to be seen. I give no spoilers. But I wish Hollywood would take a look at this, because in many ways it's superior to Star Wars. Sorry, geeks.
Some of the imagery in Stardancer just has to be seen. I give no spoilers. But I wish Hollywood would take a look at this, because in many ways it's superior to Star Wars. Sorry, geeks.
July 7, 2020
Kelly is an online pal, but I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that reading Stardancer was like finding a lost Andre Norton novel. Lovely characters in a fun, thought-out world. It's the first in a trilogy, so there are unresolved plot elements, but it's still a complete, satisfying story.
October 19, 2016
Review soon.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews