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The Lost Star Stories #1
The Bright Black Sea
Wil Litang, first mate of the tramp freighter Lost Star, reluctantly accepts the job as acting captain for a voyage, replacing the dying Captain Miccall. Unknown to him, the Lost Star has a mysterious and dangerous past. A past that has caught up with it. Haunted by this deadly past and driven by economic necessity, Litang and the crew of the Lost Star must venture far from their comfortable orbit – out into the lawless asteroid drifts of the Nine Star Nebula.
The Bright Black Sea is not your typical space opera. While it has space battles, it's not military SF. And while it's a tale full of mystery and danger, star empires are not falling and the fate of the galaxy is not hanging in the balance. Rather, The Bright Black Sea is a lighthearted, character-focused adventure novel. Set in a small nebula of nine stars, hundreds of planets and vast lawless asteroid belts, it takes classic space opera motifs – space pirates, sentient robots, and rockets – and incorporates them into a rich, episodic adventure. For mystery, danger, and romance, join Captain Wil Litang and the crew of the Lost Star as they sail the black and bright space of the Nine Star Nebula in this first volume of the Lost Star Stories.
The adventures and misadventures of Wil Litang continue in volume two of the Lost Star Stories – The Lost Star's Sea, which takes as its model the planetary romance, the type of story made famous by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and fondly reinvents the classic story of a stranger stranded in a strange land for the 21st century.
The Bright Black Sea is not your typical space opera. While it has space battles, it's not military SF. And while it's a tale full of mystery and danger, star empires are not falling and the fate of the galaxy is not hanging in the balance. Rather, The Bright Black Sea is a lighthearted, character-focused adventure novel. Set in a small nebula of nine stars, hundreds of planets and vast lawless asteroid belts, it takes classic space opera motifs – space pirates, sentient robots, and rockets – and incorporates them into a rich, episodic adventure. For mystery, danger, and romance, join Captain Wil Litang and the crew of the Lost Star as they sail the black and bright space of the Nine Star Nebula in this first volume of the Lost Star Stories.
The adventures and misadventures of Wil Litang continue in volume two of the Lost Star Stories – The Lost Star's Sea, which takes as its model the planetary romance, the type of story made famous by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and fondly reinvents the classic story of a stranger stranded in a strange land for the 21st century.
- GenresScience Fiction
1067 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2015
59 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
C. Litka
40 books13 followersI write romances. Romances in the old meaning of the word; that meaning being an adventure novel set in exotic locales, remote from everyday life. The fact that I set my stories in the future and in imaginary locales mean that they can be classified as science fiction, but what I really write are first person narratives that feature likable, modern characters, in lighthearted, realistic adventures, told with humor and a bit of that other type of romance as well.
In my teen years I read hundreds of science fiction books and since then many other types of novels; detective and mysteries, humor, adventure, military, sea stories, as well as light literary fiction, many of which were written in the first half of the last century. Having lived a perfectly ordinary and, thankfully, an uneventful life. these are the stories that have shaped the style and themes of my own stories,
I live in a small Wisconsin city. I’ve been married for as long as I can remember, with two grown children and a couple of grandchildren. Besides writing, I paint impressionist landscapes and ride my bike each day, outside when it’s warm and inside during long the Wisconsin winters with the bike on a stand next to a window.
In my teen years I read hundreds of science fiction books and since then many other types of novels; detective and mysteries, humor, adventure, military, sea stories, as well as light literary fiction, many of which were written in the first half of the last century. Having lived a perfectly ordinary and, thankfully, an uneventful life. these are the stories that have shaped the style and themes of my own stories,
I live in a small Wisconsin city. I’ve been married for as long as I can remember, with two grown children and a couple of grandchildren. Besides writing, I paint impressionist landscapes and ride my bike each day, outside when it’s warm and inside during long the Wisconsin winters with the bike on a stand next to a window.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 12, 2016
Simply the BEST: Top 1%; More than Five Stars!
Litka's "The Bright Black Sea" is absolutely one of the best space opera stories I have read. (I have read more than 400!) In it, Litka has created the wonderful universe of the Nine Star Nebula, with tens of thousands of planets and moons inhabited by our descendants about forty thousand years in the future. In his own unique fashion, the author has created a world as colorful and detailed as "Lord of the Rings" or "Game of Thrones". (But I can't imagine how this would transfer to the big or the small screen!) Litka offers a pretty large group of protagonists in the storyline, as recorded in the Captain's log of a tramp trading spaceship. Overall, the protagonists are honest and supportive of their shipmates, perhaps a little less so with outsiders. The Nine Star Nebula is described in loving detail, but the information is covered just a little at a time as the protagonists fight battle after battle for survival in a very tough universe. Economic recession, war, piracy, a lost throne, secret orders of sadistic (perhaps masochistic as well?) assassins, salvage, artificial intelligences, secrets, betrayals, jealous competitors, commerce raiders and other problems beset the crew and captain of a several thousand year-old interstellar trading spaceship. The crew of the ship keeps trying to make a living for their owners, but they have the bad luck to find every danger, and the good luck to survive - with plenty of scars as the individual characters develop during the story.
The action never ends, the complications are endless, but so, too is the courage and optimism of the crew. In the end of this portion of the story, most seem to survive. They are, however, changed by the experiences.
This book is long - it originally formed three books - but it never seems long because of the action and questions the reader will surely want to see resolved. I usually read several books a day, but I found myself up until 3:00 a.m. several nights in a row. I just hated to put this wonderful story down. The writing is excellent, the editing is good, and the author has revised it a few times!
Simply one of the BEST! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Litka's "The Bright Black Sea" is absolutely one of the best space opera stories I have read. (I have read more than 400!) In it, Litka has created the wonderful universe of the Nine Star Nebula, with tens of thousands of planets and moons inhabited by our descendants about forty thousand years in the future. In his own unique fashion, the author has created a world as colorful and detailed as "Lord of the Rings" or "Game of Thrones". (But I can't imagine how this would transfer to the big or the small screen!) Litka offers a pretty large group of protagonists in the storyline, as recorded in the Captain's log of a tramp trading spaceship. Overall, the protagonists are honest and supportive of their shipmates, perhaps a little less so with outsiders. The Nine Star Nebula is described in loving detail, but the information is covered just a little at a time as the protagonists fight battle after battle for survival in a very tough universe. Economic recession, war, piracy, a lost throne, secret orders of sadistic (perhaps masochistic as well?) assassins, salvage, artificial intelligences, secrets, betrayals, jealous competitors, commerce raiders and other problems beset the crew and captain of a several thousand year-old interstellar trading spaceship. The crew of the ship keeps trying to make a living for their owners, but they have the bad luck to find every danger, and the good luck to survive - with plenty of scars as the individual characters develop during the story.
The action never ends, the complications are endless, but so, too is the courage and optimism of the crew. In the end of this portion of the story, most seem to survive. They are, however, changed by the experiences.
This book is long - it originally formed three books - but it never seems long because of the action and questions the reader will surely want to see resolved. I usually read several books a day, but I found myself up until 3:00 a.m. several nights in a row. I just hated to put this wonderful story down. The writing is excellent, the editing is good, and the author has revised it a few times!
Simply one of the BEST! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
November 7, 2015
A great space opera with a fair few surprise twists, and one of those endings that leaves you wanting more. Very pleased with this book.
July 10, 2017
The worldbuilding is incredible and I found myself swept up in all the mundane aspects of their lives. I normally wouldn't think it interesting to hear all the unnecessary details of securing and receiving cargo, over and over again, but somehow Litka writes it in a way that traps you. Strangely enough the main story/action didn't really catch me in the first piece of the book. I kept thinking "ho-hum, another assassination, murder plots, secrets and cover-ups," but as it develops even that aspect becomes more interesting as it unfolds later in the story. Through most of the book, it feels like a random series of adventures as Litang and crew encounter a variety of dangers throughout their cargo runs. However, all the seemingly unrelated adventures tie together in some small ways that feel gratifying.
Normally I hate series. I finish the first book. I'll like it well enough, but I always want to move onto something new. This book looked to be a boxset - divided into three "books," so I felt kind of hesitant about going on to "book 2." I wasn't looking forward to continuing, but by the time I finished book 2, I couldn't wait to go onto book 3, and now I'm looking forward to the follow up story (available separately).
Normally I hate series. I finish the first book. I'll like it well enough, but I always want to move onto something new. This book looked to be a boxset - divided into three "books," so I felt kind of hesitant about going on to "book 2." I wasn't looking forward to continuing, but by the time I finished book 2, I couldn't wait to go onto book 3, and now I'm looking forward to the follow up story (available separately).
November 24, 2020
Swashbuckling space opera!
First off, I would give this five stars except that it has more than a few spelling errors. Really glaring ones too. I don't really mind that much, but I felt I couldn't give it five stars because of such an apparent inattention to detail. Other than that it was a fantastic science fiction yarn in the tradition of classic planetary romance of the golden age of pulp. Love it. If given the choice between spending my last three bucks on a sandwich or this book, I would go hungry.
First off, I would give this five stars except that it has more than a few spelling errors. Really glaring ones too. I don't really mind that much, but I felt I couldn't give it five stars because of such an apparent inattention to detail. Other than that it was a fantastic science fiction yarn in the tradition of classic planetary romance of the golden age of pulp. Love it. If given the choice between spending my last three bucks on a sandwich or this book, I would go hungry.
August 29, 2017
Wonderful: full, rich and spellbinding. Very reminiscent of Heinlein or Asimov. All I can say is WOW !!!
January 16, 2026
Incredible world-building! (Universe-building?) I picked this up at the library simply because I liked the cover and title and became obsessed! It's hard to devour a book this long, but I managed to do it, and I can't wait to start the next one. The characters are compelling and well-rounded. The relationships build realistically. The story arc is intriguing enough to keep going when the characters are stuck on side-quests. I don't usually read "reluctant hero" books, but I instantly loved Captain Will and rooted for him the whole time.
September 7, 2017
Absolutely wonderful, a must read for the lovers of the genera
A very good book. A concise and believable universe populated by heroes and villains. Literally a swashbuckling adventure as well as a space opera, a truly great book.
Aside from some minor edition defects that do nothing to take away from the enjoyment of the story, it is a yarn that makes it very difficult to put down. Amply recommended.
Can't wait to read the next boom from this author.
A very good book. A concise and believable universe populated by heroes and villains. Literally a swashbuckling adventure as well as a space opera, a truly great book.
Aside from some minor edition defects that do nothing to take away from the enjoyment of the story, it is a yarn that makes it very difficult to put down. Amply recommended.
Can't wait to read the next boom from this author.
April 5, 2020
An enjoyable adventure, and I am ready and willing to read its sequel. The copy editing left much to be desired, but otherwise a very good way to pass the time.
September 17, 2022
I really liked it.
March 16, 2017
Almost perfect, 4 3/4 STARS!
I received a "manuscript copy" of this book for free, and was expecting the typical self published editing errors, what I received was a nearly perfect, well polished sci-fi story of the first order. Letka is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. There were only the slightest copyediting errors (the when than was intended, missing small words etc all errors commonly encountered from big publishing house editions) and the early pacing was difficult, otherwise perfection. This author bus absolutely ready for prime time, and deserves to be wooed by an agent and publisher. One of my best reads.
I received a "manuscript copy" of this book for free, and was expecting the typical self published editing errors, what I received was a nearly perfect, well polished sci-fi story of the first order. Letka is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. There were only the slightest copyediting errors (the when than was intended, missing small words etc all errors commonly encountered from big publishing house editions) and the early pacing was difficult, otherwise perfection. This author bus absolutely ready for prime time, and deserves to be wooed by an agent and publisher. One of my best reads.
May 5, 2024
What a great adventure this book is! It begins when Wil Litang becomes the acting captain of the spaceship Lost Star and ends... Well, I can't say how it ends, but in between both Wil and the reader experience perils, terror, love, more terror, curiosity, weirdness, and everything but boredom. All right, maybe Wil experiences boredom at times, but not the reader.
The Lost Star is the space equivalent of a tramp steamer. Its voyages and the way it's managed have a lot in common with marine commerce here on Earth. But this story takes place eons in the future in a star system far away from Earth. Terra is a faint and distant memory to the characters of this book. They speak in terms of hundreds of centuries. Ships are thousands of years old. The threat of sentient machines taking over has already happened and has been (for the most part) resolved. The characters are human and relatable, especially Captain Wil and his crew (whom he calls "the gang").
Space travel is treated as normal and routine, with references to engines and other systems that sound totally plausible. This gives a solid foundation to the story, with dramatic intrigues, secrets, pirates, and a wandering assassin providing lots of excitement.
I can't recommend this book more enthusiastically to readers who enjoy science fiction and nautical adventures. Or to anyone else, for that matter. And I've already downloaded the sequel.
The Lost Star is the space equivalent of a tramp steamer. Its voyages and the way it's managed have a lot in common with marine commerce here on Earth. But this story takes place eons in the future in a star system far away from Earth. Terra is a faint and distant memory to the characters of this book. They speak in terms of hundreds of centuries. Ships are thousands of years old. The threat of sentient machines taking over has already happened and has been (for the most part) resolved. The characters are human and relatable, especially Captain Wil and his crew (whom he calls "the gang").
Space travel is treated as normal and routine, with references to engines and other systems that sound totally plausible. This gives a solid foundation to the story, with dramatic intrigues, secrets, pirates, and a wandering assassin providing lots of excitement.
I can't recommend this book more enthusiastically to readers who enjoy science fiction and nautical adventures. Or to anyone else, for that matter. And I've already downloaded the sequel.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews