WinterStar

Star Tribes #1

by Blaze Ward

Daniel has had enough as a chef. The burnout convinces him to sell the restaurant to his Sous Chef, walk out the door, and never come back.
Kathra Omezi's star tribe faces poverty on a daily basis. Twenty-five ships in deep space against the entire Sept Empire.
And then a conqueror steps into their lives.
The Mbaysey tribe, and the galaxy, will never be the same.

Genres: Science Fiction

312 pages, Paperback

Published April 22, 2020

About the author

Blaze Ward writes science fiction in the Alexandria Station universe as well as The Collective. He also write fantasy stories with several characters and series, from an alternate Rome to epic high fantasy in the desert. You can find out more at his website www.blazeward.com, as well as Facebook, here, and other places.

Blaze’s works are available as ebooks, paper, and audio, and can be found at a variety of online vendors (Kobo, Amazon, and others). His newsletter comes out quarterly, and you can also follow his blog on his website. He really enjoys interacting with fans, and looks forward to any and all questions—even ones about his books!

Reviews

[Laz the Sailor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this book in a collection from KKR. It was published in 2019, but Amazon doesn't know anything about it. Perhaps it's a beta in the bundle.

That said, it was a lot of fun. Somewhat a reverse of the "Mars needs women" trope, and this is certainly not a romance, but the lone and insignificant male provides the key to survival for a tribe of space-faring women. Perhaps because I'm a guy, I didn't find this troublesome.

The scifi tech was a bit OTT, but the characters and the snark were all first rate. I hope there will be more in this series.

[astaliegurec · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m at a loss for how to rate Blaze Ward’s 2019 novel "Star Tribes, Book 1: WinterStar." On the one hand, the writing is technically good and the story interesting. Plus, there aren’t many science fiction books out there where the protagonist is a chef. On the other hand, the universe is silly and I have big problems with all the characters. Those negatives can be summarized by my observations that the author has written the whole universe and all the characters except for the protagonist as racists and sexists. Again, the main character is fine (well, he does bask in his belief about his prowess in bed near the beginning). But, that goes away quickly. However, even his allies, the supposed good guys (or gals, in this case) are blatant, open racists and sexists. Why? Don’t know. Wait. Yes, we do. Apparently, their grandmother’s generation was enslaved by a planet in a 1000 solar system empire with FTL travel and multi-kilometer long ships, and the mother of the protagonist’s main ally convinced said empire that was unjust. So, it freed them. Afterward, it sent assassins and killed the ally’s mother. Why would that planet in such an empire enslave people? Don’t know. Why would the empire send assassins? Don’t know. Why would such an empire allow such slavery? Don’t know. Of what use would it be to them since they have such capabilities and energy generation? Don’t know. But, I guess since the enslaved were black and the enslavers non-black, there is a reason for the racism. For the sexism, the allies’ men were siphoned off someplace by either that earlier-mentioned planet or the empire, so the women “adjusted” and the whole society turned lesbian. Plus, the empire treats women as second class citizens. Why? Don’t know. But, OK. If the author wants to use that as a straw man, fine. It’s only obnoxious in isolated areas of the book and I accepted it since I was interested in the story. But, then out of the blue, a near immortal, nearly godlike alien lizard man shows up in deep space, monologues about having worked so hard tracking them down, and attempts to enslave and rape them en mass. Right. Sure. Pull the other ones, they have got bells on. At that point, I was ready to throw the book down and give up. But, again, I was interested in the story. So, I pushed on. The pacing for the rest of the book is a bit uneven. But, except for the abrupt ending (since this is the first book in a series), I was happy with the rest of the story. So, with that dichotomy in feeling, I’m stuck. I guess I’ll split the difference and rate it at an OK 3 stars out of 5. But, I’d highly suggest borrowing it from a library first instead of buying it.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of the book although sometimes I thought the author was being far too long winded. I don’t mind him having literary pretentions, but there are times in the story when it just needs to keep moving or it loses some of its excitement and impetuous. Unfortunately the author often takes these times to delve into the feelings of the characters or to describe everything around them.
As for the universe he has created, I will reserve judgment until I have read the next book.

[Brent Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have yet to read a book by Blaze Ward that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. This book was no exception. I love his descriptions of characters, places and food that reach out to your mind and imprint themselves there. I find myself using those rich descriptions in my head after the book is done. All good stuff that makes me hunger for the next book and the next and the next.

[david spencer broughton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange tale from the star turtle.

Cross over into the Diskworld planet carrying beady of pratchett. But with so the style and storytelling
Style I would expect from Blaze Ward. Glad I purchased the whole series.

[Veni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and original

A very interesting 1st book with enough original plot elements to differentiate it from the rest of the genre. Fun and deep at the same time, it created a great intro to the series.

[Teresa Carrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Space opera with a bit of horror thrown in.

[Robyn Turnbull · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great

Ok if you have a high tolerance for poor plot. Probably worth reading if you can get it on Kindle unlimited. Or if you're a chef.