Stardust Mesa: Scenes From Another Frontier

by Will Neely

Decades ago, the colony ship Gila left Earth bearing the future inhabitants of a new world, one destined to become humanity’s homestead among the stars. This collection of stories paints the picture of life on a new frontier – one both like and unlike the American frontier of yesteryear, where miners wrest exotic material from asteroids, ranchers breed herds of giant bug-like creatures, and each and every person fights to carve out a new life for themselves far from the planet their ancestors left behind. Welcome to the western side of the stars.

144 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 27, 2020

About the author

During his life Will has given concerts, managed concession stands, taught music lessons, worked in construction, preached sermons, created board games, designed and built websites, and probably more things he has forgotten. He can’t seem to stop his brain from conjuring up fun ideas, so he decided to start writing some of them down. He lives in the U.S. with his family and an oversized golden retriever.

Reviews

[Denise Barney · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes a cowboy a cowboy? Author Will Neely thought about it and wrote a series of stories.

“Stardust Mesa” begins with the discovery of a planet suitable for human habitation. Much like Ray Bradbury’s “Martian Chronicles,” these are individual stories that take place over the years. They are related, but each story is a stand-alone.

The entire novel is only 144 pages. Most of the action involves young adults or teens. There is no bad language and the sexual situations is of the “Aw, shucks, Ma’am” variety. There is not much science, rather, the technological marvels are accepted as a fact of life. The resolution of the problems presented in each story depends on the quick-thinking and initiative of the individuals, rather than technology. The language is simple, but not condescending.

This might be a good book for older reluctant readers.

[Kay Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the pairing of western with anything, but especially with scifi. This book of short stories is the perfect level of gritty and heartfelt as its tenacious characters make the most of an inhospitable environment. Will Neely's writing style artfully immerses its readers in the world and lives of these relatable and endearing characters.

[Justin Eads · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a fan of sci-fi, westerns, or short stories in general, definitely check this out. Each story builds off of one another in cool ways, but A Place to Call Home, Incident on Kappa-15, and Stardust Mesa are especially great.

[John Landers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the stories in this book. If you're a fan of Serenity/Firefly and the Sci-Fi Western type stories, you'll really enjoy these stories.