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Continuance #1
Stars and Bones
From the multi BSFA award-winner comes a stunningly inventive action-packed science-fiction epic adventure. A brand-new series for fans of Becky Chambers and Ann Leckie.
Seventy-five years from today, the human race has been cast from a dying Earth to wander the stars in a vast fleet of arks—each shaped by its inhabitants into a diverse and fascinating new environment, with its own rules and eccentricities.
When her sister disappears while responding to a mysterious alien distress call, Eryn insists on being part of the crew sent to look for her. What she discovers on Candidate-623 is both terrifying and deadly. When the threat follows her back to the fleet and people start dying, she is tasked with seeking out a legendary recluse who may just hold the key to humanity’s survival.
Seventy-five years from today, the human race has been cast from a dying Earth to wander the stars in a vast fleet of arks—each shaped by its inhabitants into a diverse and fascinating new environment, with its own rules and eccentricities.
When her sister disappears while responding to a mysterious alien distress call, Eryn insists on being part of the crew sent to look for her. What she discovers on Candidate-623 is both terrifying and deadly. When the threat follows her back to the fleet and people start dying, she is tasked with seeking out a legendary recluse who may just hold the key to humanity’s survival.
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 312 reviews
January 30, 2022
Because guardian angel or not, sometimes a girl just needs a huge flamethrower to burn the shit out of anything that messes with her.
There is a surfeit of brilliant space opera at present: The ‘Salvation’ trilogy by Peter Hamilton, ‘Galaxias’ by Stephen Baxter (not to mention his ‘World Engines’ duology), ‘Inhibitor Phase’ by Alastair Reynold (which marks a triumphant return to the ‘Revelation Space’ saga), ‘Shards of Earth’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky (who also wrote the enthralling ‘Children of Time’ and its sequel) and the recently concluded ‘Expanse’ series by James S.A. Corey.
What this means is that the bar has been set very high of late, so a book like ‘Stars and Bones’ by Gareth Powell has to be judged against some very high achievers. Sadly, for me, it falls short. This is not to say it is a bad book. There is a lot I liked about it, and I think it is a very good entry point into the hard SF space opera sub-genre for those readers who don’t normally read SF.
Speaking of hard SF, my main problem with ‘Stars and Bones’ is that it is a bit hazy on the details and the science. Yes, a Dyson Sphere does play an, er pivotal role, but the concept of the ‘substrate’ (what Star Wars termed ‘hyperspace’), for example, and its role in allowing for near-instantaneous interstellar travel is a McGuffin that is all too common in SF these days to avoid the implications of Einsteinian reality.
The main plot is not that original either: Humanity is on the verge of destroying itself when an alien called an Angel of Benevolence swoops in to save the day. It handily obliterates the rings of Saturn to build a fleet of arkships and sends the species on its merry way to explore for a new home. (There are billions of humans and only a few thousand arkships, each of which is a unique environment or conglomeration of cultures – Powell’s tantalising peak into this setup of the co-called Continuance was the best part of the book for me).
Unfortunately, a pitstop on a (seemingly) uninhabited planet when an arkship goes missing unleashes a (seemingly) unstoppable force that quickly infiltrates the fleet like a combination of the protomolecule from ‘The Expanse’ and the icky stuff from ‘Night’s Dawn’. Genre readers just know that the proverbial is going to hit the fan when a strange planet is only designated by a number, with LV-426 being a classic example.
There are some nice touches here, like technology allowing the cat Sam to mind-meld with both humans and arkships (leading to much acerbic commentary in the background about the general stupidity of humanity). I thought Powell has too heavy a hand in anthropomorphising the ultimate (and inevitable) showdown, but he does a pretty good job of setting up the next novel. I’m certainly curious enough to see what direction he takes his story in next.
There is a surfeit of brilliant space opera at present: The ‘Salvation’ trilogy by Peter Hamilton, ‘Galaxias’ by Stephen Baxter (not to mention his ‘World Engines’ duology), ‘Inhibitor Phase’ by Alastair Reynold (which marks a triumphant return to the ‘Revelation Space’ saga), ‘Shards of Earth’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky (who also wrote the enthralling ‘Children of Time’ and its sequel) and the recently concluded ‘Expanse’ series by James S.A. Corey.
What this means is that the bar has been set very high of late, so a book like ‘Stars and Bones’ by Gareth Powell has to be judged against some very high achievers. Sadly, for me, it falls short. This is not to say it is a bad book. There is a lot I liked about it, and I think it is a very good entry point into the hard SF space opera sub-genre for those readers who don’t normally read SF.
Speaking of hard SF, my main problem with ‘Stars and Bones’ is that it is a bit hazy on the details and the science. Yes, a Dyson Sphere does play an, er pivotal role, but the concept of the ‘substrate’ (what Star Wars termed ‘hyperspace’), for example, and its role in allowing for near-instantaneous interstellar travel is a McGuffin that is all too common in SF these days to avoid the implications of Einsteinian reality.
The main plot is not that original either: Humanity is on the verge of destroying itself when an alien called an Angel of Benevolence swoops in to save the day. It handily obliterates the rings of Saturn to build a fleet of arkships and sends the species on its merry way to explore for a new home. (There are billions of humans and only a few thousand arkships, each of which is a unique environment or conglomeration of cultures – Powell’s tantalising peak into this setup of the co-called Continuance was the best part of the book for me).
Unfortunately, a pitstop on a (seemingly) uninhabited planet when an arkship goes missing unleashes a (seemingly) unstoppable force that quickly infiltrates the fleet like a combination of the protomolecule from ‘The Expanse’ and the icky stuff from ‘Night’s Dawn’. Genre readers just know that the proverbial is going to hit the fan when a strange planet is only designated by a number, with LV-426 being a classic example.
There are some nice touches here, like technology allowing the cat Sam to mind-meld with both humans and arkships (leading to much acerbic commentary in the background about the general stupidity of humanity). I thought Powell has too heavy a hand in anthropomorphising the ultimate (and inevitable) showdown, but he does a pretty good job of setting up the next novel. I’m certainly curious enough to see what direction he takes his story in next.
August 23, 2023
3.5 Stars
This was an enjoyable space opera filled with likeable characters and humorous banter.
This story was quite predictable and tropey, but still quite entertaining. The tone of the story was fairly light despite the high stakes. I tend to prefer more serious narratives, but still generally enjoyed this one.
I would recommend this one to sci fi readers who love space opera. This would also be a good entry point for those newer to the science fiction genre.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Titan Books.
This was an enjoyable space opera filled with likeable characters and humorous banter.
This story was quite predictable and tropey, but still quite entertaining. The tone of the story was fairly light despite the high stakes. I tend to prefer more serious narratives, but still generally enjoyed this one.
I would recommend this one to sci fi readers who love space opera. This would also be a good entry point for those newer to the science fiction genre.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Titan Books.
December 10, 2025
Pretty good SF.
This may be a candidate for the Poul Anderson award: a great idea, but inexpertly presented. Anderson wrote lots of first rate science fiction, and always had great ideas, but some of the books and stories were less than awesome.
Here, writer Gareth L. Powell has a great idea about humanity escaping the lost world of Earth and heading out into space aboard an armada of arks to find a new home. Each ark has a fair amount of autonomy and so has developed unique cultures and systems. Sounds like something Alastair Reynolds would cook up, and Powell also pays homage to several other classic SF writers and this stands on the shoulders of those who have come before for a decent space opera. I also noticed some hints at Philip K. Dick and John Varley and I was all for that. There was also a god-like race, simulacra and talking cats!
But!
Amidst this really good world building and some better than average writing, there are also some sophomoric, even stupid sections and I had to cringe several times at some ridiculous scene. Several of the characters were stereotypical and the dialogue was especially bad. The worst part is that it is formulaic, it was like the writer was checking boxes.
Still, not terrible, and others may enjoy this more than I did.
This may be a candidate for the Poul Anderson award: a great idea, but inexpertly presented. Anderson wrote lots of first rate science fiction, and always had great ideas, but some of the books and stories were less than awesome.
Here, writer Gareth L. Powell has a great idea about humanity escaping the lost world of Earth and heading out into space aboard an armada of arks to find a new home. Each ark has a fair amount of autonomy and so has developed unique cultures and systems. Sounds like something Alastair Reynolds would cook up, and Powell also pays homage to several other classic SF writers and this stands on the shoulders of those who have come before for a decent space opera. I also noticed some hints at Philip K. Dick and John Varley and I was all for that. There was also a god-like race, simulacra and talking cats!
But!
Amidst this really good world building and some better than average writing, there are also some sophomoric, even stupid sections and I had to cringe several times at some ridiculous scene. Several of the characters were stereotypical and the dialogue was especially bad. The worst part is that it is formulaic, it was like the writer was checking boxes.
Still, not terrible, and others may enjoy this more than I did.
December 25, 2021
This is a review of an uncorrected ARC. I am grateful to Titan Books for sending me a copy.
A poor story set in a fascinating universe
Gareth L. Powell is a BSFA award-winning writer that I had been meaning to read for a while, so when this book appeared on NetGalley, I requested a copy with anticipation and started reading it as soon as it arrived.
The setting is excellent. Humanity is saved from the brink of self-annihilation by a powerful benevolent alien that immediately proceeds to exile all humans to wander the stars on board a thousand-strong fleet of AI-piloted ships.
There are many cool ideas. Ship AIs physically manifest as blue human-looking 'envoys'. Each ship has a distinct culture and feel. And humanity's politics has largely moved to a post-consumerist utopia, though there are still those who cling to the vestigial ways of the old world. There are even snarky talking cats, an idea that is surprisingly endearing.
Unfortunately, I found most of the other traits of this book disappointing.
The Science (and Economics)
Not every science fiction book should be hard, but there should be a modicum of coherence and self-consistency. There were quite a few obvious logical holes, which I found distracting (and I am excluding: the substrate, the use of the 'Observer Effect', the collars that cats are now born with, etc.). For example,
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
The Characters
1) As the main character, Eryn is shallow and annoying. On many instances, she spends pages self-doubting and hand-wringing, taking us along for endless internal monologues. Then in the very next moment, she suddenly becomes determined and clear-minded. She has no clear qualifications for the job of saving all 15 billion humans on the Continuance, yet is repeatedly picked by others to fulfil this role. At one point she says . Enough said.
2) Frank, Shepperd, Genet, and Madison are walking stereotypes.
3) Li is a one-dimensional character that only serves as a love interest. Her repeated unrequited affections are cringe-worthy.
4) Haruki and Victoria are both rather interesting, but are barely explored.
5) My favourite characters? The envoys. The Alexandria's only appears for a couple of pages, and totally steals the show.
The Story
The story is narrated using POVs, but there aren't enough different POVs to warrant the use of this device. 75% of it is told from Eryn or the Ocelot's POV. The action is jarringly interrupted by long internal monologues. The story is full of plot holes and logical inconsistencies. Here are a few examples.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
A poor story set in a fascinating universe
Gareth L. Powell is a BSFA award-winning writer that I had been meaning to read for a while, so when this book appeared on NetGalley, I requested a copy with anticipation and started reading it as soon as it arrived.
The setting is excellent. Humanity is saved from the brink of self-annihilation by a powerful benevolent alien that immediately proceeds to exile all humans to wander the stars on board a thousand-strong fleet of AI-piloted ships.
There are many cool ideas. Ship AIs physically manifest as blue human-looking 'envoys'. Each ship has a distinct culture and feel. And humanity's politics has largely moved to a post-consumerist utopia, though there are still those who cling to the vestigial ways of the old world. There are even snarky talking cats, an idea that is surprisingly endearing.
Unfortunately, I found most of the other traits of this book disappointing.
The Science (and Economics)
Not every science fiction book should be hard, but there should be a modicum of coherence and self-consistency. There were quite a few obvious logical holes, which I found distracting (and I am excluding: the substrate, the use of the 'Observer Effect', the collars that cats are now born with, etc.). For example,
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
The Characters
1) As the main character, Eryn is shallow and annoying. On many instances, she spends pages self-doubting and hand-wringing, taking us along for endless internal monologues. Then in the very next moment, she suddenly becomes determined and clear-minded. She has no clear qualifications for the job of saving all 15 billion humans on the Continuance, yet is repeatedly picked by others to fulfil this role. At one point she says . Enough said.
2) Frank, Shepperd, Genet, and Madison are walking stereotypes.
3) Li is a one-dimensional character that only serves as a love interest. Her repeated unrequited affections are cringe-worthy.
4) Haruki and Victoria are both rather interesting, but are barely explored.
5) My favourite characters? The envoys. The Alexandria's only appears for a couple of pages, and totally steals the show.
The Story
The story is narrated using POVs, but there aren't enough different POVs to warrant the use of this device. 75% of it is told from Eryn or the Ocelot's POV. The action is jarringly interrupted by long internal monologues. The story is full of plot holes and logical inconsistencies. Here are a few examples.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
February 28, 2022
Ahoy there me mateys! I received an eArc of this sci-fi novel through NetGalley in exchange for me honest musings . . .
This book was frustrating for me. The first in a new series, there are some fun concepts involved but the structure, plot, and characters had problems.
The story follow Eryn whose sister is exploring a new planet and then goes missing. Eryn wants to rescue her but gets pulled into fighting a large alien menace that threatens humankind.
The highlight of the book for me was the concept of the arks which are generational spaceships. Humanity was about to self-destruct when an alien swoops in to save the planet. Humans are allowed to live because of their potential but are forbidden to settle on any other planet. I enjoyed how the arks evolved and the personalities of the AIs. The aliens in charge were rather cool in how they were set up and their basic indifference towards humanity's concerns. Oh and there is a talking cat. I liked him too.
I did not really like Eryn. Her angsty backstory was lame and I thought she was rather shallow and flat as a character. And she was the most well rounded of the book. The other characters felt like stereotypes. And a very large segment of characters existed briefly only to be quickly killed later. Of course the one person that does survive is for the unnecessary and boring love story.
I also felt that the backstory, told in a series of flashbacks from other points of view, were rather lackluster. These sections felt tacked on into the plot and were a bit boring. Ultimately, I feel that the concepts of the book were very fun but there were so many ideas introduced and explored that the plot and characterization suffered. I am not sure if I will read more of this series. Arrr!
This book was frustrating for me. The first in a new series, there are some fun concepts involved but the structure, plot, and characters had problems.
The story follow Eryn whose sister is exploring a new planet and then goes missing. Eryn wants to rescue her but gets pulled into fighting a large alien menace that threatens humankind.
The highlight of the book for me was the concept of the arks which are generational spaceships. Humanity was about to self-destruct when an alien swoops in to save the planet. Humans are allowed to live because of their potential but are forbidden to settle on any other planet. I enjoyed how the arks evolved and the personalities of the AIs. The aliens in charge were rather cool in how they were set up and their basic indifference towards humanity's concerns. Oh and there is a talking cat. I liked him too.
I did not really like Eryn. Her angsty backstory was lame and I thought she was rather shallow and flat as a character. And she was the most well rounded of the book. The other characters felt like stereotypes. And a very large segment of characters existed briefly only to be quickly killed later. Of course the one person that does survive is for the unnecessary and boring love story.
I also felt that the backstory, told in a series of flashbacks from other points of view, were rather lackluster. These sections felt tacked on into the plot and were a bit boring. Ultimately, I feel that the concepts of the book were very fun but there were so many ideas introduced and explored that the plot and characterization suffered. I am not sure if I will read more of this series. Arrr!
February 14, 2022
Many years earlier, some humans on Earth initiated a war which would have led to the destruction of everything on Earth. At the same time, a scientist made a breakthrough and discovered how to make wormholes. And watching over Earth for millenia was a massive, ancient entity, who decided humans were smart and super dangerous to their planet, so, put them on massive generation ships called arcs so humans would get to travel the stars. Then, the rest of life on Earth could thrive without humans’ destructiveness, self-centredness, and short-sidedness.
To make it a little easier on humans, the benevolent entity put dogs and cats (and a few other domesticated animals) on the arcs, and gave cats and dogs the ability to speak with humans, with appropriately funny results.
Years later, a team is sent to investigate something on an uninhabited planet. After an unimaginably horrible outcome, Navigator/ship captain Eryn of the sentient ship Ocelot transports a second team to investigate the original team’s loss. Eryn is particularly disturbed by this investigation, as her sister was one of the previous team members killed by some unknown being(s).
The second team is killed, and literally disassembled, with only one, injured survivor, Li Chen. Eryn, Li and the Ocelot hightail it back to Eryn's home arc. (Eryn and her sister and niece Madison were all born on this arc, like all the rest of humanity.)
The malevolent presence that massacred the teams follows the Ocelot back to the arc, and begins taking everyone apart, killing countless people and animals in the process. Eryn manages to get on board and rescue her niece and make it off, and is then tasked with finding the very reclusive guy who discovered wormholes because he might be able to find a solution to the horrible situation. More danger, unexpected, sudden deaths of various supporting characters, and difficult choices ensue for Eryn before the book's resolution.
This book is almost nonstop action and peril. From its gruesome destruction of two teams, to the terrifying segment aboard the arc, to well, every unexpected death (and there are several), there is almost no down time to catch one's breath while reading. The pace does not let up and I was almost constantly worried about Eryn and the Ocelot. I read most of this book in one day as I was so invested in Eryn’s situation and would happen next.
I liked Powell’s idea of the massive entities who spend millennia watching things unfold in the universe, and loved how one chose to kick humans off their home planet and confined them to massive ships, because life on Earth needed to be saved from us.
I'm always a fan of sentient spaceships, and the Ocelot, and its envoy, were kind of lovable. I still prefer Trouble Dog (from the author’s “Embers of War” series), though.
I was a wee bit miffed by the ending, as I wanted Eryn to end up elsewhere, but, Powell has also left me wondering, what's next for Eryn and the huge job she has before her? And what does this mean for other humans in the remaining arcs? And when is someone going to feed Sam the cat, whom I want to see more of. So, I guess I kind of want more in this Continuance universe created by the author.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Titan Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
To make it a little easier on humans, the benevolent entity put dogs and cats (and a few other domesticated animals) on the arcs, and gave cats and dogs the ability to speak with humans, with appropriately funny results.
Years later, a team is sent to investigate something on an uninhabited planet. After an unimaginably horrible outcome, Navigator/ship captain Eryn of the sentient ship Ocelot transports a second team to investigate the original team’s loss. Eryn is particularly disturbed by this investigation, as her sister was one of the previous team members killed by some unknown being(s).
The second team is killed, and literally disassembled, with only one, injured survivor, Li Chen. Eryn, Li and the Ocelot hightail it back to Eryn's home arc. (Eryn and her sister and niece Madison were all born on this arc, like all the rest of humanity.)
The malevolent presence that massacred the teams follows the Ocelot back to the arc, and begins taking everyone apart, killing countless people and animals in the process. Eryn manages to get on board and rescue her niece and make it off, and is then tasked with finding the very reclusive guy who discovered wormholes because he might be able to find a solution to the horrible situation. More danger, unexpected, sudden deaths of various supporting characters, and difficult choices ensue for Eryn before the book's resolution.
This book is almost nonstop action and peril. From its gruesome destruction of two teams, to the terrifying segment aboard the arc, to well, every unexpected death (and there are several), there is almost no down time to catch one's breath while reading. The pace does not let up and I was almost constantly worried about Eryn and the Ocelot. I read most of this book in one day as I was so invested in Eryn’s situation and would happen next.
I liked Powell’s idea of the massive entities who spend millennia watching things unfold in the universe, and loved how one chose to kick humans off their home planet and confined them to massive ships, because life on Earth needed to be saved from us.
I'm always a fan of sentient spaceships, and the Ocelot, and its envoy, were kind of lovable. I still prefer Trouble Dog (from the author’s “Embers of War” series), though.
I was a wee bit miffed by the ending, as I wanted Eryn to end up elsewhere, but, Powell has also left me wondering, what's next for Eryn and the huge job she has before her? And what does this mean for other humans in the remaining arcs? And when is someone going to feed Sam the cat, whom I want to see more of. So, I guess I kind of want more in this Continuance universe created by the author.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Titan Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.
March 3, 2022
The first in a new series from Gareth Powell, Stars and Bones is an ambitious, not to say audacious, space opera that imagines a very different near-future for humanity from that depressing one we may expect - though it is not a future on Earth.
No, rather, within a handful of generations, Powell sees us cast out of our soiled Eden to become nomads, ever sailing the currents of space in a fleet of arks, searching for a place where we are allowed to drop anchor.
With overtones of "2001" and a distinct sense of judgement, Stars and Bones follows a split timeline, showing us how this came to be through the perspectives of the world's richest man, Haruki, and a couple of scientists, Frank and Victoria, who all witnessed the start of the exile. Seventy-five years into the future, it follows Eryn, Navigator of survey ship Curious Ocelot, which, in the best Star Trek tradition, is about to discover something nasty, very nasty indeed, on a planet known as Candidate-623.
I loved the relationship between Eryn and the sentient Ocelot (represented in physical form by its avatar, a blue-skinned person). There's a level of familiarity and banter between them which hints at how close and trusting they are: bonded for life and with fates linked (elsewhere we see the horror when that bond is broken). I also liked Eryn full stop: her impulsiveness, her looking out for sulky teenage niece Madison. Most of all, the guilt-ridden relationship with sister Shay, Madison's mum, who's missing now creates some complex dynamics between the three and undercurrents which challenge Eryn in discharging her varied duties. There are moments when I just wanted to shout "do the thing!" to Eryn while understanding her hesitation or how she was torn. Life in space circa 2100CE is riddled with dilemmas, perhaps explaining if not always excusing Eryn's general affect of searching for somebody to thump.
There are to be fair plenty of candidates for that honour, from the leader of a survey team who seems determined to court as much danger as possible, to the deadly alien shape-shifters who plague Eryn throughout the book, to the... But that would be to spoil the story. Let's just say there is one entity here, of vast power and ancient origin, that is particularly aloof. And annoying.
It's an action-packed, combat-rich novel, part escape, part race to uncover a mystery dating back to the early days of the exile, and the survival of the drifting human race is (of course) in peril. We see how in the vast fleet, humans have recreated - but also reworked - the divisions imported from Earth, with vastly different takes on abundance. We see how many, life-limiting cultural mores have been overcome - but not everywhere.
We also occupy one of my favourite situations in SF - the close-knit crew sharing space on a small, slightly rackety spacecraft through a combination of uneventful flight and unimaginable danger and the familiar locations - mess room, cramped quarters, hold and flight deck (seriously, if I could I'd build one of those just to live in). Familiar, maybe, but perfectly realised and deeply atmospheric.
What else?
Oh yes. Did I mention that we also meet a talking cat? Sam is fitted with an implant and able to vocalise, but he's still all cat, strolling in amidst a crisis to ask when he'll be fed. There's much more as well - a pair of detectives, the universe's most annoying influencer ever, and a fantastic, awe-inspiring location which our heroes must visit to find a recluse who may, just, have the answer that will save humanity.
Exciting, entertaining, scary at times and refreshingly different, I enjoyed Stars and Bones immensely and would strongly recommend it.
No, rather, within a handful of generations, Powell sees us cast out of our soiled Eden to become nomads, ever sailing the currents of space in a fleet of arks, searching for a place where we are allowed to drop anchor.
With overtones of "2001" and a distinct sense of judgement, Stars and Bones follows a split timeline, showing us how this came to be through the perspectives of the world's richest man, Haruki, and a couple of scientists, Frank and Victoria, who all witnessed the start of the exile. Seventy-five years into the future, it follows Eryn, Navigator of survey ship Curious Ocelot, which, in the best Star Trek tradition, is about to discover something nasty, very nasty indeed, on a planet known as Candidate-623.
I loved the relationship between Eryn and the sentient Ocelot (represented in physical form by its avatar, a blue-skinned person). There's a level of familiarity and banter between them which hints at how close and trusting they are: bonded for life and with fates linked (elsewhere we see the horror when that bond is broken). I also liked Eryn full stop: her impulsiveness, her looking out for sulky teenage niece Madison. Most of all, the guilt-ridden relationship with sister Shay, Madison's mum, who's missing now creates some complex dynamics between the three and undercurrents which challenge Eryn in discharging her varied duties. There are moments when I just wanted to shout "do the thing!" to Eryn while understanding her hesitation or how she was torn. Life in space circa 2100CE is riddled with dilemmas, perhaps explaining if not always excusing Eryn's general affect of searching for somebody to thump.
There are to be fair plenty of candidates for that honour, from the leader of a survey team who seems determined to court as much danger as possible, to the deadly alien shape-shifters who plague Eryn throughout the book, to the... But that would be to spoil the story. Let's just say there is one entity here, of vast power and ancient origin, that is particularly aloof. And annoying.
It's an action-packed, combat-rich novel, part escape, part race to uncover a mystery dating back to the early days of the exile, and the survival of the drifting human race is (of course) in peril. We see how in the vast fleet, humans have recreated - but also reworked - the divisions imported from Earth, with vastly different takes on abundance. We see how many, life-limiting cultural mores have been overcome - but not everywhere.
We also occupy one of my favourite situations in SF - the close-knit crew sharing space on a small, slightly rackety spacecraft through a combination of uneventful flight and unimaginable danger and the familiar locations - mess room, cramped quarters, hold and flight deck (seriously, if I could I'd build one of those just to live in). Familiar, maybe, but perfectly realised and deeply atmospheric.
What else?
Oh yes. Did I mention that we also meet a talking cat? Sam is fitted with an implant and able to vocalise, but he's still all cat, strolling in amidst a crisis to ask when he'll be fed. There's much more as well - a pair of detectives, the universe's most annoying influencer ever, and a fantastic, awe-inspiring location which our heroes must visit to find a recluse who may, just, have the answer that will save humanity.
Exciting, entertaining, scary at times and refreshingly different, I enjoyed Stars and Bones immensely and would strongly recommend it.
February 10, 2022
Read this review and other Science Fiction/Fantasy book reviews at The Quill to Live
Last year I read Light Chaser, a collaboration between Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell, and it birthed a desire to give Powell a deeper look. Having read a lot of Hamilton, my sense was that Powel’s work added a bit of blood to the sprawling imagination Hamilton usually provides. Instead of going with Powell’s more acclaimed Embers of War trilogy, I decided to gamble on his newest release, Stars and Bones. Interestingly, I came away from the table even, being neither disappointed nor excited by the hands I had been dealt.
75 years ago, when the world looked like it was about to end, a cosmic entity akin to an Angel intervened in nuclear strikes and shoved humanity off planet Earth. They provided massive ships for everyone to move to and created the Continuance, a massive fleet of these country sized arkships, with varying environments and cultures. Eryn is a part of the Vanguard, an elite cadre of pilots who push the boundaries of the continuance, expanding our knowledge of the universe and the planets within it. Upon learning that her sister has disappeared while investigating a distress call from an alien source, Eryn pushes her way onto the crew sent to solve the mystery. Unfortunately for Erin and the rest of the Continuance, what they find on Candidate 623 is even deadlier and more alien than they could have guessed. Thrust into the mess by proximity and sheer determination, Eryn is tasked with finding the one man who convened with the angel who saved us from ourselves, for he may be the only one who can save humanity again.
Stars and Bones is a frustrating book for me. On the surface, Powell combines several staple science fiction ideas in an interesting world that both mildly cherishes human life and has zero attachment to it. It has elements of both cosmic and bodily horror that showcase the conglomeration of tropes in thrilling and tangible ways. However, the story that ties it all together is incredibly thin, with some unfortunately one dimensional characters. It’s not quite squandered potential, as the ending of the book opens interesting avenues for the rest of the trilogy, but the first outing felt overdone.
A lot of my issues can be found in the characters, more specifically my lack of attachment to them. Eryn felt like a standard protagonist with extraordinary circumstances thrust upon her. It barely felt like a duty to humanity, and more an “I’m going to handle this because I can” mentality. This paired with her artificially emotionally unstable past made her a hard character to root for. Essentially her big flaw was that she one time accidentally slept with the man who would become her sister’s husband, and father to Eryn’s niece. And when I say accidentally, I mean she didn’t even know this man was involved with her sister, and her sister was pregnant at the time. This built an unexplored rift between the two of them and drove Eryn to be the regretful boundary pusher the reader follows. I just could not buy that a one night stand with a man she jived well with was the hingepoint of her character. Any interaction that involved this immediately passed through me, every mention pushed me further from Eryn and her cadre.
Too bad I couldn’t latch onto any of the supporting characters either. Her ship’s envoy, Furious Ocelot, was just sort of there. He was her friend and in a number of ways her confidante, but his main role seemed to be the snarky and analytical partner in crime, which is fine, but he didn’t have any spice. The two cops that get entangled in the story are just either the best portrayal of cops who can’t do anything, or worse, just a mediocre portrayal of the down on their luck detectives. Every character felt like an accessory to Eryn, and there were several deaths that happened so quickly and without gravitas or emotional reaction, I kept expecting them to come back. It was baffling.
The structure of the book is also slightly off. For the most part, the story follows Eryn and her quest to find her sister, and ultimately to save the Continuance. However, there are a few interludes that zip the reader back to the point of humanity’s salvation, often told through the perspective of a billionaire who became increasingly concerned with the well being of the human project. Normally, I am against very clear backstory chapters, so it was already a point against Powell’s approach. On top of that, these sections barely added to the overall story, especially with the perspective they were presented with. The information could have been interesting with folklorish retellings given the time and distance from the events, but as they are I was kind of bored with them.
Stars and Bones in some ways felt like Powell trying to lay the foundations for the next two books. A lot of the story felt like it was explaining larger concepts and themes, without really having much of a place for them. Eryn constantly being pushed by the plot, and often finding herself in positions where she just has to get through it for a nugget of information to save the day one more time pushed the story to its limits. Stars and Bones is not a bad book, it just straddled the line between uninspired and interesting, guided along by a weak character with the faintest attachment to the consequences. It has not dissuaded me from Powell’s work, because the ideas, the bones, are there. I just hope Powell flexes some of his other muscles and shows off the connective tissues more in the future.
Rating: Stars and Bones 5.0/10
Alex
An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.
Last year I read Light Chaser, a collaboration between Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell, and it birthed a desire to give Powell a deeper look. Having read a lot of Hamilton, my sense was that Powel’s work added a bit of blood to the sprawling imagination Hamilton usually provides. Instead of going with Powell’s more acclaimed Embers of War trilogy, I decided to gamble on his newest release, Stars and Bones. Interestingly, I came away from the table even, being neither disappointed nor excited by the hands I had been dealt.
75 years ago, when the world looked like it was about to end, a cosmic entity akin to an Angel intervened in nuclear strikes and shoved humanity off planet Earth. They provided massive ships for everyone to move to and created the Continuance, a massive fleet of these country sized arkships, with varying environments and cultures. Eryn is a part of the Vanguard, an elite cadre of pilots who push the boundaries of the continuance, expanding our knowledge of the universe and the planets within it. Upon learning that her sister has disappeared while investigating a distress call from an alien source, Eryn pushes her way onto the crew sent to solve the mystery. Unfortunately for Erin and the rest of the Continuance, what they find on Candidate 623 is even deadlier and more alien than they could have guessed. Thrust into the mess by proximity and sheer determination, Eryn is tasked with finding the one man who convened with the angel who saved us from ourselves, for he may be the only one who can save humanity again.
Stars and Bones is a frustrating book for me. On the surface, Powell combines several staple science fiction ideas in an interesting world that both mildly cherishes human life and has zero attachment to it. It has elements of both cosmic and bodily horror that showcase the conglomeration of tropes in thrilling and tangible ways. However, the story that ties it all together is incredibly thin, with some unfortunately one dimensional characters. It’s not quite squandered potential, as the ending of the book opens interesting avenues for the rest of the trilogy, but the first outing felt overdone.
A lot of my issues can be found in the characters, more specifically my lack of attachment to them. Eryn felt like a standard protagonist with extraordinary circumstances thrust upon her. It barely felt like a duty to humanity, and more an “I’m going to handle this because I can” mentality. This paired with her artificially emotionally unstable past made her a hard character to root for. Essentially her big flaw was that she one time accidentally slept with the man who would become her sister’s husband, and father to Eryn’s niece. And when I say accidentally, I mean she didn’t even know this man was involved with her sister, and her sister was pregnant at the time. This built an unexplored rift between the two of them and drove Eryn to be the regretful boundary pusher the reader follows. I just could not buy that a one night stand with a man she jived well with was the hingepoint of her character. Any interaction that involved this immediately passed through me, every mention pushed me further from Eryn and her cadre.
Too bad I couldn’t latch onto any of the supporting characters either. Her ship’s envoy, Furious Ocelot, was just sort of there. He was her friend and in a number of ways her confidante, but his main role seemed to be the snarky and analytical partner in crime, which is fine, but he didn’t have any spice. The two cops that get entangled in the story are just either the best portrayal of cops who can’t do anything, or worse, just a mediocre portrayal of the down on their luck detectives. Every character felt like an accessory to Eryn, and there were several deaths that happened so quickly and without gravitas or emotional reaction, I kept expecting them to come back. It was baffling.
The structure of the book is also slightly off. For the most part, the story follows Eryn and her quest to find her sister, and ultimately to save the Continuance. However, there are a few interludes that zip the reader back to the point of humanity’s salvation, often told through the perspective of a billionaire who became increasingly concerned with the well being of the human project. Normally, I am against very clear backstory chapters, so it was already a point against Powell’s approach. On top of that, these sections barely added to the overall story, especially with the perspective they were presented with. The information could have been interesting with folklorish retellings given the time and distance from the events, but as they are I was kind of bored with them.
Stars and Bones in some ways felt like Powell trying to lay the foundations for the next two books. A lot of the story felt like it was explaining larger concepts and themes, without really having much of a place for them. Eryn constantly being pushed by the plot, and often finding herself in positions where she just has to get through it for a nugget of information to save the day one more time pushed the story to its limits. Stars and Bones is not a bad book, it just straddled the line between uninspired and interesting, guided along by a weak character with the faintest attachment to the consequences. It has not dissuaded me from Powell’s work, because the ideas, the bones, are there. I just hope Powell flexes some of his other muscles and shows off the connective tissues more in the future.
Rating: Stars and Bones 5.0/10
Alex
An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.
April 3, 2022
It’s definitely more of a 3.5.
I don’t usually go for hard sci-fi books but I’m slowly getting intrigued by the space opera style books and I was immediately interested when I first got to know about this book. I’ve just been waiting since then to find the right time to begin. And it turned out to be something quite unexpected.
I’m usually in it for the characters - I can tolerate anything in a book as long as I can love the characters (atleast a few of them). But it was just the opposite in this one. I completely fell in love with the setting and the ideas that form the core of this story. The author has written a world where humanity now lives on huge spaceships called arks created by super intelligent aliens called Angels of Benevolence. Each of these arks is like a world of its own - artificially created landscapes as preferred by the residents, a culture and way of living which is unique to the ark, the shape of the ark itself is molded based on its resident’s vision and purpose, and the ark’s consciousness creates blue colored envoys who are most representative of the ark. I reveled in getting to know each of the ark’s quirks better as the characters kept visiting them and I just wanted to know more. And considering that the life on the arks essentially is a post-capitalist utopia, it was both surprising and not to see that some people have still banded together to fight this collective society and want to keep up with the classist and capitalist systems of old. I guess it is a critique of humankind as a whole that even if humans move away from earth and have to live a very different kind of life, it’s not easy to forget the prejudices and bigotry that they have been carrying for ever.
The plot itself though was engaging enough. There’s quite a bit of action and many chapters end in cliffhangers, so I always wanted to know what was gonna happen next. I’ve read some complaints that there were issues regarding the science and sci-fi elements of the story but I’m not someone who knows much about all this stuff, so I didn’t find any such problems. However, I did feel that there were many things which were unrealistic, even for an action packed futuristic story. The dialogue was fun and interesting and even philosophical at times which I enjoyed, but the internal monologue of the main character felt a bit too much at times.
The main character Eryn is someone I sympathized with because she has suffered many losses and I could understand she was traumatized. But there was just something off about her which I can’t articulate. Her character seemed so inconsistent, even in her own thoughts, and I didn’t know what to make of it. She was also written like an old school stereotypical YA heroine who is an ordinary person thrust into chaos and suddenly has to save humanity from annihilation. Her nostalgic and misplaced grieving thoughts about her one night stand 15 years ago who was a cheater, her thinking one moment that she doesn’t know how to be a parent to her teenage niece and then a few days later thinking that she can apply the lessons that she learnt from parenting a teenager to solve an existential threat to humanity - getting a deep dive in her POV just didn’t endear me to her.
There are many side characters and we even get a few POVs but there were very few who left a lasting impression. I mostly adored Ocelot, who is the envoy of Eryn’s scout ship’s consciousness. He was witty and kind and compassionate and so loyal to those he has to protect. There were quite a few other ark envoys who made small appearances but were intriguing. It was the humans who were not so impressive. Firstly, the author kills a lot of people throughout the book, so many characters couldn’t even get any development. Among the living, Frank is a typical genius scientist who loves his research but doesn’t care for much else, Maddie is a typical teenager who is grieving and hurt and hates her remaining family and Li pretty much exists as a love interest and no other development of her own. Even the romantic arc between Eryn and Li felt a bit forced. But among the unknown, I have to say that the angels who saved humanity but seemed too indifferent with what humans did with this second chance were fascinating to read about; and the unknown alien entity hellbent on destroying everything was also very well written and I loved getting to know it’s story.
On the whole, I’m having very mixed thoughts about this book. If you are someone who can appreciate the setting and the ideas and concepts the author is going for and like some fast paced action, maybe you’ll like this. But I would say maybe don’t go for this if you like character focused stories. But I think I’m impressed enough with this world that I might give the sequel a try, though it probably won’t be at the top of my awaiting list.
I don’t usually go for hard sci-fi books but I’m slowly getting intrigued by the space opera style books and I was immediately interested when I first got to know about this book. I’ve just been waiting since then to find the right time to begin. And it turned out to be something quite unexpected.
I’m usually in it for the characters - I can tolerate anything in a book as long as I can love the characters (atleast a few of them). But it was just the opposite in this one. I completely fell in love with the setting and the ideas that form the core of this story. The author has written a world where humanity now lives on huge spaceships called arks created by super intelligent aliens called Angels of Benevolence. Each of these arks is like a world of its own - artificially created landscapes as preferred by the residents, a culture and way of living which is unique to the ark, the shape of the ark itself is molded based on its resident’s vision and purpose, and the ark’s consciousness creates blue colored envoys who are most representative of the ark. I reveled in getting to know each of the ark’s quirks better as the characters kept visiting them and I just wanted to know more. And considering that the life on the arks essentially is a post-capitalist utopia, it was both surprising and not to see that some people have still banded together to fight this collective society and want to keep up with the classist and capitalist systems of old. I guess it is a critique of humankind as a whole that even if humans move away from earth and have to live a very different kind of life, it’s not easy to forget the prejudices and bigotry that they have been carrying for ever.
The plot itself though was engaging enough. There’s quite a bit of action and many chapters end in cliffhangers, so I always wanted to know what was gonna happen next. I’ve read some complaints that there were issues regarding the science and sci-fi elements of the story but I’m not someone who knows much about all this stuff, so I didn’t find any such problems. However, I did feel that there were many things which were unrealistic, even for an action packed futuristic story. The dialogue was fun and interesting and even philosophical at times which I enjoyed, but the internal monologue of the main character felt a bit too much at times.
The main character Eryn is someone I sympathized with because she has suffered many losses and I could understand she was traumatized. But there was just something off about her which I can’t articulate. Her character seemed so inconsistent, even in her own thoughts, and I didn’t know what to make of it. She was also written like an old school stereotypical YA heroine who is an ordinary person thrust into chaos and suddenly has to save humanity from annihilation. Her nostalgic and misplaced grieving thoughts about her one night stand 15 years ago who was a cheater, her thinking one moment that she doesn’t know how to be a parent to her teenage niece and then a few days later thinking that she can apply the lessons that she learnt from parenting a teenager to solve an existential threat to humanity - getting a deep dive in her POV just didn’t endear me to her.
There are many side characters and we even get a few POVs but there were very few who left a lasting impression. I mostly adored Ocelot, who is the envoy of Eryn’s scout ship’s consciousness. He was witty and kind and compassionate and so loyal to those he has to protect. There were quite a few other ark envoys who made small appearances but were intriguing. It was the humans who were not so impressive. Firstly, the author kills a lot of people throughout the book, so many characters couldn’t even get any development. Among the living, Frank is a typical genius scientist who loves his research but doesn’t care for much else, Maddie is a typical teenager who is grieving and hurt and hates her remaining family and Li pretty much exists as a love interest and no other development of her own. Even the romantic arc between Eryn and Li felt a bit forced. But among the unknown, I have to say that the angels who saved humanity but seemed too indifferent with what humans did with this second chance were fascinating to read about; and the unknown alien entity hellbent on destroying everything was also very well written and I loved getting to know it’s story.
On the whole, I’m having very mixed thoughts about this book. If you are someone who can appreciate the setting and the ideas and concepts the author is going for and like some fast paced action, maybe you’ll like this. But I would say maybe don’t go for this if you like character focused stories. But I think I’m impressed enough with this world that I might give the sequel a try, though it probably won’t be at the top of my awaiting list.
February 21, 2022
The nitty-gritty: Stellar worldbuilding and an exciting plot make Stars and Bones a must read space opera.
At first glance, Stars and Bones may look like your typical space opera, but Powell’s worldbuilding surprised me in so many ways. Combined with an exciting story and interesting characters, science fiction fans should not miss this book!
The story takes place seventy-five years after an alien entity called the Angel of Benevolence has forced humanity to leave Earth. Rather than let humans destroy themselves and the planet, which they are about to do when the story opens, the “angel” created a thousand arks, huge vessels that ferry the entire population of Earth through space. Eryn was born and raised on the ark called the Damask Rose, and now she pilots a scout ship called the Furious Ocelot, which travels through space via the substrate, a conduit that allows light speed travel between arks. Eryn has the unique ability to “dreamlink” with the Ocelot and steer it through the substrate, and her bond with the ship is one that can never be broken.
But when another scout ship goes missing, Eryn is thrust into a dangerous adventure. The ship is found crashed on the remote planet of Candidate-623, and when the Ocelot goes to investigate, they witness the horrific demise of those on board. An alien entity has infiltrated the Couch Surfer and literally torn the crew to pieces. Among the dead is Eryn’s sister Shay, but before Eryn has a chance to mourn her, the entity begins to spread like a virus through the fleet, killing everyone in its path and rebuilding the dead into walking, talking monstrosities.
Eryn and the Ocelot are determined to stop it, and they think the Angel of Benevolence might be able to help. Their only hope might be a reclusive man named Frank Tucker, the only person alive who has ever had contact with the angel. But no one knows where Frank is hiding out, so Eryn’s mission seems nearly impossible. With the help of the Ocelot’s envoy, her crewmate Li and a talking cat named Sam, Eryn sets out to save the fleet—and avenge her sister’s death.
The story is told from multiple perspectives, although most of the chapters are from Eryn’s point of view. Other characters only play small roles in the story, like a journalist who wants to document the entity’s destructive exploits, and a detective who ends up helping Eryn, but their POVs added a nice touch to the narrative. Powell also jumps back in time to the defining event that forced humans onto the arks, as we meet Haruki Kamisaka, the richest man on Earth, who explains the life changing events and how humans reacted to being uprooted from their lives. I really enjoyed these chapters and I liked Haruki’s perspective, especially later in the story when you find out what he’s doing in the present day.
The plot itself is mostly fast-paced and thrilling. I loved the danger of the entity and not knowing what it would do next. Some of the scenes border on horror—the description of the bodies and the way the entity literally pulls them apart and arranges their bones into piles was horrifying, to say the least. The Angel of the Benevolence is also quite scary at times. It manifests as a storm and has the ability to destroy whatever is in its path. But it’s also a rational, intelligent being who sees promise in humans, which is why it decides to intervene just as they are about to destroy themselves.
Powell’s characters are interesting as well. My favorite was probably Sam the cat, who is snarky and talks exactly like you would expect a cat to talk, if it could. In this future, special collars and implants allow cats’ and dogs’ thoughts to be translated into sound, how cool is that? I also loved the Ocelot. All ships have their own envoy, a human-like, blue-skinned creature who is the physical manifestation of the ship’s AI. Eryn and the Ocelot are bonded because of Eryn’s abilities to navigate the substrate, and I loved their close friendship. Some characters weren’t as developed as others, like Madison, Eryn’s niece, and Li, Eryn’s crewmate and love interest, but there were so many cool things going on in the story that it didn’t really affect my enjoyment.
But the worldbuilding is what made Stars and Bones really special, in my opinion. I loved the idea of fifteen billion people having to live on arks. Their entire lives are spent zooming through space, but while that might seem restrictive at first, you soon learn that technology allows people to visit any ark they want by jumping through wormhole-like portals called flick stations. And because each ark is unique and has developed over the years according to the people who live there, all sorts of cultures, ethnicities, and religions have shaped their arks into places that resemble their original homes. Step into a flick portal, and you’re immediately transported to an ark that looks and feels like the plains of Africa, or an ark with oceans and beaches, or one of my favorites, the Alexandria, which is the hub of ancient culture and contains all of Earth’s most precious artifacts. With all these worlds at your fingertips, it seems like life on an ark would never be boring!
The angel—which really isn’t an angel at all, you may have figured out by now—was fascinating, and I liked the way Powell never fully explains it, but gives the readers glimpses of what it’s capable of without taking away all its mysteries.
The last quarter of the story was a thrilling race to stop the entity, but the author also adds some nice emotional moments, as well as a warning to humanity about our destructive ways. As far as I know, Stars and Bones is a standalone story, but I can see the potential for more stories set in this world. This was a fun one, folks! Don’t miss it.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
At first glance, Stars and Bones may look like your typical space opera, but Powell’s worldbuilding surprised me in so many ways. Combined with an exciting story and interesting characters, science fiction fans should not miss this book!
The story takes place seventy-five years after an alien entity called the Angel of Benevolence has forced humanity to leave Earth. Rather than let humans destroy themselves and the planet, which they are about to do when the story opens, the “angel” created a thousand arks, huge vessels that ferry the entire population of Earth through space. Eryn was born and raised on the ark called the Damask Rose, and now she pilots a scout ship called the Furious Ocelot, which travels through space via the substrate, a conduit that allows light speed travel between arks. Eryn has the unique ability to “dreamlink” with the Ocelot and steer it through the substrate, and her bond with the ship is one that can never be broken.
But when another scout ship goes missing, Eryn is thrust into a dangerous adventure. The ship is found crashed on the remote planet of Candidate-623, and when the Ocelot goes to investigate, they witness the horrific demise of those on board. An alien entity has infiltrated the Couch Surfer and literally torn the crew to pieces. Among the dead is Eryn’s sister Shay, but before Eryn has a chance to mourn her, the entity begins to spread like a virus through the fleet, killing everyone in its path and rebuilding the dead into walking, talking monstrosities.
Eryn and the Ocelot are determined to stop it, and they think the Angel of Benevolence might be able to help. Their only hope might be a reclusive man named Frank Tucker, the only person alive who has ever had contact with the angel. But no one knows where Frank is hiding out, so Eryn’s mission seems nearly impossible. With the help of the Ocelot’s envoy, her crewmate Li and a talking cat named Sam, Eryn sets out to save the fleet—and avenge her sister’s death.
The story is told from multiple perspectives, although most of the chapters are from Eryn’s point of view. Other characters only play small roles in the story, like a journalist who wants to document the entity’s destructive exploits, and a detective who ends up helping Eryn, but their POVs added a nice touch to the narrative. Powell also jumps back in time to the defining event that forced humans onto the arks, as we meet Haruki Kamisaka, the richest man on Earth, who explains the life changing events and how humans reacted to being uprooted from their lives. I really enjoyed these chapters and I liked Haruki’s perspective, especially later in the story when you find out what he’s doing in the present day.
The plot itself is mostly fast-paced and thrilling. I loved the danger of the entity and not knowing what it would do next. Some of the scenes border on horror—the description of the bodies and the way the entity literally pulls them apart and arranges their bones into piles was horrifying, to say the least. The Angel of the Benevolence is also quite scary at times. It manifests as a storm and has the ability to destroy whatever is in its path. But it’s also a rational, intelligent being who sees promise in humans, which is why it decides to intervene just as they are about to destroy themselves.
Powell’s characters are interesting as well. My favorite was probably Sam the cat, who is snarky and talks exactly like you would expect a cat to talk, if it could. In this future, special collars and implants allow cats’ and dogs’ thoughts to be translated into sound, how cool is that? I also loved the Ocelot. All ships have their own envoy, a human-like, blue-skinned creature who is the physical manifestation of the ship’s AI. Eryn and the Ocelot are bonded because of Eryn’s abilities to navigate the substrate, and I loved their close friendship. Some characters weren’t as developed as others, like Madison, Eryn’s niece, and Li, Eryn’s crewmate and love interest, but there were so many cool things going on in the story that it didn’t really affect my enjoyment.
But the worldbuilding is what made Stars and Bones really special, in my opinion. I loved the idea of fifteen billion people having to live on arks. Their entire lives are spent zooming through space, but while that might seem restrictive at first, you soon learn that technology allows people to visit any ark they want by jumping through wormhole-like portals called flick stations. And because each ark is unique and has developed over the years according to the people who live there, all sorts of cultures, ethnicities, and religions have shaped their arks into places that resemble their original homes. Step into a flick portal, and you’re immediately transported to an ark that looks and feels like the plains of Africa, or an ark with oceans and beaches, or one of my favorites, the Alexandria, which is the hub of ancient culture and contains all of Earth’s most precious artifacts. With all these worlds at your fingertips, it seems like life on an ark would never be boring!
The angel—which really isn’t an angel at all, you may have figured out by now—was fascinating, and I liked the way Powell never fully explains it, but gives the readers glimpses of what it’s capable of without taking away all its mysteries.
The last quarter of the story was a thrilling race to stop the entity, but the author also adds some nice emotional moments, as well as a warning to humanity about our destructive ways. As far as I know, Stars and Bones is a standalone story, but I can see the potential for more stories set in this world. This was a fun one, folks! Don’t miss it.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
November 30, 2025
Stars: 2.5 out of 5
My mind is divided about this book. On one hand, I liked the idea behind it, the symbiosis between humanity and the intelligent ships they live on. On the other hand, it was all a bit too... simplistic, I'd say?
In this story, humanity didn't earn anything they have. All they did was try to self-destruct in a final conflagration of atomic fire. One person made a breakthrough in space travel and got the attention of a cosmic being so advanced it might as well be a deity. Heck, they even call it the Angel of Benevolence in the book. Nothing of what happens after that was earned. The arks the humans live on? Created by the Angel. The artificial intelligences that pilot and run them? Also created by the Angel. All food and shelter is provided to everyone involved. Oh, and humanity is pretty much condemned to roam the cosmos in these arks for all eternity without ever setting on another planet.
Doesn't the author realize that this would literally be the end of our species? Slow death by apathy. If there is nothing to aspire to, nothing to invent or better ourselves for, then there is really nothing to live for. It reminds me of that experiment researchers did with a mouse colony back in the last century - they provided them with ideal conditions where food and shelter was abundant... and the colony died out. They just stopped reproducing or even interacting with each other. They ate, they slept, and they slowly gave up on life.
I would understand if there was something to strive for - get a good education, and you will be taught how to pilot a ship. Continue scientific research into space travel, study alien ruins or something else. But when everything is provided, and all the decisions are made for you... I'm not sure this is a future I want to live in.
My other issue is the characters. They are barely developed enough to be more than cardboard cutouts. Heck, the different ship envoys have more personality than the human characters. Which, seeing what I talked about in the previous paragraphs, kind of makes sense. Eryn was the only more or less fleshed-out character in this book. The rest were labels. Lee is the love interest. Then there is the annoying teenager whom she has to care for because she is her sister's child. Then there is Frank, the genius who discovered warp travel... and who is pretty much useless for the rest of the book. I barely remember any of the other character names because they were introduced only to advance the plot and then die off-screen, like the wannabe reporter Tessa.
The story would have been more interesting if the characters had more agency. As it is, Eryn is sent on a wild goose chase to find a McGuffin (who is Frank in this case), even though the McGuffin is useless to this particular problem. Then the deus ex machina that is the Angel puts something into her brain and sends her on another quest to deliver this payload to the enemy. And that wins the day. End of story. Never mind the fact that over three-quarters of the arks had been corrupted by the time it's done, which means the Continuance is a ghost town with critically low population. None of that is addressed at the end of the book.
In summary, I went into this book looking for a space adventure that would keep me entertained and characters I could root for. I was rather disappointed instead.
My mind is divided about this book. On one hand, I liked the idea behind it, the symbiosis between humanity and the intelligent ships they live on. On the other hand, it was all a bit too... simplistic, I'd say?
In this story, humanity didn't earn anything they have. All they did was try to self-destruct in a final conflagration of atomic fire. One person made a breakthrough in space travel and got the attention of a cosmic being so advanced it might as well be a deity. Heck, they even call it the Angel of Benevolence in the book. Nothing of what happens after that was earned. The arks the humans live on? Created by the Angel. The artificial intelligences that pilot and run them? Also created by the Angel. All food and shelter is provided to everyone involved. Oh, and humanity is pretty much condemned to roam the cosmos in these arks for all eternity without ever setting on another planet.
Doesn't the author realize that this would literally be the end of our species? Slow death by apathy. If there is nothing to aspire to, nothing to invent or better ourselves for, then there is really nothing to live for. It reminds me of that experiment researchers did with a mouse colony back in the last century - they provided them with ideal conditions where food and shelter was abundant... and the colony died out. They just stopped reproducing or even interacting with each other. They ate, they slept, and they slowly gave up on life.
I would understand if there was something to strive for - get a good education, and you will be taught how to pilot a ship. Continue scientific research into space travel, study alien ruins or something else. But when everything is provided, and all the decisions are made for you... I'm not sure this is a future I want to live in.
My other issue is the characters. They are barely developed enough to be more than cardboard cutouts. Heck, the different ship envoys have more personality than the human characters. Which, seeing what I talked about in the previous paragraphs, kind of makes sense. Eryn was the only more or less fleshed-out character in this book. The rest were labels. Lee is the love interest. Then there is the annoying teenager whom she has to care for because she is her sister's child. Then there is Frank, the genius who discovered warp travel... and who is pretty much useless for the rest of the book. I barely remember any of the other character names because they were introduced only to advance the plot and then die off-screen, like the wannabe reporter Tessa.
The story would have been more interesting if the characters had more agency. As it is, Eryn is sent on a wild goose chase to find a McGuffin (who is Frank in this case), even though the McGuffin is useless to this particular problem. Then the deus ex machina that is the Angel puts something into her brain and sends her on another quest to deliver this payload to the enemy. And that wins the day. End of story. Never mind the fact that over three-quarters of the arks had been corrupted by the time it's done, which means the Continuance is a ghost town with critically low population. None of that is addressed at the end of the book.
In summary, I went into this book looking for a space adventure that would keep me entertained and characters I could root for. I was rather disappointed instead.
January 23, 2022
I have read several other books by Gareth Powell and was really excited for this story as I loved his previous works. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this anywhere near as much as I thought I would.
The story is set some 75 years in our future where all of humanity has been essentially evicted by some higher beings in the hope of preserving Earth and it's ecosystem from humanity's destructive ways. The premise is really interesting and was my favourite part of this story - it would have been nice to have the worldbuilding of the arks expanded on.
The story is fast paced, easy to read and with plenty of action, which I am sure will appeal to many readers. I loved the brief appearance of the cat (who could talk) and could have happily read a whole story about them!
Unfortunately for me, the characters let the story down. I didn't have any connection with them and they felt very flat. I can tell when I am completely invested in a story (and it's characters) when I don't feel like I am reading a story, but living it with them. In this case, I was very much aware I was reading. The dialogue didn't flow and I didn't really understand any of their motives. I also couldn't tell the difference between any of the characters - they all spoke the same and pretty much had the same temperaments - even the ships/AIs. I also felt like some elements were a little unbelievable (yes, I know it is sci-fi but rules still need to be adhered to in each world to make it a realistic story). The AIs came across as no more intelligent than the standard character.
I am very much a character driven reader so this didn't do it for me - but it was still a good story and if you enjoy soft sci fi and plenty of action you should give it a go.
The story is set some 75 years in our future where all of humanity has been essentially evicted by some higher beings in the hope of preserving Earth and it's ecosystem from humanity's destructive ways. The premise is really interesting and was my favourite part of this story - it would have been nice to have the worldbuilding of the arks expanded on.
The story is fast paced, easy to read and with plenty of action, which I am sure will appeal to many readers. I loved the brief appearance of the cat (who could talk) and could have happily read a whole story about them!
Unfortunately for me, the characters let the story down. I didn't have any connection with them and they felt very flat. I can tell when I am completely invested in a story (and it's characters) when I don't feel like I am reading a story, but living it with them. In this case, I was very much aware I was reading. The dialogue didn't flow and I didn't really understand any of their motives. I also couldn't tell the difference between any of the characters - they all spoke the same and pretty much had the same temperaments - even the ships/AIs. I also felt like some elements were a little unbelievable (yes, I know it is sci-fi but rules still need to be adhered to in each world to make it a realistic story). The AIs came across as no more intelligent than the standard character.
I am very much a character driven reader so this didn't do it for me - but it was still a good story and if you enjoy soft sci fi and plenty of action you should give it a go.
February 27, 2022
STARS AND BONES launches a new space opera series from Gareth L. Powell, a master in the genre.
Think of it as a cross between BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and THE THING, with considerable intrigue and a theme of found and made family. The characters are flawed and frightened by the monstrous situation unfolding, yet they work together under their considerable strain.
This is a unique science fiction novel with an interesting lens for this moment in our history. When faced with a quarantine situation and struggling daily (while coping with profound grief), the main protagonist, Eryn, is just trying to do her best. She has bursts of both self-doubt and confidence like so many of us. Her companions are fascinating and diverse. I won’t spoil the finer details, but the ships’ personalities and a certain talking cat really spike this story with imaginative delight.
I enjoy stories that keep me guessing, and STARS AND BONES did just that. I can’t wait to see what the sequel has in store!
Think of it as a cross between BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and THE THING, with considerable intrigue and a theme of found and made family. The characters are flawed and frightened by the monstrous situation unfolding, yet they work together under their considerable strain.
This is a unique science fiction novel with an interesting lens for this moment in our history. When faced with a quarantine situation and struggling daily (while coping with profound grief), the main protagonist, Eryn, is just trying to do her best. She has bursts of both self-doubt and confidence like so many of us. Her companions are fascinating and diverse. I won’t spoil the finer details, but the ships’ personalities and a certain talking cat really spike this story with imaginative delight.
I enjoy stories that keep me guessing, and STARS AND BONES did just that. I can’t wait to see what the sequel has in store!
July 16, 2022
DNF. I've enjoyed Powell's other works, including his recent collaboration with Peter F. Hamilton. This one was just too far into the scifi horror genre for me, and 1/4 of the way into the book too many characters for my taste had made the horror-B-movie trope of making moronic decisions in the face of obvious danger so they could be victims of the horrific problem. Also, I found the technology inconsistent which was just quietly bugging me subconsciously while my conscious mind was screaming "don't walk backwards into the dark room in the abandoned cabin where we all know the axe murderer is!"
November 30, 2024
An unfortunately generic story. Something about a sister, something about gene alteration and monsters and gen ships being threatened. I hardly recall any details less than a month later.
January 21, 2023
‘We’d wanted adventure, excitement, and really wild things… and we’d received them in abundance. Just not in the way we’d hoped.’
Central plot borrowed from a Star Trek movie. Too-stupid-to-survive humans contact inimical aliens with inevitable results. Things get worse. The usual sophomoric misapplications of basic physics and economics. Good, if obvious setup for feel-good ending.
“We’re a team, and if you think I’m going to let you walk in there alone, you’re even crazier than you look.”
Simultaneously I was reading After DoomsdayAfter Doomsday, 1962 Poul Anderson post-Apocalyptic novel. Powell sure makes Anderson look good.
“What do you think I should I do?” “You’re seriously going to ask dating advice from an unneutered tomcat?” “Oh god, I am, aren’t I?
The rating started as a solid four stars; now three would be a gift. Had I known the extent of profanity I wouldn’t have started, let alone finish, this book. One character knows no other adjective than f---ing. Even the computer curses.
“They have no poetry in their souls.” “That, they do not. Also, no souls.”
Central plot borrowed from a Star Trek movie. Too-stupid-to-survive humans contact inimical aliens with inevitable results. Things get worse. The usual sophomoric misapplications of basic physics and economics. Good, if obvious setup for feel-good ending.
“We’re a team, and if you think I’m going to let you walk in there alone, you’re even crazier than you look.”
Simultaneously I was reading After DoomsdayAfter Doomsday, 1962 Poul Anderson post-Apocalyptic novel. Powell sure makes Anderson look good.
“What do you think I should I do?” “You’re seriously going to ask dating advice from an unneutered tomcat?” “Oh god, I am, aren’t I?
The rating started as a solid four stars; now three would be a gift. Had I known the extent of profanity I wouldn’t have started, let alone finish, this book. One character knows no other adjective than f---ing. Even the computer curses.
“They have no poetry in their souls.” “That, they do not. Also, no souls.”
October 23, 2023
Book 1 of the Continuance series - An excellent example of this genre of space opera. The characters and plot grabbed me from the first page and I read this book in two sittings. The author sets up this 'Universe' very early in the book and I was able to follow the story easily as it flowed successfully through the book. The idea from the very beginning seems to stretch the imagination, but, hey, why not. Once I accepted all the premises its a great story with lots of action, twists, turns and some surprising outcomes.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book and I am already halfway through book 2.
Well done Gareth an excellent read.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book and I am already halfway through book 2.
Well done Gareth an excellent read.
December 15, 2024
3.5 rounded up
A fun and inventive space opera.
A few things didn't work so well for me, but didn't spoil my overall enjoyment.
Lots to enjoy for sci-fi fans. Probably tries to fit too much into a short book, but it kept my interest nonetheless.
A fun and inventive space opera.
A few things didn't work so well for me, but didn't spoil my overall enjoyment.
Lots to enjoy for sci-fi fans. Probably tries to fit too much into a short book, but it kept my interest nonetheless.
January 26, 2022
English sci-fi author comes off his Embers of War series with a new space opera series anchored by some huge concepts. Stars and Bones, the first book of The Continuance, starts with a disastrous alien encounter and goes from there, but that encounter is the in the context of a far different future for humanity than comfortably ruining the Earth. That encounter is the precursor to an existential threat to the remnants of the human race but also leads to a deeper understanding of some of the underpinnings of the universe they find themselves in.
Seventy five years before, a massive alien intelligence, known as an angel or “the Benevolence”, saved humanity from destroying itself and the planet but did so on the condition that the planet was left alone. A fleet of one thousand giant arks, the ‘Arks of the Continuance’ was built, each run by its own superpowered artificial intelligence, and the remnants of humanity forced to board them and begin a peripatetic life of wandering through the universe. But when the book opens a survey scout has unearthed a deadly threat. An omnivorous intelligence that kills the crew and later makes its way to the fleet where it starts to deconstruct and repurpose all matter. It comes down to scout pilot Eryn and her intelligent ship Furious Ocelot to lead the search for Frank Tucker, the man who discovered faster than light travel and first communed with the angel in the hope that he can save them.
Stars and Bones is big concept space opera but many of those concepts have been used before: massive generation ships with their own personalities (cf Iain Banks) ; an alien goo that can deconstruct and absorb consciousness of organic matter and repurpose it together with reconstruction of inorganic material (cf James SA Corey); the massive ruins of alien civilisations (cf Alastair Reynolds); and immature alien intelligences who just need a guiding hand (cf more than one episode of Star Trek). That said, Powell brings a coherence to his universe and all of this is deployed well and driven by a mystery/thriller plot with the clock ticking down to the end of humanity.
But on the other hand, it is not clear why the ‘council of ships’ puts all of its faith in Eryn and her small group, or why the alien invader takes so long to move through the fleet after decimating one giant chip in a matter of hours, or why, when Eryn is finally given a key to resolving the crisis it is hidden from her until “the right moment”. The characters are fun to spend time with, and as some are killed the stakes feel high and the action moves quickly enough to ignore some of these niggles but maybe not quickly enough for all readers.
All in all Stars and Bones is one for space opera fans. Powell delivers a pacey, action filled tale set in an interesting universe, even if it is one that draws on a range of well used space opera tropes. And given this is the first, scene setting volume in a series, Powell has left himself plenty of scope to take this series in new directions.
Seventy five years before, a massive alien intelligence, known as an angel or “the Benevolence”, saved humanity from destroying itself and the planet but did so on the condition that the planet was left alone. A fleet of one thousand giant arks, the ‘Arks of the Continuance’ was built, each run by its own superpowered artificial intelligence, and the remnants of humanity forced to board them and begin a peripatetic life of wandering through the universe. But when the book opens a survey scout has unearthed a deadly threat. An omnivorous intelligence that kills the crew and later makes its way to the fleet where it starts to deconstruct and repurpose all matter. It comes down to scout pilot Eryn and her intelligent ship Furious Ocelot to lead the search for Frank Tucker, the man who discovered faster than light travel and first communed with the angel in the hope that he can save them.
Stars and Bones is big concept space opera but many of those concepts have been used before: massive generation ships with their own personalities (cf Iain Banks) ; an alien goo that can deconstruct and absorb consciousness of organic matter and repurpose it together with reconstruction of inorganic material (cf James SA Corey); the massive ruins of alien civilisations (cf Alastair Reynolds); and immature alien intelligences who just need a guiding hand (cf more than one episode of Star Trek). That said, Powell brings a coherence to his universe and all of this is deployed well and driven by a mystery/thriller plot with the clock ticking down to the end of humanity.
But on the other hand, it is not clear why the ‘council of ships’ puts all of its faith in Eryn and her small group, or why the alien invader takes so long to move through the fleet after decimating one giant chip in a matter of hours, or why, when Eryn is finally given a key to resolving the crisis it is hidden from her until “the right moment”. The characters are fun to spend time with, and as some are killed the stakes feel high and the action moves quickly enough to ignore some of these niggles but maybe not quickly enough for all readers.
All in all Stars and Bones is one for space opera fans. Powell delivers a pacey, action filled tale set in an interesting universe, even if it is one that draws on a range of well used space opera tropes. And given this is the first, scene setting volume in a series, Powell has left himself plenty of scope to take this series in new directions.
August 18, 2023
Having enjoyed Powell's "Embers of War" trilogy, I was looking forward to starting this new endeavor by the man. However, despite the interesting high concept, (self-destructive Humans get bailed out by galactic virtual gods, but find more trouble), I really wasn't getting a lot out of this story. What it boils down to is that the characters weren't all that compelling (at least to me) and the whole thing was turning out to be a slog. However, Powell has previously shown a knack for the no-holds-barred cinematic climax, and that ability hasn't left him in this story. I was left with enough positive feelings once finished that I'll at least read the next book.
August 21, 2025
I started this book with reservations. I loved the author's Embers of War series so I expected this to be good too. The reservation was due to the fact that I saw there is sequel due later this year. And who knows how many other books to follow. I am already waiting of "The Doors of Stone" and a few other books to finish series. But happily Powell managed to bring this story to a very satifying end but still leave a wealth of possiblities for the characters' story to continue.
One of the character in the story is an alien who is, to quote the author, "a world swallowing hurricane with the soul of a librarian and the casual supremacy of a god". And that is a description more literal than metaphoric.The novel starts with the alien saving humanity from nuclear armageddon by removing in flight all the nuclear missiles launched by most of the nations with them. Then for good measure removing all the bullets from every gun, etc. But having saved humanity the being created a vast fleet "arks", high tech starships under the control of very powerful AI's. And hunanity is forced to use that fleet to leave Earth because we messed up our planet so badly.
If their exodus humanity discovers that there are other very powerful aliens who are not a benevolent as the one who kicked them off their own world. The resulting story is tightly plotted with wonderful characters including the AI's of the different ships of the fleet. As the remaining pages got fewer and fewer, and the situation more dire I feared for a cliff hanger ending to this volume. But Powell brought it to a satisfying conclusion. With a god like alien in the mix you might worry that it was a "deus ex machina" ending but Powell did not fall into that trope trap. Overall one of the best books I have read in awhile.
One of the character in the story is an alien who is, to quote the author, "a world swallowing hurricane with the soul of a librarian and the casual supremacy of a god". And that is a description more literal than metaphoric.The novel starts with the alien saving humanity from nuclear armageddon by removing in flight all the nuclear missiles launched by most of the nations with them. Then for good measure removing all the bullets from every gun, etc. But having saved humanity the being created a vast fleet "arks", high tech starships under the control of very powerful AI's. And hunanity is forced to use that fleet to leave Earth because we messed up our planet so badly.
If their exodus humanity discovers that there are other very powerful aliens who are not a benevolent as the one who kicked them off their own world. The resulting story is tightly plotted with wonderful characters including the AI's of the different ships of the fleet. As the remaining pages got fewer and fewer, and the situation more dire I feared for a cliff hanger ending to this volume. But Powell brought it to a satisfying conclusion. With a god like alien in the mix you might worry that it was a "deus ex machina" ending but Powell did not fall into that trope trap. Overall one of the best books I have read in awhile.
March 23, 2022
6.0 / 10 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com...
When worst came to worst, the Angel stepped in to save us. Not an actual Angel mind, but super advanced aliens that stepped in in humanity’s last hour and saved it from destruction. So, kinda an actual Angel. Something that saved humanity. Or, rather, saved the Earth from humanity.
Now, cast out upon the stars, humanity exists on a multitude of great Arkships, where everything is provided and no one is left behind—a true paradise. And so the fleet wanders, knowing that the eye of the Angels will forever remain on them, and knowing that they can never return to Earth.
Eryn is a scout pilot. Together, she and her ship, the Ferocious Ocelot, scout the edges of the Arkships’ path as they wander through space. When her sister Shay disappears while responding to an alien distress call, Eryn insists on being part of the crew to find her.
Candidate-623 is a lonely rock, but harbors something both terrifying and deadly. Something that might spell humanity’s doom should it reach the Arkships. When the crew is attacked, Eryn races to warn the fleet, all the while dreading whether or not this certain something might have followed her home…
—
“Holy shit,” she breathed, “You are not going to fucking believe this.”
And she was right, I didn’t. At least, not at first. Because high above the atmosphere, something vaster and older than the Earth had reached down and snatched every ICBM from the sky, every torpedo from the ocean, and every tank shell, mortar round, and bullet from every battlefield on the planet.
And is was not at all amused.
—
Man, this was a weird one.
It started out like a house on fire: an extraterrestrial attack right out of the gate that quickly transformed into a desperate race against time. That transformed into a… mystery? Whereupon suddenly introducing several new characters and plot-lines around the third- or halfway mark. The last third read a bit like the latest Star Wars movies, where they just ran with whatever thing first came to mind (despite it making little sense in the overall narrative) and made sure to add plenty of action sequences.
Beware spoilers ahead for the romance! If you want to avoid them just skip the next paragraph.
The romance was… cringeworthy. What happens between Eryn and Li isn’t so much a will-they-or-won’t-they as it is a why-is-something-going-on-i-hadn’t-noticed. What starts out as a one-night stand (or, a not-even one-night stand) in the face of a certain-death mission, slowly resolves into… nothing. There are a couple of kisses, interspersed by long gaps where Eryn looks at Li like a guest, but a stranger. Seriously, they talk only a handful of times—and it actually equates to anything meaningful once. And yet I’m supposed to believe that they’re madly in love by the end? That Eryn is so smitten with the person she routinely describes as a stranger that she actually says “I realized that I was always going to love her unconditionally and forever” at the end. Now I realize that some people can go head over heels damn quick but… were they reading the same book I was, or did I just miss something? Because this romance seems so forced it literally made me cringe, and gape when they so unexpectedly ended up in love.
In addition to a truly cringeworthy romance, the conclusion to the story was a bit of a blur. By which I mean confusing. I’m not going to get into it because of spoilers, but… I spent half of the time lost and the other half either experiencing deja vu or wondering how it’d possibly come to this point. But despite all odds when the end actually came, all my questions had been answered. As far as I could tell, all major threads had been tied up. It was extremely odd, but extremely impressive.
Yes, there was a talking cat, no, I don’t want to talk about it.
Despite it all, Stars and Bones wasn’t bad. It had a solid story, so long as you overlooked all the tangents, pseudo-parenting, and the romance (ye gods, don’t get me going on the romance again). A race against the clock as humanity faces extinction. Where Eryn must do everything she can to save the human race, despite the fact that all of it should be so, so far over her pay grade. From an action and adventure stand point: it was a decent read; there was a lot of both action and adventure. As an existential crisis: it wasn’t bad; it tackled several surprising issues like the nature of love and friendship, parenting, existence, and perseverance. As a mystery: it was crap; a bit like playing pin-the-tail while ignoring any and all hints or clues—you’re bound to get it eventually, monkeys and Shakespeare and all. As a book though… Stars and Bones was certainly a mixed bag. It had a lot of strong points, but some weak ones as well. And there was a lot to unpack.
I believe that was the biggest problem I had with Stars and Bones: its identity. This is simply a case of trying to do to much. In its bones, this was a Science Fiction/Space Opera. But with a little bit of thriller thrown in. Political thriller too. Romance, as well. Mystery. Adventure. Allegory for life. Philosophical endeavor.
TL;DR
There’s a lot to love about Stars and Bones, partly due to the fact that there’s just so much going on in it. Too much, I’d argue. A science fiction/space opera by nature, the story tries to hit up every single genre on the way from start to finish. Thriller. Romance. Mystery. Philosophy. Existentialism. The list goes on. And in the end, there was just too much going on. Stars and Bones couldn’t seem to make up its mind on what it wanted to be. And while it pulled some of these transitions off seamlessly, others it definitely didn’t. The mystery and romance, to start. But either way a number was done on the pacing; what started out as a house on fire quickly transformed to a barnburner, then an… allegory for life? A decent read, but one that I just never could get a handle on. I promise you—there’s a good story in here somewhere, even if I could never find it.
Audio Note:
I suffered a few burnouts reading this. I started it only to lose interest fairly quickly. Part of this could be down to timing—early March is a busy time of year for me, then I got the flu immediately after. But then these both happened in the early part of the story, when it’s all action all the time in Eryn’s POV, and we’re just learning the fate of Earth in Haruki’s. Eventually, I picked it up as an audiobook and read it to fruition. Rebecca Norfolk did a great job—most of the time. While her reading of Eryn and most other POVs proved excellent, whenever she contrived to do an accent it… just sounded ridiculous. Frank was passable; Sheppard and Ginet were decidedly not. The AIs were night and day; the Ocelot was great, while any others were flat and emotionless, even when they seemed to be expressing emotion.
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com...
When worst came to worst, the Angel stepped in to save us. Not an actual Angel mind, but super advanced aliens that stepped in in humanity’s last hour and saved it from destruction. So, kinda an actual Angel. Something that saved humanity. Or, rather, saved the Earth from humanity.
Now, cast out upon the stars, humanity exists on a multitude of great Arkships, where everything is provided and no one is left behind—a true paradise. And so the fleet wanders, knowing that the eye of the Angels will forever remain on them, and knowing that they can never return to Earth.
Eryn is a scout pilot. Together, she and her ship, the Ferocious Ocelot, scout the edges of the Arkships’ path as they wander through space. When her sister Shay disappears while responding to an alien distress call, Eryn insists on being part of the crew to find her.
Candidate-623 is a lonely rock, but harbors something both terrifying and deadly. Something that might spell humanity’s doom should it reach the Arkships. When the crew is attacked, Eryn races to warn the fleet, all the while dreading whether or not this certain something might have followed her home…
—
“Holy shit,” she breathed, “You are not going to fucking believe this.”
And she was right, I didn’t. At least, not at first. Because high above the atmosphere, something vaster and older than the Earth had reached down and snatched every ICBM from the sky, every torpedo from the ocean, and every tank shell, mortar round, and bullet from every battlefield on the planet.
And is was not at all amused.
—
Man, this was a weird one.
It started out like a house on fire: an extraterrestrial attack right out of the gate that quickly transformed into a desperate race against time. That transformed into a… mystery? Whereupon suddenly introducing several new characters and plot-lines around the third- or halfway mark. The last third read a bit like the latest Star Wars movies, where they just ran with whatever thing first came to mind (despite it making little sense in the overall narrative) and made sure to add plenty of action sequences.
Beware spoilers ahead for the romance! If you want to avoid them just skip the next paragraph.
The romance was… cringeworthy. What happens between Eryn and Li isn’t so much a will-they-or-won’t-they as it is a why-is-something-going-on-i-hadn’t-noticed. What starts out as a one-night stand (or, a not-even one-night stand) in the face of a certain-death mission, slowly resolves into… nothing. There are a couple of kisses, interspersed by long gaps where Eryn looks at Li like a guest, but a stranger. Seriously, they talk only a handful of times—and it actually equates to anything meaningful once. And yet I’m supposed to believe that they’re madly in love by the end? That Eryn is so smitten with the person she routinely describes as a stranger that she actually says “I realized that I was always going to love her unconditionally and forever” at the end. Now I realize that some people can go head over heels damn quick but… were they reading the same book I was, or did I just miss something? Because this romance seems so forced it literally made me cringe, and gape when they so unexpectedly ended up in love.
In addition to a truly cringeworthy romance, the conclusion to the story was a bit of a blur. By which I mean confusing. I’m not going to get into it because of spoilers, but… I spent half of the time lost and the other half either experiencing deja vu or wondering how it’d possibly come to this point. But despite all odds when the end actually came, all my questions had been answered. As far as I could tell, all major threads had been tied up. It was extremely odd, but extremely impressive.
Yes, there was a talking cat, no, I don’t want to talk about it.
Despite it all, Stars and Bones wasn’t bad. It had a solid story, so long as you overlooked all the tangents, pseudo-parenting, and the romance (ye gods, don’t get me going on the romance again). A race against the clock as humanity faces extinction. Where Eryn must do everything she can to save the human race, despite the fact that all of it should be so, so far over her pay grade. From an action and adventure stand point: it was a decent read; there was a lot of both action and adventure. As an existential crisis: it wasn’t bad; it tackled several surprising issues like the nature of love and friendship, parenting, existence, and perseverance. As a mystery: it was crap; a bit like playing pin-the-tail while ignoring any and all hints or clues—you’re bound to get it eventually, monkeys and Shakespeare and all. As a book though… Stars and Bones was certainly a mixed bag. It had a lot of strong points, but some weak ones as well. And there was a lot to unpack.
I believe that was the biggest problem I had with Stars and Bones: its identity. This is simply a case of trying to do to much. In its bones, this was a Science Fiction/Space Opera. But with a little bit of thriller thrown in. Political thriller too. Romance, as well. Mystery. Adventure. Allegory for life. Philosophical endeavor.
TL;DR
There’s a lot to love about Stars and Bones, partly due to the fact that there’s just so much going on in it. Too much, I’d argue. A science fiction/space opera by nature, the story tries to hit up every single genre on the way from start to finish. Thriller. Romance. Mystery. Philosophy. Existentialism. The list goes on. And in the end, there was just too much going on. Stars and Bones couldn’t seem to make up its mind on what it wanted to be. And while it pulled some of these transitions off seamlessly, others it definitely didn’t. The mystery and romance, to start. But either way a number was done on the pacing; what started out as a house on fire quickly transformed to a barnburner, then an… allegory for life? A decent read, but one that I just never could get a handle on. I promise you—there’s a good story in here somewhere, even if I could never find it.
Audio Note:
I suffered a few burnouts reading this. I started it only to lose interest fairly quickly. Part of this could be down to timing—early March is a busy time of year for me, then I got the flu immediately after. But then these both happened in the early part of the story, when it’s all action all the time in Eryn’s POV, and we’re just learning the fate of Earth in Haruki’s. Eventually, I picked it up as an audiobook and read it to fruition. Rebecca Norfolk did a great job—most of the time. While her reading of Eryn and most other POVs proved excellent, whenever she contrived to do an accent it… just sounded ridiculous. Frank was passable; Sheppard and Ginet were decidedly not. The AIs were night and day; the Ocelot was great, while any others were flat and emotionless, even when they seemed to be expressing emotion.
February 21, 2022
A really ambitious and unusual start to a space opera series that is very much trying to do its own thing and while a few more characters to latch onto would have been good I loved the scale, ideas and approach
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
December 21, 2021
STARS AND BONES is a fun kind of space opera: it stays mysterious and thrilling throughout, without getting too one-note. I particularly liked the first half or so (the first 40%), when it was mostly an intriguing first contact novel turned cosmic horror. The characters are just about developed enough, the world developed (loved the concept of the “angels”), the plot makes for a very readable space opera.
Where it somewhat fell apart for me was past that 40% mark. Though I liked it until the very end, the plot started to show some cracks there, where multiple moments made me question the story (which I rarely find myself doing, these days). “Plot holes” (real ones, logical irregularities, plot armor, sudden tone changes, broken character motivations, …
Cool ideas barely held together by a muddled plot.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this in exchange of an honest review.
Where it somewhat fell apart for me was past that 40% mark. Though I liked it until the very end, the plot started to show some cracks there, where multiple moments made me question the story (which I rarely find myself doing, these days). “Plot holes” (real ones, logical irregularities, plot armor, sudden tone changes, broken character motivations, …
Cool ideas barely held together by a muddled plot.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this in exchange of an honest review.
December 15, 2021
Muy flojito. Me ha parecido un libro poco pulido, con una trama algo rocambolesca plagada de diálogo repetitivos. Todos los personajes hablan de forma parecida y el humor no me ha calado. Una pena porque es un autor que me gusta mucho y al que sigo en redes sociales. Esta saga desde luego no la seguiré.
Tiene cosas interesantes como esas naves generacionales sentientes, gatos que hablan y tripulaciones coleguis muy estilo Chambers. Ah, y todo el mundo va cachondo en este libro.
Tiene cosas interesantes como esas naves generacionales sentientes, gatos que hablan y tripulaciones coleguis muy estilo Chambers. Ah, y todo el mundo va cachondo en este libro.
March 16, 2025
Stars and Bones by Garteh L. Powell is a scifi novel I found quite gripping, despite a few eyebrow rising moments.
To me it felt mostly like a space opera, with a few hard science pieces added, and a lot of glossed over other science bits. I am by no way a fan of hard science, as in I will read, but not undrstand it, but even I noticed wuite some "it works, because it works" kind of moments.
The same goes for some of the characters, who are supposedly intelligent, but don't notice the biggest clues, unless pinted out. This helps explaining it to the reader, but come on! If I spotted it from 3 miles away, I expect a professional to think of it before me.
Aside from these, I really enjoyed both the setting and the whole idea behind were humanity has ended up. It was intriguing and fresh and easily hooked me.
The tone and voice of both the book itself and the POV characters also worked very well for me, so even though I had some sighs along the way, i really enjoed this book a lot overall.
To me it felt mostly like a space opera, with a few hard science pieces added, and a lot of glossed over other science bits. I am by no way a fan of hard science, as in I will read, but not undrstand it, but even I noticed wuite some "it works, because it works" kind of moments.
The same goes for some of the characters, who are supposedly intelligent, but don't notice the biggest clues, unless pinted out. This helps explaining it to the reader, but come on! If I spotted it from 3 miles away, I expect a professional to think of it before me.
Aside from these, I really enjoyed both the setting and the whole idea behind were humanity has ended up. It was intriguing and fresh and easily hooked me.
The tone and voice of both the book itself and the POV characters also worked very well for me, so even though I had some sighs along the way, i really enjoed this book a lot overall.
February 27, 2022
3.5 Stars, rounded up
Stars and Bones was a super fun space opera, with a gorgeous cover to boot! You’ll find dashes of horror and post-apocalyptic genres here as well. This was a really enjoyable read, it had a great pace and great intriguing plot points right from the start. The world building was brilliantly creative, and I absolutely loved all the unique technological advances. In this universe, every spacecraft is in fact a sentient artificial intelligence that manifests itself into a physical body, cats and dogs can talk, and there are some super unique “aliens” at play in this book!
This was my first novel by Powell, and it will absolutely not be my last. I’m really looking forward to future books in this series as well as reading his other previously published work!
Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for the e-ARC! Stars and Bones publishes March 1st!
Stars and Bones was a super fun space opera, with a gorgeous cover to boot! You’ll find dashes of horror and post-apocalyptic genres here as well. This was a really enjoyable read, it had a great pace and great intriguing plot points right from the start. The world building was brilliantly creative, and I absolutely loved all the unique technological advances. In this universe, every spacecraft is in fact a sentient artificial intelligence that manifests itself into a physical body, cats and dogs can talk, and there are some super unique “aliens” at play in this book!
This was my first novel by Powell, and it will absolutely not be my last. I’m really looking forward to future books in this series as well as reading his other previously published work!
Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for the e-ARC! Stars and Bones publishes March 1st!
June 28, 2024
1.5/5 stars.
Stars and Bones is a hollow book. It has superficial similarities to the scifi greats, but there is absolutely zero substance underneath. Instead, it's like the author plucked a number of tropes from better books and haphazardly stitched them together. There is not a single original thought in this book. The plot is unconvincing bordering on nonsensical, the characters are cardboard, and the setting is underdeveloped and illogical. I'll give it 1.5 stars because the prose is not entirely terrible, I suppose.
Stars and Bones is a hollow book. It has superficial similarities to the scifi greats, but there is absolutely zero substance underneath. Instead, it's like the author plucked a number of tropes from better books and haphazardly stitched them together. There is not a single original thought in this book. The plot is unconvincing bordering on nonsensical, the characters are cardboard, and the setting is underdeveloped and illogical. I'll give it 1.5 stars because the prose is not entirely terrible, I suppose.
January 28, 2024
If you like a weak premise, a feeble plot, one dimensional characters and constant climate change/anti capitalism preaching, you'll love it. It reads like one of those "made for TV" movies.
It's the softest science fiction I've read. How this guy wins awards is baffling.
I bought this book with "Descendant Machine" at the same time. If that's as bad as this I'll be done with Gareth L. Powell for good.
And remember, humans are terrible and we should all hate ourselves 😉
It's the softest science fiction I've read. How this guy wins awards is baffling.
I bought this book with "Descendant Machine" at the same time. If that's as bad as this I'll be done with Gareth L. Powell for good.
And remember, humans are terrible and we should all hate ourselves 😉
July 9, 2023
This is great space opera, some great ideas, and I really enjoyed it.
Pretty easy to read, great characters. Not overly long : just what was needed!
Pretty easy to read, great characters. Not overly long : just what was needed!
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