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Constellations
Constellations centers on three friends during the only crisis the world did not experience in the 2020 a drone invasion.
Kat, a polyamorous chef-wannabe stuck in a tech job, sees a strange orb floating outside her office. Although confused, she brushes off the sighting until later that evening, when hundreds of drones appear throughout the United States. That same night, her friend and ex Lucas finds a drone on the ground and takes it home to investigate. All the while, Kylie, a marketer for the biggest corporation in America, struggles to balance her work and friendships as her husband obsesses over these new visitors.
The three of them must grapple with their new reality while forging new relationships and holding on to existing ones.
Equal parts heartwarming and heart-wrenching, Constellations explores why we continue when our foundations disappear.
Kat, a polyamorous chef-wannabe stuck in a tech job, sees a strange orb floating outside her office. Although confused, she brushes off the sighting until later that evening, when hundreds of drones appear throughout the United States. That same night, her friend and ex Lucas finds a drone on the ground and takes it home to investigate. All the while, Kylie, a marketer for the biggest corporation in America, struggles to balance her work and friendships as her husband obsesses over these new visitors.
The three of them must grapple with their new reality while forging new relationships and holding on to existing ones.
Equal parts heartwarming and heart-wrenching, Constellations explores why we continue when our foundations disappear.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2022
1 person is currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
Igor Shults
3 books11 followersI discovered my love of writing only after dislocating my shoulder rock climbing. Clearly in need of a new hobby, I started writing fiction and have been in love ever since. I came to the U.S. when I was two years old (with the help of my parents), grew up in Minnesota, and attended the University of Wisconsin, where I majored in computer science and psychology. I currently live in the Twin Cities and (still) enjoy rock climbing, running, and raising chickens.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 6, 2023
This book has three major themes that all tie together. It’s about human, raw relationships — mostly polyamorous ones — in actual practice. It’s about mental health and how mental health can be exacerbated by external factors, including the state of the world. Finally, it’s about the state of the world and what happens when said state-of-the-world meets a UFO invasion.
These three themes interplay with each other in a really interesting way. Shults excels at showing how different people react differently to the same crisis— some ignoring it, others attacking it, others doom scrolling until they’ve hit their brink. All the while, these different characters are also navigating multiple relationships and high-stress jobs, pawns to the capitalist machine. How is one to cope with it all? Well, read the book to find out.
Constellations tackles a lot of subjects and it does it well. Its narrative jumps between three different main characters, each with their own strengths and flaws that factor into how they navigate multiple relationships, both platonic and romantic. The story excels at addressing how those relationships are impacted by depression in a way that anyone who has had depression or has loved someone with depression will resonate with deeply. Though the book is not afraid to dip into dark spaces, Shults balances darkness and chaos with moments of humor. The reader is never fixated on one character for long before jumping to another perspective, which helps break up the heaviest moments without shying away from them.
As it often goes, this book’s strength is also, at times, its weakness. As I said before, is addressing a lot of different subjects. To me, there were some moments of political commentary that felt out of place and some points spoken out loud or explicitly explained more times than necessary. The reader can deduce the cracks in the U.S. system from the UFO plot line, along with plot lines about multiple corporate brands and poor labor practices without being told why there’s a problem with what’s going on. That said, this does not happen enough for it to be overly distracting from the book’s many strengths.
As a final note, I have to commend Shults for his ability to write multiple complex, polyamorous relationships into a science fiction novel. Constellations even has a relationship map at the beginning to help the reader visualize each character’s one or more romantic relationships. As anyone who doesn’t fit a commonplace relationship demographic knows, it’s hard to find representation in entertainment media of relationships outside of the traditional monogamous het, sis pairing. The book’s protagonists often find themselves explaining different forms of polyamory or having to justify themselves. Though this happens a lot, it is not overdone. Conversations like this are an everyday reality for polyamorous people in our current world, whether it’s people demanding an explanation or discussions between friends about navigating alternative ways of relating without a societal blueprint. Maybe with more books like this, we won’t have to justify ourselves as much anymore.
These three themes interplay with each other in a really interesting way. Shults excels at showing how different people react differently to the same crisis— some ignoring it, others attacking it, others doom scrolling until they’ve hit their brink. All the while, these different characters are also navigating multiple relationships and high-stress jobs, pawns to the capitalist machine. How is one to cope with it all? Well, read the book to find out.
Constellations tackles a lot of subjects and it does it well. Its narrative jumps between three different main characters, each with their own strengths and flaws that factor into how they navigate multiple relationships, both platonic and romantic. The story excels at addressing how those relationships are impacted by depression in a way that anyone who has had depression or has loved someone with depression will resonate with deeply. Though the book is not afraid to dip into dark spaces, Shults balances darkness and chaos with moments of humor. The reader is never fixated on one character for long before jumping to another perspective, which helps break up the heaviest moments without shying away from them.
As it often goes, this book’s strength is also, at times, its weakness. As I said before, is addressing a lot of different subjects. To me, there were some moments of political commentary that felt out of place and some points spoken out loud or explicitly explained more times than necessary. The reader can deduce the cracks in the U.S. system from the UFO plot line, along with plot lines about multiple corporate brands and poor labor practices without being told why there’s a problem with what’s going on. That said, this does not happen enough for it to be overly distracting from the book’s many strengths.
As a final note, I have to commend Shults for his ability to write multiple complex, polyamorous relationships into a science fiction novel. Constellations even has a relationship map at the beginning to help the reader visualize each character’s one or more romantic relationships. As anyone who doesn’t fit a commonplace relationship demographic knows, it’s hard to find representation in entertainment media of relationships outside of the traditional monogamous het, sis pairing. The book’s protagonists often find themselves explaining different forms of polyamory or having to justify themselves. Though this happens a lot, it is not overdone. Conversations like this are an everyday reality for polyamorous people in our current world, whether it’s people demanding an explanation or discussions between friends about navigating alternative ways of relating without a societal blueprint. Maybe with more books like this, we won’t have to justify ourselves as much anymore.
January 10, 2023
Constellations was a very enjoyable read. The characters were relatable, the story was engaging, and the themes captured the present zeitgeist well.
August 16, 2025
I enjoyed writing this one. It's a little more out there than my other stuff and it turns out that's a good thing. I was able to add more humor while still realistically weaving in the stories I wanted to tell. I'm proud of this one and hope people like it.
November 28, 2022
This is the first fiction book I’ve read that included non-monogamous character. The author weaved multiple storylines into a well crafted novel about love, lost, friendship, and of course UFOs! The ending is my favorite but I won’t spoil it!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews