Derek Bailey’s Reviews > The Stars Within > Status Update

Some interesting developments in the last couple chapters, but I feel like things will need to kick into overdrive with everything that still needs to happen.

Things are picking up a bit for both Thomas and Colette. I also enjoyed getting a glimpse into who Thomas really is and what lengths he will go to help his friends. I do wish that I had a better understanding of the bond that he and the other miners all share though. Their relationship is very sweet, but I want to know how they all got so close.

I continue to struggle with feeling engaged in Thomas's portion of the story since the defining aspect of his character and arc seems to be his cancer diagnosis. Maybe I just need to work on my empathy for people (or fictional characters) that I don't know, but I wish we got a chance to know him outside of this event. Collette's part of the chapter got pretty exciting though and a little bit of spicy tea wa spilled.

I have some stylistic complaints, mainly regarding the "show, don't tell" rule and some of the paragraphs feeling like exposition instead of scenes. That said, this is an interesting setup and I am pretty curious to see where this story goes.

An interesting start to the story. Thomas comes off as a little whiny but we also meet him at a time where he is getting some terrible news, so it's kind of an odd place to be introduced to a character. Colette is really interesting though and I am looking forward to seeing where her story goes. I did also like Thomas's best friend.