S. K. Dunstall

some say, for fans of Becky Chambers...

... and having finally read it, I say, not really. No aliens, no humor, lots of stuff that I don't like to read about. Not hopepunk for sure. I didn't find anything worthy of a bookdart. I wouldn't have finished if it wasn't my nomination for group read... but I do admit I'm glad that I did because it did get better. There was some character growth as the gang of misfits had to reveal their pasts to each other.

Carlos and Jacques are still enigmas, though. And what is the society like that has access to body-modding, which can even change gender with some time in a machine. And what happened to Brown after the 95 hours? I wonder if the sequel will be richer and will finish the story. Judging by the reviews, though, not so much. I'll pass.

I'm rounding up my 2.5 star rating to 3 because maybe my expectations were just too high, and I should judge the book for what it is, not what I wanted it to be. But unfortunately, I cannot recommend it.… (more)

Written by two Australian sisters who call themselves S. K. Dunstall, Stars Uncharted had all the ingredients I needed for a fun space opera read. Lots of action and humor, space travel, a slow burning love story, and characters that I enjoy rooting for. Although presented as an ensemble cast, there are two characters who do the narrating – Nika Rik Terri who is a skilled body modder (modifier), and Josune Arriola, an engineer, who is living under an assumed identity after the exploration ship she was crewing on was destroyed. These two women are thrown together and form a fast friendship as they and their allies try to escape from a deadly corporation who wants to silence them.

This group of widely assorted characters come together as they are all on the run from the same enemy and although many of our heroes are not exactly who they are pretending to be, together they bond and become a family of misfits with common goals and aspirations. As this is the first book of a duology, not all problems were cleared by the end of the book, but it also didn’t leave us totally hanging, as the immediate problems were addressed.

I found Stars Uncharted to be a rip-roaring adventure and as this appears to be a resource-run universe, the continuation of space exploration and the search for rare elements and metals was widely hinted at. Of course I can see that this exploration could well cause them to once again become the quarry of these dark companies. I look forward to continuing the adventure in the next book..… (more)

Very enjoyable and inventive. This book drew me in from the first page, with its pleasant writing style, intriguing world building and interesting characters. I liked Nika in particular for her inventiveness, her passion, and her dogged determination to survive. Also Josune and Roystan refuse to give up, continuing to plan if things go awry. That makes both the women on the free people to root for, and I like that the two of them are friends. In general, the crew as a group works well together, having each other's back, even if some of them only joined recently.
And, always a nice thing to be able to comment on: women are well represented on all sides, being just as likely to be in charge or be an expert and experienced as the men.
The only thing that I would have changed is the pacing. It it's incredibly high, all the time. Everyone is continuously in running, fighting, and/or problem-solving mode, invariably with high stakes. Some down time would have been good... The linesman series doesn't have this problem, so the authors are definitely capable of it.… (more)