/lit/ - Literature

These Burning Stars, The Kindom Trilogy #1 - Bethany Jacobs (2023)

These Burning Stars is a character focused space opera told through a split narrative of past and present through multiple points of view. Usually I have several complaints about this method because I don't think it adds much value and slows momentum, but for this book I have no complaints and believe it is the best possible way to have told the story because of how much it enriches the narrative and by how amusing it becomes after having finished the book.

This is among the very best debut novels I've read and is a great novel in its own right. I am thoroughly impressed by how much I enjoyed it from beginning to end. For my personal taste it's written almost exactly how I prefer and there wasn't a single low point. It doesn't reach the heights of what I consider the best, but reading something that is consistently highly enjoyable without almost anything needing to be overlooked is a treasure as well.

All of the viewpoint characters are morally gray at the lightest, though I didn't find any of them to be unlikeable. Three of the viewpoint characters, all gendermarked as women, are Esek, Chono, and Jun. Esek is a sociopath prone to theatrical displays of emotionality and violence, which makes her fun in a terrifying way. Chono is deeply religious and wants to brighten the world, but she's dyed dark by Esek and is ambivalent about her rescuer. Jun is a rogue hacker seeking revenge and profit, though not to benefit herself. They're all involved with each other's drama. This isn't a story where the viewpoints don't cross paths.

The only significant point of contention I have it with it is that I don't understand the practicalities or the meaning of the gendermark system. Each person has a visible physical mark denoting man or woman, and a few taboo exceptions. Most people aren't allowed to choose a mark until they're an adult, though it can be changed afterwards. It's never made clear what percent people choose the same gender as their sex, which are considered separate, or what differences there are.

There a few sex scenes, which are romantic or violent. The most detailed scene isn't explicit enough to definitively know (or so I tell myself) the specific sexual characteristics of both of those involved, though I don't mind whichever configuration it may be. There are several relationships but due to ambiguity involved, it's probably most accurate to call almost all of them sapphic. There's definitely much more of a focus on women.

I'm already hopeful that this will become one of my favorite trilogies, which seems more likely than not currently, but considering how the book ends the second will probably have to be rather different, though I think Jacobs can manage. As far as I'm concerned Jacobs has outshone her relevant and similar contemporaries with her debut.

Rating: 5/5

I received this DRC from Orbit through NetGalley