A Review of Starshatter

Reinventing Sci-Fi - One Sword and Railgun at a Time

Drugs. Pirates. Hamsters.

What do all of these elements have in common? Well, aside from probably being the name of a porn flick somewhere, they are also commonplace occurrences in the world of Starshatter.

Being the first novel in an ongoing series by Black Knight, Starshatter seeks to bring back the oomph of classic space opera and 80’s sci-fi, along with delivering a healthy dose of drama, violence, and swashbuckling to the table. Though I wasn’t aware of this series until fairly recently, both positive word of mouth and an invitation from the author convinced me to give it a try. I had also seen it recommended by Royce (aka A Drink with Crazy) as part of his more recent livestreams, which only furthered my curiosity.

So does it succeed in its storytelling goals? Does it deliver on the sci-fi, action, and thrills as advertised?

Well, first off, I should go ahead and disclose my own personal bias towards the genre. Like so many other geeks who were born in the twentieth century, sci-fi has always held a particularly close place to my heart. Novels like Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 are among some of my all-time favorite fiction, not to mention movies like Alien, Star Wars, and John Carpenter’s The Thing having all but kindled my love for movies.

Though I wouldn’t call myself an expert by any respect, I would still say that I’m an avid lover of science fiction.

Even with all of that said, however, I still found myself being thoroughly surprised by the book’s quality. If you are a fan of sci-fi or space opera in any capacity, then I can guarantee that you will find something to love within this galaxy of space pirates, alien mercenaries, and anthropomorphic critters.

Being set in an alternate timeline to our own, the story of Starshatter takes place among several different perspectives between a large cast of characters. It’s a universe that’s full of danger, not to mention opportunity, as all too often we’re reminded of just what’s required for these characters not just to survive, but also thrive and grow. The pacing is both fast and frantic, and nary a moment is spared without also driving the plot forward. Though the worldbuilding is incredibly detailed in its scope and ambition - with fully fleshed out ideas on philosophy, culture, races, religion, political powers, etc. - the plot is almost never bogged down by these more extraneous elements.

All of this congeals into a story which seems like it’s bursting at the seams with life and personality. During some of the later chapters, in particular, I found it hard to put down, as I was truly anticipating what surprises might be lurking around each page.

As has been stated before, almost each and every chapter is presented through a different point-of-view, with many of these even branching out into their own, largely separate narratives. For readers who aren’t well-versed with this kind of non-linear storytelling, this might even feel somewhat jarring at first. Stick with it, however, and you will find that each story ends up standing head-and-shoulders above the likes of your average MCU film.

Character development is always kept at center stage, as a great emphasis is also made towards breathing new life into tired and old cliches. Strong burly men are paired alongside badass heroines, as has long been the standard for sci-fi/fantasy. Of course, you will also find your fair share of aliens, cyborgs, and sentient AI here as well. With that being said, however, each character is given their own unique spin and reason for being there. This is also not even mentioning the more unique races, which include creatures such as large hamsters, rabbits, burly Asgardians, and even intelligent gorillas.

But I digress. Instead, I would like to bring more attention to just how simple and, more importantly, fun each story is. You won’t find any cynical plot twists or themes here, no instances where characters are being deconstructed just to push a sociopolitical message…

Rather, good guys are simply just that. And bad guys, of course, are fucking bastards.

As for criticisms, I don’t have many. My only gripe with the story is that the worldbuilding can feel just a tad heavy-handed at times. Granted, I noticed this only in a few spots, where the occasional setting detail probably would have been better off shown rather than told. Typos also crop up every here and there, though they are mostly infrequent and hardly ever hindered my enjoyment of the story in question.

Yet none of these cons should deter any sci-fi fan from checking out Starshatter. Black Knight has done a truly superb job in creating both a unique and vibrant setting, one which delivers on small-scale action while also setting up a larger, yet no less compelling, narrative for future entries.

The stage has been set, my fellow Terrans. And from what I’ve been told, the adventure only gets crazier from here.

You can find out more about Starshatter, as well as Black Knight, here on Amazon.