A Review of Twin Suns of Carrola (Starshatter #2)
A Vengeful and Bloody Return to Classic Space-Opera
So continues our journey into Starshatter.
Now being the second novel within Black Knight’s famed decalogy series, Twin Suns of Carrola wastes no time before diving straight into the action. Our heroes’ origin stories are now complete. And as was established before in Book #1, we already have a working knowledge of just who these people (hamsters, gorillas, etc.) are, along with what drives them forward.
Chief among our crewmates is the bunny Lilly, whose own personal quest for vengeance spurs on this particular narrative.
To say that such a premise would spark a much larger confrontation is an understatement. The action, though stayed in a few places, is balls-to-the-wall insanity throughout - which in a genre like this is definitely a good thing. Later on there are even a few moments where the handcuffs are removed, and what ends up following can only be described as a blend between Conan Swords-and-Sorcery, hard sci-fi, and even a healthy dose of Cowboy Bebop.
However, above all of this dwells a clear passion for each of our protagonists, along with how their actions affect the universe as a whole. Like most of Black Knight’s other works, this ends up being his greatest quality by a huge margin - specifically his prowess in giving us characters who make the most from what they have.
All of this develops into a story which, put quite simply, kicks all sorts of ass even in spite of its few missteps.
Yet first, I feel like it should be mentioned just how much thought has been put into the villains. Compare this to last entry, where our heroes faced off against enemies who - though appropriately evil - were just a little lackluster in personality. They were fine there; however, as a longer-form story we would need more of a mastermind figure. A puppet master who pulls all the right strings for the most compelling reasons…
Thankfully that’s exactly what we got here. Captain Omasa is shown to be an imposing figure as well as a cunning one - especially as story events unfold. Other confidantes such as Nedal, Tale, and Vala all play somewhat lesser roles, though there is still a greater sense of them having their own lives, friendships, connections, etc. Rest assured, however, that they are all still unspeakably foul, and that the plot never becomes distracted in painting them as sympathetic.
Naturally, this added development makes for quite the conflict as Anitza and crew join the fray. I won’t say too much concerning the fight which ensues, though rest assured that it’s filled with moments that will leave you on the very edge of your seat. This includes your standard space battles and skirmishes, along with some rather unusual applications for hacking.
The action itself is both bloody and at times visceral, though I think it never goes so far as to distract from the story that’s being told.
In contrast to our previous deepdive into Starshatter, where we learned just how a group of outcasts might come together as a team, this time we get to see just what it takes for them to stay together.
This does end up affecting the pace somewhat, as a certain amount of time is allotted towards fleshing out each individual crewmate, not to mention how their own traumas still haunt them even in the present. A couple of new faces are introduced as well, the most notable of which is a space-biker named Mack, who ends up being a natural and most amusing addition to the team.
Still, if you are a fan of characters like Awesome and Anitza, you’ll certainly find yourself with more of that here. And although I found myself slightly preferring Book #1’s “anthology”-style approach, the payoff here is still well-worth it.
However, a more major issue I have involves the formatting itself, along with some noticeably rough patches in the prose. Now granted, errors like these are all but common within published works, and I don’t mean to harp on this for too long as we’re all prone to mistakes like this.
In terms of the former, I thought the font size leaned just a little too heavily on the small side, though this did become less of an issue the more I read. It’s not too bad or anything, yet you may find yourself squinting at a couple of points whilst reading.
As for the latter, I felt that it could have been fixed with just a few more passes in the editing phase. A little more polish here-or-there would have really gone a long way, as there were times when I became confused as to what was being conveyed.
Yet even with these gripes in mind, I would still say that I greatly enjoyed my time with Twin Suns. In particular, I was a huge fan of Awesome and his, well er… awesome development with Alice. This is not even mentioning what happens with Boris, Kera, and, of course, our adorable friend Lilly.
It should be no surprise then that the final scenes hit all the right notes. The proceeding epilogue will also leave you wanting more, as there were even some moments which left this jaded reviewer deeply touched.
A sign of a great storyteller if ever there was one.
You can find out more about Twin Suns of Carrola here on Amazon. Black Knight also has a Substack where he regularly shares short stories as part of his Starshatter universe.
Wow. That is so much better than my review. Well done dude. I loved it.
I can't wait till you read book 3, Treads Of Vengeance https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MKS8PB9