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A review by mspilesofpaper
The Stars Undying by Emery Robin
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The Stars Undying is the first instalment in a series (?) and a space opera retelling of Cleopatra's and Caesar's lives and loves, which takes place in a queer-normative society and a couple of gender-bent characters (e.g., Marcus Antonius, Ptolemy XIII, Cassius). It is extremely slow-paced with a dual POV that is told as a story - by Gracia, the story's Cleopatra - to a third party.
As interesting as the premise of the story is, the confusing world-building and the sentence structure let me down. While the world-building isn't too complex, the majority of planets sound relatively alike (due to their ending of -yet) and many characters have similar names as well. Of course, while Ceirran (the story's Caesar) is happily conquering the planets, the conquering doesn't play a massive part as the story plays mostly on two planets: Gracia's home planet of Szayet and Ceirran's home planet of Ceio. Here, it's just political intrigues, the entire story arc of Caesar's assassination by the story's Brutus (Jonata Barran, non-binary, and Ceirran considers them as his closest friend) and Cassius (Cátia Lançan) and, of course the love story between Gracia and Ceirran. Players of Assassin's Creed: Origins will remember the famous carpet scene, which the author implemented as well.
Political intrigues aside, I think the most interesting part of the story is the highly developed AI that is considered as "The Undying God" by Gracia and her people, and for whom Gracia acts as his Oracle. The AI character is based on Alexander the Great as his general/friend founded the Ptolemaic dynasty.
In the book, Alexander the Great became the AI/God while his closest friend (partly it is hinted that they were lovers) founded the dynasty that Gracia belongs to, so they would always act as the Oracle to Alectelo (Alexander the Great) and ruled through him.
I consider the AI the most interesting part because where Caesar was killed because senators feared his power and domination of the state, Ceirran was assassinated because he planned to become a God through the technology that Gracia (and Alectelo) hold. However, it didn't help that he seemed to be popular among the common people and, similar to the historical Caesar, initiated land reforms and gave citizenship to many residents from the conquered planets.
To sum it up: a good debut but extremely challenging due to the pacing, the writing and the confusing world-building. My overall thought process while reading was: "I have no idea what's going on". As it is the first instalment, I think the second book will feature Gracia's relationship with the book's Marcus Antonius (Anita) and the continuing grab for power/the attempt to become a sovereign planet within the Empire.
As interesting as the premise of the story is, the confusing world-building and the sentence structure let me down. While the world-building isn't too complex, the majority of planets sound relatively alike (due to their ending of -yet) and many characters have similar names as well. Of course, while Ceirran (the story's Caesar) is happily conquering the planets, the conquering doesn't play a massive part as the story plays mostly on two planets: Gracia's home planet of Szayet and Ceirran's home planet of Ceio. Here, it's just political intrigues, the entire story arc of Caesar's assassination by the story's Brutus (Jonata Barran, non-binary, and Ceirran considers them as his closest friend) and Cassius (Cátia Lançan) and, of course the love story between Gracia and Ceirran. Players of Assassin's Creed: Origins will remember the famous carpet scene, which the author implemented as well.
Political intrigues aside, I think the most interesting part of the story is the highly developed AI that is considered as "The Undying God" by Gracia and her people, and for whom Gracia acts as his Oracle. The AI character is based on Alexander the Great as his general/friend founded the Ptolemaic dynasty.
In the book, Alexander the Great became the AI/God while his closest friend (partly it is hinted that they were lovers) founded the dynasty that Gracia belongs to, so they would always act as the Oracle to Alectelo (Alexander the Great) and ruled through him.
I consider the AI the most interesting part because where Caesar was killed because senators feared his power and domination of the state, Ceirran was assassinated because he planned to become a God through the technology that Gracia (and Alectelo) hold. However, it didn't help that he seemed to be popular among the common people and, similar to the historical Caesar, initiated land reforms and gave citizenship to many residents from the conquered planets.
To sum it up: a good debut but extremely challenging due to the pacing, the writing and the confusing world-building. My overall thought process while reading was: "I have no idea what's going on". As it is the first instalment, I think the second book will feature Gracia's relationship with the book's Marcus Antonius (Anita) and the continuing grab for power/the attempt to become a sovereign planet within the Empire.