Stars and Bones by Gareth L. Powell is a science fiction with about the worlds survival after earth has already blown up. The novel’s plot is half the science fiction horror movie Life meets half of 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. This novel gets pretty brutal and no one is safe. The pace of the novel is good as you and the character’s race for time and answers. The big Science Fiction ideas get a little heady but I felt I was able to follow along pretty well. The backstory for the plot and how the earthlings got to this moment in time was the highlight. Stars and Bones was brutal and gory at times as bodies are broken apart and reformed not always in the right way making them nightmare creatures. The narrative pick 6 characters to tell the story, we stay with Eryn for most of it and the other character fill in the past and other areas that are important to the narrative that she is not involved yet. The beginning of the novel is super overwhelming as it is all exposition and history which I thought is this the second book in a series because there is so much to absorb, I promise you readers this is the first book and will make more sense later. I do not read a lot of science fiction that is not Star Wars but I really enjoyed this story and the imagination behind it. I read Stars and Bones thanks to Netgalley and Titan Books. Star and Bones by Gareth L. Powell is published on March 1 2022.

The Plot Summery: 75 Years from now the Earth will be at war and on the verge of armageddon, but as the missiles flew at the and entity was watching and stepped in. A scientist just hours before had found the substrate a way of which to travel from place to place over distance. Years after this all the earthlings are on giant arcs looking for a new home, they travel through the substrate searching light years in the future. Where a survey team finds a land full of bones, then run into an enemy that takes the humans apart and reassembles making a new creature. Eryn is on the search for her sister a member of the survey team. Eryn and her crew barely escape with their lives, but the the enemy follows and wants all the lives on arcs. Eryn must solve a mystery that began when people left earth.

What I Liked: I loved the idea for this story, it was wild and fun. I liked how action packed it got at times. I liked the character of Eryn and her willingness to sacrifice what she cared about. I liked the bad guys, I wanted a little bit more when it was revealed what it was at the end but was satisfied up until that point. I loved Sam the talking cat, and his musings on the world but still had cat moments. I loved the arcs and how they were all different and came with it’s own theme. The pace was really great it made it a pretty easy read. I liked that the enemy kept evolving and perfecting the way it put people back together, so it made it hard to tell who had already died and was actually the enemy. I loved the backstory that was created.

What I Disliked: Eryn has this big moment with the enemy, explaining why she sacrificed and did everything to raise her sisters kid, then when everything was said and done she doesn’t end up raising the kid, this was very frustrating. there was kind of a reason but it wasn’t good enough after everything Eryn sacrificed. The beginning was too much exposition, I literally stopped reading to check if this was a sequel, but it was not, there was so much it felt like one.

Recommendation: Stars and Bones is a fun ride with lots at stake. This is the first book in a trilogy and I’m excited for the next cause I have no idea where this is going to go but I like the idea of the arcs. I recommend you check out Stars and Bones it is not blow your mind science fiction but it is science fiction done really well like a combination of 4 really good science fiction ideas and episodes from Star Trek. When I found out what the enemy was it felt very Star Trek, but a good episode of Star Trek. I rated Stars and Bones by Gareth L. Powell 4 out of 5 stars. I debated for a little bit going to 5 stars but felt 4 is where it belongs.