Blurb:

Faith believed in the benevolence of the Company, until it used her code to frame her lover, then tried to kill them both.

On Company planet Home World, Faith uncovered secrets that made her a target in a shadowy game of interplanetary-scale corporate intrigue. She fled to independent Iona, where she’s spent the last eight years tinkering with space junk and keeping a low profile. But her carefully controlled life unravels when a mysterious someone attacks her planetmates with a chemical weapon that drops them into stasis and turns their bodies blue. Then the Company starts making noise about sending a representative to “help,” and all Faith’s alarm bells go off.

Proving a connection between the Company and the attacker might save Iona from both, but Faith can’t do it alone and her prospective allies all suspect each other. Should she trust the new arrival whose “nice guy” persona doesn’t quite match up with rumors of a shady past? Or the frosty Company official who’s clearly got an agenda of her own? And then there’s her long-lost lover, who lands on Iona full of secrets but no straight answers about what he’s been up to--or why he disappeared completely all those years ago.

Simply making the wrong choice could be enough to doom Iona, but as Faith discovers the hidden truth about the little planet, she realizes the Company may be the least of their problems.

Review:

“Nothing Larger Than These Stars” by E. Marie Robertson ended up being one of the books I liked most from my SPSFC allocation. It drew me in immediately, and while it was not completely unique in the science fiction realm, it stands out on its own as a must-read for people who love the genre. Sometimes, reading a lot of books from the same genre and even subgenre can dull the senses, but ‘Nothing Larger Than These Stars” is a page-turner with twists and turns that left me guessing until the cliff-hangar at the end (and still guessing because it is part of a duology, and I will not know the full conclusion until I read the next book, which I will one-hundred percent be doing.)

Characters

There is a huge amount of character development going on in this one, with a strong female protagonist. Faith self-exiled off planet when things go awry, but what was a quiet life turned intense when the trouble followed her. Between herself and the side characters, she is on a mission to uncover the truth. While not completely character-driven, they certainly stand out and press the plot forward. It is a great combination of character-driven and plot-driven. Faith has no choice but to unravel corporate political terrorization, but she does it well, never really shying away from the task at hand. She’s on her toes and works well with others, and it left me on my own toes, too.

Atmosphere

While my time over the last few months reading not much else other than science fiction has jaded me for some tropes, ‘Nothing Larger Than These Stars’ kept my attention and is unique in its own right. Sometimes it can be hard to separate plot lines when you’ve been reading so much of seemingly the same thing, but this one has impeccable world-building with descriptive visuals that brought me the page right to my imagination. I am admittedly more of a character-driven reader, and enjoy books that focus on the characters, but with that said, the atmosphere and plot-driven aspects combined wonderfully with the really strong protagonists and antagonists (I’m a bit of a villain-lover most times, but I felt myself rooting so heavily for the heroes of this story.)

Writing Style 

Robertson has a way with words, and just as I said before, the world-building and character development make this an absolute page-turner. It’s easy to read, thrilling, and inescapably realistic in the attempt to bring the reader in on the mystery and the pull of espionage. 

Plot/Logic

I’m combining these two tenets because they go hand-in-hand most times anyways. The plot, while again not completely original, is still interesting and I was pulled into the story from the first chapter. While we don’t get a conclusion in this book (it’s part of a duology) the logic of the characters intertwining with everything going on makes a huge impact, and is one of the reasons I really hope it moves on in the competition. It’s well worth the read just for the imaginative world-building and strong female lead character. 

Intrigue

Was this intriguing? Absolutely! The twists! The thrills! The heated political disputes! Amazing world-building! I might sound like a broken record, but the pull was immediate and had me turning pages, hoping to uncover the truth. It’s raw, rife sweeping twists that had me hooked. Paired with energetic writing, the pace was fast and suspenseful. It’s a combination of political strife from the shady Company and their power over any who it reaches and a thrilling murder mystery that kept myself and the characters on their toes. 

Excitement

I would one-hundred percent recommend this read. It’s well-paced and full of mystery. If it does not make it through to the next round of SPSFC, I am going to peer-pressure my other teammates to read it anyway. You’ll definitely see me talking about it on my socials and recommending it around to those I know love some politically intriguing science fiction.