The Stars Undying by Emery Lord

Source: NetGalley & owned – Thank you to the publisher
TL;DR: I feel so bland on this. Meandering, with what should have been stellar themes and ideas. But little to no connection for the reader.

Plot: Supposedly a Julius Caesar and Cleopatra inspired story, it’s the story of a civil war, turned assassination/revenge story. Things you’d think would be stellar but end up feeling… okay?
Characters: *snore* But seriously fairly bland as we aren’t given a ton of emotional connections.
Setting: Mostly set on a seemingly flooded planet, then on a empire planet that was mostly scenes in crowds or buildings.
Science Fiction: The science fiction in this was primarily the political maneuvering of the galactic empires and kingdoms. Which was on me because I was so bored.

Thoughts:

The Stars Undying is meant to be a Cleopatra and Caesar inspired space opera. One would think that the word “opera” might involve a lot of emotional drama and intensity. One would be… wrong.

I genuinely don’t know that I have a ton to say about this. I was so disconnected from the story as a whole that I found mind wandering and I went to sleep several times while reading. The idea of the story, a planet caught in a civil war between sisters when one of which uses the visiting empire’s golden boy to win it. From there the story attempts to look at themes of personhood and AI, themes I adore.

I think the killer on this one was the story telling style which was a retrospective story, Gracia is telling us her story from the future but she meanders, dumping information in the process. We also have chapters from Ceirran (our Caesar) which are full of complicated politics that we don’t get a chance to care about.

Overall just… fine. Not offensive, not upsetting, just okay. I think if you want something real dense, with just the politics? This could work. It starts strong but quickly dissolves out into meandering. Many people have adored it, so I can’t say it won’t work. Simply that it didn’t connect for me.

2.5 stars out of 5