The Blighted Stars

I've been hearing good things about Megan E. O'Keefe for a while. So when a slew of Orbit titles went on sale a few months back, I got my hands on The Blighted Stars to find out for myself whether or not I'd enjoy her brand of science fiction.

This is by no means hard scifi. It's a character-driven, easy-to-read space opera sprinkled with a bit of romance. Hence, I would say that The Blighted Stars is a very accessible work that can appeal to any SFF reader. Having said that, fans of novels/series that resound with more depth à la Peter F. Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds, Ian McDonald, or James S. A. Corey may feel that something's missing. However, readers intimidated by the scope and vision of those aforementioned authors will probably feel right at home in O'Keefe's universe.

Here's the blurb:

When a spy is stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, she must first figure out how to survive before she can uncover the conspiracy that landed them both there in the first place.

She’s a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they’re found and Naira Sharp knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity’s expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.

He’s the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin’s father has tasked him with monitoring the mining of a new planet, and he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter.

Disguised as Tarquin’s new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy his ship before it lands. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she’s sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that’s bigger than both of them.

What I enjoyed the most about The Blighted Stars is the fact that things go down the crapper from the get-go. There is no introduction to set the stage for what comes next. Everything goes sideways at the very start, which makes for an exciting beginning. It does mean that you have to buckle up and go with the flow. Information will be provided in a non-linear fashion as the story progresses. The author appears to be a geology nerd and she did go all out in this novel. Maybe a bit too much, in my humble opinion, but it doesn't hurt the overall reading experience. O'Keefe borrows concepts and ideas from Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon and the videogame/TV series The Last of Us, yet makes them her own.

I liked that O'Keefe turned the tables on the old trope of the female protagonist and her male bodyguard, and made Naira Sharp the stronger and more lethal character. Tarquin Mercator's your typical clueless, rich do-gooder, but he does redeem himself on occasion. The budding romance doesn't really get in the way of the story, yet I'm not sure it adds anything special to the plot. Yes, it is corny at times. I still don't know why it had to become a romance at all. Tarquin ruined Naira's life when he testified against her at her trial, but what transpires in The Blighted Stars could have led to respect and friendship and would have been less cheesy. Of course, with the way the novel ends, it will be interesting to see what O'Keefe has in store for the both of them. Still, less focus on the romance and more depth on the political intrigue could have been beneficial. The entire MERIT and Tarquin's father's storylines were the plot's weakest links, to be honest, and they could have used a bit more work.

The Blighted Stars doesn't suffer from pacing issues. The author keeps things moving at a good clip, with a rousing endgame and a good, if predictable, ending. This first volume opens the door for lots of bigger and better things to come. Let's hope that Megan E. O'Keefe can step up to the plate and deliver sequels that live up to the potential shown in this first installment.

Looking forward to what comes next.

The final verdict: 7.75/10

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