Fantasia Reviews Lucifer’s Star by C. T. Phipps
Genre – Science Fiction
Ages 16+
Published 10/13/2016
About the Book – Lucifer’s Star, A Modern Space Opera
“From the bestselling author of The Rules of Supervillainy:
Cassius Mass was the greatest star pilot of the Crius Archduchy. He fought fiercely for his cause, only to watch his nation fall to the Interstellar Commonwealth. It was only after that he realized the side he’d been fighting for was the wrong one. Now a semi-functional navigator on an interstellar freight hauler, he tries to hide who he was and escape his past. Unfortunately, some things refuse to stay buried and he ends up conscripted by the very people who destroyed his homeland.
LUCIFER’S STAR is the first novel of the Lucifer’s Star series, a dark science fiction space opera set in a world of aliens, war, politics, and slavery.” – Publisher Blurb
The Review – A Rose by Any Other Name
This story follows the tale of Cassius, former pilot and current lowlife, as he struggles with the meaning of the events that took everything from him and searches for something to give his life purpose again.
We don’t like to give away too many details, so we won’t. Let’s just say that if you enjoy sharp wit, plot twists, and robots, this story is for you.
The Bright Side – Lucifer’s Star Shines
That being said, while there are many reasons to recommend Lucifer’s Star and they are the same reasons we might recommend any book like it. Mister Phipps does it all right, but it is not his story that makes Lucifer’s Star a standout, it is the author’s style and spirit that he has so instilled into this read. The book is dark and humorous. Mister Phipps has clearly spent a lot of time polishing his style. If one were to ask us what we loved most about Lucifer’s Star, we would say that we did not love the plot half as much as we loved the writing. The pacing is spot on, moving along a story of intrigue, betrayal, and sarcasm that spans the stars.
Now, of course, we didn’t love everything about the book, how could we? One thing that perhaps struck us as most odd, despite the cast of characters and being billed as a space opera, you really only get a single perspective, that of our sardonic Byronic hero. While we loved seeing the world through Cassius’ ‘enhanced eyes’ we would have liked to see things from a different perspective every now and again. Imagine Star Wars from the perspective of only Luke. Trimming out those varied viewpoints can sacrifice story depth.
Despite our gripe, Lucifer’s Star is a fantastic read. It is one of the best contemporary science fiction novels we have read to date. We would even read it again, which is about as good a recommendation we would give to a book.
The Rating – Solid A
Lucifer’s Star gets a solid A rating from us. Full of twists and turns, Mister Phipps delivers a story worth every penny. Full of wit and intrigue, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Rarely do we see characters so deeply flawed and believable in the genre, and we look forward to reading more from Mister Phipps in the years to come. We have only one warning, this book isn’t for younger readers. Keep that in mind when setting foot into the fantastical universe of Lucifer’s Star.
Want to read this book? You can buy Lucifer’s Star
Thank you very much. This is a great review and, yeah, I could have handled it from multiple perspectives. I’m considering doing a novella or even novel from Clarice’s point of view next.