Wesley Britton's Blog - Posts Tagged "ecological-disasters"

A Child of the Federation (Human Star Pilots Book 4)
Fabrice Stephan
ASIN B08TZJCST1
ISBN: 9798700286237
Published February 2nd 2021
https://www.amazon.com/Child-Federati...

Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton


While I sometimes feel like I’m drowning in an overwhelming flood of new novels in science-fiction, I am often surprised how impressive so many new efforts are. That’s especially true when authors present universes and multi-verses painted on wide and deep canvases full of ideas that are tantalizing, if not always easily comprehensible. In other words, impressive doesn’t always mean engaging.

One problem reviewing such sagas is trying to squeeze a useful summary into one or two paragraphs. It’s possible to list some of the major plot points, spell out the major conflicts and main players, but does that tell readers much about the spirit and flavor of the books?

In this case, that’s even more tricky as I’m jumping into the “Human Star Pilots” epic four books into the series. Before A Child of the Federation, Stephan gave us Human Star Pilot: Human Star Pilots Book 1, Interstellar Star Pilot: Human Star Pilots Book 2, and Space Station Acheron: Human Star Pilots Book 3. And I’ve read none of them.

Over the four tomes so far, the universe Stephan created is so vast, ageless, and sprawling, odds are few readers will quickly wrap their minds around what is involved, no matter in which book they first jump into the saga. It’s a story with many plots and sub-plots. The main rudder for the fourth novel is the main character of the forty year old star pilot, Isara. As a “child of the Federation,” she knows next to nothing about who she is until a surprising journey of self-discovery takes her back to the planet of her origins, Filb, the planet which witnessed a horrible ecological catastrophe. She is more special than she knows, even moreso than being one of only six pilots capable of surviving the training of managing hyperspace jumps learned from a borrowed Alien technology. That means she has to live with nanobots in her body that keep her alive during warp jumps.

To describe a few things about the Federation, it’s worth noting this isn’t a Federation Gene Roddenberry would recognize: it’s mainly an economic confederacy of which earth is a relative newcomer. Also facing ecological disaster, earth needs the technology of ancient aliens who apparently no longer exist. The interplay between members of the Federation and the levels of political maneuvering are, well, confusing. While Stephan is masterful at world-building, the further away the story moves away from Isara’s personal evolution, the more lost in the trees I got.

So my final reaction to the book is that it’s a challenge worth exploring if you really like complex universe building, multiple story-lines, very dense back-stories, and occasional memorable scenes in between all the description of a universe easy to get lost in. And, no doubt, more to come.


This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on May 10, 2021:



https://waa.ai/mC9j