What do you think?
Rate this book
Stars Uncharted #1
Stars Uncharted
A ragtag band of explorers are looking to make the biggest score in the galaxy in the brand-new science fiction adventure novel from the national bestselling author of Linesman.
Three people who are not who they claim to be:
Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.
Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.
Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.
Josune's captain sends her to infiltrate Roystan's ship, promising to follow. But when the Hassim exits nullspace close to Roystan's ship, it's out of control, the crew are dead, and unknown Company operatives are trying to take over. Narrowly escaping and wounded, Roystan and Josune come to Nika for treatment--and with problems of her own, she flees with them after the next Company attack.
Now they're in a race to find the lost world...and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy.
Three people who are not who they claim to be:
Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.
Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.
Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.
Josune's captain sends her to infiltrate Roystan's ship, promising to follow. But when the Hassim exits nullspace close to Roystan's ship, it's out of control, the crew are dead, and unknown Company operatives are trying to take over. Narrowly escaping and wounded, Roystan and Josune come to Nika for treatment--and with problems of her own, she flees with them after the next Company attack.
Now they're in a race to find the lost world...and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy.
416 pages, Paperback
First published August 14, 2018
188 people are currently reading
3816 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 375 reviews
November 30, 2020
4.5 Stars ⭐️
Read this with my lovely MacHalo’s!
I loved this book and the characters!! I’m so invested in them. It was different and cool and I look forward to the next book BR with my peeps!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Read this with my lovely MacHalo’s!
I loved this book and the characters!! I’m so invested in them. It was different and cool and I look forward to the next book BR with my peeps!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
October 14, 2018
Welcome to space out! Transurides, treasure seekers, explorers, adventurers, space corporations, body modders... and a lot other weird and interesting stuff. Space opera at its finest.
Q:
It's like you gave him a different personality when you changed his looks...
Sometimes your personality is defined by your looks. That's what a good modder does, Snow. It gives the client the confidence to be themselves. It makes them happy. (c)
Q:
I'm not the only one with dreams.
Maybe some of us had stopped dreaming. Maybe it's time we started again. (c)
Q:
“She’s a modder. Airy-fairy artist type who’ll try to give you gills and a tail.” (c)
Q:
“Airy-fairy modder, remember.” (c)
Q:
It's like you gave him a different personality when you changed his looks...
Sometimes your personality is defined by your looks. That's what a good modder does, Snow. It gives the client the confidence to be themselves. It makes them happy. (c)
Q:
I'm not the only one with dreams.
Maybe some of us had stopped dreaming. Maybe it's time we started again. (c)
Q:
“She’s a modder. Airy-fairy artist type who’ll try to give you gills and a tail.” (c)
Q:
“Airy-fairy modder, remember.” (c)
August 15, 2018
3.33 stars. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature (along with my co-reviewer Kat's review):
Stars Uncharted is a breezy, fast-paced space opera adventure. A motley space ship crew and a few desperate passengers are running for their lives from an evil mafia-like corporation, careening wildly from one near-disaster to the next. What it lacks in substance, it at least in part makes up for with an engaging plot and high octane escapades.
Nika Rik Terri, the top body modification artist (body modder) in this area of space, is forced to use her genemod machines to heal and disguise assassins and operatives of the Eaglehawk Company. When their top assassin threatens her life, Nika goes on the run, pulling another, younger body modder, Bertram Snowshoe, along in her wake. Josune Arriola is an engineer who’s been sent by the captain of another ship, the Hassim, to spy on the captain of The Road, who may have secret information about a planet with priceless minerals. The Hassim is late to reconnect with Josune … and when the ship finally appears out of nullspace (think: hyperspace) next to The Road, its crew is dead and unknown paramilitary operatives are in control of it. But the digital memory of Hassim is also immensely valuable ― enough that deadly forces are soon pursuing The Road and its crew.
Nika and Josune, whose paths soon merge, provide the two points of view in Stars Uncharted, usually in alternating chapters. As Kat points out, pretty much everyone on board the spaceship The Road to the Goberlings has a secret or a past that they’re trying to escape … or both. That’s a lot of secrets to juggle. The characters are engaging ― other than the villains, who are unremittingly villainous ― but are by and large recognizable types.
The technology in Stars Uncharted is also light and fluffy, reliant on distinctly handwavy pseudo-science. One of the focal points of the plot is the search for a mother lode of a fictional rare element called dellarine with near-magical powers. I was forcefully reminded of vibranium from the Marvel comics and Black Panther film. Another key plot element involves Nika’s pair of body modification machines that, it is disclosed in the first chapter, can switch minds between two people for 24 hours, after which the minds automatically switch back. Why? How? It’s never discussed at all. When Dunstall does get into the details of body modification, which combine both artistic and scientific components, it’s actually quite interesting, though it still requires a hefty suspension of disbelief.
On the plus side, Stars Uncharted ― again, rather like a Marvel superhero movie ― was a fun, exciting ride and kept me glued to my couch, eyes on my iPad, when I really should have been doing other more important things like, say, working on a lesson I had to give the next day. I have to give this novel credit for keeping me up until 2 a.m.!
I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher for review. Thanks!
Stars Uncharted is a breezy, fast-paced space opera adventure. A motley space ship crew and a few desperate passengers are running for their lives from an evil mafia-like corporation, careening wildly from one near-disaster to the next. What it lacks in substance, it at least in part makes up for with an engaging plot and high octane escapades.
Nika Rik Terri, the top body modification artist (body modder) in this area of space, is forced to use her genemod machines to heal and disguise assassins and operatives of the Eaglehawk Company. When their top assassin threatens her life, Nika goes on the run, pulling another, younger body modder, Bertram Snowshoe, along in her wake. Josune Arriola is an engineer who’s been sent by the captain of another ship, the Hassim, to spy on the captain of The Road, who may have secret information about a planet with priceless minerals. The Hassim is late to reconnect with Josune … and when the ship finally appears out of nullspace (think: hyperspace) next to The Road, its crew is dead and unknown paramilitary operatives are in control of it. But the digital memory of Hassim is also immensely valuable ― enough that deadly forces are soon pursuing The Road and its crew.
Nika and Josune, whose paths soon merge, provide the two points of view in Stars Uncharted, usually in alternating chapters. As Kat points out, pretty much everyone on board the spaceship The Road to the Goberlings has a secret or a past that they’re trying to escape … or both. That’s a lot of secrets to juggle. The characters are engaging ― other than the villains, who are unremittingly villainous ― but are by and large recognizable types.
The technology in Stars Uncharted is also light and fluffy, reliant on distinctly handwavy pseudo-science. One of the focal points of the plot is the search for a mother lode of a fictional rare element called dellarine with near-magical powers. I was forcefully reminded of vibranium from the Marvel comics and Black Panther film. Another key plot element involves Nika’s pair of body modification machines that, it is disclosed in the first chapter, can switch minds between two people for 24 hours, after which the minds automatically switch back. Why? How? It’s never discussed at all. When Dunstall does get into the details of body modification, which combine both artistic and scientific components, it’s actually quite interesting, though it still requires a hefty suspension of disbelief.
On the plus side, Stars Uncharted ― again, rather like a Marvel superhero movie ― was a fun, exciting ride and kept me glued to my couch, eyes on my iPad, when I really should have been doing other more important things like, say, working on a lesson I had to give the next day. I have to give this novel credit for keeping me up until 2 a.m.!
I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher for review. Thanks!
August 22, 2018
Originally posted at: https://1000yearplan.com/2018/08/10/s...
One of the first things I noticed about S.K. Dunstall’s Stars Uncharted is that all the good guys are liars. Josune Arriola joins the crew of the Road to the Goberlings under false pretenses; she is really part of the crew of the Hassim, and her captain desperately want to meet with the Road’s captain, Hammond Roystan. Josune is really there to report on the Road’s position in order to facilitate a rendezvous. The two ships do meet, though the Hassim is found drifting, its crew murdered by mercenaries for the Eaglehawk company. Roystan uncovers Josune’s ruse but keeps it from the rest of his crew. He has plenty to hide himself, including the reason the Hassim wanted to meet with him in the first place. Adding to the wheel of deceptions is the famous, highly sought body modder Nika Rik Terri, who changes her identity to escape her dangerously controlling ex-boyfriend Alejandro, an Eaglehawk exec. But her plans are disrupted when an assassin forces her to switch bodies with him, so he can use hers to commit a murder. Her situation now desperate, Nika holes up as a passenger on the Road under her assumed identity when Roystan and Josune come seeking her help.
By contrast, the villains don’t have to do much lying. The big companies fund the court system, meaning the Department of Justice is simply an arm for enforcing whatever laws benefit the companies and for ignoring those they wish to violate. The Dunstall sisters (the S and K stand for Sherylyn and Karen) have constructed a libertarian paradise for humanity’s future, which means it’s basically a nightmare dystopia for everyone who isn’t rich and powerful. Freelancers like the crews of the Road and the Hassim operate without any real legal protection and can be eliminated (or conscripted into a kind of slavery, which is in some ways worse) without repercussion if they become an inconvenience to any of the companies. Laborers have no recourse and are exploited mercilessly. Little wonder our heroes are primed to deceive – hoarding secrets is one of the few avenues for survival they have.
The novel is built around a MacGuffin: transurides are the most valuable metal in the known galaxy, not found on earth and unable to be duplicated artificially. Dellarine is the most valuable of transurides because it is used in high-end communications tech and enables extreme body modding. Before he died, a prospector named Goberling found an enormous lode of transurides, but never shared its location with anyone – finding Goberling’s lode is the holy grail of prospecting. For an independent prospector, the lode could make them rich enough to keep the company off their back for good. For the companies, it means having a near monopoly on the transurides supply.
The Hassim had been searching for Goberling’s lode a long time, and its captain believed that Roystan held some piece of the puzzle regarding the location of Goberling’s lode. Once Roystan and the Road to the Goberlings in on the company radar, our heroes are swept up in a relentless battle for survival. It would not do this novel justice to say it is full of non-stop action, because the action is far more inventive than the usual space battles, gunfights and explosions one associates with the term. Dunstall’s ingenuity in creating insurmountable obstacles for the crew to slip past is breathtaking. My favorite is a long, suspenseful sequence in which they must escape captivity on a heavily populated space station without killing anyone – a welcome reversal of the typical space opera’s tendency to rack up a massive body count while dodging accountability. The authors also manage to balance the unrelenting turmoil with absorbing character arcs for its three principal actors, letting them grow naturally more comfortable and trusting in each other’s presence. The details of the worldbuilding are remarkable as well, from the sounds and smells, the architecture, the lifestyles and cultures of its inhabitants – this world lives and breathes its history, rather than just explicating it.
For a good portion of the novel, the search for Goberling’s lode takes a back seat to the protagonists’ quest to just keep breathing, and this may be off-putting to some readers who read primarily for the plot. For me, a story lives and dies by my investment in its characters, and that is where Stars Uncharted hits the sweet spot. This is, I imagine, just the beginning of our excursion into this world, so there will be plenty of time to spend, and I hope plenty of trouble to get in and out of, on their path ahead.
Many thanks to the authors and Ace Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.
One of the first things I noticed about S.K. Dunstall’s Stars Uncharted is that all the good guys are liars. Josune Arriola joins the crew of the Road to the Goberlings under false pretenses; she is really part of the crew of the Hassim, and her captain desperately want to meet with the Road’s captain, Hammond Roystan. Josune is really there to report on the Road’s position in order to facilitate a rendezvous. The two ships do meet, though the Hassim is found drifting, its crew murdered by mercenaries for the Eaglehawk company. Roystan uncovers Josune’s ruse but keeps it from the rest of his crew. He has plenty to hide himself, including the reason the Hassim wanted to meet with him in the first place. Adding to the wheel of deceptions is the famous, highly sought body modder Nika Rik Terri, who changes her identity to escape her dangerously controlling ex-boyfriend Alejandro, an Eaglehawk exec. But her plans are disrupted when an assassin forces her to switch bodies with him, so he can use hers to commit a murder. Her situation now desperate, Nika holes up as a passenger on the Road under her assumed identity when Roystan and Josune come seeking her help.
By contrast, the villains don’t have to do much lying. The big companies fund the court system, meaning the Department of Justice is simply an arm for enforcing whatever laws benefit the companies and for ignoring those they wish to violate. The Dunstall sisters (the S and K stand for Sherylyn and Karen) have constructed a libertarian paradise for humanity’s future, which means it’s basically a nightmare dystopia for everyone who isn’t rich and powerful. Freelancers like the crews of the Road and the Hassim operate without any real legal protection and can be eliminated (or conscripted into a kind of slavery, which is in some ways worse) without repercussion if they become an inconvenience to any of the companies. Laborers have no recourse and are exploited mercilessly. Little wonder our heroes are primed to deceive – hoarding secrets is one of the few avenues for survival they have.
The novel is built around a MacGuffin: transurides are the most valuable metal in the known galaxy, not found on earth and unable to be duplicated artificially. Dellarine is the most valuable of transurides because it is used in high-end communications tech and enables extreme body modding. Before he died, a prospector named Goberling found an enormous lode of transurides, but never shared its location with anyone – finding Goberling’s lode is the holy grail of prospecting. For an independent prospector, the lode could make them rich enough to keep the company off their back for good. For the companies, it means having a near monopoly on the transurides supply.
The Hassim had been searching for Goberling’s lode a long time, and its captain believed that Roystan held some piece of the puzzle regarding the location of Goberling’s lode. Once Roystan and the Road to the Goberlings in on the company radar, our heroes are swept up in a relentless battle for survival. It would not do this novel justice to say it is full of non-stop action, because the action is far more inventive than the usual space battles, gunfights and explosions one associates with the term. Dunstall’s ingenuity in creating insurmountable obstacles for the crew to slip past is breathtaking. My favorite is a long, suspenseful sequence in which they must escape captivity on a heavily populated space station without killing anyone – a welcome reversal of the typical space opera’s tendency to rack up a massive body count while dodging accountability. The authors also manage to balance the unrelenting turmoil with absorbing character arcs for its three principal actors, letting them grow naturally more comfortable and trusting in each other’s presence. The details of the worldbuilding are remarkable as well, from the sounds and smells, the architecture, the lifestyles and cultures of its inhabitants – this world lives and breathes its history, rather than just explicating it.
For a good portion of the novel, the search for Goberling’s lode takes a back seat to the protagonists’ quest to just keep breathing, and this may be off-putting to some readers who read primarily for the plot. For me, a story lives and dies by my investment in its characters, and that is where Stars Uncharted hits the sweet spot. This is, I imagine, just the beginning of our excursion into this world, so there will be plenty of time to spend, and I hope plenty of trouble to get in and out of, on their path ahead.
Many thanks to the authors and Ace Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.
January 4, 2021
👩🏽🚀 We Lurves Space and Stuff Buddy Read (WLSaSBR™) with the MacHalos and stuff 👩🏽🚀
Actual rating: 4.5 stars.
I want to be a modder when I grow up. And Nika Rik Terri's apprentice. And if I could be Josune Ariola as well, it would be slightly very cool. Oh, and if possible I'd also like to play, well, um, crazy explorers with Hammond Roystan. Because Poof Gone Harem and stuff.
· Book 2: Stars Beyond ★★★★★
[November 2019]
RTC and stuff ← well well well, would you look at that! It's apparently been a year since Ithreatened promised to write a review for this book! Now that's what I call nefarious efficiency at work! Go me and stuff!
Actual rating: 4.5 stars.
I want to be a modder when I grow up. And Nika Rik Terri's apprentice. And if I could be Josune Ariola as well, it would be slightly very cool. Oh, and if possible I'd also like to play, well, um, crazy explorers with Hammond Roystan. Because Poof Gone Harem and stuff.
· Book 2: Stars Beyond ★★★★★
[November 2019]
RTC and stuff ← well well well, would you look at that! It's apparently been a year since I
May 7, 2024
WOW WOW WOW!!! This book was AMAZING! So much fun! I enjoyed every second of it! The best sci-fi I have read this year! And the audio version was SO GOOD!! Sometimes two authors make magic! These sisters have done such a wonderful job with this one! And they are Aussie!!
Stars Uncharted follows the two lead female characters, Nika and Josune. Nika is a body 'modder'. She uses special machine pods to change peoples bodies and appearance, and she is darn good at what she does. So good in fact that she invents a machine that does something extraordinary. After a nasty criminal confronts her in her studio, she is suddenly on the run for her life! Josune is an explorer with a crew on a space ship named The Road, and a chance encounter with Nika and Roystan, the captain of The Road, brings Nika and Josune together for an action packed adventure!
I just LOVED this book! I was so sad when it ended! The story line was clever and entertaining! There were some very smart twists and the writing was superb! But what made the story were the characters and the technology.
Each main character was hiding something, and they were all given some really funny and clever dialogue. Although all the characters were great, Nika made the book for me. I absolutely ADORED her! And when she got a body modder machine and did her thing, I relished listening to her go! It was so addictive!
I think it would make a really entertaining movie or TV show! It reminded me a lot of Firefly.
I always enjoy a side romance in all my non-romance genre books, and this one had a nice one. I just wish there was more!
Would I recommend Stars Uncharted?
YES! Fans of fun sci-fi will enjoy this one! Really hoping that this is the first in a series!!! I really want more! Can't wait to check out their series 'Linesman'. The reviews are very promising!
I purchased Stars Uncharted at my own expense at audible.com
For more reviews check out my:
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Stars Uncharted follows the two lead female characters, Nika and Josune. Nika is a body 'modder'. She uses special machine pods to change peoples bodies and appearance, and she is darn good at what she does. So good in fact that she invents a machine that does something extraordinary. After a nasty criminal confronts her in her studio, she is suddenly on the run for her life! Josune is an explorer with a crew on a space ship named The Road, and a chance encounter with Nika and Roystan, the captain of The Road, brings Nika and Josune together for an action packed adventure!
I just LOVED this book! I was so sad when it ended! The story line was clever and entertaining! There were some very smart twists and the writing was superb! But what made the story were the characters and the technology.
Each main character was hiding something, and they were all given some really funny and clever dialogue. Although all the characters were great, Nika made the book for me. I absolutely ADORED her! And when she got a body modder machine and did her thing, I relished listening to her go! It was so addictive!
I think it would make a really entertaining movie or TV show! It reminded me a lot of Firefly.
I always enjoy a side romance in all my non-romance genre books, and this one had a nice one. I just wish there was more!
Would I recommend Stars Uncharted?
YES! Fans of fun sci-fi will enjoy this one! Really hoping that this is the first in a series!!! I really want more! Can't wait to check out their series 'Linesman'. The reviews are very promising!
I purchased Stars Uncharted at my own expense at audible.com
For more reviews check out my:
Blog
October 23, 2019
This is a fun sf romp from the Aussie sisterly writing duo of Sherylyn and Karen Dunstall. It's not hard SF so don't expect a lot of high tech information on how everything works, but it is an engaging character driven space adventure.
In this universe, twenty seven large Companies own and run everything. There is corruption and extortion and Company thugs ready to bully or kill those who don't fall into line. Nika Rik Terri is a body modder, one of the best and most fashionable, who can heal your wounds or re-sculpt your body into whatever shape, sex or appearance you want it to be. Through her ex she's unfortunately been coerced into fixing up damaged Company thugs but now they are threatening her studio and her life and she decides to leave while she can. Also on the the run from a greedy Company are Captain Royston and his crew on his ship The Road. They recently scavenged a damaged exploration ship that was searching for rare and expensive metals on new planets. Although they sold the ship, the Company believe they have hidden valuable information and are out to capture and kill Roystan and his crew.
The female characters are the stars of this novel with Nika and Josune, one of Roystan's engineers members, using their technical smarts to get out of dangerous situations. Roystan is an excellent captain and an enigma to Nika when she meets him as he has health issues she's sure could have been fixed by a good modder. The plot is not complicated, with a lot of chasing across galaxies and battles with company thugs, but the characters make it entertaining and there is a little romance as well as a surprising revelation at the end. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel Stars Beyond to see what happens next.
In this universe, twenty seven large Companies own and run everything. There is corruption and extortion and Company thugs ready to bully or kill those who don't fall into line. Nika Rik Terri is a body modder, one of the best and most fashionable, who can heal your wounds or re-sculpt your body into whatever shape, sex or appearance you want it to be. Through her ex she's unfortunately been coerced into fixing up damaged Company thugs but now they are threatening her studio and her life and she decides to leave while she can. Also on the the run from a greedy Company are Captain Royston and his crew on his ship The Road. They recently scavenged a damaged exploration ship that was searching for rare and expensive metals on new planets. Although they sold the ship, the Company believe they have hidden valuable information and are out to capture and kill Roystan and his crew.
The female characters are the stars of this novel with Nika and Josune, one of Roystan's engineers members, using their technical smarts to get out of dangerous situations. Roystan is an excellent captain and an enigma to Nika when she meets him as he has health issues she's sure could have been fixed by a good modder. The plot is not complicated, with a lot of chasing across galaxies and battles with company thugs, but the characters make it entertaining and there is a little romance as well as a surprising revelation at the end. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel Stars Beyond to see what happens next.
October 3, 2018
I really enjoyed this! S.K. Dunstall is the author (actually a pair of sisters) of one of my favourite series, The Linesman, and these two sisters have written a fun, tense, fast-paced space opera in this book. The story involves genemodders (who are a combination of doctor, artist and stylist), truly nasty corporations, explorers after an incredibly rare and in hugely in-demand substance, tansuride, which really is the phlebotinum everyon's after and that fuels much of the action in this plot.
Dunstall alternates between two characters, Nika Rik Terri, a genius, avantgarde, style-setting genemodder, and Josune Arriola, an explorer who's obsessed with finding a megaload of tansurides. Nika's also the former girlfriend of an abusive company executive. When an assassin working for this corporation comes after Nika, she goes on the run, inadvertantly dragging a young genemodder, Snow, with her.
Meanwhile, Josune's been on Captain Roystan's ship, spying for her real captain. Roystan is believed to have information critical to the search for the megaload, and after a violent run-in with a corporation, Roystan's crew (including Josune) are also on the run.
Nika ends up on Roystan's ship, and if the plot hadn't been moving fast already, the pace picks up, and does not let up till the end of the book, with lots of engineering problems, people in genemodding machines, and lots of arguments between Nika and the younger genemodder, who has an interesting familiarity with weaponry. Nika and Josune are great, forming a bond early, and being both incredibly smart and capable.
S.K. Dunstall did not disappoint with this book. As soon as I finished this story, I knew I wanted to spend more time on board a ship chasing after tansurides and listening to Nika's plans to genemod various individuals.
Dunstall alternates between two characters, Nika Rik Terri, a genius, avantgarde, style-setting genemodder, and Josune Arriola, an explorer who's obsessed with finding a megaload of tansurides. Nika's also the former girlfriend of an abusive company executive. When an assassin working for this corporation comes after Nika, she goes on the run, inadvertantly dragging a young genemodder, Snow, with her.
Meanwhile, Josune's been on Captain Roystan's ship, spying for her real captain. Roystan is believed to have information critical to the search for the megaload, and after a violent run-in with a corporation, Roystan's crew (including Josune) are also on the run.
Nika ends up on Roystan's ship, and if the plot hadn't been moving fast already, the pace picks up, and does not let up till the end of the book, with lots of engineering problems, people in genemodding machines, and lots of arguments between Nika and the younger genemodder, who has an interesting familiarity with weaponry. Nika and Josune are great, forming a bond early, and being both incredibly smart and capable.
S.K. Dunstall did not disappoint with this book. As soon as I finished this story, I knew I wanted to spend more time on board a ship chasing after tansurides and listening to Nika's plans to genemod various individuals.
September 14, 2018
4.5 stars
After loving the Linesman series, Stars Uncharted was one of my most anticipated reads this year. I'm so happy it delivered.
Once again the Dunstall sisters have created an imaginative world filled with detailed and interesting characters. The idea of body modding and what it could mean as a reality was well explored and provided a great underlying element. Add to that a cast of characters, who of course all have secrets, and a fast paced story about treasure hunting and corporate heavies and you have one excellent read. Everything comes to together nicely by the end, but the setup for the next book is also well in place.
If you loved the Dunstalls' previous books, this will definitely satisfy you. If you are new to their work, then lucky you, you can follow this one up by reading Linesman while you wait for the sequel to Stars Uncharted.
After loving the Linesman series, Stars Uncharted was one of my most anticipated reads this year. I'm so happy it delivered.
Once again the Dunstall sisters have created an imaginative world filled with detailed and interesting characters. The idea of body modding and what it could mean as a reality was well explored and provided a great underlying element. Add to that a cast of characters, who of course all have secrets, and a fast paced story about treasure hunting and corporate heavies and you have one excellent read. Everything comes to together nicely by the end, but the setup for the next book is also well in place.
If you loved the Dunstalls' previous books, this will definitely satisfy you. If you are new to their work, then lucky you, you can follow this one up by reading Linesman while you wait for the sequel to Stars Uncharted.
September 9, 2018
Fast-paced action and intrigue to kick off a new space opera series from the Dunstall sisters.
Nika Rik Terri is a top body-modder, a medical specialization that can radically transform or heal people. She's also fallen in with a bad crowd: the leadership and top agents of Eaglehawk, one of the 27 companies that control pretty much all of human space. An encounter with the most lethal Eaglehawk agent leaves Nika running for her life. Josune Arriola is an engineer onboard the Road to the Goberlings and with a connection to another ship that has just been attacked. Fairly quickly both Nika and Josune are caught up in a desperate hunt for a treasure map that the companies will kill for.
Did I mention fast-paced? This one never lets up on either action or intrigue. Pretty much all of the characters here have background secrets and the backstory emerges during the desperate flight of the small crew from the powerful companies that are pursuing them.
Nika Rik Terri is a top body-modder, a medical specialization that can radically transform or heal people. She's also fallen in with a bad crowd: the leadership and top agents of Eaglehawk, one of the 27 companies that control pretty much all of human space. An encounter with the most lethal Eaglehawk agent leaves Nika running for her life. Josune Arriola is an engineer onboard the Road to the Goberlings and with a connection to another ship that has just been attacked. Fairly quickly both Nika and Josune are caught up in a desperate hunt for a treasure map that the companies will kill for.
Did I mention fast-paced? This one never lets up on either action or intrigue. Pretty much all of the characters here have background secrets and the backstory emerges during the desperate flight of the small crew from the powerful companies that are pursuing them.
Read
May 20, 2018S.K. Dunstall is the nom de plume of a pair of sisters who both were writers from an early age, until deciding that collaboration would play to both their strengths. And they were right. I ripped through this book almost without stopping.
We have a genius “body modder,” Nika Rik Terri, who redesigns people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Famous throughout the reaches of space, she has of late made a discovery that unfortunately has caused her abusive stinker of a boyfriend and his very shady friends to curtail her life even more than it’s been. She is meticulously planning her escape (because she knows they will come after her) when events spiral out of control . . .
We then meet Josune Arriola, who was crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, until her captain sent her in secret to infiltrate the crew under Captain Hammond Roystan, who seems to be an ordinary trader, piloting The Road. But Roystan has many secrets, one of which, Josune believes, might be the key to finding a lost world full of a crucial element. Whoever finds it will have untold wealth and power.
Josune, Nika, and Roystan end up together, along with a vivid cast as they are chased across the galaxy. The story is full of twists and turns as The Road’s crew is forced to be inventive, staying half a step ahead of very bad people, while wondering if they can trust one another, because everybody has secrets.
The action accelerates to a crazy pace, but characterization is not forgotten. I especially loved the unfolding friendship between Josune and Nika. Such very different women, alike only in their growing respect for each other.
I really hope there will be more in this universe.
Copy provided by NetGalley
We have a genius “body modder,” Nika Rik Terri, who redesigns people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Famous throughout the reaches of space, she has of late made a discovery that unfortunately has caused her abusive stinker of a boyfriend and his very shady friends to curtail her life even more than it’s been. She is meticulously planning her escape (because she knows they will come after her) when events spiral out of control . . .
We then meet Josune Arriola, who was crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, until her captain sent her in secret to infiltrate the crew under Captain Hammond Roystan, who seems to be an ordinary trader, piloting The Road. But Roystan has many secrets, one of which, Josune believes, might be the key to finding a lost world full of a crucial element. Whoever finds it will have untold wealth and power.
Josune, Nika, and Roystan end up together, along with a vivid cast as they are chased across the galaxy. The story is full of twists and turns as The Road’s crew is forced to be inventive, staying half a step ahead of very bad people, while wondering if they can trust one another, because everybody has secrets.
The action accelerates to a crazy pace, but characterization is not forgotten. I especially loved the unfolding friendship between Josune and Nika. Such very different women, alike only in their growing respect for each other.
I really hope there will be more in this universe.
Copy provided by NetGalley
October 17, 2022
Check out all my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com
STARS UNCHARTED (Stars Uncharted Book #1) by S.K. Dunstall is a fast-paced sci-fi fiction story featuring an incongruous cast of characters with varying agendas all thrown together as they try to stay alive. This is the first book in this sci-fi series.
This story brings together body modders, space treasure hunters, and evil Company men in an ongoing hunt for invaluable minerals. The worldbuilding was interesting and detailed especially about the technology of body mods, while the plot itself was fast-paced and kept the action moving, it was a basic good guys vs. bad guys set up with a few plot twists.
The main characters who end up coming together in the story are all interesting and fully drawn with the main emphasis on the two female characters in the group. Both are strong and independent, but in differing ways. While there is a hint of romance, it is left as a deep friendship.
I enjoyed this flight into the unknown and I am looking forward to reading what happens next to this band of friends.
STARS UNCHARTED (Stars Uncharted Book #1) by S.K. Dunstall is a fast-paced sci-fi fiction story featuring an incongruous cast of characters with varying agendas all thrown together as they try to stay alive. This is the first book in this sci-fi series.
This story brings together body modders, space treasure hunters, and evil Company men in an ongoing hunt for invaluable minerals. The worldbuilding was interesting and detailed especially about the technology of body mods, while the plot itself was fast-paced and kept the action moving, it was a basic good guys vs. bad guys set up with a few plot twists.
The main characters who end up coming together in the story are all interesting and fully drawn with the main emphasis on the two female characters in the group. Both are strong and independent, but in differing ways. While there is a hint of romance, it is left as a deep friendship.
I enjoyed this flight into the unknown and I am looking forward to reading what happens next to this band of friends.
September 13, 2018
3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/09/13/...
Stars Uncharted is an adventurous romp through space with three extraordinary characters: Nika Rik Terri is a talented body-modification artist who has made a name for herself with her innovative designs and methods; Josune Arriola is a traveler who has just signed on with the crew of the cargo ship The Road to the Goberlings, working as their junior engineer; and Hammond Roystan is the captain of that ship, who has just stumbled upon a find of a lifetime in the form of the disabled exploration ship Hassim whose databanks are said to be a treasure trove of uncharted worlds.
But what makes this story interesting is that no one is who they say they are. On the run after getting mixed up with some dangerous people, Nika flees from her old life aboard The Road with a rookie modder named Snow in tow. There, they get to know Josune and Roystan, who are dealing with their own set of problems. That’s because Josune is in fact a crew member from the Hassim, who had originally joined up with Roystan in order to spy on him and arrange a meeting between their two ships. Unfortunately, her plans go awry when it turns out that the Hassim was attacked by pirates, and everyone on board was massacred. With some very powerful enemies after her, she is now stuck in a precarious situation. Meanwhile, Roystan is also hiding his own share of secrets. His ship has become a target now that everyone thinks he holds the key to unlocking the mysteries of the Hassim, and the added threats are doing nothing for his already stressed mind and ill health. Traveling under a false identity, Nika beings to suspect that not all is right with The Road’s captain or his engineer, as her experience with body modding allows her to identify inconsistencies both their stories.
Stars Uncharted turned out to be everything I expected from a rollicking space opera: heavy on the action and adventure, though admittedly a little sparse on the details surrounding the world-building and technology. That said, the story was for the most part vastly entertaining. The first few chapters did feel slower, perhaps because of all the setting up required to establish the book’s premise and characters. However, once Nika, Josune, and Roystan finally met up and became a team, things got exponentially more interesting. Not surprisingly, it’s because the story’s three protagonist are at the heart of Stars Uncharted. The dynamics between them made this novel thoroughly engaging and addictive despite, or perhaps because of, all the secrets flying between them, for even though they come from different backgrounds, a sense of “We’re all in this together” prevails. Each character is well-developed with multiple layers of emotion and personality, which also interlock with each other to holds those relationship bonds together.
But as I made mention before with regards to the world-building and the technology described in this novel, those elements were relatively light. This, I believe, was a purposeful and practical decision, for it would have been no good to bog down the flow of this perfectly exuberant space opera with reams of techno-jargon and hard science. On the other hand, there’s not much in the way of guidance provided when trying to navigate this book’s universe, as readers are thrown into the thick of things from the very first page.
In order to keep up the story’s fast pacing, I suspect a lot of details were sacrificed, though there is one exception to this: body-modding. The narrative goes much deeper into the subject of body modification than it does for any other topic, though considering the role it plays in the story, I can see why. Incidentally, I also found it to be one of the most compelling issues in the book. As Nika’s specialization, I loved that she treated her work as an art as much as it is a science. While her job is to cater her designs to her clients’ needs, she isn’t shy about adding some flair of her own, which is why some laud her as a revolutionary trendsetter while others accuse her of being a rule-bending menace. However, the general idea is that identity is a much less important factor in the world of Stars Uncharted, since whatever you wish to be or look like can be arranged with a bit of money and a few hours spent inside a modding machine. The social implications of this is something I wish the story had spent more time exploring, though a lot of fascinating information can also be gleaned from the attitudes of the characters aboard The Road.
All told, it was a pleasure to finally read something by S.K. Dunstall. The pen name of this sister writing duo first landed on my radar with the Linesman trilogy and I’ve been curious about their work ever since. Stars Uncharted might not be breaking any new ground, but it sure managed to pull off exactly what it set out to do, which is to provide a fun sci-fi read full of exciting twists and other genuine delights, and the authors did a superb job.
Stars Uncharted is an adventurous romp through space with three extraordinary characters: Nika Rik Terri is a talented body-modification artist who has made a name for herself with her innovative designs and methods; Josune Arriola is a traveler who has just signed on with the crew of the cargo ship The Road to the Goberlings, working as their junior engineer; and Hammond Roystan is the captain of that ship, who has just stumbled upon a find of a lifetime in the form of the disabled exploration ship Hassim whose databanks are said to be a treasure trove of uncharted worlds.
But what makes this story interesting is that no one is who they say they are. On the run after getting mixed up with some dangerous people, Nika flees from her old life aboard The Road with a rookie modder named Snow in tow. There, they get to know Josune and Roystan, who are dealing with their own set of problems. That’s because Josune is in fact a crew member from the Hassim, who had originally joined up with Roystan in order to spy on him and arrange a meeting between their two ships. Unfortunately, her plans go awry when it turns out that the Hassim was attacked by pirates, and everyone on board was massacred. With some very powerful enemies after her, she is now stuck in a precarious situation. Meanwhile, Roystan is also hiding his own share of secrets. His ship has become a target now that everyone thinks he holds the key to unlocking the mysteries of the Hassim, and the added threats are doing nothing for his already stressed mind and ill health. Traveling under a false identity, Nika beings to suspect that not all is right with The Road’s captain or his engineer, as her experience with body modding allows her to identify inconsistencies both their stories.
Stars Uncharted turned out to be everything I expected from a rollicking space opera: heavy on the action and adventure, though admittedly a little sparse on the details surrounding the world-building and technology. That said, the story was for the most part vastly entertaining. The first few chapters did feel slower, perhaps because of all the setting up required to establish the book’s premise and characters. However, once Nika, Josune, and Roystan finally met up and became a team, things got exponentially more interesting. Not surprisingly, it’s because the story’s three protagonist are at the heart of Stars Uncharted. The dynamics between them made this novel thoroughly engaging and addictive despite, or perhaps because of, all the secrets flying between them, for even though they come from different backgrounds, a sense of “We’re all in this together” prevails. Each character is well-developed with multiple layers of emotion and personality, which also interlock with each other to holds those relationship bonds together.
But as I made mention before with regards to the world-building and the technology described in this novel, those elements were relatively light. This, I believe, was a purposeful and practical decision, for it would have been no good to bog down the flow of this perfectly exuberant space opera with reams of techno-jargon and hard science. On the other hand, there’s not much in the way of guidance provided when trying to navigate this book’s universe, as readers are thrown into the thick of things from the very first page.
In order to keep up the story’s fast pacing, I suspect a lot of details were sacrificed, though there is one exception to this: body-modding. The narrative goes much deeper into the subject of body modification than it does for any other topic, though considering the role it plays in the story, I can see why. Incidentally, I also found it to be one of the most compelling issues in the book. As Nika’s specialization, I loved that she treated her work as an art as much as it is a science. While her job is to cater her designs to her clients’ needs, she isn’t shy about adding some flair of her own, which is why some laud her as a revolutionary trendsetter while others accuse her of being a rule-bending menace. However, the general idea is that identity is a much less important factor in the world of Stars Uncharted, since whatever you wish to be or look like can be arranged with a bit of money and a few hours spent inside a modding machine. The social implications of this is something I wish the story had spent more time exploring, though a lot of fascinating information can also be gleaned from the attitudes of the characters aboard The Road.
All told, it was a pleasure to finally read something by S.K. Dunstall. The pen name of this sister writing duo first landed on my radar with the Linesman trilogy and I’ve been curious about their work ever since. Stars Uncharted might not be breaking any new ground, but it sure managed to pull off exactly what it set out to do, which is to provide a fun sci-fi read full of exciting twists and other genuine delights, and the authors did a superb job.
January 5, 2021
A colorful and entertaining science-fantasy action-adventure, with some grim background — the opening massacre, the powerful, lawless Companies. Pretty standard far-future SF furniture here, if on the gloomy side, and definitely light on plausible science. The Lone Spaceship, the (+/-) Noble Captain with hidden Attributes. Pluses: Strong women characters — the authors are two sisters from Melbourne. The Australian quest for the Lost Lode, just like western US Lost Mine tales. And not many tramp starships have their very own Cordon Bleu chef!
The characters are pretty well drawn, the good guys anyway. I liked the obsession of Nika the body-modder with her craft. As soon as she meets her new shipmates, she's sizing them up for a remodel! Snow, her timid sidekick, turns out to have hidden depths. And the Captain is full of surprises!
The Bad Company stuff gets to be a bit much, as do the cardboard villains -- and my WSOD took a hit when the departing crew . And the novel, 400 pages in, just ends, with no real resolution, but a setup for a (likely) sequel. Still, the book kept me entertained for a few hours, and I’d consider reading another book by the Dunstalls.
The characters are pretty well drawn, the good guys anyway. I liked the obsession of Nika the body-modder with her craft. As soon as she meets her new shipmates, she's sizing them up for a remodel! Snow, her timid sidekick, turns out to have hidden depths. And the Captain is full of surprises!
The Bad Company stuff gets to be a bit much, as do the cardboard villains -- and my WSOD took a hit when the departing crew . And the novel, 400 pages in, just ends, with no real resolution, but a setup for a (likely) sequel. Still, the book kept me entertained for a few hours, and I’d consider reading another book by the Dunstalls.
July 26, 2018
Unfortunately, I did not care for this book. There might be some adventure in this book eventually, but it certainly didn't appear in the first third of the book. I gave up at that point. Up until then, I had learned more than I wanted to about body modification. It's a very prevalent technique for curing defects and creating new identities. That might have been interesting as an incidental feature in this world, but it felt like it was the only unique feature. If this is the start of a series, I will definitely not be continuing with it.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
December 3, 2018
The crew reminded me of the best of Firefly and the Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. Fun!
November 16, 2025
Slow building until you find yourself completely riveted...
Stars Uncharted is a precarious space odyssey of epic proportion. The crew battles political machination, corruption and betrayal all while trying to stay alive. Complex world building, characters with true depth and intense action all play pivotal elements to Stars Uncharted.
I received this ARC copy of Stars Uncharted from Berkley Publishing Group - Ace. This is my honest and voluntary review. Stars Uncharted is set for publication August 14, 2018.
Stars Uncharted is a precarious space odyssey of epic proportion. The crew battles political machination, corruption and betrayal all while trying to stay alive. Complex world building, characters with true depth and intense action all play pivotal elements to Stars Uncharted.
I received this ARC copy of Stars Uncharted from Berkley Publishing Group - Ace. This is my honest and voluntary review. Stars Uncharted is set for publication August 14, 2018.
November 5, 2018
Three people who are not who they claim to be:
Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.
Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.
Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.
They're in a race to find the lost world...and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy.
I had previously tried to read Linesmen by S.K Dunstall and while I liked it ok, it wasn't exciting enough for me. After reading the description of this book I decided to give S.K. Dunstall another chance, and I'm glad I did. This book kept me company into the wee hours of the night when I was sick with a cold and couldn't sleep. I found it very easy to read and I liked the characters a lot. The body modding was interesting. Think cosmetic surgery taken to the extreme. It's an art here. You can go into a machine and come out looking like a completely different person. I thought Nika was very indicative of what a cosmetic surgeon is probably like; always looking at people and thinking up ways to make them look different and 'better'. It's not really a good way to look at people, but it fit really well with the story.
Josune and Roystan were very likable and I liked the slight romance that was there. It was never too pronounced and was a nice touch to the story without becoming the focus. The mystery surrounding Roystan kept me reading and I feel like I should have figured it out sooner than I did.
The negatives for me were that I found it hard to believe most everyone couldn't figure out who Nika was, and also who Josune is later on in the story, but other than that I really have no complaints about the book. It was a nice, fun read that had just enough action for me and focused on the characters a lot, which I liked. The authors are planning to write a second book set in this world and I am planning on reading it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.
Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.
Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.
They're in a race to find the lost world...and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy.
I had previously tried to read Linesmen by S.K Dunstall and while I liked it ok, it wasn't exciting enough for me. After reading the description of this book I decided to give S.K. Dunstall another chance, and I'm glad I did. This book kept me company into the wee hours of the night when I was sick with a cold and couldn't sleep. I found it very easy to read and I liked the characters a lot. The body modding was interesting. Think cosmetic surgery taken to the extreme. It's an art here. You can go into a machine and come out looking like a completely different person. I thought Nika was very indicative of what a cosmetic surgeon is probably like; always looking at people and thinking up ways to make them look different and 'better'. It's not really a good way to look at people, but it fit really well with the story.
Josune and Roystan were very likable and I liked the slight romance that was there. It was never too pronounced and was a nice touch to the story without becoming the focus. The mystery surrounding Roystan kept me reading and I feel like I should have figured it out sooner than I did.
The negatives for me were that I found it hard to believe most everyone couldn't figure out who Nika was, and also who Josune is later on in the story, but other than that I really have no complaints about the book. It was a nice, fun read that had just enough action for me and focused on the characters a lot, which I liked. The authors are planning to write a second book set in this world and I am planning on reading it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader
October 1, 2018
There is a lot going on in this sci-fi romp -- body modifications and exchanging, evil and greedy corporations, space exploration, and just lots of action-packed adventure. It's a space adventure that gave me a Firefly-type fix, with more intrigue and genetic modifications added into the mix. Sometimes I just need an entertaining adventure in space to make me happy. This book put a smile on my face. :) See?
For the first third of this book the story dealt mainly with genetic modifications and body exchanges. While that is interesting and I like the Nika (the body modder) as a character, the story moved a bit too slowly for me at first. But, once the action got started, I was so hooked on this story. It definitely kept my attention. The character development and the world is just so richly creative. This was definitely fun to read!
This sci-fi story is well-written, engaging and incredibly creative. I like it when I find a story that is different and new....this isn't just a recycled sci-fi plot with tired trope-y characters. Nicely done!
The cover art is gorgeous!!
S.K. Dunstall also write the Linesman series. I liked this book, so I'm definitely going to read her other series!
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
For the first third of this book the story dealt mainly with genetic modifications and body exchanges. While that is interesting and I like the Nika (the body modder) as a character, the story moved a bit too slowly for me at first. But, once the action got started, I was so hooked on this story. It definitely kept my attention. The character development and the world is just so richly creative. This was definitely fun to read!
This sci-fi story is well-written, engaging and incredibly creative. I like it when I find a story that is different and new....this isn't just a recycled sci-fi plot with tired trope-y characters. Nicely done!
The cover art is gorgeous!!
S.K. Dunstall also write the Linesman series. I liked this book, so I'm definitely going to read her other series!
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
June 16, 2023
Good and entertaining space opera, very focused on the experiences of the main characters, each with their peculiarities and secrets. The story takes place in a universe in which large multi-stellar companies dominate humanity, with mafia practices if necessary.
For me three and a half stars but I prefer to give the definitive score when I read the second book.
For me three and a half stars but I prefer to give the definitive score when I read the second book.
October 19, 2018
4.5/5; 5 stars; A
This sister writing duo is solid gold IMO. I devoured this book and didn’t have any of that discomfort or confusion that often occurs in a new series. The authors seamlessly introduced characters and world building. I am really looking forward to seeing where this crew of misfits ends up in this new universe.
This sister writing duo is solid gold IMO. I devoured this book and didn’t have any of that discomfort or confusion that often occurs in a new series. The authors seamlessly introduced characters and world building. I am really looking forward to seeing where this crew of misfits ends up in this new universe.
August 23, 2019
Meh. Seeks a Joss Whedon Firefly vibe but falls well short. The cast is ok and similar to the crew of Serentity--the hero captian, woman soldier/right-hand, the doctor on the run (two actually), etc. What's missing is pace, spark and imagination.
Dunstall begins the novel with a fascinating premise: body modders--technicians who can tinker with a person's DNA to not only heal wounds and counter disease, but also change their physical appearance into anything imaginable. And she goes one step further offering a machine that for a limited time enables people to exchange consciousnesses. In short, a world where perhaps no one is who they appear to be. Imagine the challenges and possibilities!
Dunstall misses this opportunity entirely, instead serving up a simplistic space chase, where only the personal secrets of the cast hold any mystery, and most of those I figured out well before their reveals. Everyone else is exactly who they appear to be! Why?
Dunstall's editor should have pushed to flesh out the golden idea that began this novel vs settle for the fanfic this ended up as. On my buy, borrow, skip scale, Stars Uncharted is sadly a skip, swing and a miss.
Dunstall begins the novel with a fascinating premise: body modders--technicians who can tinker with a person's DNA to not only heal wounds and counter disease, but also change their physical appearance into anything imaginable. And she goes one step further offering a machine that for a limited time enables people to exchange consciousnesses. In short, a world where perhaps no one is who they appear to be. Imagine the challenges and possibilities!
Dunstall misses this opportunity entirely, instead serving up a simplistic space chase, where only the personal secrets of the cast hold any mystery, and most of those I figured out well before their reveals. Everyone else is exactly who they appear to be! Why?
Dunstall's editor should have pushed to flesh out the golden idea that began this novel vs settle for the fanfic this ended up as. On my buy, borrow, skip scale, Stars Uncharted is sadly a skip, swing and a miss.
Read
July 10, 2023I liked this one a lot. Very fast-paced, with the crew tumbling from one problem to the next, with distinct and interesting characters. Will pick up the next.
October 14, 2023
'Stars Uncharted' by S.K.Dunstall is an exciting action movie disguised as a novel! The characters, as well as the world building, are wondrous and feisty, full of vigor and energy! This science fiction novel is fun to read! I think Netflix or Amazon Video should try to bring it to the screen. But it does take the concept of body modding to a new level which might be expensive to visually produce. Plus, the protagonists are constantly running from the bad guys, fleeing from one impossible locked-room trap after another, bad guy after bad guy, outgunned and outmaneuvered, seemingly doomed!
I have copied the book blurb below:
”A ragtag band of explorers are looking to make the biggest score in the galaxy in the brand-new science fiction adventure novel from the national bestselling author of Linesman.
Three people who are not who they claim to be:
Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.
Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.
Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.
Josune's captain sends her to infiltrate Roystan's ship, promising to follow. But when the Hassim exits nullspace close to Roystan's ship, it's out of control, the crew are dead, and unknown Company operatives are trying to take over. Narrowly escaping and wounded, Roystan and Josune come to Nika for treatment--and with problems of her own, she flees with them after the next Company attack.
Now they're in a race to find the lost world...and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy.”
While I enjoyed the world building most of all, the characters might feel a little a bit as if ordered from a catalog of action figures George Lucas put together. Most are ordinary rascals who find themselves pushed into doing extraordinary things to survive, or are entrepreneurs whose lives are upended by thugs who are looking to extort money from folks normally less violent than themselves. But the author keeps the pot boiling chapter after chapter!
The book can be read as a standalone, but it is obviously an introductory novel to a longer story. Issues are unresolved by the last chapter. Some of the characters have become a ship’s crew. They are people who started off not knowing each other but circumstances have brought them together. I want to know what happens next! I guess I’ll have to check out Stars Beyond, the next book!
I have copied the book blurb below:
”A ragtag band of explorers are looking to make the biggest score in the galaxy in the brand-new science fiction adventure novel from the national bestselling author of Linesman.
Three people who are not who they claim to be:
Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.
Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.
Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.
Josune's captain sends her to infiltrate Roystan's ship, promising to follow. But when the Hassim exits nullspace close to Roystan's ship, it's out of control, the crew are dead, and unknown Company operatives are trying to take over. Narrowly escaping and wounded, Roystan and Josune come to Nika for treatment--and with problems of her own, she flees with them after the next Company attack.
Now they're in a race to find the lost world...and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy.”
While I enjoyed the world building most of all, the characters might feel a little a bit as if ordered from a catalog of action figures George Lucas put together. Most are ordinary rascals who find themselves pushed into doing extraordinary things to survive, or are entrepreneurs whose lives are upended by thugs who are looking to extort money from folks normally less violent than themselves. But the author keeps the pot boiling chapter after chapter!
The book can be read as a standalone, but it is obviously an introductory novel to a longer story. Issues are unresolved by the last chapter. Some of the characters have become a ship’s crew. They are people who started off not knowing each other but circumstances have brought them together. I want to know what happens next! I guess I’ll have to check out Stars Beyond, the next book!
April 3, 2019
Reviewed for The Bibliophibian.
Stars Uncharted features a ragtag crew getting into trouble, slowly becoming a found family, dodging around the universe to avoid bad guys of various stripes. If that sounds somewhat familiar, then you’re right. It has a very Firefly-ish, Expanse-ish, Long-Way-To-A-Small-Angry-Planet-ish, Dark Run-ish feel… which didn’t hold any surprises for me or stand out in its little sub-genre, but did scratch an itch… and make me want to read more like it again. (Firefly is such a comfort thing for me!)
It does have its different features, such as the body modding plotline that is such an important part of the plot and understanding various characters: everyone is infinitely plastic in appearance, and a good modder can do anything — changing you right down at the molecular level if necessary. This is woven into the plot pretty inextricably, featuring in several characters’ secrets and motivations, holding up the action at times, and enabling the next twist in others. It’s used pretty well, honestly, and the skills of the two modder characters help to steer the story in a slightly different direction, avoiding it being mere chase scene after fight scene after chase scene.
I did find that I’d figured out Roystan’s secret well, well before any of the characters had cottoned on at all, which was a little frustrating. Not sure if the authors plan to write another book and make it a series, but I suspect I’d read it if they did. And I thought that the hints of romance between two of the characters were a little… well, it felt like a cut and paste job. I did understand why those two characters, but it all felt a bit cookie-cutter predictable, like it wasn’t quite about those two people in particular, but just about adding a bit of extra spice along the way.
(My kingdom for a story with strong bonds without romance being required — oh right, my wish has already been granted: I’m thinking of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.)
It’s fun enough, and I’ll probably read future books by these authors or in a series with this book, if I come across them… but I probably won’t be in a hurry.
Stars Uncharted features a ragtag crew getting into trouble, slowly becoming a found family, dodging around the universe to avoid bad guys of various stripes. If that sounds somewhat familiar, then you’re right. It has a very Firefly-ish, Expanse-ish, Long-Way-To-A-Small-Angry-Planet-ish, Dark Run-ish feel… which didn’t hold any surprises for me or stand out in its little sub-genre, but did scratch an itch… and make me want to read more like it again. (Firefly is such a comfort thing for me!)
It does have its different features, such as the body modding plotline that is such an important part of the plot and understanding various characters: everyone is infinitely plastic in appearance, and a good modder can do anything — changing you right down at the molecular level if necessary. This is woven into the plot pretty inextricably, featuring in several characters’ secrets and motivations, holding up the action at times, and enabling the next twist in others. It’s used pretty well, honestly, and the skills of the two modder characters help to steer the story in a slightly different direction, avoiding it being mere chase scene after fight scene after chase scene.
I did find that I’d figured out Roystan’s secret well, well before any of the characters had cottoned on at all, which was a little frustrating. Not sure if the authors plan to write another book and make it a series, but I suspect I’d read it if they did. And I thought that the hints of romance between two of the characters were a little… well, it felt like a cut and paste job. I did understand why those two characters, but it all felt a bit cookie-cutter predictable, like it wasn’t quite about those two people in particular, but just about adding a bit of extra spice along the way.
(My kingdom for a story with strong bonds without romance being required — oh right, my wish has already been granted: I’m thinking of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.)
It’s fun enough, and I’ll probably read future books by these authors or in a series with this book, if I come across them… but I probably won’t be in a hurry.
August 20, 2018
When I first started reading this book I wasn't sure if I was going to like it because the author throws you straight into this world and storyline with no backstory at all. You literally have to piece it together as you're reading. Once I understood who the Goberlings were and why they were all searching for his last location everything made more sense and kind of came together.
I enjoyed the body modding quite a bit and thought it was pretty inventive. All of the characters were really likeable too. Nika Rik Terri's obsession was a little over-the-top though but I felt like a lot of that dialogue was added as just filler.
It's not clear if there's going to be a sequel but the author definitely left room for one at the end. If there is, I wouldn't mind revisiting this world again.
*I received this ARC from First to Read in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
I enjoyed the body modding quite a bit and thought it was pretty inventive. All of the characters were really likeable too. Nika Rik Terri's obsession was a little over-the-top though but I felt like a lot of that dialogue was added as just filler.
It's not clear if there's going to be a sequel but the author definitely left room for one at the end. If there is, I wouldn't mind revisiting this world again.
*I received this ARC from First to Read in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
August 22, 2018
Read this review and more at Book Geeks Uncompromised!
I was provided an advanced copy of this book for review by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Far in the future, genemod machines have the capability of altering a person's appearance and even curing disease by editing that person's very DNA. This is made possible in part by the existence of transurides: cosmic metals that can do things that the known metals cannot.
However, those metals are extremely rare. Nearly a century ago a treasure trove of them was found by explorer Goberling but he never shared the secret of its location.
Nika Rik Terri is one of the best genemodders there is. But after being forced to use technology that she developed by Company operatives, she has to go on the run before she becomes a loose end that needs tying up. She ends up on board The Road, a ship whose captain might just be the clue that unlocks the secret of where Goberling's transuride planet can be found.
Guys, this book read like a Treasure Island/Planet kind of book and it was just so much fun. It wasn't a knock off or retelling by any means but it had that same sense of adventure and excitement. The pacing of this book was just wonderful, the story picked up at the beginning and just never really stopped.
This might seem like a small thing but possibly my favorite thing was how Josune and Nika (the two POVs for the book) reacted to each other when they finally met.
Nike is a genemodder and Josune is an engineer so their professions are pretty different but they both have the same attitude of "I know what I'm doing, back off and let me do it." They have a little bit of the stereotypical no BS attitude that I feel is really common in sci fi stories from its female characters. So naturally when those characters tend to meet there is this cattiness and paranoia and distrust that gets really annoying to me.
Josune and Nika didn't do that! They weren't exactly braiding each others hair and having pillow fights but they quickly found a mutual respect for each other and just skipped all the petty cattiness and pissing contests and I was so thankful for it!
Now, as much as I loved all that, I have to admit that all the characters did kind of blend together. Nika and Josune, Carlos (another engineer) and Jacques (the ship cook), they could have been interchanged for each other at almost any point. Their personalities were so similar that at times it felt like their only differences were their professions. For what this book was, a pure entertaining adventure story, this wasn't too big of a deal but it was noticeable.
Perhaps because of this, the one romantic couple in the story I just was not totally sold on their chemistry. I liked both of them but just didn't feel much between them.
As for the sci fi parts of the story, in all honestly, the world is pretty much the same setup that you see inmost post-Earth SF stories. Lots of planets, some form of instantaneous travel, corporations taking over, currency referred to as "credits" and being all electronic. The gene modding had a pretty heavy focus in the book but beyond "we can alter DNA" and the occasional talk about hoses and valves and whatnot, it doesn't get overly scientific. That really isn't a mark for or against it unless you are looking for something that is more hard sci fi. Stars Uncharted is based largely on tech that we haven't even began to really develop in reality and so the story plays with what could be possible eventually without getting to deep into the hows and whys.
What genemodding seemed capable of felt really broad at times to the point that it could have easily led to some deus ex machina stuff happening, especially with the ending. But really, I felt like the authors paid really close attention to that and avoided any such plot holes or cheap tricks really neatly. A foundation was laid for everything that happened and was used so it never felt like solutions were just pulled out of nowhere.
Long story short, while I did feel like this book had some flaws and it isn't one that is out to change the genre by any means, it was a lot of fun to read and go on an adventure with.
I was provided an advanced copy of this book for review by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Far in the future, genemod machines have the capability of altering a person's appearance and even curing disease by editing that person's very DNA. This is made possible in part by the existence of transurides: cosmic metals that can do things that the known metals cannot.
However, those metals are extremely rare. Nearly a century ago a treasure trove of them was found by explorer Goberling but he never shared the secret of its location.
Nika Rik Terri is one of the best genemodders there is. But after being forced to use technology that she developed by Company operatives, she has to go on the run before she becomes a loose end that needs tying up. She ends up on board The Road, a ship whose captain might just be the clue that unlocks the secret of where Goberling's transuride planet can be found.
Guys, this book read like a Treasure Island/Planet kind of book and it was just so much fun. It wasn't a knock off or retelling by any means but it had that same sense of adventure and excitement. The pacing of this book was just wonderful, the story picked up at the beginning and just never really stopped.
This might seem like a small thing but possibly my favorite thing was how Josune and Nika (the two POVs for the book) reacted to each other when they finally met.
Nike is a genemodder and Josune is an engineer so their professions are pretty different but they both have the same attitude of "I know what I'm doing, back off and let me do it." They have a little bit of the stereotypical no BS attitude that I feel is really common in sci fi stories from its female characters. So naturally when those characters tend to meet there is this cattiness and paranoia and distrust that gets really annoying to me.
Josune and Nika didn't do that! They weren't exactly braiding each others hair and having pillow fights but they quickly found a mutual respect for each other and just skipped all the petty cattiness and pissing contests and I was so thankful for it!
Now, as much as I loved all that, I have to admit that all the characters did kind of blend together. Nika and Josune, Carlos (another engineer) and Jacques (the ship cook), they could have been interchanged for each other at almost any point. Their personalities were so similar that at times it felt like their only differences were their professions. For what this book was, a pure entertaining adventure story, this wasn't too big of a deal but it was noticeable.
Perhaps because of this, the one romantic couple in the story I just was not totally sold on their chemistry. I liked both of them but just didn't feel much between them.
As for the sci fi parts of the story, in all honestly, the world is pretty much the same setup that you see inmost post-Earth SF stories. Lots of planets, some form of instantaneous travel, corporations taking over, currency referred to as "credits" and being all electronic. The gene modding had a pretty heavy focus in the book but beyond "we can alter DNA" and the occasional talk about hoses and valves and whatnot, it doesn't get overly scientific. That really isn't a mark for or against it unless you are looking for something that is more hard sci fi. Stars Uncharted is based largely on tech that we haven't even began to really develop in reality and so the story plays with what could be possible eventually without getting to deep into the hows and whys.
What genemodding seemed capable of felt really broad at times to the point that it could have easily led to some deus ex machina stuff happening, especially with the ending. But really, I felt like the authors paid really close attention to that and avoided any such plot holes or cheap tricks really neatly. A foundation was laid for everything that happened and was used so it never felt like solutions were just pulled out of nowhere.
Long story short, while I did feel like this book had some flaws and it isn't one that is out to change the genre by any means, it was a lot of fun to read and go on an adventure with.
September 9, 2018
I dunno, that's a generous three. This one just didn't click for me.
It's not just a space opera, it's a light-beer version of it.
Nika has the potential to be interesting, but we risk her becoming Tom Swift with a modbox. Need two pumpkins turned into a carriage? No problemo, get me some mutrient and some unobtainium and I'll figure something out Just In Time.
I kept stalling on "Pisces III." Last time I checked Pisces was a constellation, not a star with planets. I guess we'll assume that only one of the far-spread stars in Pisces has planets, so it's picked up that nickname.
And how did we leap from body-modding, which is more or less believable, to mad-scientist body-exchange with a timer? I don't see that the processes would have ANYthing in common.
Too many people in disguise. And I guessed after about 100 pages who Roystan was.
Snow just doesn't figure it out - he's the Jethro Clampett of this book.
And how did we get a weapons-grade laser that fits in a tiny pendant? What powers it - more unobtainium? Or a sparker that fits in your hair (so you can take it out if your hair twice in the same fight)?
I guess I just like my space opera a little more hard SF, a little more structured. THis is, as others noticed, closer to Marvel Action or a graphic novel.
It's not just a space opera, it's a light-beer version of it.
Nika has the potential to be interesting, but we risk her becoming Tom Swift with a modbox. Need two pumpkins turned into a carriage? No problemo, get me some mutrient and some unobtainium and I'll figure something out Just In Time.
I kept stalling on "Pisces III." Last time I checked Pisces was a constellation, not a star with planets. I guess we'll assume that only one of the far-spread stars in Pisces has planets, so it's picked up that nickname.
And how did we leap from body-modding, which is more or less believable, to mad-scientist body-exchange with a timer? I don't see that the processes would have ANYthing in common.
Too many people in disguise. And I guessed after about 100 pages who Roystan was.
Snow just doesn't figure it out - he's the Jethro Clampett of this book.
And how did we get a weapons-grade laser that fits in a tiny pendant? What powers it - more unobtainium? Or a sparker that fits in your hair (so you can take it out if your hair twice in the same fight)?
I guess I just like my space opera a little more hard SF, a little more structured. THis is, as others noticed, closer to Marvel Action or a graphic novel.
July 1, 2018
Stars Uncharted is a science fiction story set in a world filled with body modification machines, all-powerful corporations, and some intrepid explorers. When a body mod on the run joins forces with an explorer on the run, they become a ragtag band of adventurers trying to stay one step ahead of their foes. A decent read, but not spectacular.
November 5, 2019
Meaningless name for a pointless story. I can't find a single reason to recommend this book over any other Space Opera story in existence. I wasn't able to sympathize or connect with a single character. The entire basis for this book is: "body modification is cool", like it was written by a cosmetology student with a 'neat idea' for making people look different. Seriously, every single problem is solved by the superhuman ability to perform miraculous body modifications. Even the ship's systems at one point need repair and the answer is: body modification hardware. None of the danger felt dangerous, impending consequences wind up being inconsequential, and the antagonists' motivations are... all over the place. In fact, one of the book's primary villains exercises an about-face for no believable reason and in a manner that completely destroys any character development to that point. There is literally nothing remaining of the original character outline. Outside of the body modification, which is explained wholly as "put rare ingredients into this machine and it does stuff", there is no new science in this science fiction. Pacing and flow are terrible, points of view switch with no warning, and dialogue is uninteresting. I've never read so many instances of "character thinks something, then says the exact same thing out loud, word for word". No one has a single thought that they don't immediately verbalize. The BIG REVEAL is broadcast in 30 foot high letters on page... 7 or something. We get bricks-to-the-back-of-the-head hints every 5 minutes. It's like the reader already knows exactly how the story is going to go, and now there's nothing left to do but wait it out. This reads like it was edited and green-lit at 4:59pm on Friday the 31st to meet a monthly quota.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 375 reviews