The Stardust Grail in Beyond Reality

Feb 20, 2025 Natalie rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

Rating 3.5 stars. This is a fast-paced, fluffy story. While it does examine cultural differences and have found family, the science elements are light and the group have strong plot armor. No matter the challenge, they are successful every time. Towards the end, several complex things happen in rapid succession, making it a bit garbled.
The main character, Maya, is on Earth, at Princeton, and is resourceful. She has a checkered past but intends to get her degree. She is pressured by her advisor, Rating 3.5 stars. This is a fast-paced, fluffy story. While it does examine cultural differences and have found family, the science elements are light and the group have strong plot armor. No matter the challenge, they are successful every time. Towards the end, several complex things happen in rapid succession, making it a bit garbled.
The main character, Maya, is on Earth, at Princeton, and is resourceful. She has a checkered past but intends to get her degree. She is pressured by her advisor, Liam to submit academic work but meanwhile discovers the journal of Dr. Huang, who discovered a magical grail. Maya is then offered a job to investigate the disappearance of several space travel nodes but declines. She sets off, eager to discover the grail. She reunites with her adopted friend, Auncle, who is a Frenro alien. The Frenro are dying out, so when Maya realizes she can help, she rushes to do so. The Frenro are supposedly a highly advanced race but Auncle is often forgetful and most of the Frenro are trapped on an isolated planet with few options to survive.
Maya finds Auncle has brought on a mercenary, Wil, and a robot, Medix. They go to an alien Belzoar museum, find a dead grail, then escape capture by the CNE (military force) and head to the Frenro planet. Maya runs into Liam several times, who eventually joins them in their adventure. After learning more about the Frenro and seeing they have few options, the group heads to an earthlike planet in another solar system to find another grail. They discover an underground museum and after facing difficulty, they are able to find a grail but are not allowed to take it with them. (view spoiler).
Maya and crew have a series of scrapes and challenges, but through sheer determination, they come out on top. The book lacks exploration of the different alien species (other than physical descriptions), how the grail actually works, and how the mysterious cavern does everything it does. And the story is very tidy with the good guys winning while the bad guys lose.
This book may appeal to some who like light sci fi. Also, the prose is strong. However, it glossed over too much and the challenges were too easily overcome for my taste. ...more

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Jul 10, 2025 Cindy rated it liked it

Shelves: female-authors, sci-fi, aliens

Parts I loved, and parts I struggled with -- the quintessential 3-star review! I loved the rag-tag group of "thieves" while on their quests, I didn't love the endless cycle of steal, run, steal, run. Also, I would have preferred a bit more descriptive language, as I struggled imagining some of the scenes. ...more

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