Saturday, July 15, 2023

Scott's Take: The Blighted Stars: The Devoured Worlds Book 1 by Megan E. O’ Keefe


The Blighted Stars: The Devoured Worlds Book 1 by Megan E. O’ Keefe has two main protagonists.  One named Naira who is a revolutionary and determined to protect earth-like worlds from being destroyed. She believes the Mercator family’s powerful mining corporation is a world destroyer and responsible. The second is Tarquin Mercator who is an heir and a geoscientist that never fit the model of what a Mercator family should be. Naira is undercover as his bodyguard while Targuin is expecting to study a certain earth-like planet and trying to figure out why the planet is dying.

Instead, they crash land on the planet along with several other people. The plot sounds cliched in the beginning, but it is a lot more complicated than the initial synopsis appears.

There is plenty of action and humor in this read. Death, mental illness, and romance play a huge part of this story. There are also several strong horror elements that are not discussed in the synopsis. There are also chapters told from several other perspectives which are also not referenced in the synopsis and yet play a vital role in the story.  For certain readers, the fact that Tarquin is trans could be an issue.

Character development is exceptional with both leads changing a lot. Both protagonists deal with severe consequences regarding various matters. The ending was unexpected to this read and sets up a very interesting sequel. The plot excerpts for the second book looks like the sequel will be just as good as the original.

 I highly enjoyed this read even if it did use several concepts that a lot of science fiction have been using recently.  The second book and the end of the duology comes out late September with the title of The Fractured Dark.

 

 

My reading copy came by way of the Libby/Hoopla App and the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2023

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