Are you the type to grab a random book off the shelf of a used bookstore and impulse buy it based on how much you love the front cover? I am. Though I can’t claim I’ve read half the books I’ve bought. Fantasy, science fiction, and the nebulous space between them eats up so much of my headspace that I have to engage with them sooner or later or they’ll threaten to consume the very eldritch gods that move the tiny gears inside my brain.
Ahem. The Ginger Star. The story follows Eric John Stark, a semi-feral man raised by alien demi-humans, on a journey through a dangerous world as he attempts to locate and rescue his adoptive father figure. Eric is half tactical genius, half animalistic instinct, and all square-jawed, hyper-competent, punch-your-lights-out protagonist. The setting is well-thought out with a variety of cultural and social groups which interact with each other in ways that feel fleshed out and cause numerous difficulties for Eric on his quest. And if there’s anything to be said about the quest, it’s these two things: 1) there’s never a dull moment, and 2) it feels like a series of disconnected chapters of dangers and intrigues. Y’know, like a set of serials.
And yeah, as far as I can tell, this is a fix-up novel from a partial set of serial shorts. The novel does have an arc, though I found no sense of completion at its end. Though I can’t deny that it is thoroughly entertaining pulp. It builds a fascinating world at a breakneck pace. The characters are not especially deep or complex, but they’re consistent. And the nuanced interactions between the various cultural and social groups belies a thoughtfulness that promises to pay off in future stories. If you’re into the lone space hero trope, you could do a lot worse than this.
I can’t say whether or not the saga of Eric John Stark is worth your time. But The Ginger Star is a short read and a small commitment, so I do recommend it.
Plot: 6
Characters: 6
Themes: 6
Prose: 7
Overall score: Two lights punched out and a laser shot to the gut.
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