From the bestselling author of The Rules of Supervillainy:Cassius Mass was the greatest star pilot of the Crius Archduchy. He fought fiercely for his cause, only to watch his nation fall to the Interstellar Commonwealth. It was only after that he realized the side he’d been fighting for was the wrong one. Now a semi-functional navigator on an interstellar freight hauler, he tries to hide who he … tries to hide who he was and escape his past. Unfortunately, some things refuse to stay buried and he ends up conscripted by the very people who destroyed his homeland.
LUCIFER’S STAR is the first novel of the Lucifer’s Star series, a dark science fiction space opera set in a world of aliens, war, politics, and slavery.
“If you’re into big intergalactic epics where your heroes are just as sharp with the banter as they are their guns (in the spirit of Han Solo) this is for you.” – Kenny Soward, author of Galefire and GnomeSaga
“C.T. Phipps knocks it out of the universe with his sci-fi debut.” – Tim Marquitz, author of Demon Squad, The Blood War Trilogy, and Excalibur
“LUCIFER’S STAR is a space-going romp through the star-speckled back streets (on several worlds), and I’m actually quite looking forward to more novels in this series, and this universe.” – Shawn P. Durnin, author of Keep Your Crowbar Handy
“The plot is very complex, with many twists and turns, betrayals, double and even triple crosses. It seemed everyone in the book had at least one secret, and many of the characters had multiple secrets. As always, even when dealing with very dark subject matter, CT Phipps manages to inject some humor and snark into the proceedings, keeping this from turning into Grimdark Game of Thrones in space.” – Steve Caldwell, author of The Bookwyrm Speaks
“This is a fascinating piece of fiction: a thoughtful, complex, character-driven sci-fi thriller told mostly through conversation, as the characters bounce from one space battle or confrontation to the next.” – Jason Bovberg, author of The Blood Trilogy
“I’m spellbound. It is the best thing I’ve read from the author so far, even better than the Supervillany Saga. It has to be a movie.” – Devan Sagliani, author of When Zombies Attack and Undead L.A.
“Great book. Non-stop action and intrigue from start to finish.” – Bookwraiths
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Think Firefly but with the Browncoats being absolute bastards instead of people seeking freedom. I mean imagine they’d been into experimenting on people in a feudalistic society where the nobles have a great time treating everyone else like dirt. Then give a huge dollop of Star Wars and a cherry called Dune. Then you’re beginning to get an idea of the direction Lucifer’s Star will take you. But it’s even better than that.
I haven’t had much reading time recently, but I was forced, yes forced, to make time to read Lucifer’s Star. It gripped me, amused me and left me looking forward to the sequel. Please let there be a sequel!
Details
1. The writing itself. Well written and flowing prose which avoided too much ‘techno-babble’. I found the dialogue witty and convincing–the sort of dialogue I could expect from something by Joss Whedon. Are there any flaws? None that stood out for me. I liked the pop-culture references that were woven in – they never broke immersion for me or seemed out of place. When you realise who Isla is supposed to look like it’s amusing but it’s only suggested, never plainly stated.
2. The characters–these were not simple caricatures but felt very well put together. Cassius Mass the hero/anti-hero is an enjoyably complex fellow. Many of the other characters also will surprise you. In particular, the characters Isla, Clarice, William and Hiro all struck me as having real depth to them. No clear good and evil here–knowing who is in the right is not clear cut in this book. That moral ambiguity is pulled off with skill and really added to a highly entertaining read.
3. The setting–felt well-developed with a sense that there was a world or rather a universe outside the events of the story. Impressively realised but subtly. The setting was brought to life within the events and dialogue rather than as some kind of infodump. Despite references to Dune, Firefly and Star Wars, I felt that the setting was original and not just a rehashed version of these. Inspired by them but not copying them.
4. The story–a complex tale of betrayal or not betrayal, politics, espionage and revenge.. or is it? I’m not going to give anything away, but the twists and turns of this story are beyond entertaining and into ‘gripping’.
Final word–I love space opera. Here it’s done with just the right amount of grit in the characters’ eyes and dirt on the starships’ hulls. Morally complex but also a thrill ride. 5 stars thoroughly deserved.
Liked the premise and characters. Good space opera with appropriate heroics and battles!
I received a free copy of Lucifer’s Star from the author.
Having said that, Luci’s Star is a far in the future set space opera. The titular star is an award for bravery, just like Silver Star or whatnot, and only the most cunning of warriors receive it. No, it has nothing to do with devil worship, not really, but is part of an overarching mythology that forms the backbone of humanity in this future.
As a lover of epics, this feels like the preamble, the appetizer, as it sets up the players and the objective with a world of words and blood waiting to be unleashed upon the reader. And while I am no friend of first person narrators in general, Phipps makes it work to the story’s advantage.
Cassius Mass, the protagonist and narrator, is a war veteran, hero to some, villain to most others. He was on the losing side of an interstellar conflict and while he can’t live with his deeds, there are far more people who don’t live because of them. Needless to say, we spend our time in a spaced out spacer who drinks and sleeps his way to oblivion, until something changes. Confronted by yet more sins of his past, Cassius chooses to open his eyes, mind, and heart and let his conscience be his guide, instead of a regime’s propaganda he was one of the few buying into.
Is it a perfect book? Which book is? Will you enjoy it? If you like your Star Wars with a Han Solo who shoots (not first because that implies there was return fire), if you like your humanity more Babylon 5 than Star Trek, granted a rated R Babylon 5, then yes! It’s written like a water slide, first you climb up, slowly, then you sit and gather speed until you splash into the end, wanting more!
Grimdark sci-fi at its best.
fairly pedestrian reading, well worn charactor types and plot.
All Cassius Mass wanted to do after his war ended was to keep his head down and drink enough to keep himself from remembering. But once others aboard the freighter where he’d made a hiding place learn who he is, it sets on a series of double and triple-crosses with everyone looking to use Cassius for their own ends.
Lucifer’s Star is told in the first person from Cassius’ perspective and deals with a number of issues, ranging the rights of artificial humans to the ethics of war. But the centrepiece is Cassius’ on-going struggle to reconcile the man he believed he was with the man he now realizes he is. This growth is at times hesitant, frequently painful and always deftly handled.
Since everything is seen through Cassius’ eyes, we don’t get the same deep insights into the other characters but they are still well-drawn and easily differentiated. My favourite was probably Ida Claire, the matronly captain of the freighter, who seems equally comfortable hauling cargo and plotting the downfall of governments.
The world-building is also excellent, doled out in stages to add layers to our understanding of this universe, usually accompanied by the latest twist in the plot.
If I had a problem with the book it was that towards the end I was getting close to losing track of who wanted Cassius to do what and who was double-crossing who. But this will be helped by a re-read, I’m sure.
Recommended for people who like their sci-fi with a dark edge.
Lucifer’s Star was reminiscent of the classic space opera adventure stories I remember reading as a kid. I say “reminiscent” because although it had many of the same elements as those stories, Lucifer’s Star is nothing a kid should be reading. Which is great, because as an adult, I enjoy a little gratuitous profanity, sex, and violence mixed in with a well-written and engaging science fiction story — and that is precisely what Lucifer’s Star is.
Lucifer’s star introduces an interesting and entertaining cast of characters to what I hope will be a long series. At the start of the story, quite a few of the characters seemed like they are going to be walking, talking science fiction tropes, but they were developed well through the book and became unique and compelling characters I cared about and rooted for. The plot did get confusing at times and all the character’s allegiances, secrets, and in some cases, bodies (that’s right, I wrote “bodies” and meant it) were hard to keep straight, but everything was resolved and nicely wrapped up by the end. The author, C.T. Phipps, keeps a WordPress blog and has a really great post dedicated to revealing more about the Lucifer’s Star universe, so if you feel the details getting muddy keeping the factions and organizations clear in your head, I found reading the background of the setting helpful (and entertaining in its own right).
Lucifer’s Star (Lucifer’s Star #1) by C.T. Phipps and Michael Suttkus is a very exciting sci-fi novel that kept my attention and interest. There were so many twists and turns that left me not knowing who the poor hero was suppose to trust! It was that way all the way through the book. Lots of action, adventure, suspense, secrets to be explored, excellent sci-fi, and good plot. Characters well developed and dialogue spot on for their character. It was the twists and turns that really captured the story, great work there! I was given this book to read and the review was voluntary.