Steampunk meets Space Opera in this captivating tale of adventure and romance from USA Today bestseller Anthea Sharp. Diana Smythe was a child of the nobility… once. Now the streetrat known as Diver, she spends her days picking pockets, and her nights gazing at the galaxy overhead, dreaming of the day she’ll escape Earth for a brighter future among the stars.Derek Byrne polices the grimy streets … polices the grimy streets around the Southampton Spaceport, trying to keep the gangs in line and the gutters clear of riffraff. When his path crosses Diana’s, he sees beyond her masculine disguise and catches a glimpse of the remarkable young lady hiding beneath the rags and bravado.
But Derek has his own dark secrets, and when Diana averts a near-disaster at the Spaceport, fate flings them along a trajectory that will lead them to adventure, romance – and peril beyond their wildest imaginings.
Perfect for fans of Firefly, Gail Carriger, and Naomi Novik and Lois McMaster Bujold!
NOTE: A version of this story first appeared in the Dominion Rising collection.
more
I thought that this story was very well done. I haven’t read a lot of steampunk but I decided to give this book a try since I am always looking for something new. I found the story to be very entertaining and I am happy that I decided to give it a try. I haven’t read Charles Dickens but it was pretty easy to figure out that this was a retelling of Oliver Twist but in this book, the focus is on Diana. A whole lot of wonderful elements came together to tell this nice little story.
Diana was born into a wealthy family but is growing up on the streets after an accident killed her family. She dresses as a boy and watched out for her friend, Tipper. She does attract the attention of an officer and they develop a special relationship pretty quickly. I almost forgot that the book was labeled steampunk for a bit but then the spaceships enter the story and things get interesting very quickly. Diana has a gift and it was fun to see her put it to use.
I did like the characters and enjoyed the relationships between them. Diana is very protective of Tipper and I liked how his character developed over the course of the story. I did enjoy the romance between Diana and the officer. I really thought that they made a great pair and I loved the fact that their feelings for each other develop slowly over the course of the story.
Danielle Cohen did a fantastic job with the narration of this story. I really liked the variety of voices that she used for all of the different characters and I thought that she did a great job of adding emotion into her reading. She has a great reading voice and I think that her narration increased my enjoyment of this story.
I would recommend this book to others. I thought that it was a rather unique story featuring wonderful characters. I wouldn’t hesitate to read more from Anthea Sharp!
I received a review copy of this audiobook from the narrator.
I liked the main characters and the storyline. Diana/Diver is engaging and I found her mathematical abilities interesting. Tipper and Derek were likeable as well. The author did a great job of world building and I really liked the ending. If there’s a sequel to the book I’d most certainly purchase and read it.
Way to roll sci-fi, steampunk, and romance into one gloriously satisfying story. This was a well-developed world with memorable characters and relationships I bought into at every step of the way. I’m a fan.
I love it when an author “fave” comes out with a new book and series. So no shocker that I was delighted to see that Anthea Sharp had done so. The book here is Star Compass, first in her new Victoria Eternal series and it is, quite frankly, totally superb. I actually first came across (a slightly version of) this story in the Dominion Rising collection (separately reviewed), which I think is unfortunately no longer available for sale. I loved the story then and, if anything, it’s been improved on. I’m a huge fan of the Firefly series (and the movie Serenity), and of Lois McMaster Bujold’s books. I agree with the publisher’s blurb that if you like them you’ll love this book. Diana Smythe is a wonderfully complex and superb leading lady here, and Derek Byrne is just about as superb. Added to a crazy-cool sci-fi steampunk universe created for the series, and a superb supporting cast, and I know that the series here is going to be superb. It’s first book certainly was and I highly recommend it.