Published by St. Martin's Press on January 2, 2018

Black Star Renegades is really bad. You could probably tell that from the title. I read it because I trust St. Martin's Press to publish quality work. In this instance, my trust was misplaced.

Cade and Tristan are afraid of Zero because their parents cost Zero a lot of money by attracting Praxis (the evil empire) to their planet. Fortunately, they are saved from a Zero attack by Ser Jorken, a Master Rai at the Well. The Well is suspiciously similar to the Jedi, although they fight with glowing bladed staffs rather than glowing lightsabers. Jorken has come to recruit Cade and Tristan to join the Well. Their mission will be to “keep peace and justice alive throughout the galaxy.” They have been chosen because Jorken believes one of them is “destined to save the galaxy.”

The idea here is that Tristan is the heroic brother and Cade is the tag-along brother. The brothers try to get their hands on a weapon called the Rokura that, legend has it, only the “chosen one” can wield (suspiciously similar to Excalibur, except it glows). Their assumption is that Tristan is destined to wield the weapon while Cade is destined to watch his brother be heroic. Of course, an evil guy with a Rai weapon who fights like a Rai (yes, he’s suspiciously like an agent of the dark side) just happens to be trying to get the weapon at the same time Tristan and Case find it. What a bummer of a coincidence! And you can kind of guess what happens next.

A less promising start to a science fiction novel be difficult to imagine. Reliable space opera clichés follow: the brash pilot (Cade) who walks away from a crash landing on a hostile planet; the android with an attitude (“Duke”); Tristan’s role as “the chosen one”; Cade’s role as the normal guy who is thrust into a position of heroism; the evil empire’s power-driven queen; a ship (sort of like the Death Star) that devastates solar systems (this one drains the energy from suns); the planet that has become a haven for space pirates and other criminals; Cade’s former friend who resents Cade’s membership in the Way; and the list goes on and on.

Apart from its derivative, unoriginal, and uninteresting plot, Black Star Renegade is written in the prose of mediocre fan fiction. The author has a limited literary vocabulary and a fondness for cliché. His dialog is stilted. Adults in positions of authority speak as if they were teenagers. I could continue trashing the book, but why bother? It’s been some time since I read a book this bad, and I hope I never repeat the experience.

NOT RECOMMENDED

"Black Star Renegades" eBook was published in 2018 and was written by Michael Moreci (https://michaelpmoreci.com). Mr. Moreci has published 17 novels.

I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the far future, with Cade Sura being the primary character.

Sura and his brother were orphaned at an early age, then learned to live on the streets. They were eventually taken in by the Rai at the Well, a group of spiritual warriors that sought to defend galactic peace. The Sura brothers trained for a decade, with the older brother, Tristan, expected to become the Paragon. The Paragon was the long expected special Rai. A warrior that would be able lead the Rai in defeating any opponent. Now such a leader was in need as the Praxis were slowly, ruthlessly taking over the galaxy. Their goal, to bring "peace" to the galaxy through total domination.

The Sura brothers go on a mission together to recover the mystical Rokura, a magical, ultimate weapon that will make Triston the Paragon. The Rokura is recovered, but Triston is lost. Cade must take up the Rokura, but he is not prepared to be the Paragon. The Praxis, knowing the Rokura has been recovered, immediately begin pursuing Cade to recover the Rokura for themselves. Cade must, reluctantly, join in with another Rai, Kira Sen, to avoid the Praxis. Their quest to escape and battle the Praxis takes Sura and Kira back to Sura's home planet and to his estranged friend Mig.

I enjoyed the 8.5 hours I spent reading this 378 page science fiction novel. While not the same, this story has a lot that feels similar to Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy. I liked the characters and the overall plot. I think this will be the first in an enjoyable series. I liked the cover art. I give this novel a 4.3 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

This is a book that was written as a love letter to Star Wars, and it shows.  You enjoy it for the adventure and the crew's personalities and excitement as they work to defeat a large and ominous force in the galaxy. It embraces all of the tropes and deus ex machina found in Star Wars and if you can't embrace them as well, then this might not be a great choice of book for you. And that's fine, no book will please everyone and knowing that is what this book is about is important for setting reader expectations.

Cade Sura is both an underdog and a chosen one. He falls into the position of being the one person who is needed to save the universe from the evil empire of Praxis. Whether he actually feels qualified or up to it is another thing. The point is, the weight of saving everyone has fallen on his shoulders, and even if he doesn't feel like the right man for the job, he's also not really the type to quit with at least trying whatever he is capable of. Along the way, he picks up an interesting crew that has fun dynamics. Yes, there are many familiar aspects of this story, but again, it's emphasis was not on orginality. If you want something unique, look elsewhere. If you want something fun that revisits many things you've enjoyed in other stories, then this could be a great fit for you.

Moreci is a comic writer, and I think is on display a bit in this book. It is all quick action, and while I don't really want to call the book shallow, I can't say it had much depth either. Since this book's focus is on fun adventure, I think the style works well and I didn't mind. Personally, I think this story could work even better as a movie than as a book for some readers, just because for people that are bothered by more of the conveniences encountered, you have less time to think about or question them. Its also a book full of action, always good for the screen. And just the pace and action, it felt very movie-like.

When it comes down to it, I just really enjoyed reading this book. I enjoyed the characters and the story, Moreci provided me with enough to keep me interested and reading, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

The nitty-gritty: A fun and character-driven debut, fans of Star Wars will find much to love in this fast-paced space opera.

In Michael Moreci’s afterward to his fun and furious debut, he unabashedly calls Black Star Renegades his “love letter to Star Wars,” and it shows. It’s easy to make your way through the story and say things like “Cade is Luke Skywalker” or “Ga Halle is Darth Vader” or “the shido must be a light saber.” But Black Star Renegades, for all the obvious Star Wars parallels, has its own charm and character, and I fell hard for Cade, Kira, Mig and 4-Qel, the main ensemble of the story. If you’re looking for an action-packed and entertaining book to start off 2018, then you really can’t go wrong with this one.

Cade and his older brother Tristan are members of the Rai (think Jedi), having trained for the past ten years with their mentor Ser Jorken. When the story opens, they are on a mission to literally change history. After years of oppression under a group of people called the Praxis, most of the galaxy lives in a state of fear, after the Praxis developed a way to steal the energy from stars, thus enslaving any planet who benefited from that energy. But there is a myth of a Chosen One called the Paragon, a Rai with the strength to pull a sacred weapon called the Rokura out of stasis, a weapon which could restore order and balance to the galaxy and end the evil reign of the Praxis for good. And guess what? Tristan is thought to be the Paragon, but in order to test his mettle, he must journey to the planet Quarry where the Rokura waits for someone worthy enough to wield it.

But when Tristan and Cade finally make it to the caves where they do indeed find the Rokura, things do not go quite as planned. After a confrontation with a waiting enemy, Cade finds himself in possession of the Rokura, and now he either has to prove that he can wield and control the Rokura, or find the real Paragon. Neither option is going to be easy, because now that he has the Rokura, everyone is after him. With the help of friends Kira and Mig and Mig’s android 4-Qel, Cade tries to stay one step ahead of the enemy, but when the enemy is everywhere, that's very hard to do.

Moreci gets things going with a bang, as the first couple of chapters are non-stop action and set the stage for the rest of the story. Black Star Renegades has a cinematic feel to it, which doesn’t surprise me considering the author has lots of experience writing comics and graphic novels. There is a subtle humor that infuses the story, and I’m happy to report that it was my kind of humor, snarky and understated, but not so overpowering as to hit the reader over the head with it. Cade has plenty of humorous dialog with both Kira and Mig, but I especially loved 4-Qel's humor, which is even funnier because he doesn't understand that he's being funny.

The story has lots of twists and turns, as Moreci is determined to send Cade and his friends from one adventure to another with barely room to breathe between them, but for me the story really took off once Cade, Kira, Mig and 4-Qel become a team. There’s nothing I enjoy more than a close-knit ensemble cast, and these four characters really made this story special.

Kira was a fantastic character, who luckily isn’t added just as a romantic interest for Cade. (Yes, there is a bit of romance going on, but it’s definitely not the focus.) She’s braver and pluckier than Cade, and as I mentioned above, she’s hiding some secrets about her family that could have a profound impact on how the others think of her.

Despite the strengths of this novel, it wasn’t perfect, and there were some elements that didn’t quite work for me. Moreci’s talent lies in his character-building, dialog and action sequences, but I have to say his writing style is a bit rough around the edges. There were a couple of really awkward sentences—“His torso propelled forward, sitting Cade upright.”—which either escaped the editing process or have perhaps been corrected by now. I was also puzzled by the spelling of 4-Qel’s name, which continuously changed from “4-Qel” to “Four-Qel,” back and forth, as if the author and editor couldn’t quite make up their minds which version to use. Now, I understand I read an uncorrected proof, but usually in this state the spelling/editing mistakes are few and far between. (I’m tempted to check out the finished book to see if this rather distracting issue has been fixed!)

Although there are brief glimpses into the characters’ backstories, I wanted more detail. We only get a few paragraphs about Cade’s and Tristan’s childhood on Kyysring, a backwaters world where corruption, drugs and murder run rampant. And a tantalizing mention of Kira’s mother and her connection to the Praxis made me anxious to learn more of her backstory as well. Characters’ actions in the present are shaped by their past experiences, but it’s nice when authors flesh those moments out. I wanted more, but hopefully, as this seems to be the start of a series, Moreci is going to give us more in the next book.

As far as stories go, this one hooked me from the beginning and didn’t let up until the end. Moreci may have written an ode to his favorite universe, but he’s also created a story with plenty of heart and characters that I’d like to follow on another adventure or two. I didn’t see any firm indication on Goodreads that this is the start of a series, but here’s hoping!

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

Cade has always been a shadow behind his bother. Now he has to be something else. He has the ultimate weapon but after using it once he does not want to use it again. Cade and friends are in a fight to the death and the enemy seems to be winning. This has danger, betrayal, new friends, old friends and scenes full of tension. As a group they find a plan and go on the offensive. There is a conclusion to the story but while one thing has been accomplished there is much more that needs to be done. Book one in a new series Black Star Renegades has all the makings of a fun new space opera series.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

BLACK STAR RENEGADES is a homage to STAR WARS and comic books. Cade Sura and his brother were orphans rescued from a lawless planet and taken to be trained as Rai - peacekeepers - because there rescuer felt that one of them could be the new Paragon and control an ancient weapon which was supposed to bring peace to the universe.


Peace was very much needed since Ga Halle, the self-appointed queen of the Praxis empire, was bent and conquering the galaxy and bending it to her will. The organization that trained Cade was supposed to be her opposition but was strangely ineffective.


Cade was sure that his brother Tristan was the one destined to be the new paragon but he was killed by an agent of Ga Halle soon after recovering the mystery weapon leaving Cade to manage it and become the new paragon - a position he felt unworthy of and that he didn't want.


Cade gathers a few other rebels to the existing order: Kira who was a pilot at the Well, Mig who was a childhood frenemy who was also an electronic genius, and Mig's friend 4Qel who was a fighting droid. These four unlikely heroes need to find a way to destroy the Praxis empire's War Hammer which sucks the energy out of suns and kills their attached planets. They also need to find a way to gather all the various rebel factions to defeat the Praxis empire.


The story was fast-paced and visual but there wasn't much character development. Cade cycled through self-doubt and self-confidence. He also couldn't decide if he should try to destroy the mystery weapon and run off to hide or stay a fight a battle he doesn't think he can win.


Fans of STAR WARS and space operas will enjoy this story but, be advised, it ends with something of a cliffhanger.

Black Star Renegades is the first book by Michael Moreci that I have read so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was it tried to be a classic SciFi opera but didn't quite live up to what I thought it could be. This book can be read as a standalone but it ends in a soft cliffhanger for another book. There is violence.

The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat that all of that info here. At first I had a hard time getting into the book and the characters, but it got better and I'm glad I stuck with the slow beginning. The storyline is predictable but this book is worth reading as long as you can ignore some obvious flaws. I do want to find out more about these characters and will continue to read future books when written.

I received an advanced copy of Black Star Renegades from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

As a kid did you ever fantasize about a series of events, where in the end you’re the only one to save the universe? Well that’s pretty much Cade Sura’s life, only his fantasy came true. If you’re looking for a science fiction story to read that includes sassy and stubborn characters, plots twists, and an android or two, then this is the read for you.
Black Star Renegade is very clearly influenced by the universe of Star Wars. There’s the Praxis, a clear stand in for the Empire, which talks about the greater good, but really is just looking for more planets and people to control/hurt. There’s an evil over-lord/named head of the organization, in this case his name is Ga Halle. I’m sure I don’t have to point out who he’s standing in for. And finally the main character (Cade Sura) is a rougher and sassier version of Luke Skywalker, and much like him he’s the only one that seems to be able to save the universe.
Despite, or maybe because of, the similarities between this and Star Wars I really wanted to like this novel. I had a lot of trouble liking Cade’s character (or really, any character introduce) as he seemed shallow and underdeveloped. Even his reactions to what are theoretically the worst moments in his life didn’t seem realistic, more like he was just going through the motions.
I honestly believe that had more time been spent on character development I would have enjoyed Black Star Renegades but as it stands I just found myself not caring about what happened next, because there really was no emotional investment for me.
I did like the idea of the main hero feeling like a fraud – the imposter complex applying to a fictional character to make him seem more three dimensional. I honestly think that was my favorite part about Cade’s character, and wish that had been played up more (though I’ll admit that there would be a fine line there between playing that up and having him seem whiney).
Perhaps Black Star Renegades would have been better as a young adult or comic book series? I can see it going over really well as a graphic novel series - the fight scenes probably would have made more sense in that way too, plus the additional visuals would have been nice.