This was a very enjoyable second book, I enjoyed it as much as the first. Well done, hope the series continues.

I was unable to review the book but will be featuring it in my "I Wish I'd Read That" series with the text below:

I've heard wonderful things about S. K. Dunstall's Stars Uncharted series and was thrilled to get a review copy of this second book. It sounds like an exceptional series, filled with thrilling chases and action galore. I love the kind of science fiction novel that takes you far and wide across the great expanse of the universe, and I wish I'd been able to dive into the series. My hope is that I can eventually dive into these missed books sometime in the future. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts about the book in the comments below. Read more about the author and book below, or purchase a copy for yourself. And of course, a big thank you to Harper Perennial for the free review copy!

I fell in love with the the first book, Stars Uncharted, and the world building, and eagerly dove into Stars Beyond, which takes us deeper into the world sister-writing team S.K. Dunstall has created. The reader steps right back into the lives of the Another Road crew, who have barely escaped with their lives in the previous novel. In a new and better armed spaceship, the crew is still on the run from the corrupt Department of Justice agents and the company men tracking them. Captain Roystan's memory is shot and his health is deteriorating. Genemodder Nika must get that new genenod machine she's ordered, not mention find more of the transurides, if she hopes to save him. It seems simple enough. Until it isn't. A company general is bent on getting his hands on genemod apprentice Bertram Snowshoe; the evil and cruel company man Wickmore will stop at nothing to get his hands on Nika; and Agent McAlister is after Nika too, but for his own desperate reasons.

High in tension and suspense, Stars Beyond does not disappoint. Nika Rik Terri and Josune continue to be my favorite characters in the series, both resourceful and skilled in their crafts. I would not have minded more Josune in the novel though. I continue to be impressed with S.K. Dunstall's world building and the complexity and nuances of the world and characters they have created.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2020/01/22/stars-beyond-by-sk-dunstall/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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4.5 hearts

This <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/260272-stars-uncharted" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Stars Uncharted</strong></em></a> series should be read in order.  I really enjoy this author and the first book in the series, also <strong>Stars Uncharted</strong> was excellent and harrowing.  I have been reading several different science fiction / space opera type series where there are corporate groups running things and they are greedy and corrupt. That is certainly a theme here.

In <strong>Stars Uncharted</strong>, the point of view was primarily that of Nika and Josune. They are strong, intelligent, talented women.  Nika is a body modder and Josune is a ship engineer. Nika is a genius and really, so is Josune.  They both are so skilled others want them to use them.

They ended up both on the run and have become fast and loyal friends.  There are two other points of view added in <strong>Stars Beyond.</strong>  Leonard Wickmore, corrupt executive, is after them. Alistair Laughton is looking for Nika. He took leave from the Justice Department 2 years ago and worked on a remote planet. There were some serious issues on the planet and he needs Nika to resolve some of them.

Wickmore is evil and I hate him. It's just that simple. Alistair is not stupid exactly but he is horribly naive / idealistic. He is skilled with investigating and surviving, but his knowledge of companies and political aspects is dismal.

I loved this action-packed tale with battles, escapes and heists.  There's also inventive discoveries and ingenuity to solve problems (yes, the women, Nika and Josune).  I can't wait for more in this series. I want to see how they handle the companies in the next go round.

If you like your fiction to be character-driven, you have come to the right place. Stars Beyond is full of great characters that, individually have potentially great stories. Together, the intermeshed greatness is vivid and glowing. Even the chapters are named after the character who’s point of view is exposed in the chapter. So to review this book, I will review a few characters. Warning, there may be spoilers if you have not read Stars Uncharted.

Hammond Roystan – the quiet hero with the mysterious forgotten past. Despite, the fact that he never even gets his own chapter, Hammond is critical to the story, more than any other character. You have read Stars Uncharted, you get the idea. But keep paying attention to Roystan.

Alistair Laughton – is the intriguing new character. Asked to take leave from the Justice Department, he is back again – at their request. But while he was on leave, his adventures were most intersting….

Nika Rik Terri – the body modder. A really good, in demand body modder. That is until someone tried to frame her for murder and kill her. Somehow she ended up with Roystan and his ragtag crew. And for some reason, Laughton is looking for her. These characters are so interconnected it must be fate that links them. Or maybe Roystan. See there he is again.

Bertram Snowshoe – well if it weren’t for Snow, we would not get to hang out with the evil mercenary Captain Oliver Norris. And he is. Evil. Nasty. Norris, not Snow. Snow is the modder apprentice, but manages to be a pretty good gunner too. Snow, like most of the ragtag crew, has many talents.

What is it about the term ragtag that automatically gets my attention?

Jacques Saloman – chef and cargo master. Mostly chef. You gotta love a man who thinks food, good food, is the solution for everything. And on Another Road, it pretty much is.

Leonard Wickmore – bad guy. Wickmore got the first chapter in Stars Beyond, where we learn he is after Rik Terri. He is a thoroughly despicable character that did not deserve to live past book one. I prefer my villains to evolve and grow just as much as the protagonists and if not, they need to be eliminated….somehow. But Dunstall thought he was needed in this story. Okay, if you need someone to boo and hiss at, Wickmore is your man.

The Ort. First contact species with a need for a special body modder. Everybody seems to want Rik Terri.

The Vortex. While not technically a character, the spaceship-ripping Vortex is an astronomical phenomenon that happens to be very close to the center of all that is important. Beware the Vortex. Roystan does.

These motley characters are combined with a story line that gallivants enough to throw in a few surprises. (Surprises are good.) Beware the Vortex cannot be said enough.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

As I read this just kept getting better and better. Josune, Roystan, and Nika as well as the other characters kept the action going and the plot thickening. I loved the first book and Stars Beyond lived up to my expectations. S.K. Dunstall is on a roll with first the Linesman books and now the Stars Uncharted. This could be the last book in this series but I am hoping for one more. I love the crew and would love to see how they carry on after all the danger and tension in this book.

Stars Beyond by S.K. Dunstall. The crew is still on the run barely keeping ahead of those searching for them, but traps and entanglements are becoming more common and they won't stay ahead forever.

Stars Beyond is the sequel to Stars Uncharted, a so-called space opera, which means a story about people takes place on spaceships. Stars Beyond is at its best when it delves into action sequences be they space battles or stealth sneak attacks.

One of the central parts to the Stars universe are "body modders," a term not fully explained, but includes all types of body modification from healing to facechanging. A great body modder can alter a subject so that the subject appears to be a different person much like the face dancers in Frank Herbert's Dune world. Given how central modders are to the story, it would've been nice to learn more about how society is effected by modders and ever changing identities.