This really surprised me.

I loved the different characters and the way they interacted.

The story is really about long distance travel, no matter how far you travel the sane problems are always apparent.

A wonderful Science Fiction story.

**Thank you Netgalley and publisher for giving me an electronic ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

I liked the world of High Noon but I would have liked to have read this book in the prospective of Yang or a scientist instead of Leif. I felt that we didn't spend a lot of time at High Noon, the book felt more of a beginning to Leif and Yang's relationship. Reading this book was slow, I tried to be invested in the characters but they felt flat and not well rounded.

Starman’s Saga is a self-published book, which I receive via NetGalley courtesy of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).

This book held a lot of promise in the early stages but fell a little flat overall, however, it was still enjoyable in large sections.

I really enjoyed the first 20-25% of the book. Some of the conversations could have been more refined, but Alexander did a good job of giving us an insight into who Lief Grettison is. We learn about his family and upbringing, attitude, skills, military history—including probable PTSD, relationships and more. We’re also informed about the Troubles: US, Russia and China taking the world to the brink of an apocalypse—and the mission to explore a new world, including the politicking around it.

It’s around the quarter mark where an event happens, and an inquest follows. The inquest is a chapter that felt too long and drawn out for me. In turn, it affected the pace of the book and my mood towards it for the next few chapters. Around the 33% mark, the book gets back on track as the journey truly begins.

In those early stages of the book, some of the worldbuilding is interesting but limited. Civilisation doesn’t appear to have advanced that much given the time that has passed--it’s 2069. However, I did find some aspects quite interesting. Everyone had a chip and wore glasses—the glasses display information about the world, such as who the person is you are talking to; there’s also the community and news feeds you can be constantly connected to. As you may predict there are self-driving cars and robots, such as those who can carry out ship maintenance and waiter-bots. None of this is truly inventive though, we have robots now who do all kinds of things and a few years ago, I watched a documentary where a faculty at a university developed glasses that could ID people. Okay, not as advanced as in the book, but they could trawl social media and a database of images to pull up information on somebody.

The journey to the planet, time on the planet and journey back is fraught with incidents and challenges that crew must overcome, as you’d expect and Lief is always at the centre of those. Alexander did a good job with much of this, such as the sequence of events and some crew interactions, but the application was a little off. The new world, which the crew named High Noon, is tidally locked, meaning the side of High Noon the crew landed on never sees night—it always faces the Sun. Parts of the world are interesting and get your imagination going. Plantlife appears black to our eyes as it absorbs light from a different part of the spectrum to that on Earth. There are also a variety of animal species that are encountered during the crew’s stay on High Noon. I felt there was a lack of creativity here too. Almost, all animals that were encountered were described as having some type of snake-like feature. But you can use your imagination and focus on other aspects of the description to paint a picture.

A few other minor issues I had with the book were chapter 38, which, as with the inquest chapter, felt too long, and the use of parentheses at times when they were unnecessary. For me, parentheses break up the flow of reading and in the book they stopped me flat several times, questions why they were there. The text could have been worked into the sentence, or the use of an em dash would have been more appropriate so as to not break up the flow of reading. However, what lets the book down most was believability and some character development.

Regarding fleshing characters out, Alexander didn’t take enough opportunities for crew members to have discussions, which you’d expect on such a venture. One example, where this was executed well was later in the book when several members were trekking through the terrain over the course of several days. There was a point where Lief had a conversation with Tadashi Ishihara, which focused on a small part of Japanese history and gave a real insight into the mind of Ishihara. It was only a short conversation, but it was enough; this was missing for a lot of the characters.

Believability was a bigger issue for me. There were small incidents, like Lief, a trained, experience and decorated soldier wasting ammunition for no good reason, when you know he would simply use a triple-burst shot, which I can generally look past, but the pettiness of crew members was something I couldn’t buy into, and it was constant.

The crew is made up of elite scientists. People who are highly intelligent and have spent their careers analysing and solving problems, conducting research and working with others, yet they are always at each other’s throats, and almost always due to nationally. It wore thin quickly. Alexander would have been far better off fleshing out several of the scientists and providing reasons why some did not like each other—reasons not related to nationality. This would have made outbursts believable and frayed and strained relationships more understandable and relatable, while also solving the issue of fleshing out some of the characters.

The book ended in an interesting way. The last 10% or so explored the psychological impact such a journey and subsequent return could have on crew members. The journey, in Earth time, took 28 years, but the crew themselves barely aged, having spent much time in hib tanks. They returned to a world still young, yet old: out of touch and under-skilled having missed out on 28 years of advancement in their academic fields. This did get my brain going with my own questions, thoughts and opinions on how I may react in the same circumstance, as did other sections of the book.

Overall, if you can look past some of the issues I’ve raised, or they are not things that would bother you, you’ll really enjoy this book. I still enjoyed it, but overall, I was disappointed that it didn’t live up to its potential. With a little more creativity in places—technology and animal species—and more time dedicated to fleshing out the scientists to provide better reasons for animosity among the crew, this could have been a 4* read.

In 2069 A.D., a few years after the Geneva Treaties settle “The Troubles” that plagued the international community, retired U.S. Army Sargent Leifur Grettison wins the lottery. He’s chosen to be the “volunteer everyman” on the first interstellar mission. The starshot seems to offer Leif the reboot he needs when his relationship with intellectual property attorney Sanchali Jain ends. What appears to be good luck may have murky origins. Flight crew members from major and minor powers board the No Name and soon realize that arriving at their destination is only the first of many dangerous challenges they’ll confront.

Starman’s Saga celebrates its characters’ insatiable curiosity and love for intellectual pursuits that motivate them to explore unchartered territories. References to Jules Verne and steampunk conventions conjure the romance of exploration while the absurdity of government bureaucracy and the sometimes ridiculous nature of military hierarchical protocols evoke parallels with the essence of Catch-22. Other threads offer fresh spins on themes found in Passengers and The Martian. Leif’s self-deprecating narrative style combined with steady pacing during the setup of the premise that quickens, then gains momentum with each new situation the travelers encounter makes this a compelling read. Nuanced characterizations for primary and secondary players resonate as authentic in their complexity, particularly the women. Nods to archaic sci-fi tropes simultaneously rework them into the modern familiarity of organic inclusive representation. Like most of the highest quality sci-fi, Starman’s Saga offers readers a thrilling adventure about trekking into unknown territory that’s also thoughtful sociopolitical commentary about humans as individuals, and as constantly shifting groups and civilizations.

Pretty solid book and probably worth a go. It has an interesting plot and likeable characters, Although there are some flaws, such as not fully formed characters or cardboard versions. But the premise is a good one. 3.5 Stars.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

The Starman's Saga follows Leif Grettison into another solar system where a group of scientists research a new planet that could be the next Earth. We follow Lief Grettison from winning a random selection to be on this mission in 2069, to getting to the new planet and surviving, and finally back to Earth in 2097.

Honestly, this book was set up to be pretty great and it fell short.

The characters were not fleshed out to me. They all seemed to be caricatures of their nationality. There was hardly any dialogue that did not involve some dig at another character's country. No one got along and it was annoying. It got to the point where I think the author just didn't bother to research anything outside of American culture. Furthermore, Leif is selected for this mission but conveniently finds himself in charge of everyone. Even some NASA officials immediately turn to him and give him power in situations where even he admits he has no expertise in.

The most annoying thing was the world building, or lack thereof. I think a ten year old could be more inventive on what could happen 50 years from now. In 2069, 50 years from the publication date, the only innovations we've made are traveling outside of our solar system. Politics 50 years from now are somehow incredibly similar to now. No progress has been made on public relations. Mainly Russia, the US, and China are the major players. No one else really exists. Now, in 2097, the politics are the same! Russia, the US, and China are still major world powers and we are somehow at peace. The technology we've gained in 28 years? We have phones in our eyes and we colonized multiple planets, inside and outside our solar system. Come on, this makes no sense.

Overall, this is a good read for people who don't want intricate details on space travel. With some suspension of belief, it's not too bad of a read. I just thought it could have achieved much more and I'm disappointed it didn't live up to its potential.

2.5/5

This book was received as an ARC from Alton Kremer - Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was awe struck in this book and I could not stop and did not want to stop reading it. One of my favorite books is The Martian and I definitely felt some of the thrilling elements in The Martian in this book. Starman's Saga tells the story of Leif Grettison a everyday man that won a contest to win a trip to outer space and be the first everyday man in space. Little did he know, his crew made up of scientists and doctors would be in so much trouble that it be up to Leif to save the day and without no skills and no scientific knowledge whatsoever, can Leif save mankind? Being a Veteran and meeting Pilot Captain Yang Yong, a tough, exuberant woman captain and at first hating each other's guts now codependent on one another to save the Universe. My heart almost stops and my stomach just drops at some parts and I am left breathless at the end. I know this will potentially be a future book club book and I know everyone will love it.

We will consider adding this title to our Sci-Fi collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
This was a great book !
On the blink of the apocalypse, a group of people is bought together to save Earth.
Leif is a US Army veterans that saw his share of war time.
Captain Yang was a PLA Air Force.
Both of them were from differents side during the "Troubles."
Now, they must find a common ground if they are to work together.
And work together, they must.
Loved the characters + the storytelling !
It has all the ingredients that you need for a great book!

This book will not change your life. This book will not provide you with any insights into the human condition.

This book was great. I loved it. It was a page turner and I could not put it down.

Leif is a Ranger in the infantry and the sole survivor of a horrific battle. A few years after the war he wins a seat on a starship that looks like a shaving can and is headed out to colonize a planet. The story centers around his dealings with the crew and the terrors that live on the new planet.

I am thankful to say I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The Hero's Journey aspect was well constructed and the pacing was good as well.

I really enjoyed this book. Plot was believable and story flowed smoothly. The characters were all developed. Once I started reading I could not put the book down.