The Stars Call (Chapters 1-5) by Birdpaw

Reviewed by AmyMarieZ

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Overview: The Stars Call is a science-fiction fantasy story taking place after the end of a long war between two forces: the Galactic Sanctum and the First Insurgency. Although peace might be expected at the end of such a war, the galaxy is still in peril as a virus rages across it, destroying entire planets. The story follows a group of mercenaries, hired by the Sanctum to research and fight the invisible but deadly force destroying the galaxy.

Structure: The story begins with a brief glossary containing terms used in the story. The glossary is written with the authors own unique personality and humor, so it is a fun read, and a nice introduction to the tone of the story in general. However, reading the glossary before beginning the story is not at all necessary. The meanings of words are clear when they come up in-story, regardless of if a reader has read the glossary.

The story is written in the third person limited point of view. The first four chapters focus on the main character Nyra, while the fifth chapter switches to Captain James. The third person limited works well for this story because it follows many important characters. Being able to switch between their view points provides added insight into the story that might not be gained through a first-person perspective.

Grammar: The grammar in The Stars Call is well done in general. There are almost no typos, and sentences are structured well. The only recurring issue with grammar throughout the story is punctuation around dialog. In multiple locations, commas are used where periods should be placed, and vice versa. However, this is a minor issue that is easily fixable, and it does not detract from the reading experience in any way.

Pace: The balance between description, dialog, and action creates an even pace in the story. A reader can easily visualize it happening in real time. The pace of scenes is consistent throughout the five chapters read.

The pacing of plot development is good in general. Each chapter presents new information, suspense, and added conflict to keep the reader engaged in the story.

One small concern with pacing of the overall story is that the first chapter, while exciting and hooking, does not place a strong focus on what the overall plot and conflict of the story will be. It focuses on a single mission Nyra, Marn, and Keren are completing. The action is upbeat and exciting, so it definitely makes a strong first chapter, but one or two hints about how this mission might tie in to the grand scheme of things, or some more introspection from Nyra at the end to build suspense about the main plot might build up the mystery even more!

Character Development: The character development in The Stars Call is fantastic. The author has developed a cast of varied and interesting characters that mesh together perfectly to develop humor, as well as suspense and drama.

Right from the first chapter, the reader gets a strong sense of main character Nyra's personality. The story starts off with her and Marn engaging with smugglers during a mission. Out of boredom from the "simple job", Nyra engages with a bounty hunter at a bar, getting her and her team into a bit of a sticky situation (although they manage to make it out in dramatic style). Through her interactions with her teammates and her rash but good-natured mischievousness, a reader can tell that she is a fun character with a lot of spunk and personality.

As the story progresses, Nrya's depth is developed further as readers are shown how much she cares for and respects her teammates. One specific point where this is shown is when she is sent on a mission with partner Keren to the planet Eteran to infiltrate a nest of Gorgots, a frightening race of monstrous aliens. Because of past experiences, Keren is mortified of Gorgots. His fear of these aliens is portrayed realistically, adding depth to his character, as well as his friends' characters as their understanding and compassion regarding his fear is shown.

The author has also included just the right amount of down time in the story to show the characters interacting casually together. Their casual conversations, particularly one that occurs while Keren, Nrya, and Mara are eating soup when Nrya gets sick make the characters feel that much more real, enduring them to the reader even further. This conversation is perhaps the only location to offer critique of the characterization. At first, the dialog during this scene felt slightly stilted and off. However, reading further into the scene, it becomes apparent that it is just the character Mara's natural playfulness and oddness giving the scene that feel. Perhaps showing a bit more of her character earlier in the story might help develop her sooner, but either way, this specific scene is a delightful hidden gem in the story.

While the characterization so far has been exceptional, it has left a lot unknown about character pasts. A few hints have been given about character pasts in these first five chapters, but as the story progresses, more background about each of them could really help to develop them even further!

Vocabulary/Description/Worldbuilding: The vocabulary used in the story fits well. For the most part, it is straight forward and to the point, with just enough variety in word selection to keep it interesting and fun to read.

The descriptions in the story are fairly light, leaving much to the reader's imagination, but still providing enough detail for a reader to visualize the scene. The only place where a lack of descriptions significantly deters the story is the lack of description of the spaceships. The characters own their own ships, but there are few details given about what these ships look like, mainly the size of these ships. Are the ships small, as in only large enough to carry one person? Or are they quite large? A few details about the physical size of the ships, as well as the internal layout would help to resolve this confusion.

While level of description is in general good, the main issue with description is that actions are at times vague or unclear. It is sometimes difficult to tell which characters are doing what, what bits of dialog mean, or what the action being described actually looks like. Locations where this issue has been observed have been pointed out inline in the story and will not be rehashed here.

The worldbuilding in the story is done naturally. The reader is given information about the world bit by bit. The story never info dumps, so it flows naturally, gradually immersing the reader into the world. However, this does result in the world feeling slightly unknown or underdeveloped at the beginning of the story. Specifically, it is a bit difficult to understand what exactly the characters' purposes as mercenaries is. From reading the story description, it is clear that they have been hired by the Sanctum to research and fight the virus. However, making this purpose a bit more clear in-story would help to cut down on some confusion. Additionally, working a bit more backstory about the war between the Sanctum and First Insurgency, as well as who the Rebels are would help develop the world further.

Plot: The plot of The Stars Call is highly engaging. The individual missions the characters go on are entertaining, suspenseful, and upbeat. The characters themselves drive the plot along, pulling the reader into the story as they become invested in each of the character's journeys.

The main plot of the story is developed subtly and skillfully throughout the first few chapters. Subtle hints about the virus and how they are trying to find a cure for it create a lot of suspense, intrigue, and mystery.

The only fault so far is that there seem to be missing plot points regarding the purpose of the individual missionsThe relevancy of the first mission is not clearly explained. Although it is interesting and makes for an excellent opening, it feels somewhat irrelevant after the end of the first chapter. In chapter two, while the characters are discussing the second mission, where they are going is stated, but never the reason why they are going. Once the characters arrive at the site of the mission, it seems like they don't actually do anything of value there before leaving. Developing the purposes of the missions themselves might give the plot a more cohesive feel.

Another plot point that is touched on but yet to be completely expanded is the Rebel forces. Nyra is saved by one of the Rebels on the second mission, but after this encounter she does not revisit thoughts about the meaning of that encounter. Developing who these Rebels are as the story continues could add some great interest and depth to the plot!

Summary: The Stars Call is an engaging and fun science fiction fantasy story. It follows an entertaining cast of characters that a reader can't help but feel invested in. The plot of the story offers enough mystery and unique elements to keep a reader on the edge of their seat and eager to read on! The characters and plot make this story truly stand out!