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A review by adularia25
Inherit the Stars by Tony Peak
2.0
Where to start. Yes, this is the author's first book, and yes, it shows. The ideas are great... the characters... oh, the characters...
Let's start with what I like. I like the idea of space salvager characters - they are one step off from space archaeologists, which are close to archaeologists, which I was at one point. So I have a soft spot for that character type. Shiny jewels to be recovered/stolen? Awesome! Various alien races - again, something of interest. A dying solar system - a nice concept, and gives things a bit of urgency, though at a slower rate than you'd think. The descriptions of the various locations are good too... but can't save this.
Now for the bits I don't like: Kivita. Kivita is, as another reviewer delightfully put it, too stupid to live. Which I can only assume is an attempt to make her less of a Mary Sue because, other than her poor choices, she is the worst sort of Mary Sue. Around page 300 I got so tired of the main character and her amazingness that I took this quiz: http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm, she racked up 86 points. Well over the 50 needed for the "Your character is almost certainly a Mary Sue, and a bad one at that." classification.
What makes her so awful to read? Everyone wants her. And I don't just mean But wait, there's more!
But it isn't just Kivita that bothered me. The villains were laughable cliches. All they missed were the twirling of mustachios as they cackled over their evil plans.
It's almost to the level of watching cheesy campy Sci-Fi shows like the original Battlestar Galactica, but it is missing that lovable campy quality.
Let's start with what I like. I like the idea of space salvager characters - they are one step off from space archaeologists, which are close to archaeologists, which I was at one point. So I have a soft spot for that character type. Shiny jewels to be recovered/stolen? Awesome! Various alien races - again, something of interest. A dying solar system - a nice concept, and gives things a bit of urgency, though at a slower rate than you'd think. The descriptions of the various locations are good too... but can't save this.
Now for the bits I don't like: Kivita. Kivita is, as another reviewer delightfully put it, too stupid to live. Which I can only assume is an attempt to make her less of a Mary Sue because, other than her poor choices, she is the worst sort of Mary Sue. Around page 300 I got so tired of the main character and her amazingness that I took this quiz: http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm, she racked up 86 points. Well over the 50 needed for the "Your character is almost certainly a Mary Sue, and a bad one at that." classification.
What makes her so awful to read? Everyone wants her. And I don't just mean
Spoiler
because she is a latent psychic who has no idea of her powers. No, they physically want her because she is sooo sexy. I mean, she is so sexy that another alien race, which HAS NO HAIR and therefore would have no reason to think hair is sexy at all, finds her red hair attractive. And don't get me started on the villains wanting to breed with her.Spoiler
Not only is she sexy (how many descriptions of her bodysuit do we really need?), she is the most powerful psychic in 1000 years, and she discovers she is the daughter of a queen! She is a space princess! WTF. Seriously? It wasn't enough to be the prettiest, or the most powerful, she also had to be royal?But it isn't just Kivita that bothered me. The villains were laughable cliches. All they missed were the twirling of mustachios as they cackled over their evil plans.
It's almost to the level of watching cheesy campy Sci-Fi shows like the original Battlestar Galactica, but it is missing that lovable campy quality.