Starfinder

Marco turns from military fantasy to YA fantasy

Sometimes I read too broadly for my own good.

Years ago, I discovered a fantasy debut novel by the author John Marco, a novel by the name of the Jackal of Nar. Nice and gritty military fantasy that I liked enough to email the author about.

My interests and reading drifted, and I didn't follow up with his later works, and in point of fact John Marco slipped from my mind until I rediscovered his work. An email contest for a copy of his latest novel led me to obtaining a copy and reading where the author I had enjoyed a decade ago had gone in his writing.

Starfinder is very different than the military fantasy novels of his past.

Starfinder, aimed at a YA audience (although perfectly enjoyable by adults) is the story of Moth and Fiona. He's an orphan, the ward of an old knight, and dreams of flying in the skies even as he hears Leroux's stories of the Skylords, Faerie beyond a misty reach that laps against their mountain city home. She's the granddaughter of Rendor, military mind and creator of newfangled steampunk-ish flying machines called Dragonflies, as as well as a brand new, armed to the teeth airship, the Avatar.

When Leroux dies, willing and bidding Moth to enter the Reach and aid his avian companion, Lady Esme, to return to her true form in the process, Moth and Fiona find themselves on the run into the mists of Faerie, the Reach. As they flee, they are chased by Rendor, in his massive flying ship, and the Skylords themselves, seeking the unique magical gift that Moth now has in his possession, and only he can wield.

The Starfinder.

Part steampunk, Part YA, part borderland-of-Faerie novel, Starfinder is the sort of novel that adults will wish they had available to read when they were 12. Instead of the more conventional fantasy novel a la Harry Potter, the world of the Skylords is an amalgam of several fantasy and science fiction subgenres that provides a stew rich enough for adults such as myself to enjoy as well as children. Combine steampunk technology with a coming of age story, and a faerieland with dragons, centaurs, mermaids and more, and mix well. Very well, as it turns out.

Certainly, the plot and characters are somewhat simplified for a YA sensibility, to be sure. One shouldn't expect Joycean style characterization or Gene Wolfe-esque complications in a turgid plot in a novel aimed at teenagers, to be sure. With that aside, however, Marco has done a remarkable high-wire act in balancing these various concerns, and still producing a book that is enjoyable for older readers as well. There are strains and motifs of deeper and more complex themes layered in here in a way that hearkens back to his first novel.

It's clearly the first of a series as given it is subtitled "a skylords novel". I am looking forward to the subsequent volumes.

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Starfinder: Book One of the Skylords

John Marco's flowing style immediately draws the reader into the world of Moth and Fiona, two youths who end up embarking on an adventure far beyond what they anticipated. The story is smooth, fast paced, and filled with ups and downs as Moth and Fiona search for help in a forbidden land where humans are not generally looked upon as welcome visitors. If you're seeking an escape from the real world this is definitely your ticket.

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young adult readers will want to follow the escapades of those two teen courageous explorers

Tired of unchecked adult supervision holding them back, especially her family's political power, teenagers Moth and Fiona flee from the highest city in the world Calio where anyone can become anything except their elders hold the young back. Leaving the city on top of the mountain, they climb across the foggy Reach until they reach a strange land with strange beings.

The Skylords greet the outsiders with hostility. They also realize Moth carries a gizmo that once belonged to them until a traitor fearing their growing power stole and hid it. They want their device back even as Moth remains ignorant how to utilize it. Making matters worse for the teens, Fiona's grandfather, the governor of Calio, arrives in a dirigible warship that the Skylords attack with their flying minions as they reject sharing the skies with anyone especially lowlife humans.

The attitudes of Moth and Fiona make each an endearing realistic thirteen years old as they want to be treated by their elders as adults with the accountability of tweeners so when that fails to pass, they run away. Their adventures in the Reach are exciting especially when they encounter the malevolent Skylords. However, so much side plotting occurs that fans will have difficulty keeping track of the prime focus. Still this rambling fantasy sets up the Skylords saga in which young adult readers will want to follow the escapades of those two teen courageous explorers.

Harriet Klausner

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My Review

Starfinder is one of the better Young Adult Fantasy novels that I have read in quite some time. The storyline is exciting and keeps the reader interested and John Marco's blend of technology and fantasy elements makes for an interesting fantasy world for the reader. The characters are all fairly likable and easy for a pre-teen to relate to. I found the material itself to be very age-appropriate and not in any way objectionable.

I read this book at the same time that my 13-year old grandson read it and both of us enjoyed the book and the experience of discussing it as we read to be an enjoyable affair. The book is written in such a way that it does not get tedious for either adults or teens. The switching of focus between characters is a nice way to break the novel up a bit and give the reader the perspective of different characters in the tale without having to go through the entire story from only one character's point of view.

We both look forward to future installments in the trilogy and eagerly anticipate continuing our journey along with Moth and company.

Refreshing, but Quick

With a simple plot and premise, Starfinder still manages to be an enjoyable read. The plot is uncomplicated, it is what it is, but rather than detract from the story, it only enhances it. The story is a refreshing fantasy adventure, and if, like me, you happen to be a fan of steampunk, there's a bit of that as well, though not enough to scare away readers unfamiliar with steampunk.

Characters are consistent, and I was quite pleased to see that the 13 year old boy not only acted like a 13 year-old, but also perceived the world like a child. Character growth is evident throughout the story, which will make you feel like you've actually gotten somewhere by the the time the story ends.

My only complaint about the book would be that it's a quick read. For a fast reader, like myself, this is nothing more that an afternoon's read. Whether or not that's a bad thing is up to each reader, but I know that when I turned the last page I was a bit sad it was over. That isn't to say that the story is rushed though. The pacing of the story is excellent, never dragging out, and only occasionally did I really wish for it to slow down.

Overall, I would recommend this book to any fantasy reader who wants something that takes many of your average fantasy stereotypes and turns them upside down, to good effect.

Must-read, and NEEDS a sequel!

The short version of my review is that Starfinder is one of the best books I've read in a long while - something I never thought I'd say about a book featuring youthful protagonists and designed to be Young Adult-friendly.

I generally don't like YA fiction, and haven't read it since before I hit the age of 10. Even the massively successful Harry Potter series failed to capture my interest on a consistent basis. In fact, the only such book I've managed to re-read as an adult has been The Hobbit - so when I say this book was thoroughly engrossing and enjoyable, that is really saying something.

Plainly speaking, Starfinder is a sweeping epic on par with any fantasy series out there. The book can be read on any number of levels, each of which could well appeal to different readers. There's the coming-of-age story of the protagonist Moth, the quest for a mystical object in the Starfinder, the emerging family dynamic between Moth's friend Fiona and her grandfather Rendor, and much more - all set against a backdrop of magical lands and travel through the air that really come alive. And as if that isn't enough, along the way, Moth and Fiona meet dragons [including Merceron, who immediately became one of my all-time favorite dragons, right up there with the likes of Tolkein's Smaug and Gordon R. Dickson's various dragons], centaurs, mermaids, and the dreaded Skylords themselves.

For readers who want a book that will fill their minds with possibilities, and their imaginations with endless panoramic views of a magical world, this book should be high on the reading list - no matter how old they are. What Marco has done exceptionally with Starfinder is to create characters with depth without sacrificing their viewpoints or turning his younger characters into mini-adults, even as he created a world and its creatures that beg to be explored in much more detail.

Without any exaggeration, I can't wait until the second Skylords book is published.

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