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A review by justjoel
Black Star Renegades by Michael Moreci
1.0
I read Black Star Renegades to fulfill the prompt of “A book with your favorite color in the title” (a misnomer of sorts, since I don’t really have a “favorite” color) for the 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge.
I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press via Goodreads giveaway, which has no influence on the contents of my review.
Billed as being inspired by Star Wars and incorporating the swagger of Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Star Renegades begins with a great deal of promise. Cade Sura and his brother Tristan are on a mission to recover an ancient weapon whose wielder, the Paragon, is foretold to be the savior of the galaxy. Or rather, Tristan is on the mission because his masters at theJedi Academy Well believe he is the Paragon and have trained him accordingly. Cade is the little brother allowed to tag along so as to not upset the Chosen One. However, problems and betrayals arise, and Cade finds himself thrust into a role he neither wants nor is prepared for.
At this point, the story veers away from upsetting the “Chosen One” trope and turns into a retelling of Star Wars. Only without the character development, the humor, and the main character kissing his sister.
I can’t directly quote from the book since I only read an ARC and not the finished copy, but this read much more like a rough draft of an 11-year-old’s fanfiction than a story nearing publication (I received my copy about 8 weeks before release). My 12-year-old nephew was over at the time I was reading it, and distracted by my apparently lengthy and frequent groans, he asked what was wrong. I read him a paragraph and said, “What, if anything, is wrong with this?” And he got it. Right away. Knew why it was bad and how it should be edited.
I know the author writes comics, and I suspect his style would play out better in that format with an illustrator who can show what he only seems to tell.
There is little character development with a lot of angst, a crush that may develop into romance over time, a homicidal droid, a lot of unnecessary words, and stereotypical villains with stereotypical motives.
Not a book I would recommend to anyone but the author’s hardcore fans, and not a series I am interested in continuing reading.
1 out of 5 stars.
I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press via Goodreads giveaway, which has no influence on the contents of my review.
Billed as being inspired by Star Wars and incorporating the swagger of Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Star Renegades begins with a great deal of promise. Cade Sura and his brother Tristan are on a mission to recover an ancient weapon whose wielder, the Paragon, is foretold to be the savior of the galaxy. Or rather, Tristan is on the mission because his masters at the
At this point, the story veers away from upsetting the “Chosen One” trope and turns into a retelling of Star Wars. Only without the character development, the humor, and the main character kissing his sister.
I can’t directly quote from the book since I only read an ARC and not the finished copy, but this read much more like a rough draft of an 11-year-old’s fanfiction than a story nearing publication (I received my copy about 8 weeks before release). My 12-year-old nephew was over at the time I was reading it, and distracted by my apparently lengthy and frequent groans, he asked what was wrong. I read him a paragraph and said, “What, if anything, is wrong with this?” And he got it. Right away. Knew why it was bad and how it should be edited.
I know the author writes comics, and I suspect his style would play out better in that format with an illustrator who can show what he only seems to tell.
There is little character development with a lot of angst, a crush that may develop into romance over time, a homicidal droid, a lot of unnecessary words, and stereotypical villains with stereotypical motives.
Not a book I would recommend to anyone but the author’s hardcore fans, and not a series I am interested in continuing reading.
1 out of 5 stars.