I had misgivings about reviewing this novel because of the roughness of the manuscript. However, the Reedsy organization has presented it to me as being worthy of a review, and so I will give it one.

This is a sweet, feel-good story of the softest of YA Science Fiction, typified by a complete absence of any scientific veracity. It’s the kind of story where people pop out for a jaunt to a galaxy 13,000 light years away and expect to be home by supper.

And the strange thing about it is that it works. By the time we’ve invested a couple of chapters in a weirdo Space Aliens fan with a talent for public relations and an even more far-fetched alien killing machine who longs for personal fulfillment, we’re hooked.

This writer has an unerring technique for creating just the right character for each role. Each has just the right level of quirkiness, vulnerability, and heroism that endears us from the beginning. As new characters appear, each one shows up just when that sort of person is needed, and the reader once again breathes a sigh of relief that now all will be well. And hanging over this gentle group of misfits is the threat of an intergalactic horde of killing machines.

Another strength of the story is the multiple-level structure of the conflict, the philosophies, and the scale of the action. All these elements are wound together in a ballet of intergalactic intrigue, clashing personalities, and both deep and simple philosophies.

 A less successful technique is the different speaking styles of the separate aliens, and the variety of writing styles of the distinct sections of the story. Chapter 1 reads like a realistic alien encounter book. Chapter 2 is all-in Hard Sci-Fi Space Opera. The “overseers of the galaxy” race speak in tangled poetic style, in keeping with the esoteric nature of their thoughts.

Unfortunately, there has been too little effort made to smooth out the writing so that the reader can concentrate on the characters and the story. I will not bore you with complaints, but this reads like a good first draft of what could become a wonderful tale.

Properly edited and proofed, this novel should top the ranks of five-stars. The numerous plot holes, grammar errors, typos and mangled sentences are so distracting that I can only give it a three.

3 stars

This review was first posted on Reedsy Discovery