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Star Compass
Anthea Sharp, author
Steampunk meets Space Opera in this thrilling tale of adventure and romance…
Diana Smythe was a child of the nobility… once. Now the streetrat known as Diver, she spends her days picking pockets, and her nights gazing at the galaxy overhead, dreaming of the day she’ll escape Earth for a brighter future among the stars.
Derek Byrne polices the grimy streets around the Southampton Spaceport, trying to keep the gangs in line and the gutters clear of riffraff. When his path crosses Diana’s, he sees beyond her masculine disguise and catches a glimpse of the remarkable young lady hiding beneath the rags and bravado.
But Derek has his own dark secrets, and when Diana averts a near-disaster at the Spaceport, fate flings them along a trajectory that will lead them to adventure, romance – and peril beyond their wildest imaginings.
Space Opera with a Steampunk twist, from USA Today bestselling author Anthea Sharp! Enter the world of Victoria Eternal, where alien spacecraft meets Victorian sensibilities, ball gowns and manners mix with intergalactic travel, and the mysteries of the human heart remain unchanged.
Plot/Idea: 8 out of 10
Originality: 7 out of 10
Prose: 9 out of 10
Character/Execution: 9 out of 10
Overall: 8.25 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot: The mix of old-fashioned slum-level criminality and futuristic space technology works well, and Diana is very appealing as she takes her remarkable journey from up, to down, to up again, despite the struggles she faces staying on top.
Prose: Sharp offers crisp, lucid, straightforward writing that keeps the reader turning pages.
Originality: The street urchin of noble birth-meets-interplanetary-adventures isn't a singular concept, but the author offers a fine and engaging rendering of familiar Steampunk tropes.
Character Development: The author provides substantially clever, subtle descriptions of character growth from Diana, Derek, and Tipper.
Date Submitted: August 25, 2019