Read Time: 3 Minutes
If you’re looking for an easy science fiction tale that doesn’t take things too seriously, then Starlite by Jonathan Latt is for you. Set hundreds of years into humanity’s future, it has a charming kind of retro-futuristic vibe to it that I loved.
Primarily the story follows Bevil Cyrex, a young man trying to make his fortune in the galaxy while avoiding responsibilities and dodging marriage arrangements being made by his mother. Humanity has reached the stars, and some portion of us (collectively known as Star Folk) have decided that living on hulking great spaceships was the way to go rather than settling down on planets.
Bevil is the son of a ship captain, and one day could inherit the title, but he’s got things he’d rather be doing. While mining an asteroid, he stumbles upon a somewhat more illegal but potentially better score. Things happen, and next thing he’s stuck in the middle of the deep black abyss of space with a dwindling power supply and no way to get home.
This is where he happens upon a Starlite. Before the invention of warp drives to jump through space, technological limitations created a need for full-service waystation type hotels in deep space. The Starlite chain of stations were the premier chain. These were all put out of business once warp technology came in and stripped for parts, all except the Starlite Bevil finds looks to have been forgotten about and abandoned just as construction was finished.
Through rights of salvage, he claims the pristine, if technologically backward, station as his own. There, with a swarm of nanobots that resemble his grandmother for some reason, Bevil stakes his claim on the salvaged station with eyes on making it habitable for Star Folk and other explorers like him.
What follows is a fast-paced plot interweaved with space battles, family dramas, and overcoming past prejudices and tragic histories to make for a story that I didn’t want to stop listening to.
The sci-fi isn’t too high-tech so we don’t get bogged down in details. For the most part, how a lot of things work is briefly explained before moving on. It’s more of a slice-of-life type science fiction where the hero is thrust into adventure and decides to run a hotel rather than go off being a hero.
The various supporting characters were believable, all with their own unique backgrounds and stories. Light humour sprinkled throughout which gave me some genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
The narration by Dallin Bradford was well done with excellent production value. No noticeable background noises, retakes, or things of that nature. A clean read with appropriate pacing.
The story wrapped up nicely while also leaving me wanting more! There are enough open questions of larger battles and struggles to come that point towards at least another book, so there may be another visit to Starlite station in my future.