Patricia Lee Macomber is the author of a dozen novels. Star Quest: All That Remains was published in 2020 and is the second in her Star Quest series. It is the 16th book I completed reading in 2023.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this novella as G. The main character is Captain Steve Hunter of the starship Endeavor.

The Endeavor comes across an alien spacecraft. It is adrift, and they investigate. They find the entire crew dead. The Endeavor’s physician, Dr. Klein, has ruled out a virus or other biological cause. The only unusual thing noticed was the dust that permeated the alien ship. After the team investigating the alien spacecraft returns to the Endeavor, strange things begin happening.

Crew members act differently, and Endeavor’s course is changed. The dust is seen on the Endeavor as well. The crew comes to the conclusion that it is a unique life form. After arriving at the alien home world, Hunter and Commander Bishop travel to the surface. They are welcomed at first, but then both are imprisoned.

Will the crew of the Endeavor regain control and be able to save Hunter and Bishop?

I enjoyed the 4.5+ hours I spent reading this 155-page science fiction novella. I thought long and hard about calling a Rule of 50 on this, but because of its short length I persisted to the end. It reminded me a lot of the Original Star Trek TV episode, but it felt like a satire of them. The chosen cover art is engaging. I give this novel a rating of 3 out of 5

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I really liked the look of this book. Now I am going to hunt out the first book of the series. Then I will read it properly.

Thank you for sending me this ARC.

A few concise opening paragraphs introduce readers to the second installment of intergalactic adventures with Commander Cara Bishop and company. It works as a stand-alone in which crisis management is the focus and romance is mostly implied as Cara and her superior officer, Captain Steve Hunter, lead the Endeavor on an exploratory mission that crosses paths with a mysterious ghost ship. What happened? Where's its home origin? Answering these and other key questions while juggling the professional, technical, and personal demands of moving through space expands the scope of the mystery, and magnifies the interpersonal dynamics between the crew members.

Star Trek, Westworld, The Twilight Zone and more, this author's engaging space opera offers nods to staple tropes and themes in the SciFi genre with quirky fun. The tight, brisk narrative pace at the beginning starts to slow around the midpoint. Noticeable procedural oddities by crew members, and conflict resolutions that seem a bit too tidy detract from the strengths of distinctive characterizations, balanced integration of science and technology with messy human drama, and insightful world building. Star Quest: All That Remains takes readers on an entertaining imaginary jaunt.

this was an enjoyable read and had what I was looking for in a scifi story, The series is great and I really enjoyed going on this journey with these characters.

I always enjoy SciFi that is basically episodic. Doesn't always have to be epic adventures, but just a tight adventure, that can be loads of fun. Well written, well developed characters, great book.

STAR QUEST: ALL THAT REMAINS is the second book in the STAR QUEST series by Patricia Lee Macomber. The Star Quest series is a idealized Star Trek-esque space opera about the first human interstellar starship. It is sent out into the Great Beyond after mankind barely manages to repel an alien invasion. It has a ANOTHER LIFE and STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE-esque feel, though far more entertaining than both are for me.

Captain Hunter and the crew of the Endeavor are really good Federation-esque citizens, which contributes to its Star Trek pastiche-esque flabor. This isn't an insult but a compliment as Star Trek is one of the most influential series of all time but very few science fiction series really "get it." Too often, they get it only superficially similar or outright invert its themes to something more cynical.

Star Quest really is an homage the way THE ORVILLE is but lacking Seth MacFarland's toilet humor. Instead, this is coming from a place of love and really shows with every page. It's about a bunch of scientists and explorers treading into the unknown in order to see what is out there. They're also just really nice people and that has a lot of merit to it by itself.

They may not be the most dynamic or flawed bunch but I could easily imagine myself watching a Amazon or Netflix show about them. After having watched endless parades of antiheroes, its nice to have a bunch of people without overwhelming amounts of baggage.

This book deals with the crew coming across a space vessel where the entire crew has seemingly died for no reason. It's a classic sci-fi TV plot and Patricia Macomber gives her own spin on the ghost vessel storyline. It also climaxed in a way that I felt was very true to the setting and themes that the Star Quest series is apparently working on.

If I had one small complaint about the book, it feels more like the next episode of the Star Quest television series than the next book in an ongoing literature series. That's not necessarily a bad thing as I love Peter David's NEW FRONTIERS books that were similarly self-contained science fiction adventures. I wouldn't mind a bit more character development, though. Either way, this was a solid and entertaining story.