Thank you Netgalley for this arc!

So i am loving scifi done right by women....this is a concept that i find isnt as prevalent as i would like. This though, this is a strong start to what I hope will be a massive hit. The world building, immaculate. The characters, on point. The plot, concise. This isnt a book that dilly dallies, therefore the pacing ties it all together in a lovely way. Is this the authors debut? i am a new fan

As a fan of O'Keefe's "The Protectorate" trilogy, I was very much looking forward to reading her next project.. "The Blighted Stars" opens a new story in a new universe where 'cradles', or livable planet atmospheres, are being mysteriously wiped out by a killer lichen. The universe is run by a plutocracy of wealthy companies that oversees scientific discovery, military branches, and space exploration. While I enjoyed some of the ideas presented, overall this book fell short of what I was hoping it could be.

At the start, we're treated to two major POVs, with an occasional 'AI-gaining-sentience' viewpoint that I found fascinating. Unfortunately we don't visit this character as much as I would have liked. My biggest issue with the book was connecting with any of these characters. There was an underlying mystery of what's really going on behind the scenes, but characters living in printed bodies made their true motivations murky. It was difficult tracking what some of these characters truly wanted, where they came from, and why. Identity and loyalty are major themes of the story, but being held in the dark created an uncrossable disconnect for me.

Your results may vary, as O'Keefe crafts a compelling narrative and the mystery is a good one. But I had a hard time staying interested in the fates of these characters.

This is one of my first reads by O'Keefe--I own Velocity Weapon but I have yet to get to it. I am even more excited for it now, though, because I liked The Blighted Stars so much. The world-building was so engrossing, and I loved the addition and discussion on the lives of trans people in the world. I thought that this inclusion felt genuine, and not...gimmicky or merely checking off a box. I love seeing representation, especially in one of my most beloved genres. As someone who works in a library, this is also something I am thrilled at seeing because it allows more people to read and connect with different stories and the lives of people different from ourselves. So, like I am with any stories that include solid rep., I am thrilled to get these physical copies in!
Outside of the incredible world-building, I really loved the characters (especially Tarquin and Naira). I thought that they were really compelling and interesting, and well-written. They fit so well into the world and the gripping plot, it was amazing.
Overall, really excited to get to read more from this author and I can't wait to show these off at the library once it's released!

Science fiction romance is a hugely underrated genre - it’s not tough to find a fantasy romance these days, but focused romance on the SF side of the SFF category is elusive. Enter Megan O’Keefe! While not billed as such, this mysterious journey to unravel the secret behind a planet-destroying fungi contains an unexpectedly tender relationship between two people of vastly different worlds. Tarquin is the prince of a billionaire’s empire, and Naira is a rebel defector dead set against the corporate conglomerate Tarquin represents. While often couched in corny dialogue and silly tropes, their evolving feelings really anchor the frightening, zombie-like “misprints” and complex political machinations of the ruling families.

I wouldn’t go into this expecting anything groundbreaking story or world-building wise: while the killer fungi was a fun twist and makes for a horrific enemy, much of the world and society is ill-defined. I enjoyed more so the implications of the society than the precise mechanics of it: for example, how perceptions of death and humanity are eroded when dying is relative and bodies are disposable. There were also details I wish had been given more depth: Tarquin’s transness and foundation dedicated to matching trans youth with their preferred bodies is a wonderful character detail, but is skipped over and not really paid much attention after the initial reveal.

Maybe not the heaviest book plot wise, and surprisingly long and dense for the amount of action that occurs, but worth a read for anyone interested in a dash of romance in their space adventures. Without giving any spoilers, the ending served one of my all time FAVORITE romance tropes and I can’t wait to see how it changes things in Book 2

Actual rating: 4.5/5 stars.

I have started (but haven't yet finished) O'Keefe's other scifi series, Chaos Vector. I really enjoyed that one and intend to continue, but I was excited when I got this ARC. Like their other work, this scifi has multiple points-of-view, including Naira Sharp, a woman who used to be a soldier working the Mercators, one of the all-powerful corporate families, but turned eco-terrorist when she realized that the methods by which the Mercators mine for valuable minerals was destroying all life on the various worlds where they operate. The other main POV is Tarquin Mercator, the youngest child of the head of the very same family who testified against Naira Sharp and made the universe believe she was wrong about the destruction the Mercators left in their wake. Also, I appreciated the diversity included here, as it was at first hinted at (then confirmed) that Tarquin is a trans man.

Naira and Tarquin are thrown together on another dying world after Naira's plan to sabotage the mining operation go awry and Tarquin tries to uncover the truth behind the Mercators' power. They are thrown into an extreme survival situation with rogue AI, unstable and dangerous environments, and, reminiscent of The Last of Us and Kristoff & Kaufman's Aurora Cycle series, a fungus, bent on its own spread, that has decided that humanity cannot be trusted with its own survival. And of course, what could be more conducive to love than such extreme situations with your bitterest enemy?

This was great, packed with action, and I loved Naira and Tarquin. I am looking forward to the sequel.

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 4/5

Thank you Orbit Books for an e-arc in exchange for a review!

"The Blighted Stars" by Megan O'Keefe is a thrilling space opera that will take you on an exhilarating journey through the galaxy.

The story centers around Tarquin Mercator, the son of a rich merchant who is desperate to prove that his family is not the cause of planets dying. Naria is a former employee of Tarquin's father and is the face of the allegations against the Mercators. Thrown together by fate and trying to survive on a dying planet, Tarquin and Naria's journey is one you won't forget.

The characters are extremely well developed. They have character arcs to rival that of *insert your favorite redemption arc here*. There is betrayal, romance, politics, and everything in between that pushes these characters to grow, learn and adapt. I was on the edge of my seat reading the journey of these characters and their relationships to those around them. Their motivations are clear and help drive their arcs. They are likable and relatable at times. Overall, outstanding character-driven plot.

While it takes a few chapters to get into O'Keefe delivers a fast-paced adventure that is sure to thrill. O'Keefe has created a richly detailed and immersive world that will leave you wanting more. Her writing is crisp and engaging, with vivid descriptions that bring the world and characters to life. The action scenes are expertly crafted and will have you on the edge of your seat.

Overall, "The Blighted Stars" is an excellent read that is sure to satisfy fans of space opera and adventure. It's a book that will keep you up late at night, turning pages, and wondering what will happen next. Highly recommended!

The opener to author Megan O’Keefe’s “Devoured Worlds” trilogy, The Blighted Stars sets the stage for a promising series with elements of sci-fi action, mystery and horror, as well as a star-crossed romance between the lead characters and an unusual and imaginatively realized villain hiding in plain sight until a reveal that upends a lot of what was thought to be true.

This review is based on an advance copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley for that purpose. The book will be available on May 23, 2023.

The story begins as two mining ships of the Mercator family arrive at a planet expected to be both a source of the essential element relkatite and a terrestrial refuge for humanity. In due course it’s revealed that Earth and other habitable planets have been blighted by an aggressive lichen known as the shroud, forcing humanity to relocate to space stations. Human society is dominated by five rich and powerful families, of which Mercator is the largest. Each family specializes in one essential area – farming, mining, banking, construction, and medical – which leads to an uneasy peace monitored by spies placed within each by the others.

The origin of shroud, which isn’t harmful to humans and can even be consumed for some nutritional value, is a mystery. But Naira Sharp, the highly skilled former personal bodyguard of the head of Mercator, is sure the family’s relkatite mining is the cause. Just as sure it isn’t is geologist Tarquin Mercator, second-born and only son of family head Acaelus Mercator. Naira paid a high price for betraying the family and it was Tarquin’s testimony that sealed her fate: having her mind put ‘on ice.’

One of the key concepts of the story is the ability of humans to transfer their consciousness, or ‘map,’ into new bodies created by 3D printers. While it seems to be a deus ex machina, the author smartly incorporates negative consequences into the process to keep it from becoming a cure-all. For example, multiple printing is a terrible idea and too many transfers or an especially violent death can result in an unrecoverable insanity known as ‘cracking.’ Of course, in a society dominated by a few powerful families, the process is also quite expensive and minds are left on ice for lack of ‘phoenix’ fees.

The story is lengthy and at times, particularly deep into the slow-burning romance, seems to drag a bit. The ending of The Blighted Stars is quite clever, eschewing a cliffhanger in favor of a general reset that leaves the characters a bit wiser but back at square one for the most part. I’m looking forward to what happens next.

It's hard to put into words quite why this book and I didn't jive as much as I wanted it to. I should have DNF'd, but I kept hoping it would get better, and it really didn't.

There were a lot of moving plotpoints and backstory, and while I felt a lot were done well, I just wanted a little more exploration of what being about to store a mind map and print bodies on command would do to humanity as a whole. Same with the shroud and world collapse. I felt that the things that were explored in depth (Tarquin and Naira's chemistry, eating the shroud, etc) was not what I wanted more of, while other things (immortality, succession, world-building) was not developed nearly as much as I would have liked.

The rationale leading to everything was iffy and I just wasn't able to suspend my disbelief. Additionally, in this world of perfect bodies, the first view of "misprints" felt very ableist. I know they were a zombie-analogy, but again, this is a world where humans are born (??), and if they are privileged their minds are mapped and then reprinted into perfect, flawless bodies, with enhancements built in to make them better. I dunno. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but it is one of the things that I wanted explored a bit more.

There was a lovely note about Tarquin being trans and being able to print into a correct body, but then another comment that it was actually hard to do (?) and expensive, so he had a foundation for it. But after that mention that he used some of his privilege for good, that was dropped. There was much discussion of his privilege throughout the book, but the point of it seemed rather muddled and changed a couple times throughout the book.

A small thing in addition to this was that when Naira is running through the shroud, fighting misprints and escaping at last, this high-speed, low-drag operator believes she could be facing her last moments. So, to make sure that she does not die being ripped apart and eaten alive, this jaw-droppingly intelligent and capable person removes a bullet from her magazine for a last ditch suicide effort. Where does she keep it? Not a pocket, because this is the future and apparently women's apparel is as bereft of pockets as today, but tucked into her mouth like a chipmunk. Then she runs around the jungle with a literal bullet in her mouth, and I dunno about you but I wouldn't want to go into life-threatening battle situations while injured and starved with a cough-drop sized choking hazard anywhere near my throat. But that's just me.

And the relationship between Tarquin and Naira was...cringe-worthy at best.

This book was absolutely incredible. Megan E. O'Keefe had me on my toes for the entire book! I fell in love with Tarquin and Naira, and also with O'Keefe's writing style. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint! I read mostly fantasy and horror, so I don't often stray into the sci-fi area of speculative fiction, and I'm so glad I did. I'm not sure which books could compare to this one, though!

Beyond the incredible characters and world building, O'Keefe also builds an inclusive world. O'Keefe made a point to include a discussion on the lives of trans people in this world, and many of the characters used they/them pronouns. I cannot stress how important this representation is for all readers. So many parallels can be drawn between the class struggles in this book and the real world that are both obvious and nuanced. Megan E. O'Keefe is an incredible writing.

I absolutely will be recommending this book to everyone!

From the publisher: Stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, a spy must survive and uncover a conspiracy in the first book of an epic space opera trilogy.

The Blighted Stars is an enemies to lovers story, although it takes a bit of patience to get there. It’s the future. Earth and many other habitable planets have been “shrouded” by a lichen that consumes everything in its path, turning green worlds into grey ones. Humans have developed technology that allows them to die and be reprinted (like on a 3D printer – yeah, I found this concept hard to wrap my head around).

Powerful families rule humanity. Family members have guards, called Exemplars, who are printed with extra pathways that give them strength and skills. Humanity needs a rare substance called relkatite to enable the current way of life. A rebel group believes that the search for relkatite is tied into the ruination of the habitable planets.

Tarquin Mercator, the son of one powerful leader, goes on a mission to claim a planet for humanity, but upon arrival he and the other crew members find the planet is already shrouded. Guarding Tarquin is an Exemplar who appears to be a woman named Aera Lockhart but who is in fact Naira Sharp, his father’s former Exemplar. A member of the rebellion, she was caught, tried, and “put on ice” so she can’t be reprinted - but who has been printed in the body of another for reasons unknown even to her. Although she served Tarquin’s father for many years, she now has reason to hate the whole family.

It’s actually hard to summarize the plot of this book. There is a lot going on, and it goes on for too long before the real action begins about halfway through the book. I found the first couple hundred pages very slow moving. The 3D printing thing is weird. Depending on when you were backed up, you may or may not remember what happened lately if you die. So if, for example, you fall in love with your enemy and are killed before you are backed up, you won’t remember that. Also, if you are killed violently, your neural map “cracks” and you lose your mind and cannot be reprinted. Stuff about the reprinting doesn’t make sense to me (like how a violent death can cause you to crack, and how you can be reprinted in someone else’s body).

I found the plot confusing but also intriguing. There’s a lot of vocabulary that helps with the world building but that needs figuring out. Naira Sharp is a very confident woman. Tarquin Mercator is a bit of a naïf, kept in the dark by his family, an academic who blindly has faith in things he shouldn’t have faith in, but he’s attractive and a nice guy. Their relationship is definitely the highlight of the story, and I’ll probably continue the series just to see what happens there.

I read an advance reader copy of The Blighted Stars. It will be published in late May and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library in print and as an ebook.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I wanted to enjoy it and I normally enjoy the genre and the concept sounded engaging, but it was hard to stick to the story and the writing left me wanting more detail and imagery.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a DNF for me for a couple of reasons that can be boiled down to "cool concept, poor execution." I think this book would be best geared towards people who aren't heavy SFF readers, who may be less familiar with the tropes and story beats.

The Blighted Stars is a great start to O’Keefe’s new trilogy. I’m always apprehensive to start a new space opera because I sometimes get overwhelmed by the world building and introduction of characters in a rapid succession. O’Keefe does an amazing job at developing the world and characters without scaring me off. I also love how O’Keefe weaves a beautiful story that keeps you glued to the pages.

I eagerly am looking forward to the next installments! Thank you for the opportunity to read The Blighted Stars!

I read this all in one go. I found it really engaging, and am excited for the next book. The sample chapter looks promising.

So. Tarquin and his father Acaelus are going to a cradle world (and Earth-line planet) to mine. The Mercator corporation is the exclusive miner of relkatite, a mineral used to form their prints. So far all the other planets they’ve mined have died, and Tarquin hopes they have a better mining process that won't kill the planet. Things are already going weird on the ship, when suddenly their other ship fires on them. Acaelus tries to grab Tarquin and run, leaving the employees to die, but Tarquin has other plans.

Naira was a bodyguard for Acaelus. After eight years bearing witness to his horrible practices, she learned that the Mercator’s mining practice is the cause of the shroud lichen killing cradle worlds. After destroying several ships, she was arrested. At trial, Tarquin testified against her and she was “iced,” meaning her personality was kept in storage and not placed into a new body. Things get worse for her.

As the Amaranth is exploding, Naira gets printed into Tarquin's bodyguard. She doesn’t know how or why. She aids an evacuation and they crash land on the planet where she continues her subterfuge, and is just generally confused and pissed off.

The planet is supposed to be living, but it has collapsed and is covered in lichen. Pretty much everything about the mission has gone wrong. Creepy stuff starts happening.

There are some SF tropes, like world-killing lichen and ansibles and plot stuff, but the author takes familiar things in interesting directions. People can send their neural maps via ansible, for example, but it comes with risks.

I thought it was odd that <spoiler> no one searched the Amaranth's debris. They saw a lot of it burning, but I don’t recall anyone salvaging from it.</spoiler>

Tarquin is trans, and started a foundation to get trans kids printed into the right bodies. This was a clever use of tech. It only comes up in passing, but I thought it was a neat detail. I really like the direction SF has taken the past few years with respect to gender, creating worlds where we've made this one thing wholly accepted. What a relief that would be.

I thought the world building was cool, but lacked some details. Five corporate families basically rule humanity, but how do they actually run it? Is it just their private armies? Is there any actual law? Minds are uploaded and bodies are printed. Are prints even the same people, or just copies as the name indicates? The book doesn't really explore the meaning of this kind of technology. Can we even say the characters are the same people once they're reprinted? What are the resource concerns with this new longevity?

There is a little romance too, which I thought was sweet. It doesn't take up that much time since the focus is clearly on surviving and figuring out what's going on.

Tarquin was too naive, too indifferent to his privilege and the cost at which it came. He's in a sort of extended childhood, despite being in his thirties, which might come with people living well into their hundreds, if not longer. I liked his rock-obsessed POV though, and I think he and Naira worked well together in the story and as characters.

I love Pliny and would like my own.

I've never read any of the author's other books, so I'll probably check them out while waiting for the sequel.

A strong story written by a talented author. This kept me engaged, and had a satisfying ending. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

It's been a long time since I said out loud "Wow this is a good book". The Blighted Stars is a long awaited book after a few years of pretty generic science fiction. Is this book still filled with tropes? Sure. BUT it's done in a pretty unique fashion and I had no clue where the story was going to go and the antagonist introduction changes some of the book's earlier chapters. I'm concerned that the author may not know how to fully develop her characters (they were growing more attracted to each other over the course of the book) and I worry that it diminishes the actual motives and actions of the characters. Of course, it might be the influence of the antagonist now that I think of it!

All that said, this book is a great book and I highly recommend it.

I love space operas, but they're so often either written by the same person (Jessie Mihalik, I am so grateful, queen <3) or just very similar to other space operas. I read Rules of Redemption, I read Grimspace, I read Hunt the Stars. They're good! But have either similar world-building or similar character types. Badass FMC, quiet and strict but badass MMC who also is usually in a leadership position, cast of likable but often forgettable side characters. There's usually an alien race or two, space stations, and faster-than-light travel. The plot is often a bit shallow because the romance is the focus. These are all fine, but reading very similar things over and over again can be fatiguing.

The Blighted Stars is not these other space operas. Everything about it was fresh and exciting, to me.

Naira Sharp, the FMC, is strong and a badass, but still feels emotions other than anger and is the opposite of the often-disenchanted FMC type. She mourns every kill she makes and refuses to let go of her humanity. She's a rebel because she doesn't want corporate greed to destroy any more planets or kill any more people. Tarquin Mercator, the MMC, is a gentler, more bookish type who can't fill the role his family wants him too, but also doesn't really want to. He's doesn't like the way his father treats their workers as expendable, and avoided responsibility in his family's business by supporting them with research at a university. I liked that Tarquin and his father, though they are incompatible, love and support each other very much. Tarquin, more than Naira, was such a relief of a character to read, after all those Torrans and Graydons. Their relationship is the crux of this book, but the balance of romance and plot is perfect. It is angsty and it is a sloooooow burn.

And the plot! The world-building! A queer-normative universe with multiple enby side-characters and a transgender MMC. A government conglomerate that is obfuscated by an oligarchy of corporations run by a group of families that ironically spells out MERIT. People's neural maps can be digitally uploaded so that bodies are replaceable, if you can afford the fees, but those maps can be corrupted. This piece of the world-building is very cleverly utilized. Fungus is the enemy, but not in the way you'd expect. There are brief sequences that imply a ship's AI is gaining sentience, and it's totally baller. The last quarter of the book was a total mindfuck, but the science itself was easy to follow. There IS a lot of science though, like some other reviewers mentioned, so if you're not into that, this may not be the book for you. I, personally, enjoyed it.

I wasn't super into The Blighted Stars for the first 15-20% (there was a lot of world-building and plot-establishing to get the ball rolling), but once the book started developing the characters, I was hooked. I devoured it (a 500+ page book!) in only a few days. This might be a more niche read, but I was in love. If anyone's taste is like mine, I would 100% recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit Books for the ARC!

Blighted Stars

I was introduced to this author on a recommendation for a Buddy Read from my friend Grant! That was December of last year with Velocity Weapon , I went in kicking and screaming inside my head! And I Loved it!!!!

So when I saw this on NetGalley and got it for a read!

So the story premise starts with Mining an obscure mineral called relatite. Kaboom 💥

So you take technology and add a human greed , usually that never ends well!!

In her last series we were always in space, in this one there is duality! Of planet and space!

All of O’Keefe’s protagonists and supporting characters are always top notched.. and flawed! Which is why I like them! In this case a Rebel and a Prince.. what a pairing!!

Over all I loved it I give this 4.5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this for an honest review!

This book basically sounded like an adult version of These Broken Stars to me, and I was really excited for it. But I found the worldbuilding to be a little convoluted: things were explained eventually, but it took long enough that I was confused for a good part of this book. I also thought that we were kind of thrown into the middle of the action after a lot of Naira's experiences had already happened. I did really like Naira; I thought she was an incredibly complex and well-developed character

The Blighted Stars is the first book in a new epic space opera trilogy. From the start, the world building and scene setting is excellent. I honestly felt like I was on Sixth Cradle with the characters. The character development throughout the book is also extremely well-done. The reader gets to really know both Naira and Tarquin throughout their POV chapters. For me, its the little extras that the author adds that really help the reader get to know these characters. For example, Tarquin's relationship with Pliny the Metal. I actually had tears in my eyes by the end. In addition to the two main POVs, there are a few chapters from Tarquin's father (the almighty Mercator) and from the Einkorn, a spaceship with AI (I thoroughly enjoyed these chapters). And, of course, there is the plot. It's an intriguing mystery of why these worlds are dying.

Naira and Tarquin are, essentially, enemies who find themselves deserted on a dead planet. They need to work together not only to survive but also to solve the mystery and get off the planet. There is a slow-burn enemy-to-lover trope throughout.

The only issue I had with the book was the pacing. There were sections where I couldn't put the book down and I went from chapter to chapter. Then, there were sections that I struggled to force myself through. I knew there would be more excitement, answers, and character interactions ahead, but it was just a slog to get to.

Overall, I'll be recommending The Blighted Stars to anyone looking for a start to a new thrilling space opera series.