Whether you've read the first book or not, Light Fighters will become a cornerstone in the futurist fantasy genre for you. This book is the opposite of a fast read, but you'll still wish it was longer. Here are some considerations:

- Cons -

1) Significant length. The storyline is masterfully done, but (like Gorgeous George R.R. Martin) Pickering doesn't take any shortcuts when it comes to length.

- Pros -

1) Pickering has created a world that shapes deep and interesting characters... characters you literally love and literally hate.

2) Pickering's scenes and set pieces further the story in ways that are unexpected yet plausible in context. It's an immersive ride. Turning the last page feels like the end of a great journey.

3) Light Fighters' subject matter is anything but light. For those who read the first book.... prepare yourselves. The most pivotal scenes spur serious thought, and that's a rarity these days.

Space opera: this is a thing? Space opera is a thing! And if LIGHT FIGHTERS is any indication it’s a thing I’ll most certainly revisit. Dystopian with high stakes and a shockingly adversarial lunar setting, this story was as electrifying as the book was thick.

My copy clocked in at 778 pages, a formidable brick requiring a big deep breath before starting. As the magical skills of Torr and Cassidy ineffably fight their way to the surface, the two heroes find themselves beset by threats both obvious and insidiously latent.

The world introduced to readers in Book One, MOON DEEDS, takes some getting used to. It is perilous and vast, filled with layered players whose true motivations unfold amid cruelty and suspicion.

With Cassidy missing, Torr spends a lot of Book Two navigating slippery power dynamics—naturally a bit guarded, he must learn to lead as he struggles to master his own fantastic powers. Make Superman confused by his own eye lasers and put him in charge of an underdog militia: suddenly body slamming Lex Luthor isn’t so simple.

LIGHT FIGHTERS is a tremendous achievement in imagination and world building. The story is fully immersive with persistent action that is sure to evoke strong emotional reactions. In the creation of an aggressively entertaining sci-fi universe, the author’s ambitions are achieved. To Book Three and beyond, the stars are the limit.

Great book! The story was okay but the characters are the most interesting element in it. The world building is a little slow but that's not exactly a bad thing. The writing is great as well.

Read the series in order as to not be lost. Love this series! Great science fiction! Excellent characters who are so human they become real to readers! Good story plot. A long read but so worth the time! Thanks #netgalley and #IBPA for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

4/5 Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This the second installment of Palmer Pickering’s Star Children Saga and it is not a stand-alone. Much of the background given in the first book is needed for full enjoyment of this book. Where the first book may have been enjoyed by a YA audience, this is definitely an adult book which deals with the issues of kidnapping, rape, drug addiction, and prostitution.

Cassidy and Torr’s story continues where the first book left off. Cassidy has been kidnapped and Torr and friends are recovering from the beating they took trying to defend against her being taken. Cassidy shows her strength and maturity when dealing with her imprisoner. She bides her time working on her water scrying until an opportunity for a safe escape presents itself. Unfortunately, she has been forced into a drug addiction which is difficult to overcome.

Once back with the gang, everyone realizes that there is safety in numbers, and that every member must be ready to fight. Members of their group have different skills to offer and they embark on a training program where they teach and learn from each other to make everyone a capable fighter. Some of the descriptions of their training became tedious for this reader, but I’m sure others might find them fascinating. Much of the skill descriptions come into actual use later in the story.

It is becoming apparent that Cassidy and Torr are indeed the fabled Star Children. Torr discovers and develops his powers which become useful when he is scuttled away for his own safety by the Scrids (another alien race). Cassidy works through her addiction and also develops her unique powers. The twins are reunited at the end of this book where the story obviously will continue on in the third instalment of the Star Children Saga.

The world building continues to fascinate and the character development keeps readers intrigued. There are many other side stories to that of the main plot of the twins and the tale is progressing to what this reader expects to be a crescendo in the next book.

Once again Palmer Pickering caught me by surprise with this one! I found this series on NetGalley just simply browsing. Both books one and two were there so I grabbed them in anticipation of getting to them over a couple of months. I ended up getting ahead of my July TBR so went ahead and started and finished book one last month. I really enjoyed it! So much so that I only waited a week before diving into book two. I was going to hold off because I knew I wouldn't finish it before I had another reading obligation at the beginning of August. I did get half way through and hit the pause button on this one to take care of the other read. As soon as it was done I got right back to Light Fighters!

Palmer did warn me before I began book two that there were some triggers and the story was a bit darker than book one. We've even had a brief conversation about the main trigger (rape) since finishing the book. I don't think it's one to scare away the general reader but for someone who has been through such a tragedy it might be difficult for sure. The incident itself is described fairly graphically but what kept pulling at my heart strings was that the aftermath of that incident continues to surface throughout Cass's story in book two. It never ruined the reading experience for myself it only created more sympathy for her and hatred toward the one who did it to her.

Now onto my usual review. Obviously as previously mentioned this was not a book or series I had heard much buzz about prior to picking it up. I honestly picked them up initially just because the author's name sounded familiar to me and I found out that she hangs out in some of the discord channels that I do. I honestly didn't even know she was an author. I just thought she was another reading lover like so many of us are. I couldn't be more pleased that I took the chance and picked these up. The books are amazing and I've gotten to know the author quite a bit more and it sounds like she has a lot of work yet to come on this series and others!

The pacing was on par or perhaps even slightly better than how I felt towards book one. We definitely have some highs and lows in the story but I didn't feel at any given time that parts I were reading were a slog or boring though. It's almost like it was on a curve with medium pace being the low and then escalating to high from there. I felt that the ending of book one seemed a bit more fitting and less abrupt than book one which was a relief for sure! We were left with such a cliffhanger in book one but this one finished smoothly and simply left me wanting more!

The world building picks up considerably in book two as well. Obviously in book one we learned quite a bit about Earth and it's moon because that is where the story takes place. In this one we still continue to learn more about these two environments but the world itself is beginning to open up more as the characters and story starts to learn more about the History of previous Star Children as well as another planet that we are taken to for the first time since arriving on the moon. This new planet was very fascinating along with it's inhabitants. We also learn much more about Gabira's cave this time around as well!

The character development is great as well. I honestly think its the characters that keep brining me back wanting to keep reading and turning the pages in Light Fighters. We continue to see both Torr and Cass struggle to learn what they are capable of and test the limits of their strength. We also see some supporting characters perform some highly questionable things in book two! And then there is Ridge, I honestly think he is one of if not my favorite character. But as I told Palmer he frustrates me so much! He has many opportunities to try and do the right thing. Often times he does, but then when I think he's becoming one of our protagonists, he goes against that grain again. I still think he is good at heart and look forward to seeing where his story arc ends up eventually.

If you haven't been able to tell yet, I've fallen in love with this series! This truly is one of those rare reads that finds a way to combine science fiction and more traditional fantasy together. I love the space travel along with the more mystical shaman aspects sprinkled throughout. I've grown attached to so many of these characters. I will say the author isn't afraid to break your heart or make you feel for a character before they are either no longer around or they do something to disappoint you. These moments don't go unexplained though. They are eventually explained quite well as to why these moments happened. As of writing this review Light Fighters is currently my favorite read of 2022!!! It actually ranks up there as one of my favorite reads of all time.

To once again use a bit of Palmer's own words, if you think you'd enjoy an epic fantasy built into a science fiction story, this might be right up your alley!

Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced copy of Light Fighters by Palmer Pickering.

This is an absolute gem of a book. It is a wonderful read and it is long, but in the end, it is worth it. The writer is well one of my new authors that are on my "will always buy" list. Sci-Fi readers will love this book (maybe I am just behind in that area). The character development and world-building are amazing. That is a major thing for me. It was also done very well.

Thanks to Palmer Pickering, NetGalley and Mythology Press, for the advanced copy in exchange for honest review. All thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

This is sequel to Palmer's award-winning Moon Deeds (Star Children Saga #1). It's lengthy read, but honestly - it's worth your time if you love Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Pickering has crafted great character development and lush world-building. She has gifted us characters with more depth, ''grey-ness'' and is not afraid to show their flaws. I enjoyed dialogs between Cassidy and Torr, while they experienced thrilling and dangerous events,

I can't write more of my thoughts here without spoiling this compelling story, but this is masterful work in it's own right and genre. I really enjoyed it, thank you Palmer Pickering! <3

It was addicting. I did not want to have to put it down for five minutes because it was just that good.

This is a well-written book with a lot of care and creativity put into the lore, history, setting, and people (including their races). It's a great blend of science fiction and fantasy, mixed with excellent writing and fast descriptions. The dialogue is also good, never feeling awkward or out of place. However, while I do recommend this book for fans of long books with extensive lore and creative worlds, that isn't something I am personally a fan of so I regrettably had to put the book down early. What I did read was excellently done and great for a certain demographic so I wish the author the best. I appreciate the opportunity to review this book. Sadly, the extensive amount of lore just isn't something I'm drawn towards.

An enjoyable and typical fantasy novel. The worldbuilding is detailed and fun to figure out, and the characters are all compelling to rea about. I had so much fun while reading this book!