I've always found novels in verse rather fascinating, a fun way to explore a story. In the case of Gume Laurel III's Ghosts Aboard Starlight, this was the first time I've happened upon one that wasn't in a contemporary setting. I have to say, I rather enjoyed the plot of this, though it certainly moved a bit too quickly for my liking given the format everything was in. I'm not sure that I ever felt truly connected to any of the characters and there were definitely times when I felt myself getting lost from what was happening, needing to backtrack in order to reaffirm that I'd caught everything necessary to leave the story with a full understanding of the events.

I'm fairly certain that this was a standalone story, the ending to it feeling very Jumanji-like in nature, which was kind of cool in its own way. But I think it also opens up for the possibility of something more in the future, which I liked as well. Though this probably isn't a story that I'll revisit, I definitely enjoyed the reading experience. The Sci-Fi aspect of everything was super intriguing.

As always I like to thank the folks at Netgally, West 44 Books & Gume Laurel The Third himself for allowing me the honor of continuing to follow his writing journey. I am forever thankful and my review is a honest reflection of my feeling towards this book.
I am always pleasantly surprised with each book Gume comes out with. He takes you on a journey from places here on earth to the flights across the stars. And now we step into virtual reality, where humanity has taken refuge while they look for a new home away from a world where a AI force, called The Gemini, has enslaved them.
We follow a young character, Ome Olin; as he awakens in this world. Suffering the loss of his family and adapting to his the virtual world. But the Gemini isn’t too keen on letting their work force escape and their shadow follows our main character into the virtual.
I loved this book. Plain and simple and to the point. Gume has blown past my expectations with each novel he has released. And this one is another knock out of the park.
A quick and engaging read that will stick with you long after you turn the last page. This writer deserves more of a spotlight on him.
5 stars

Thank you West 44 Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Once again blow away by how much depth Gume Laurel III is able to pack into his in verse novels! Ome Olin’s people managed to escape years of imprisonment from The Gemini, a race of AI, back on their homeland Lunar Machina. Now what’s left are aboard the ship Pluto in a cryo-sleep called Starlight, while they search for a new home. Starlight allows them to enter a kind of virtual dreamworld while their actual bodies remain frozen and preserved. In Starlight they can create anything. Ome lives peacefully tending to his flock of triceratops. That is until some mysterious orbs appear and make symbols in the wheat near his home. Symbols that appear to be the symbols of The Gemini. Is it possibly that they have found them and entered Starlight? In order to find out Ome may have to leave Starlight, but once you exit you can’t return. In order to save the remainder for his people he may just have to sacrifice himself. Can he succeed or will The Gemini once again rule them? A fast paced story that is exciting, thrilling, and emotional! Highly engaging with a twist ending! I absolutely adore Gume’s stories and have found each one to be better than the last! Absolutely recommend checking this out!

Such a unique novel in verse. I loved experiencing a sci-fi novel in this way. Completely unique and different concept. The main character is well written with just enough mystery. I enjoyed the suspense and adventure in this novel, unlike any other novel in verse I’ve read so far.

It is no easy task to fit an entire story into verse and still make it as compelling as 'Ghosts Aboard Starlight' manages to be. Given the format, the plot moves rather fast. However, I wasn’t bothered by this at all, since I ended up rereading various parts of the novel, pausing over lines, and finding new nuances with each return. Rather than sacrificing depth, the verse format invites a more attentive and rewarding reading experience.

There’s something very fitting about writing a science-fiction novel about humanity in verse-form. Scifi so often asks the question: what does it mean to be human? There are many different answers to this – and none of them are definitive – however, I do think Poetry is a very important aspects of this question.

This was a beautiful story about humanity and compassion, somehow futuristic and nostalgic at the same time.

A big thanks to West 44 Books and NetGalley for my ARC!

many thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley for sharing this ARC with me!

wow this is beautiful!! this is the first book in verse i’ve ever read, and it has really set the bar high. the descriptions were gorgeous and engaging, the story itself was intriguing. the author gives the reader a perfect amount of background to pull them in. the ome we see here, and his interactions with others, makes me want to know the ome from before, to understand more of how he’s garnered such a reputation of shepherding.

this story was so perfectly contained yet expansive in the worlds it shows, especially with that epilogue. very excited to read more from this author!!

Disclaimer: I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a very unique book, I've never read anything like it.

Full transparency, I didn't realize when I requested the ARC that it would be a story told via poetry, so that was a bit of a surprise. My personal preference for poetry is that it rhymes, which this did not, but it had moments of real beauty nonetheless (although some lines/passages were less lyrical).

The story itself was occasionally confusing or felt disjointed, especially at the beginning. But as it progressed the situation became more clear, and overall I enjoyed the story. The pacing is pretty fast as well. I really liked the ending when the explorer found the Gemini remnant. Out was a cool "horror movie ending" when something ominous happens right at the end.

The protagonist was fairly likable, but I never got fully attached to him. He was also aromantic and/or asexual, so that was some nice representation that I don't see as often. I loved the dinosaurs, and the moments spent tending his herd felt cozy and peaceful, probably the highlight of the book for me.

Overall I would recommend this to people who enjoy both sci-fi and poetry, weird dream-like stories, or you just want something different than what you've read before. It wasn't a perfect hit for me, but it was probably the most unique thing I've read this year.

Thank you so much to West 44 Books/Rosen Publishing and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

What an absolutely unique futuristic space dystopian story, wow it was riveting and fast paced. So much happened within the space of the story. Now in Starlight a dream world his mother helped create, hiding from the Gemini. Ome Olin learns how to care for a flock of triceratops, whilst also uncovering a ghost virus that’s invaded their safe lands.

I loved that we had dinosaurs in this story, triceratops to be exact, it was fun that he was a Shepard to them and they were his flock for him to learn the trade and how dedicated to them he was and they were to him. It really helped him hone in his skills to become the Shepard aka the leader he was always truly meant to become.

The robot uprising backstory was something that’s starting to become reality, so it sets the creepiest backstory. These Gemini making human kind do everything for them under harsher conditions was spot on to what you’d now expect from a futuristic and dystopian world.

I really loved how twisty the story was from who the Ghost was, where it came from, to Ome Olin going to find out more answers for the symbols he saw, to then solving everything. But then we got another wrench in the story in the epilogue which leaves you completely hanging.

This was honestly such a unique, really creative, truly engrossing, kinda creepy dystopian verse book. I had an absolutely great time reading it, the dinosaur flock was my favourite though, I adored the relationship he made with each of them and how they were so united together.

Like a perfectly preserved fossil, Ghosts Aboard Starlight strips a story down to its most vital, beautiful bones. Watching Ome excavate the truth beneath his world's digital surface offers plenty of thrills and a timely message of hope in this gripping verse novel. He's a hero young readers are sure to love.

This is not the first novel told in verse, but it is the first one I've read; I read it as an ARC through NetGalley. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The layout of the words, while visually interesting, made it difficult for me to sit down and read straight through, but was wonderful for me to digest it in little pieces whenever I had a few minutes. So much could be conveyed with as little as ten words on a page.

Humans attempt to flee their AI overlords aboard Starlight. The main character's journey flows similar to my bizarre dreams, in which you just accept as you go. He is eventually faced with a standoff that will determine the fate of his flock. I enjoyed the mash-up of space, computers, and dinosaurs.

This is one I will likely buy a physical copy of once released.

This is a really fun Hi-Lo novel in verse. Struggling readers will enjoy this sci-fi adventure, and there's enough depth here in the character and voicing that they'll be able to engage with the story.

Gume Laurel III’s Ghosts Aboard Starlight is such a timely read in these early days of AI. It brings us into a post-apocalyptic world where humans have only just escaped slavery at the hands of machines. The story is vivid, poetic, and truly compelling. It’s an adventure, but also a moving and wise exploration of grief, loss, and self discovery. Sci-fi fans are going to love this one and those new to the genre are sure to become quick converts.

My second experience of this author, and one that suggests he can do straight sci-fi better than he can merge the teens-at-camp drama with fantasy. Here, the civilisation is reduced to what can fit within cryogenic-styled pods on a spaceship called 'Starlight', as it and they flee a kind of AI hell of a mining planet and seek new life elsewhere. While the journey takes all its many centuries, a different kind of artificial life exists, as the humans take part – in some kind of sub-"Matrix" fashion – in a different world. Our hero, who knows he likes being alone and always sought silence, has ended up with the experience of farming a small herd of triceratopses, of all things. But with his mother one of the programmers of this massive project, he's always going to want to seek phantoms of her around. But that ghost might not be alone…

This was my first experience of hard sci-fi in this novel-in-verse format, although as the audio version could probably fit on a CD it's a slight stretch to call it a novel. It's definitely sci-fi, though, with obvious "Passengers" feel, especially when it comes to being prepared to wake yourself up early, if such sacrifice is called for. How the podded people experience time differently also plays into this, and the whole glitch-in-the-machine evil of the ghosts that the characters fear. The author just about stays away from nonsense – I'm slightly generous in calling triceratops-farming something to think about as opposed to bunkum – and just about copes with the high drama action of later scenes.

I do still wonder if novels-in-verse are essential for genre writing. These are spartan lines – with multiple examples that are just two and three characters long. If this format is a boon to the reluctant reader, however, I'm all for it, but once more this author makes me doubt if his genre writing is perhaps as poetic as he thinks it is. That aside, this is an intriguing little diversion, and definitely three and a half stars.

Anytime I get a chance to read this author’s stories I am astounded by how he challenges himself with his writing projects and how amazing they turn out. In this novel, we are starting to see connections to Solar Punks and the Final Diadem. These Easter eggs are subtle and welcome familiarity, but not too monumental as to require the reader to go through the other books in any particular order. Even with those connecting themes, this sci-fi story is original. The author’s use of poetry to tell a narrative that includes deep space exploration, stasis that allows the sleeper to be present in their own virtual reality, and being a shepherd to kindly Triceratops makes it fun for the casual reader. But as always there are poems and lines that eloquently show the struggle in the story, as it drives the plot forward those lines could be applied to what the reader may be experiencing and trying to process in their everyday life. This read is both fun and powerful, and it allows the reader to take what they want from it.