Star Runner
by B. V. Larson
Author's Description:
“Two centuries after humanity colonized the stars, new dangers emerge. The peaceful inhabitants of the Conclave are threatened by expanding alien powers. Invaders threaten the star cluster, attacking our fringe settlements.
Captain Bill Gorman has mysteriously disappeared. His clone, set aside for a dark day like this, awakens and begins to put together the pieces. What’s gone wrong out on the frontier? Why are our colonies being attacked by aliens while the Conclave worlds dream of better days? And what happened to the original Captain Gorman?”
Captain Bill Gorman has mysteriously disappeared. His clone, set aside for a dark day like this, awakens and begins to put together the pieces. What’s gone wrong out on the frontier? Why are our colonies being attacked by aliens while the Conclave worlds dream of better days? And what happened to the original Captain Gorman?”
My Review - Rating - 7/10
Overall, Star Runner is a decent read but not the best work BV Larson has done. The plot - an interstellar smuggler caught up in a titanic clash between humanity and an alien menace - is interesting, but the book overall isn’t amazing. Not bad, just not great. The book is well-paced, pretty well written, and interesting, but it’s missing an important element of any good story: good characters. I’ve read BV Larson’s other series (Undying Mercenaries series and the Starforce series), and they are way better than Star Runner just because their characters are so much better. Don’t get me wrong, Larson tries to make good characters in this book, and comes close to succeeding. Each character is unique and interesting, but I didn’t really care about them or if they lived or died in this book. I think the reason for that is because none of them are very relatable or flawed. They all have character flaws, but none of their flaws impact the story in any way, and they don’t have to overcome any of their flaws to succeed. Their flaws are just another part of the characters’ oddities, instead of a challenge to be faced. The best character progression the reader gets is Captain Gorman’s change from a smuggler with a heart of stone to a genuine protagonist, but even that takes place over a long period of time, and there is no real conflict that arises from his change of heart. Overall, I’d rate this book a 7/10 because it’s not bad, but by no means a great book. If you’re looking for a good sci-fi adventure that’s more on the individual level and from the perspective of a “grunt”, then go check out Larson’s series Undying Mercenaries, which is one of my all-time favorites. If you’re looking for more of a broad, strategic, sci-fi adventure, then go check out the Starforce series, which is also by Larson. Both of those series are a better read than this, but if you’ve gone through those and want more books by Larson, then check out this book for an ok but only ok read.
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