The Cruel Stars by John Birmingham

A group known as the Sturm once terrorized the Galaxy, intent on destroying any human who is genetically modified or had cybernetic enhancements. This is the backdrop for The Cruel Stars by John Birmingham. The Sturm believed the Galaxy belongs only to pure humans. They fought a bloody war and nearly won before they were defeated and driven into deep space.

After Centuries with no sign of the Sturm returning, humanity grew complacent. One day a devastating attack takes out nearly all of humanity’s defenses. Now it is up to five heroes to rally humanity and once again defeat the Sturm. Lucinda Hardy unexpectedly winds up in command of what might be the Royal Armadalian Navy's only surviving warship. Booker is about to be executed when the storm attack inadvertently frees him. Princess Alessia, a young Royal of an important Corporation, finds herself in charge when her entire family is murdered. Sephina L’trel is the leader of a group of outlaws in the middle of a heist when the Sturm attack throws everything into chaos. Admiral Fraser McLennan, the man responsible for driving the Sturm out of the Galaxy hundreds of years ago is still around and maybe the best hope to defeat them once again.

The first part of the book is an introduction to these five characters and their reaction to the chaos caused by the Sturm attack. Once the introductions are over the story takes off at a frenetic pace that doesn't let up until the very end. John Birmingham knows how to keep the action going. By turns laugh out loud funny and hold onto your seat action. Birmingham knows how to keep the pedal to the metal and this story hums along. The action is often bloody, violent and fast. Character development is not sacrificed, as some of the heroes are conflicted and actually reflective of what’s going on. Even the Sturm believe that their cause is just and for the benefit of humanity. Cantankerous Admiral McLennan is one of my favorite characters ever and had me laughing nearly every time he showed up. The heroes have a long way to go, but this is a series I’m definitely sticking around for.

Morgan Hallet performs my favorite job of narration of the year. Her character voices are distinctive and convey enormous personality and emotion. Admiral McLennan is written as an outrageous and hilarious character and Hallet’s voicing for him takes it to another level. There are a lot of intersecting plot-lines and fast-paced action. Hallet makes them all easily distinguishable and matches the pace of the story throughout. Great story meeting the perfect voice makes the audio version the perfect way to experience this book.

One of my favorite books of the year and definitely my favorite listen. Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this audiobook by the publisher.

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