Audiobook Review – The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei, Narrated by Katharine Chin (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 11 hours and 40 minutes
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release Date: June 11, 2024
ASIN: B0CKM23QVJ
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook for Review from NetGalley
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Maya Hoshimoto was once the best art thief in the galaxy. For ten years, she returned stolen artifacts to alien civilizations—until a disastrous job forced her into hiding. Now she just wants to enjoy a quiet life as a graduate student of anthropology, but she’s haunted by persistent and disturbing visions of the future.
Then an old friend comes to her with a job she can’t refuse: find a powerful object that could save an alien species from extinction. Except no one has seen it in living memory, and they aren’t the only ones hunting for it.
Maya sets out on a breakneck quest through a universe teeming with strange life and ancient ruins. But the farther she goes, the more her visions cast a dark shadow over her team of friends new and old. Someone will betray her along the way. Worse yet, in choosing to save one species, she may condemn humanity and Earth itself.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this on audiobook through NetGalley for review.
Thoughts: This was a fantastic sci-fi read. I loved the wonderful characters, amazing adventures, and intriguing story line. I really enjoyed every minute of this book. I did listen to this on audiobook, and the narration was beautifully done. Parts of this would have been challenging to narrate correctly, and the narrator did an amazing job. I definitely recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.
The story follows Maya, who was once the best art thief in the galaxy, is now a graduate student of anthropology back on Earth. When an old alien friend reaches out to her with an intriguing offer, she finds it impossible to resist. They want to go and find an old alien relic that could prevent the extinction of their race.
I absolutely loved the characters, the new worlds we visit, and the complicated storyline about the history and politics of these different alien races. This was a wonderful adventure, combined with intriguing history and political maneuvering. I really enjoyed some of the character development as well. There is a lot of discussion about consideration around expectations about how people (aliens included) act when they are from an alien race or culture.
This review doesn’t really do this book justice, it was just so fantastic. However, I just got back from a long vacation and am playing catch up, so it will have to do!
My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this! This book included wonderful adventures and new worlds, excellent characters, and an intricate and well done storyline. I enjoyed every minute of this, and it made me wonder why I haven’t read anything by Kitasei before! I plan on pickinggup her debut novel, The Deep Sky, to read as well and really look forward to future novels by her.
