The Cruel Stars

Written by John Birmingham

Narrated by Morgan Hallett

In this epic sci-fi adventure for fans of The Expanse and Battlestar Galactica, five intrepid heroes must unite to save civilization after a long-dormant enemy awakens and strikes a devastating blow

The galaxy was once terrorized by the Sturm, a group of “species purists” intent on destroying any human with genetic or cybernetic enhancements. Fashioning themselves as the one true “Human Republic,” the Sturm cut a bloody swath across the stars, killing billions before finally being defeated and driven into the far reaches of Dark Space. Centuries of peace bred complacency. Everyone believed the Sturm had died out in the Dark. They were wrong.

The enemy has returned and, with a brutal and decisive attack, knocks out almost all of humanity’s defenses. Now on the brink of annihilation, humankind’s only hope is a few brave souls who survived the initial attack: Commander Lucinda Hardy, thrust into uncertain command of the Royal Armadalen Navy’s only surviving warship. Booker3, a soldier of Earth, sentenced to die for treason, whose time on death row is cut short when the Sturm attack his prison compound.

Princess Alessia, a young royal of the Montanblanc Corporation, forced to flee when her home planet is overrun and her entire family executed. Sephina L’trel, the leader of an outlaw band who must call on all of her criminal skills to resist the invasion. And, finally, Admiral Frazer McLennan, the infamous hero of the first war with the Sturm hundreds of years ago, who hopes to rout his old foes once and forall—or die trying.

These five flawed, reluctant heroes must band together to prevail against a relentless enemy and near-impossible odds. For if they fail, the future itself is doomed.

“This jarring, engrossing story of a species-wide fight for survival is recommended for all science fiction readers.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9781980047070

John Birmingham

John Birmingham was born in Liverpool, United Kingdom, but grew up in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. Between writing books he contributes to a wide range of newspapers and magazines on topics as diverse as biotechnology and national security. He lives at the beach with his wife, daughter, son, and two cats.

Reviews for The Cruel Stars

[tottman_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[rivkat_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In previous works, Birmingham has delivered cracking sf battle scenes and some truly ugly stereotypes about non-Westerners. This book, set in a far future that’s supposed to have completely different cultures after the diaspora from Earth, provides mostly the former. Based on his past work, I side-eyed casual references to specific Earth cultures that various of his characters seemed to think provided good stock (Japanese, nonracially specified South African) but that wasn’t a big enough part of the book to say anything definitive. Instead, it’s a far future in which a chunk of humanity has embraced various kinds of genetic/phenotypic modification, as well as pervasive computer implants to allow instant “loading” of various skills and quick communication. This future remains unequally distributed, however; people who can’t afford modifications eke out a living, or don’t, without them, and one of the POV characters is a woman whose father sold himself into debt slavery to fund her education and implants, allowing her to serve in the Royal Armadalen Navy. (Yes, corporate kingdoms are very much a thing.) Then the Sturm return—the fragment of humanity that rejects all forms of modification and holds that all modified people must be exterminated. So it’s a battle of genocidaires against standard corrupt, unfair hierarchies, with the occasional upright hero like our Navy girl; even when the genocidaires rescue the woman’s father from slavery, their appearance as liberators reads as ominous rather than as truly morally complicated. I thought a bit about the Battle of Britain from the perspective of an Indian nationalist, though there isn’t any very similar character in the book—instead the POVs are from the Navy woman; a young princess who rises to the occasion; a space pirate; a washed-up general who might not be as washed-up as he first seems; and the leader of the Sturm invasion. If you like space battles and references to firing on a position as “servicing” a target, with enough difference in the warring cultures that you don’t have to make any analogies if you don’t want to, then this book might be for you.