Commander Zara Darien of the Shimuran Starship Command assumes the position of escorting her father's shuttle. When Morian pirates attack, Vice-Admiral Raymond Darien's shuttle slips into a safe zone and after nearly losing her shuttle to enemy attack, Zara slides into a space bore-hole. Not only is her ship thrown off course, but she witnesses the ultimate horror when her father's flagship bounces off the lunar atmosphere and bursts into flames. At that very moment, she observes an unclassified ship approaching and her vessel launches a warning shot. Aboard the remnants of her father's vessel, she watches him take his last breath. Her father is dead, her ship damaged and she and her MAI (artificially intelligent computer) have no idea where she is in this unknown sector of the universe. The only survivor of her father’s ship is a stow-away creature.
Aboard NASA’s shuttle: Independence, Captain David Alexander wakes from his cryogenic sleep chamber. Weakened from the long, draining mission, he makes contact with Houston, speaks about his mission, eats and contemplates the magnificent universe. Shortly after, NASA informs him that his probe was destroyed and two UFO's have been observed in their solar system. The larger of the two crashed on the Titan moon. The other escaped Titan's gravity. He is ordered to send out more probes in different trajectories to orbit Titan and gather intelligence. Maybe the opportunity to survive the mission will rest in alien hands. Without assistance, he is as good as dead.
Zara's warning shot strikes the ship and because the Independence doesn't have a defense system its wipe out time. It was never Zara's intention to kill whoever was onboard, so she transports him onto her ship, provides essential nursing care through a healing blanket. MAI generates a force field in his living quarters to contain him. Her next goal is connecting to the incoming and outgoing communications in the alien ship to link onto a translation program. What she learns is that the history of the civilizations on Earth are filled with violence. So introducing him to planetary nations that are less aggressive could be the wrong move. Being a universal guardian, she has sworn to uphold the laws and ensure the safety of others.
When David wakes, he quickly learns he's on an alien ship and has no idea how he got there. He should have died from the cryogenic chamber alone and yet her protein drinks have worked their miracle on strengthening him. David's main concern is Earth's continuance and freedom. He wonders why the Morians are trying to annihilate her people. There is no denying he is attracted to Zara and feels driven to continue his mission as an explorer, but not necessarily the way NASA wants him to. This is clearly the beginning of an amazing opportunity for David and Earth. Shimura either has a lot to worry about or will rise from the pit of near extinction with the leadership of Zara and David.
STAR DUST places you on an alien ship and actually makes you feel as if you're right beside David. It had a lot of SF details on space travel that seemed as if the technology existed. The novel took a lot of thought and research. It reinforced a common belief that an entire civilization may be judged by the actions of a few. That our history and fear would make us shoot first and then ask questions when confronted with an alien face-to-face. There's always that element of distrust.
On the other side of the coin, I wondered why Zara didn’t have a crew. MAI was a good companion and protector, but can not provide the physical connection all mortals desire. Also, there needed to be more recreational opportunities for Zara if she spent such a great portion of her life in the ship. Perhaps a more natural environment and less replicated products. She could travel to other worlds and barter for goods. Opening a hole in the fabric of space for a more direct path - is that safe for the voyager or for space itself? Has this type of travel been considered? When landing on a newly located planet or moon, wouldn't Zara be concerned about bacteria, life forms, etc. I would have liked to know more about her people and their way of life.
Zara and MAI work their way into your heart because of their struggle to survive. I'm curious to know if they can change the negative course of her races' history in the second book or beyond. I also wonder if David and Zara can have a long-term intimate relationship because there is no record on her planet of interracial relationships.
Four and a half MAI's out of five
Denise Fleischer, gottawritenetwork.com
April 19, 2006
Copyright DF & GWN
